So Zacchaeus 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." (Lk 19:1-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103022.cfm
The story of Zacchaeus is one of my favorites. I learned to sing the story of “Zacchaeus, the Wee Little Man” in the Children’s Choir. The first reading today has an interesting phrase about God, the “lover of souls,” which is echoed in the Eastern liturgies of the church “Lover of humanity” and in the Eucharistic prayer for Various Needs and Occasions: “You are indeed Holy and to be glorified, O God, who love the human race and who always walk with us on the journey of life.”
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
XXXI Sunday, Ordinary Time
