“But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook sins for the sake of repentance.” (Wisdom 11:23)

The major theme for this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time focuses on the benevolent and forgiving mercy of God for sinners and the response of repentance and conversion that God expects from us. God’s mercy is infinitely superabundance to all.

He is always ready to reach out to us to save us, to rescue or redeem us, to repair our broken relationship with Him and with one another, to bring us back to the original state of grace, joy, peace, goodness and love that we first enjoyed in the paradise, the garden of Eden. Such is the desire and plan of God with humanity, his creation, the economy of our salvation.

Our true wisdom then, is to recognize and appreciate God’s infinite compassion and mercy, to acknowledge and to repent for our sins, to have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to cooperate with God’s grace in the Holy Spirit, to re-establish a rightful relationship with Him, to obtain the eternal life.

Such a teaching is also mentioned in St. Teresa of Avila’s “Interior Castle.” She indicates that the first step of our prayer life and the practice of our Christian discipleship is to gain self-knowledge. In other words, she wants us to acknowledge the reality of our sinful state and the marvelous grandeur of God who resides at the center of the “castle” (i.e. the soul). There is no need for us to search for our true happiness in the vanity of the outside world, but to look for God and His mercy interiorly in our hearts.               

God does not want us holding a relationship of Transaction but Transformation. Therefore, Dynamic Christian disciples are those who (1) BELIEVE, (2) GROW, (3) SERVE, (4) LOVE and (5) LEAD others to Jesus.

Today’s topic invites us to acknowledge God’s mercy, to repent our sins, to exercise our Christian stewardship, to use our time, treasure and talents to love God above all and to love our neighbors as ourselves, participating in the works of mercy, to accomplish God’s will in our lives to glorify God.  

How can we appreciate God’s mercy, repent our sins, amend our lives like Zacchaeus did?

Wishing everyone a blessed week in the Lord.