Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 3, 2013
Lectionary: 153

Reading 1 WIS 11:22-12:2
Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people’s sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

Responsorial Psalm PS 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name forever, my king and my God. I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.

Reading 2 2 THES 1:11-2:2
Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

Gospel LK 19:1-10
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “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.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

My Prayer:
Lord, you are the saving God. You will never tire of forgiving us, always spreading your arms wide to receive us as we fall away and return to you, fall away and return to you, even if it be a million times. What a kind God you are, that in the same page in the Book of Genesis, when you banished Adam and Eve from Eden, you quickly and without hesitation promised a redeemer who will crush the snake head underfoot. Thank you so much for loving us. We can only thank you and thank you many, many times over and over again. Peace can only come from you, and this peace is not something we have to mine laboriously from the depths of the earth, like gold or diamonds, but easily available to us at the VERY MOMENT of our Zacchaen epiphany, revelation or realization. Thank you that you are there, giving peace to anyone, if only he or she desires it strongly enough. Amen.