Dedication of the Churches of Sts. Peter
and Paul, Apostles
JESUS ENCOUNTER
“Come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” – Luke 19:5
Our two popes, Benedict XVI and Francis, have one virtue in common: humility. The first was humble enough to resign from the papacy because he could no longer function well due to old age. The other asked the crowd in Rome to bless him first before he gave his first
papal blessing.
Humility is the willingness to bow down in any circumstance. Zacchaeus, a high official of his day, was quick to respond to Jesus’
call to come down from the sycamore tree and receive the Master at his
house. Right then and there, Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, felt His love
and received salvation. His transformation was instant.
We don’t need to climb to the top to be able to see God. Like in our
story today, God will make the effort to meet us halfway. “The Son of
Man has come to seek and save the lost.” I know this to be true when I
was forced to give up my ambition to be a famous scriptwriter after I
had a stroke in 2003. I humbly detached myself from mundane concerns and
focused on seeking the Lord in a more intimate way, through prayer and
service. Banjoy N. Santillan (pasantillan58@yahoo.com)
Reflection: “The promise (of seeing God) surpasses all beatitude… In
Scripture, to see is to possess. Whoever sees God has obtained all the
goods of which he can conceive.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
Lord, let me bow down in humility that You may live gloriously in my life forever.
St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, pray for us.
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