Memorial \u2013 The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary<\/em><\/p>\n (2 Mac 6:18-31; Ps 3; Lk 19:1-10<\/p>\n **************************************************<\/p>\n \u201cCarpe Diem.\u201d \u201cSeize the day.\u201d<\/p>\n This saying, made famous by the movie Dead Poets\u2019 Society<\/em>, fits the readings today, inviting us to deeper faith, more genuine repentance, and boldly living out our faith regardless of the cost.<\/p>\n In the gospel, Zacchaeus is both a chief tax collector, and also very rich. That means he was in collusion with the Roman Imperial system and almost certainly became wealthy by skimming more than his share of profit off the top of the taxation system, thus gouging his fellow Jews.\u00a0 As such, he was like so many of his ancestors before him, falling for the four false \u201cgoods\u201d or \u201cgods\u201d of all societies since time began \u2013 money, fame, power and pleasure. Naturally, he would be hated by his fellow Jews, and considered a great public sinner, something he put up with out of his love for money.<\/p>\n However, Zacchaeus was somehow different, unique. Something was stirring within his heart \u2013 he was longing for more. Theologically, we speak of the three universal attributes of God: truth, goodness and beauty. Wherever these are found, God is somehow there. So, at the core of his being, Zacchaeus, perhaps without even being aware of it, was longing, yearning for that which would satisfy him in a way those false gods did not. He was longing for a deeper connection with truth, goodness and beauty.<\/p>\n Acting out of perhaps some curiosity, but also, I believe, out of what must have been a divinely inspired impulse and fledgling faith in Jesus as one who just might assuage that longing of his heart, he humbly and earnestly threw propriety and decorum aside, ran ahead (totally out of character) and even climbed one of the huge sycamore trees still dotting Jericho to this day, just to catch a glimpse of Jesus.<\/p>\n What happened next not only shocked him and the crowds, it also reveals how God\u2019s immense love for God\u2019s people is always ready to respond to the slightest inclination of faith and a turning towards God \u2013 Jesus takes the initiative, looks up, calls Zacchaeus by name, asks him to come down and invites himself to his house. Imagine the consternation and understandable irritation of the crowd \u2013 that Jesus would be \u201ca guest of one who is a sinner.\u201d That would be like a priest or bishop stopping to talk to a pimp or prostitute on a street corner, and inviting himself to his or her place for supper! But such is God\u2019s extravagant love for us that God would do this.<\/p>\n Zacchaeus\u2019 response was one of marvelous repentance in the full sense of \u201cmetanoia\u201d \u2013 or changing one\u2019s mind and whole way of acting and being. He has just met Jesus, who has invited himself into his life. He has just connected with the truth, goodness and beauty of God himself in the flesh, incarnated in Jesus. No wonder he could give away half of his possessions \u2013 what was money compared to the whole truth, goodness and beauty of God?<\/p>\n Not only that, he promised to make restitution for any of his dishonest dealings. Legally, he was required to give back what he might have acquired dishonestly, and add one fifth of that amount as punishment. So complete is his conversion, his repentance, his experience of the truth, goodness and beauty of God in Jesus he declares he will give back \u201cfour times as much!\u201d<\/p>\n We can, we should, we must ask ourselves, in the light of this biblical incident, how strong is our faith in Jesus, how deep has been our repentance, how genuine is our ongoing conversion as disciples of Jesus? Is our experience of Jesus as the truth, goodness and beauty of God so profound and pervasive that we can let go of any over-attachment to those false gods or worldly goods of money, fame, power and pleasure?<\/p>\n In the word of Bishop Robert Barron, \u201ctoday\u2019s Gospel declares in the story of Zacchaeus how quickly God responds to any sign of faith. Zacchaeus\u2019 climbing the sycamore tree shows he had more than a passing interest in seeing Jesus. He had a deep hunger of the spirit. His principal virtue was his willingness to go to great extremes. But this is what we do when we know that something of great moment is at stake. When our health is endangered, we move, we act; when our job is threatened, we go to almost\u00a0any extreme to keep it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Jesus spotted him he said, \u2018Zacchaeus, hurry down. I mean to stay at your house today.\u2019 God responds to us readily when we show the least interest in him. He doesn\u2019t play hard to get; he is not coy with us. When we seek him, he responds, because loving us is his entire game.\u00a0Notice how Jesus tells Zacchaeus to hurry. Don\u2019t wait, don\u2019t hesitate. Seize the moment of conversion when it comes.\u201d<\/p>\n The Eucharist is all about transformation \u2013 humble gifts of bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. Just as important, we are transformed into the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n So, may our celebration today help our faith and hope be like that of Mary, inviting us to deeper faith, more genuine repentance, and boldly living out our faith regardless of the cost.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HOMILY WEEK 33 02 \u2013 Year I \u201cCarpe Diem\u201d – Seizing the day, like Zacchaeus: Memorial \u2013 The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (2 Mac 6:18-31; Ps 3; Lk 19:1-10 ************************************************** \u201cCarpe Diem.\u201d \u201cSeize the day.\u201d This saying, made famous by the movie Dead Poets\u2019 Society, fits the readings today, inviting us to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homilies","category-ordinary-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7847"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7849,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7847\/revisions\/7849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/archbishopsylvainlavoie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Presentation-of-Mary.jpeg\")
Today we celebrate the memorial of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple, which originated as a commemoration of the dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary the New in Jerusalem in 543. An apocryphal account recounts that Mary\u2019s parents, Joachim and Anna, brought Mary as a three-year old child to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer her to God, as was the custom. Inspired by a priest\u2019s vision, they left her there to praise and serve God. The much later presentation of Jesus in the Temple serves as a background: while the offering of the poor, two turtle doves, were offered, really no offering was needed as Jesus was himself the Temple. This memorial spread to the Western Church in 1585, and honours Mary as a temple where God lives, so for her as well, no offering was necessary.<\/p>\n