Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time(Click here for readings)
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.
Now we know who he is. According to The Independent,
The disfigured man whose meeting with Pope Francis made headlines all over the world has finally spoken out about the experience – and said the moment left him speechless.
...Speaking for the first time to the Italian magazine Panorama, Mr Vinicio Riva, 53, said the moment captured by photographers in St Peter’s Square on 6 November “all lasted not more than a minute, but it seemed an eternity”, and that it was “like being in Paradise”.
Mr Riva spoke of his shock when, after meeting Pope Francis and kissing his hand, the Pontiff then pulled the 53-year-old towards him.
“What most astonished me is that he didn’t think twice on embracing me,” Mr Riva said. “I’m not contagious, but he didn’t know. He just did it; he caressed all my face, and while he was doing that, I felt only love.
“I tried to speak, to tell him something, but I couldn't: The emotion was too strong.”
Afterwards, Mr Riva turned to his aunt who accompanied him to the Vatican and said: “Here I leave my pain.”
In a previous post, I mentioned an atheist commentator who sarcastically asked, How did the Pope heal him?
Simple. By showing love. By embracing him. By taking a man's shame and pain away. Capisce?
Zacchaeus was a tax collector; that is, a disgusting man, a filthy man, a man who was the brunt of many jokes. And yet, the Lord still embraced him, and it did Zacchaeus a world of good. This moment changed his life. It made him human again. It gave him courage to come down from that tree and be face-to-face with the rest of humanity.
How do you treat those who disgust you? With love or with indifference?
Well, it is time for us to get to work. Let's make a difference. In today's Gospel passage the Lord is encouraging us to share our love with those who, yes, disgust us. Let's do it! I know it won't be easy for me. I nitpick on just about everything. But I think I can share a smile, an embrace, some time and some resources on those who I do not particularly care for.
Let's do it, and not only will it open a brave new world for those around us but it will do a world of good for ourselves as well.
The greatest commandment is to love God and our neighbor. Love is the solution to most of day today challenges. if only we loved there will be peace amongst us
ReplyDeleteif only we loved it will be possible to forgive
if only we loved our soul diseases e.g. stress,
depression, stomach ulcers would never be
mentioned in us
if only we loved our peace would rule our families
if only we loved couples would understand each other and
be ready to forgive each other bcoz through love they
recognize that they are not angels.
I thank u servants of God even in our morning mass our priest Rev Raphael stated it clear that ''love heals, transforms, converts, does not keep records of wrong doing, perseveres......
For whatever we do as Christians is all out of love 'this is what we are called for'.
So wonderful, words fail me, but tears don't. Mother Teresa also exemplified. Wonderful Meditation, Father Alfonse. In God's Love, Pat
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