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With God we can experience sorrow and still be thankful.

They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” (Lk 17:12-13). They raised their voices and asked Jesus to have pity on them. Did the ten seeking a healing all call in unison? Did one shout out first and then each, not wanting to be left out, all call out? Did their calling reach a fever pitch? Luke is not specific as to how they called out but that all of them did. Jesus then healed the their leprosy with his word, they began to praise God and may have walked away in even a more joyful raucous than their calling for their healing. Yet one, a Samaritan, after realizing he was healed, returned to thank Jesus.

It is a good practice to spend some time each day to reflect on what we are thankful for. To see where God has entered our lives and provided assistance. At times when we feel a bit down and out, or in a bit of a funk, often the reason may be that we are focusing, on what we do not have instead of on what we do have. There is a quote, I am not sure of the source, that goes: “I cried because I had no shoes, and then I came upon a man with no feet.” We can be so bombarded by the mass appeal to the material, that we forget the truly important realities of this life and the many blessings that we have been given.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., unless you are reading this the night before. Thanksgiving is a time of family coming together, which hopefully will be as joy filled as those lepers walking away realizing that they are healed. But with the promise of such gatherings, there is all the cleaning, setting up and the prep for the big dinner, clean up and breaking down, the travel, unresolved issues, as well as the wonderful gifts of diverse personalities and points of view. Making time to periodically stop and take a few breaths can make a big difference in how the day is played out. A moment of quiet may help us to be like the Samaritan leper who when realizing that he was healed, was thankful. Slowing down a bit, might just help us to appreciate each other a bit more and grumble a little less.

As Jesus reminds us, we do not know the time or the hour. Life is finite and fragile in the best case scenarios. We will not be here forever nor will the ones we love. November is a time in the Church when we remember those who have joined the communion of saints as well as those on the way. This is especially true for those of us today who have lost a loved one. And since becoming a priest, I have been blessed to walk with around forty who will no longer be celebrating Thanksgiving this side of heaven. My prayer is that they and JoAnn are now home with God.

May each of us remember those who have gone before us and be thankful for the time that we have had together, while at the same time, appreciate those still in our lives. May we allow the warm embracing arms of our loving God and Father to embrace us in a moment or two of silence so that we can remember that we are never alone, that God cares for each and every one of us, and as we grow closer to him, we grow closer to each other.

Life is a precious gift that God has given, and it helpful to appreciate every moment. May we be thankful for our lives and the lives of those near and far that we are blessed to call family and friends. May we also remember and pray that the Holy Spirit may provide comfort and aid for those who are alone, struggling, or without family, food and/or a home this day.

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Photo: One of my favorite pictures at my maternal grandparents for Thanksgiving. I miss all three of them and am grateful for our time together. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Link for the Mass reading for Thursday, November 27, 2025

We can meet the challenges of discipleship when we make the time daily to know Jesus.

Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name” (Lk 21:12).

Each of the predictions above; being seized, persecuted, handed over, and led before the rulers happened to Jesus’ disciples as was recorded by Luke in his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus did not nor does he hide or paint a rosy picture of discipleship. He consistently shared and modeled in his own life how demanding it would be to follow him, the will of his Father, the demands of discipleship, as well as the reality of having to endure persecutions. This continues to be true today. In fact, the number of Christian martyrs in the twentieth century rose to a higher level than at any other time in history combined.

Since the first days of Jesus’ public ministry, there have been those who have said yes to the invitation to be his disciple and this has continued generation after generation up to an including today. Each of us has to make our own commitment to Christ. It is a personal invitation and a personal response. Though the demands, the sacrifices, and the expectations are high, Jesus is present with us through the journey. St. Paul equated discipleship with running a race: “Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one” (I Cor 9:25).

Any athlete, musician, artist, or person engaged in any serious endeavor, must discipline themselves to accomplish their goal of freedom for mastery, for excellence. A lack of concerted discipline will not lead to the fluency and the freedom for the sought after goal. The same is true with discipleship. Someone who only does something for an hour a week is not going to be proficient at that task.

