Posted on 11/03/2013 3:56:38 PM PST by markomalley
"There is no profession or social status, there is no sin or crime of any kind that could erase even one of his children from God's heart and memory. 'God remembers ', he does not forget those He created". This is how Pope Francis interpreted Sunday's Gospel, which tells of the conversion of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10 ).
In front of at least 40 thousand faithful gathered in St Peter's Square - with banners and stadium horns - before the Angelus, the Pope explained the stoy: " This man [ Zacchaeus ] is a lost sheep, despised and ' excommunicated' , because he a tax collector, indeed, the chief tax collector of the city, a friend of the hated Roman occupiers, a thief and exploiter. A right character! Prevented from approaching Jesus, probably because of his bad reputation, and being small in stature, Zacchaeus climbs a tree in order to see the Master passing. This outward gesture, although somewhat ridiculous, expresses the interior act of a man who tries to overcome the crowd to contact Jesus. Not even Zacchaeus himself understands the profound meaning of his gesture, he does not even dare to hope that he can overcome the distance that separates him from the Lord; he is resigned to seeing him only in passing. But Jesus, when he nears the tree, calls him by name : " Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house "( Lk 19:5) . A man of small stature, rejected by all, and distant from Jesus, he is almost lost in anonymity, but Jesus called him, and that name has a meaning full of allusions: ' Zacchaeus ' in fact means ' God remembers ' .
And Jesus went into the house of Zacchaeus, drawing criticism of all the people of Jericho, because people gossiped a lot at that time: - But how? With all the good people who we are in town, he is going to stay with this tax collector? Yes, because he was lost, and Jesus says, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham" ( Lk 19:9) . From that day joy, peace, salvation entered the house of Zacchaeus. When Jesus came".
And before concluding he added: " ' God remembers ', He does not forget any of those He created and He is the Father, always loving and watchful waiting to see revived in his children's heart the desire to return home. And when He recognizes that desire, even if it is only a whisper and almost unconscious, He draws immediately near, and with his forgiveness illuminates the path of conversion and return".
And speaking extemporaneously he added: " We look at Zacchaeus in the tree today: it's ridiculous, but it is an act of salvation. And I say to you : if you have something weighing your conscience down, if you have done many things, stop for a bit ' and think that there is Someone waiting for you ... cling onto the desire to be forgiven ... I tell you that Jesus never gets tired of forgiving . "
" Brothers and sisters - he continued - let us also call us Jesus by name! Deep in your heart , listen to his voice that tells us:" Today I must stay at your house" that is your life . And welcome Him with joy : He may change us, he can transform our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, He can liberate us from selfishness and make our lives a gift of love. Jesus can do it; let us look to Jesus. "
After the Marian prayer, Francis addressed a greeting to "all the Romans and pilgrims present, especially families, parishes and groups from many countries of the world." The pope also greeted a group of pilgrims from Lebanon .
Jesus offers us all salvation, as He forgave Zacchaeus. We need only accept the offer.
At his Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about the day’s Gospel account of the conversion of Zacchaeus.
The Holy Father recalled that Zacchaeus, a man “short in stature,” because he was a publican “was a lost sheep, despised, an ‘excommunicate’ . . . a friend of the hated Roman occupiers, a thief and an exploiter.”
Nonetheless, although he was far away from Jesus, he climbed a tree in order to be able to see the Master as He passed by. Although it seemed ridiculous, the Pope said, “this exterior act expressed the interior act of a man who sought to bring himself beyond the crowd to come into contact with Jesus.” Zacchaeus himself probably did not recognize the significance of his action, but Jesus, when He passed by, called him by name. “This man of short stature, rejected by all and far from Jesus, was like one lost in anonymity; but Jesus calls him, and his name has a significance full of allusions: Zacchaeus, in fact, means ‘God remembers.'”
