“It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” (LK 19: 46)
Prayer time is time to know each other better, to “hear His voice” and “to follow Him.” Prayer time also helps us to understand ourselves better, to meet our limits and weaknesses,to bring us under God’s love, and to trust Him, not ourselves. Our houses could be and “shall be houses of prayer” because marriage and family is a natural environment for prayer, when we meet God’s vocation and our response, always based on “hear” and “follow.”
“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“‘Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow after me!’ Thereupon he fled to the mountains with his sons, leaving behind in the city all their possessions.” (1 MC 2: 27-28)
Being “zealous for the law” has its consequences—“leaving behind in the city all their possessions.” That shows the radicalism in love and respect for God’s law. When we accept the truth about God, who gave us His beloved Son to die for us, nothing compares with this.
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.” (LK 19: 17)
“Well done” because the good servant “has been faithful in this very small matter.” How important are “small matters” for Our Lord, who came to fulfill the most important mission from His Father—our salvation. Our mission “to go and bear fruit that will last” is not based on “matter” but on our relationship with Him.
“I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.’ And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.’” (LK 19: 5-7)
“I must stay at your house” was said directly to Zacchaeus, but we can expect that this is the general reason for Our Lord’s coming—to stay with us, who are sinners, “as expiation for our sins.” We can imagine that Jesus calls you and me: “come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” “Quickly” and “today” are measures of His love for us.
“God loved us, and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Any scrolls of the law which they found they tore up and burnt. Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant, and whoever observed the law, was condemned to death by royal decree.” (1 MC 1: 56-57)
“A scroll of the covenant” means one or more of the first five books of the Old Testament, the traditional law of Israel. God’s law is under persecution. And believers, “whoever observed the law,” are “condemned to death by royal decree” for only one reason—they respect the covenant with God. When we love God’s word and when we “observe the law,” we can be persecuted. The world can close its eyes and pretend not to see God’s presence, but Our Lord is with us, and “whoever follows Him will have the light of life.”
“I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (MK 13: 30-31)
Every word of Our Lord comes from God’s heart and brings His love and will to accept us as close to His heart as possible. His words carrying love “will not pass away” because all things “will pass away” except love. When we share words with love, carrying love, we bring joy to Our Lord’s heart as His imitators.
“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (LK 18: 6-8)
On one hand, we have God, who listens, “secures our rights” and is fast “to answer.” On the other hand, there is us, “His chosen ones,” “who call out to him day and night.” Our God never changes; He always comes and always answers. The problematic part is on our side: “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
“God has called us through the Gospel, to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.” (WIS 13: 5)
Everything created by God has its “greatness and beauty” because it comes from God’s heart. That rule could be applied to all kinds of creatures, but particularly to us humans. It is our vocation to direct everyone to God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.
“Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” (LK 17: 20-21)
Some Biblical comments suggests, that the emphasis among you “shifted Kingdom of God from an imminent observable coming of it to something that is already present in Jesus’ preaching and healing ministry.” Jesus’ concern always moves our attention from outside to inside; don’t change the world, change yourself.
“I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord: whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, ‘Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!’”
Most of the time, we can come very close to Our Lord, but when we can’t, we can, like the lepers:”at a distance from him,” raise our voices saying: “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us.” And He is never tired of answering our requests; He is always welcoming, and it doesn’t matter what we bring; He answers each time.
“In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (Gospel Acclamation)