The discipline required that Jesus presents in today’s Gospel of Luke is to remain firm in authentically living out our faith even in the face of pushback, persecution, and hostility. This pressure may not just come from those who would seek us harm, but from family, friends, and/or peers. This is where the issue of putting God first comes to bear. We are not to be belligerent, get in someone’s face, or shut down dialogue about what we believe but meet others with love, mercy, and respect. Nor ought we back down from what we believe.

It is important to share, listen, respect and allow another the opportunity to do the same. From a place of mutual respect and honoring each other within and without of our own faith traditions, as well as those having none, we grow. People are free to decide as they wish. Sometimes people will react emotionally, rudely, crudely, or even violently. Yet that is not an excuse nor does it provide the green light for us to respond in kind. If we do, then we will often feed into and justify another person’s preconceived notions.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said: “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.” As disciples of Jesus Christ, it is important that we know our faith, explain what we believe, live authentically, clarify as needed through respectful dialogue, and above all to be icons of hope and love. We need not be afraid. The Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak as well as the ears to hear. The gift of respectful dialogue will result in the deepening of our relationship with the one who has made us for himself and one another. For where there is the truth, there is God who is Truth.

Photo: Making friends with silence, helps us to listen better to God and one another. We will also then know better when and what God wants us to speak.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, November 26, 2025

No matter what is on the horizon, Jesus will guide us through.

While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here– the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down” (Lk 21:5-6).

As we read yesterday, Jesus observed the widow donating her two coins. Today Jesus observes those who are commenting about the wonders of Herod’s temple. Jesus responds by sharing, as did Jeremiah, that the temple will fall, and not a stone upon another stone will be left. The reality of this statement would come to pass in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the temple and crushed the Jewish rebellion during the Jewish War from 66-70 AD. The only significant remnant of the temple still to this day is the outer retaining wall, also known as the Wailing Wall.

The people of the ancient Near East certainly witnessed and passed on tales of the rise and fall of mighty kingdoms beginning with Egypt’s impressive reign from about 3,000 to 721 BC, followed by Assyria who then gave way to Babylon. The Babylonian army would destroy Solomon’s temple as predicted by the prophet Jeremiah. The Persians would then overtake the Babylonians and push west only to be repelled by the unification of the Greek city-states under the Macedonian Philip and then his son Alexander the Great who would continue south and east all the way to India. The massive Greek empire would then give way to Rome. Rome would then fall in 476 AD.

As each empire fell, and especially during the fall of Rome, there was a great concern that the end of the world drew nigh. Throughout the ages up until the present day, nation has continued to “rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…” and the world has experienced “powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place” (Lk 21:10-11). Each made their historical impressions on those who lived through them. There has also been a plethora of end of the world predictions from the ancients up to the more well known modern prognosticators such as Jeane Dixon, Pat Robertson, a handful of predictors around 2000, and more recent but also slipping into the rearview mirror of doomsday prophesies, Harold Camping. He caught a lot of attention with his prediction of the end of the world that was to have happened on October 21, 2011.

As of this typing, we are still here. The Gospels of Mark and Matthew record Jesus addressing the same concern of those questioning him: “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (see Mark 13:32 and Matthew 24:36, RSV translation). In Luke’s presentation from today’s Gospel, he moves further away from Mark and Matthew’s eschatological or end of times talk and spoke more toward the destruction of the temple.

We have a few more days of Luke and Ordinary Time to go before the end of the liturgical year. Kingdoms have and will continue to rise and fall (hopefully not in these next few days). Abuse of power continues to lead to many who are displaced from war, terrorism, violence. Many reach out to provide compassion and support but there is never enough help. Many are enamored by our technological ingenuity and advancements, as were those who were admiring the adornment of Herod’s temple. Are we in the final days? Only the Father knows.

