March 21, 2015
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
A reading from the Gospel of Saint Luke 19, 1 – 10:
Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house. And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
I thank all those who sent me money in the last few days. I still need $500 in order to pay my bill on Monday. If you can help me, please send it by Interac or by Paypal. I am praying for you every day. Today we began the season of Spring. Here it was sunny all day and it was minus 2 this afternoon and some of the snow melted. I pray that we do not get any more snow. We have enough.
Below you will find the message of Our Blessed Mother given to Father Melvin. She spoke to him these words,
“I bless you My son Melvin and all My sons and daughters who follow My Son Jesus every day and who remember Me in your prayers and you pray the rosary every day. We have today in the reading the beautiful story of Zacchaeus who lived in Jericho on the edge of the Israeli desert. My Son was passing through the town and Zacchaeus wanted to see him but he was short in stature, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree and so he would be able to see Him without trouble. When My Son arrived at the tree where Zacchaeus was, He stopped and told him to come down. Zacchaeus came down and My Son Jesus told him that He wanted to stay at his house that night. He was welcomed with great joy by Zacchaeus and he told Jesus, My Son, that he will give half of his possession to the poor and if he has extorted anyone he would pay him four times over. This man shows that he believes in My Son Jesus as the Messiah and he was blessed by My Son, who told him that today salvation has come to this house.
See how important faith is! If you have faith and you act on your faith, you will be saved. Come all My children and follow My Son Jesus with great faith. He will bless you and you will be saved. My Son came into the world to save you and that is why He suffered and died on the cross. Now He is risen from the dead and He is your King who calls you to walk with Him. Come repent of all your sins, help those in need, and pray regularly and go to church on Sunday. You will be in heaven with Him and with Me one day. I love you all.”
Father Melvin