Pray To God Today

Today, on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, we celebrate the great solemnity of Jesus Christ, the King of the universe. As the year draws to a close and we begin advent next weekend, we are reminded again that it is truly Christ who is in charge. Everything in this universe is under the power of our just and loving God and there is nothing stronger or more powerful than our king, not even death. On first glance it is rather peculiar as to why the church has for today's feast the Gospel of the crucified Christ speaking those lovely words, “ Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” But it is precisely on that cross that Christ establishes his kingship and performs the ultimate act of sacrifice for our salvation. On that cross he humbly gave of himself for each and everyone of us, while also forgiving those who have put him to death. His is a kingdom of forgiveness and of self-sacrifice. His is a kingdom of love, of unification and a place of eternal dwelling

As we get closer and closer to the end of the Liturgical year, the Gospels begin to focus on the end of times, the Second Coming of Jesus. Today, Jesus highlights some pretty tragic and unfortunate events that are to come, some of which are not unlike the natural disasters and wars that many have tangible experience of today. But among all the fights, disasters and plagues, Jesus highlights one important thing, “This will give you an opportunity to testify.. [of] the words and wisdom which I give you.” As Catholics this is the core of who we are; to proclaim Christ to the nations. Today is World Day of the Poor. In the letter he wrote highlighting the theme of this year’s day, Pope Francis wrote, “If the disciples of the Lord Jesus wish to be genuine evangelizers , they must sow tangible seeds of hope.” The central message of Jesus is one of hope, and this is a hope that we all know and believe in as disciples. Our mission then is to offer this hope, to others and not keep it to ours

I was talking to a non-churched friend the other day and as we talked religion, the reality of heaven came up. At one point, he looked at me and said, “But heaven is simply just earth, with a little sprinkles on top! What good is that?!” Ever since that conversation I haven’t stopped thinking about how this couldn’t be further from the truth.      As Catholics, November is a month where we remember all the faithful departed. We began the month with All Souls Day, but that same solemnity and prayerfulness should be carried out throughout the entire month. As we go about our lives this month, we are called to pray for those who have died, remember them, and pray that God may open the gates of paradise for them. This time of year is also a great reminder for all of us of the most important belief of our faith– the resurrection of the dead and life with God in heaven. As Catholics we know that we will be with our God, in a perfect harmony when our earthly existence is done. The prayers

To fully understand today’s Gospel, one should go and reread Luke 18: 18-23. The story of Zacchaeus which we hear today is to contrast that rich man who had kept all the precepts of the faith, but would not give up his possessions to follow the way Jesus was establishing.  Today we hear of Zacchaeus, a tax-collector, who had a particular interest in Jesus, just like that rich man in Luke 18.  However the difference between the two men lies in the fact that Zacchaeus was willing to give everything for Christ.  In the eyes of the world, Zacchaeus was a sinner, a thief who charged more money than needed so he could gain from it.  He was a man who was seen as a ‘traitor’ since he worked for the Romans, who were the Jewish captors.  But we see that in order to follow Christ, Zacchaeus does just the opposite. He is willing to be selfless, to be detached from money and material possessions so that he can be attached to the author of our salvation. He was not your stereotypical tax-collec