Yet, we are not to be anxious about tomorrow as Pope Francis encouraged those in his homily when he spoke at Tokyo Stadium in Japan a few years ago. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and “to re-evaluate our daily decisions and not to become trapped or isolated in the pursuit of success at any cost… [that] leave us profoundly unhappy and enslaved, and hinder the authentic development of a truly harmonious and humane society”.

When we place our hope and trust in Jesus, the Son who knows the Father, he will guide us through any challenge and strengthen us against any storm. Let us risk feeding the temptations of anxiety and worry. Instead may each thought, word, and action pass through the filter of a deep slow breath and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As we do so, we will know Jesus, his voice, and the will of the Father better. We will be able to abide and rest in God who is our refuge and strength no matter what comes.

Photo: Jesus Christ, our King, fights for us.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, November 25, 2025.

She gave all.

In the Gospel of Luke, we return to the widow we read about recently. She came to the Temple in Jerusalem as others came to share their offerings. These offerings were placed in the Shofar-chests in the Court of Women near the Temple. Scholars recognize that there were thirteen chests and each one was for a specific offering that ranged from annual dues, sacrificial offerings, and freewill offerings.

As Jesus pointed out, most of those who were giving, gave out of their excess, but this widow, who most likely had no support as her husband had died, gave all that she had in giving her last two coins. What her offering was for or why, we do not know, but in doing so, she showed a radical trust in God. She did not even hold back one of the coins. She instead gave all.

The widow sacrificed all she had, as did another, the widow of Zarephath, who gave her last oil and flour to Elijah (see 1 Kings 17:7-24). Each of them as well as all those who have trusted and been faithful to God throughout the ages followed the commandment of Jesus to love God with their whole heart, mind, soul, and strength and their neighbor as themselves. They resisted the temptations that could have lead them astray and instead placed all their trust and faith in God.

There are many distractions and diversions that can lead us astray, temptations from without and within. A false security in wealth is one Jesus talks about often. Jesus himself would give even more. He gave all of himself, holding nothing back as he gave himself on the cross. Jesus died for us so that we can be free to give.

There are those of his followers that were willing to do the same such as St. Andrew Dung-Lac and 116 others whose memorial we celebrate today because from 1820-1862 they were willing to give their lives in Vietnam. May they and those who have gone before us, the triumphant saints who now reign with Jesus Christ our King, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, intercede for, guide, and empower us. May we allow ourselves to be drawn by the tender chords of the Holy Spirit’s love to grow in trust and be as faithful to God as they were.

Painting: “The Widow’s Mite” by James C. Christensen

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, November 24, 2025

Jesus’ crucifixion was his coronation as Christ the King.

Today is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time. Next Sunday will begin the new liturgical year in the Church calendar as we begin Advent. In today’s Gospel from Luke, Jesus is engaged by two criminals being crucified with him.

The first “reviled” him and demanded Jesus, “save himself and save us!” There was no acknowledgment of his own transgressions. The other criminal acknowledged that they were justly condemned and deserved their fate on the cross. He recognized his sin and crime, and reached out to Jesus with deference, when he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus replied, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (cf Luke 23:35-43).

This second criminal saw beyond what appeared to many others to be the end of this man, Jesus. Instead, he recognized Jesus as the messiah, the king and that his coronation was happening before his eyes, his crucifixion. Jesus recognized this man’s contrition and welcomed him into his kingdom, for Jesus became the Messiah, the Christ, the King, through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

This solemnity is 100 years old this year. It was first instituted by Pope Pius X to counteract the rise of secularism and the atrocities of World War 1. Over and above all philosophies, ideologies, political theories and the like, Jesus is to be our King. Pope St. Paul VI, after Vatican II, thought the solemnity would be more fitting to be placed on the last Sunday of Ordinary Time. This also echoes the intent of Pope Pius. Even though he placed the feast at the end of October to be near the feast of all saints, he wrote in his encyclical, Quas Primas, that the solemnity would  be placed best, “at the end of the liturgical year, and thus the feast of the Kingship of Christ sets the crowning glory upon the mysteries of the life of Christ already commemorated during the year.”