Jesus, calling Zacchaeus and going to his house, is criticised by the people of Jericho. Why, the Pope asked, with so many good people in Jericho, did Jesus go to the house of that publican? It was precisely because Zacchaeus was ‘lost.’
“There is no occupation or social condition,” Pope Francis said, “no sin or crime of any kind, that could erase from the memory and the heart of God even one of His children.” God is a Father, always keeping a watchful and loving vigil “to see reborn in the hearts of the child the desire to return home. And when He recognizes that desire, even simply stated, He is immediately close by, and with His forgiveness He makes the path of conversion and return easier.”
“Let's look at Zacchaeus, today, on the tree,” the Pope continued. “His is a ridiculous gesture, but it is an act of salvation. And I say to you: if you have a weight on your conscience, if you are ashamed of so many things that you’ve done, stop for a moment, do not panic. Think about the fact that that Someone is waiting for you because He has never stopped remembering you — and this Somone is your Father, it is God Who waits for you! Climb up, as did Zacchaeus, climb onto the tree of the desire of being forgiven. I will assure you that you will not be disappointed. Jesus is merciful and never grows tired of forgiving! Remember well, that’s the way Jesus is.”
“Brothers and sisters, let us also call upon the name Jesus!” Pope Francis said, concluding his Angelus address. “In the depths of the heart, let us listen to His voice that says to us: ‘Today I must stay at your house,’ that is in your life. And let us welcome Him with joy: He can change us, can transform our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, He can liberate us from selfishness and make our lives a gift of love.”
Exactly, we need to return to Him, and repent of our sins. Doesn't matter the bad we've done, if we ask Him for forgiveness, He'll gladly accept that plea.
**Pope: With Zacchaeus, God remembers: there is no sin or crime that can erase us from God’s heart**
If we confess it, do the penance and promise to amend our ways.
With all due respect to the Pope, and maybe I’m getting too technical or not correctly understanding what the Pope said, but Matthew 12:31-32 shows that Jesus taught that the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgiveable.
No doubt.
The Church teaches that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the obstinate refusal unto death to accept God's mercy and to believe that He will not forgive one's sins (for example, one might believe that his/her sins are too awful for God to forgive and so won't even bother asking for that forgiveness). Corollary, but distinctly different, is the obstinate presumption...again, unto death...that one doesn't need to bother repenting of one's sins.
The first one could class as the sin of despair...the second, the sin of presumption.
Did the pope forget about blaspheming the Holy Spirit?
The current Pope is very wise.
“Against the background of what has been said so far, certain other words of Jesus, shocking and disturbing ones, become easier to understand. . . . They are reported for us by the Synoptics in connection with a particular sin which is called ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.’ . . . Why is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unforgivable? How should this blasphemy be understood? Saint Thomas Aquinas replies that it is a question of a sin that is ‘unforgivable by its very nature, insofar as it excludes the elements through which the forgiveness of sin takes place’ (ST 2b:14:3). According to such an exegesis, ‘blasphemy’ does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross. If man rejects the ‘convincing concerning sin’ which comes from the Holy Spirit and which has the power to save, he also rejects the ‘coming’ of the Counsellor . . . If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this ‘non-forgiveness’ is linked, as to its cause, to ‘non-repentance’, in other words to the radical refusal to be converted. . . . Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then, is the sin committed by the person who claims to have a ‘right’ to persist in evil—in any sin at all . . . [T]he Church constantly implores with the greatest fervor that there will be no increase in the world of the sin that the Gospel calls ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.’ Rather, she prays that it will decrease in human souls” (John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Dominum et Vivificantem [”The Lord and Giver of Life”] 46-47).
http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/UNFORGIV.HTM
CCC 1864 “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.
Probably more than one instance of blasphemy but here is where it is explained on one occasion
Mathew ch 12
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Though i have no scripture on the subject i also believe that some one pretending to be under the power of the holy spirit would also be guilty of blasphemy.
One of my favorite Gospel passages.
AMEN.
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