Jesus, the Son of God, came among us to re-orient and to re-align the worldly order. Throughout his public ministry he spoke and acted in the Person of the God of Israel and he did this most profoundly as he allowed himself to be nailed to and lifted up on the cross. Leadership would no longer be about the aggrandizement of the self nor to be lorded over at the expense of others. God was very aware of the suffering of his people. He sent Moses to free his people from slavery from Egypt and he sent his Son to free all humanity from slavery to sin.

Yet this freedom has a cost. Today, we are reminded that we have a choice to make. Who are we to serve? Are we to serve Pharaoh or Moses, Pilate or Jesus, our self or God. If we seek to be free from the shackles of our slavery to sin, the choice is clear. When listen to the voice of the king of the universe, the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus the Christ, the King of the Universe and choose to follow him, we will as did Mary have chosen the better part.

The reign of the kingship of Jesus is about a personal encounter. We serve Christ the King when we are aware of and accompany one another. We are not to be about bringing world peace, ending hunger, providing homes for all in some abstract utopian pursuit. We are to concretely and intimately treat each person we meet with dignity. We are to see Jesus in our midst: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Mt 25:35-37). Jesus, our king, commands us to act as he lived, to be aware of, to accompany, and to make a difference, one life at a time.

We may feel overwhelmed with our own struggles, let alone the present state of our country or weight of the world, but we do not have to bear the weight alone, nor are we expected to change the world. We just need to begin each day with a commitment to serve Jesus Christ our King. We do so when we resist the temptation to turn inward upon ourselves and instead adjust our attitude and focus outward. God is guiding us already through the love of the Holy Spirit, we just need to slow down and breathe so that we can feel safe enough and remain still long enough to receive his love, and choose to open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and be willing to follow his will.

We are invited today, on this feast day of Christ the King, to remember who we are and whose we are. Are we willing to allow Jesus to re-orient, to re-align the order of our lives so that we also participate with St. Dismas, the traditional name given to the penitent thief? If so, we need to acknowledge our failures and sins, repent from the ways in which we have turned away from God and each other, and turn back to him. We will then be better able to serve Jesus our king and follow his command to be forgiving, merciful, loving, and to enter into the chaos of another, one person at a time.

When we are willing to be, as St Mother Teresa said, a pencil in God’s hand in our everyday moments, with each thought we entertain, before each word we speak, and before each action we take, and in every encounter we engage in, we follow God’s will. As we surrender to Jesus our king, follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and accept the will of our Father in every circumstance, then with our last breath, we will know Jesus and hear his words, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 25:43).

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Photo: Ending the evening in prayer with my Savior and King, my God and my all.

The Mass readings for Sunday, November 23, 2025

Do we die and that’s it?

The Sadducees present an absurd scenario for Jesus to respond to: a woman’s spouse died leaving her childless. She then successively married her husband’s six brothers who all subsequently died, also leaving her childless. The Sadducees then asked, “Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” (Lk 20:33)? The Sadducees sought to have Jesus weigh in on whether or not there was a resurrection of the dead.

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection from the dead because they only believed in a literal interpretation of the Torah, the law, or the teachings, which we as Christians today recognize as the first five books of the Old Testament. In the Torah, there is no overt reference to the resurrection. The Pharisees recognized the written Torah, but also acknowledged an oral tradition beyond the written text, and thus acknowledged the resurrection of the dead. A belief in the resurrection of the dead began to gather some support a few hundred years before the birth of Jesus.

Jesus deftly answered the question by keying in on the verse from Exodus, the second book of the Torah: “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive” (Lk 20:37-38).

Jesus pointed out that God was not a God of the dead but of the living. He also granted a glimpse into the heavenly realm: “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise” (Lk 20:34-36).

Heaven is a different reality than we experience here on earth, a different dimension beyond the temporal time as we know it. We will no longer marry because we will be living eternally, there will be no death, so there will be no more need to procreate. We will be “like angels” in that we will be eternal beings. That said, we will not be nor do we become angels. Angels are finite, eternal, spiritual beings with no body. We are finite, eternal, human beings consisting of a soul and a body.

Our bodies are separated at our death from our soul, as Jesus pointed out with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in sharing that God is a God of the living, but will be reunited at the end of time when the new age that Jesus has ushered in with his death and resurrection comes to fulfillment. Until that time in heaven those who have gone before us are experiencing what we hope to experience. God face to face. A deeper and more intimate communion with the living God.

Many would scoff and say, “That’s it?” I am sure there is more, but if that was all, there would be more joy, more acceptance, more totality of being than we could ever imagine or embrace in just a second of that eternal gaze. As the psalmist wrote: “Better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere” (Psalm 84:11).

Definitively speaking, heaven is a mystery, and yet, the Mystery of God is not a problem to be solved but a reality and relationship to experience and develop. Looking to the things of heaven, in which we will eventually experience the fulfillment of our deepest longing, helps us to realize that what we experience here on earth is not all there is and as we allow ourselves to be open to the things of heaven, we can experience a foretaste even now.

We may be taken aback when Jesus shared that there is no longer marriage in heaven, but he is revealing the promise of deeper and more intimate relationships, even more intimate than the marital, sexual embrace. We will know one another more deeply because we will be free from that which puts up barriers between us, the wounds, insecurities, and attachments we engage in here.

In heaven, we will be free from any stain of sin, healed from emotional, psychological, and physical wounds. We can simply be. We can experience the freedom of resting in God’s loving gaze and embracing who we are and who God has created us to be for all eternity. We will also experience one another in the same way, with the same unconditional love. The greatest joy we have experienced in this life will be far surpassed by an eternal present and ever growing consolation from the infinite outpouring of God’s eternal love for us and our eternal and unconditional love shared with God and one another.

Photo: Visiting JoAnn Wednesday. She is where I will one day be. Not just in the ground 😉

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, November 22, 2025

Jesus, please send us the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out all those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Lk 19:45-46).

Luke’s account of Jesus casting out the money changers is the most succinct of all four Gospels. Luke uses the Greek term for “drive or cast out” – ekballō, eight other times. Each time he used it, Luke was making reference to exorcising demons and unclean spirits. The profanation of the body through possession of evil is equivalent to the desecration of the Temple precincts.

Jesus justified his actions of driving the sellers out of the Temple precincts by saying: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). Jesus showed the dignity of our humanity, when he, as the Son of God, entered our humanity. He entered into the chaos of our lives, our faults and foibles, as well as our sins, while remaining sinless himself. He showed that even though we have turned away from God, we were not destroyed and lost beyond hope. He reminds us that what God has created is good and that includes us. Even when we turn away, he continually and infinitely reaches out to us in love and calls us back into relationship with him.

One of the wonderful features of the upcoming holidays is that many families seek to come together and to return home. For some coming home has been longer than for others, for some there may be many miles of separation, and for others, coming home is no longer possible because they have changed their address from this life to the next. There are also those suffering today that are estranged from their families, those who are homeless, displaced, refugees and immigrants, or living in fear of deportation.

No matter who or where we are, Jesus remains close. He became one with us to restore our communion with his Father and one another. He provides the living water that quenches the thirst of our deepest longings. Jesus is our Temple, our new covenant, the dwelling place of God. He is alive and present to each one of us in every condition, situation, time, and place. Through his resurrection, ascension, and our participation in his life, we become precious stones of his Temple.

Jesus meets us where we are and loves us as we are, yet he wants the best for us and for us to settle for nothing less. Jesus, please cast out, as you did in the temple precincts, all from our being that would defile, distract, or divide us, and purge anything that would keep us bound in sin. Send the Holy Spirit as a purifying fire that will reign in our hearts so that each thought, word, and action may proceed not from our survival instincts or reactions, but from deciding to think, speak, and act according to our Father’s will.

Photo: Breathe in – Come Holy Spirit – Breathe out – repeat

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, November 21, 2025

“If you are yourself at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.”

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Lk 19:42).

What Jesus foretold in these words would arrive some thirty plus years after his death. Jewish and Roman conflicts increased until it spilled over in 66 AD. A Jewish rebellion amassed such force that the Roman occupying military was pushed out of Jerusalem. This triggered a predictable and overpowering retaliation from Rome which resulted in the horrific deaths of up to and maybe over a million Jewish people. Jerusalem fell in August of 70 AD, the Temple was destroyed, and not a stone was left upon another.

Jesus knew that peace would not come from violence. We can glean from his teachings that real peace is not the absence of war or conflict, but a change of mind and heart. A metanoia or conversion of the mind and heart must take place. There must be peace within before there will be peace without or as Thomas Merton wrote, “If you are yourself at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.”

May we be able to weep as Jesus did over Jerusalem. May we, as Pope Francis has encouraged us, never lose our capacity to weep over the injustice committed to our brothers and sisters throughout our woretorn and weary world.

Many have wept over the deluge of division, dehumanization, and horrific violence, and have worked to bring about change, and have been a light in the darkness. Mohandas K. Gandhi marshaled a non-violent movement that defeated the colonizing grip of the English Empire. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. applied both the teachings of Jesus and Gandhi by shining a light that exposed the dark night of segregation, poverty, and our military presence in Vietnam. Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn, dedicated his life to advocating for world peace and stated that: “If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.”

Through the bold witness and preaching of the Gospel through his words, writings, and presence, Pope St. John Paul II played a significant part in inspiring the fall of the oppressive regime of the USSR. He wrote early in his pontificate that: “Peace is our work: It calls for our courageous and united action. But it is inseparably and above all a gift of God: It requires our prayer.”

As we near the end of the liturgical calendar let us be people of prayer and allow the love of Jesus to transform our hearts and minds such that each of our thoughts, words, and actions may, in collaboration with people of all faith traditions and good will, reflect that peace that Jesus gives, that peace that surpasses all understanding (cf Philippians 4:6-7).

Photo: Praying morning prayer Wednesday as the sun rises.

Link for the Mass for Thursday, November 20, 2025

We need not fear to invest our gift because Jesus is with us.

In today’s Gospel, we have available to us the parallel to The Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25:14-30, which is The Parable of the Ten Gold Coins from Luke 19:11-28. There are a few differences. A key opening point is that in Matthew’s account, we do not know why or where the master goes after he entrusted three of his servants with talents; five, two, and one respectively. In Luke’s account the man is a noble and he “went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return” (Lk 19:12). He called ten servants to invest a gold coin he gave to each of them. The theme that is similar in both accounts is that when the man returns, two of the servants invested well and brought about a greater return on their investment, and one hid what he was given out of fear of his lord.

Another added feature in Luke’s account was the fellow citizens of the nobleman that did not want him to be king and openly opposed him. The nobleman after attaining his kingship and returning successfully, dealt harshly, to say the least, with those who opposed him, having them slain. Those listening to Jesus tell the parable would understand this predicted outcome, as it was not uncommon in the ancient Near East for a ruler to slay those who opposed his rise to power.

The most immediate parallel and contemporary example was the current tetrarch, Archelaus, who was placed into power in Judea and was reigning at the time of Jesus. He was a cruel tyrant. The Jewish historian, Josephus, who during the time of the Jewish Wars was captured and later became a Roman citizen wrote that there were “fifty ambassadors were sent from Judea to Rome to request that Archelaus not become king, because he had already killed three thousand Jews in quelling an uprising” (Gadenz, 320).

Just as the wicked tyrant is rejected, the innocent Messiah will also be rejected in Jerusalem, and will give his life. Jesus again appears to be presenting the contrast between the fallen nature of humanity with the coming of the new kingdom under his reign. His apostles are not to be like the corrupt leadership of the age, but they are to go out to all the nations to proclaim the good news of the kingdom.

The readings this week also continue to present eschatological talk, references to the second coming of Jesus, and final judgment because we are in the final two weeks of the liturgical year. Jesus’ reference to going away and coming back, could be a reference to his death, resurrection, ascension, and the waiting until his second coming in which there will be a judgment by God. Jesus makes clear that we are not the judge and jury, though many appropriate this role for themselves. We are only accountable for the talent or gold coin we have been entrusted with.

God has called us each uniquely by name and given us a gift that he wants us to put into action to help build up his kingdom. We need to resist burying this gift or hiding it away. The most important thing we can do each day is to pray, and deepen our relationship with God and each other. The enemy will tempt us with doubts, fears, and anxieties which we are to renounce and instead trust in Jesus, seek his strength, and guidance.

We are invited each day to begin with prayer. In the beginning, the length of time is not as important as consistently spending time with God intentionally. We show up, breathe, allow ourselves to be still, allow the restlessness of our mind to quiet, and we listen. This may take some time or days, but when we continue to return to these daily anchors and trust that God has a purpose for us, we will hear his guidance, and then we are to follow his lead.

The encouraging words of St. John Paul II are helpful: “Remember that you are never alone. Christ is with you on your journey every day of your lives!” – St. John Paul II

We are called by Jesus to be contemplatives in action. We are not to follow the lead of mediocrity and fear. With humility and patience, let us trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will light our path to maturing and actualizing our unique call and as we serve God and one another we will bear good fruit.

Painting: “The Lord of the Parables” by Jorge Cocco, Altus Fine Art

Gadenz, Pablo T. The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, November 19, 2025

May we too seek Jesus and come when he calls!

Yet again, as in the Gospel from yesterday, the crowd gets in the way of someone seeking access to Jesus. The wall of people that has gathered around Jesus does not appear to be overtly keeping Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus. They may be so focused on seeing him themselves that they are not aware. Yet, there is also the strong possibility that the people were aware that this man was trying to get through. They knew Zacchaeus, and many judged him to be the sinner of sinners.

He was the chief tax collector of the area and he was most likely reviled by most in his community. He would have also likely have been considered unclean because he was breaking the commandment of not stealing, which he and the majority of the tax collectors did at the time. As the chief tax collector he was also dealing with the Gentile occupiers. It is likely that each time Zacchaeus attempted to nudge by to get through a gap to get a better look, the individuals may have closed the way such that he could not get through.

Zacchaeus would not be thwarted. He ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree. From his perch he was not only able to see Jesus, but Jesus saw him and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house” (Lk 19:5). Jesus did not see a tax collector or a sinner, he saw a seeker. Someone who was willing to humble himself by climbing a tree, much like a child.

Jesus did not see the 99% nor the 1%. Jesus saw and sees people in need of compassion and mercy. He sees those lost that need to be found, those sick in need of healing, those alone who sought to belong. Jesus did not meet Zacchaeus with judgment but with love and compassion, and that made all the difference for this man’s conversion.

Jesus was willing to draw close to the one so many despised. By inviting himself to dine with Zacchaeus in his own home, Zacchaeus must have felt overwhelmed with emotion. Maybe for the first time in his life, he felt welcome instead of disdain. He repented without hesitation to the unconditional invitation and love he had received: “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over” (Lk 19:8). Unlike the other rich man who left sad (Lk 18:18-23) because he was not willing to relinquish his riches, Zacchaeus was filled with joy because he could.

This expressive act of generosity arose from his encounter with Jesus. This exchange offers the invitation for us also to receive Jesus in the same way and the invitation to greet others more openly as well. One way to do so is to resist the temptation to “grumble”, to gossip, to pre-judge, and/or to dehumanize one another. Salvation came to Zacchaeus’ house in the person of his savior and in the act of his repentance.

Life is hard enough without adding more barriers or negativity. Jesus wants to dwell with us too. While at the same time, he challenges us to see beyond the exterior caricatures we project on to others, and instead invites us to seek to know the heart and character of the person. We can do so when we stop grumbling, are willing to approach others with an understanding heart and mind, and be willing to spend time to get to know one another.

Painting: Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Awaiting the Passage of Jesus by James Tissot.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, November 18, 2025