LOVE REVEALS ITSELF
HE was not a righteous man. He was a liar, a thief, and everyone knew it. Yet, in Zacchaeus, there was a hunger for the truth which sets us free, even if he did not know it. And so, when he heard that Jesus was passing by, he climbed a tree to catch a glimpse.
Of all the hundreds, perhaps thousands that were following Christ that day, Jesus stopped at that tree.
Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house. (Luke 19:5)
Jesus did not stop there because He found a worthy soul, or because he found a soul full of faith, or even a repentant heart. He stopped because His Heart was filled with compassion for a man who was out on a limb—spiritually speaking.
Jesus sends a beautiful message to Zacchaeus:
You are loved!
That is the message that is rolling through my heart like gigantic waves this past month.
You are loved!
It is a message to every soul on earth, not just Canada. Christ stops beneath the tree of our hearts today and asks if He can dine with us. This is profound because Zacchaeus did nothing to deserve this grace. Jesus looked upon this thief with such great love because He truly loved him!
Jesus truly loves each and every one of us. The Father loves us. The Spirit loves us! There is no condition given for coming to Zacchaeus’ house. None. There is no condition for God’s love.
But Jesus is passing by, and so He says, "Come down quickly."
COME DOWN QUICKLY
Jesus is passing by this generation and once again He says, "Come down quickly!" Has this not been the very foundation of all these writings? One of my very first messages was "Prepare!" Yes, an urgent word to prepare your heart because Christ is passing by. And we have nothing to fear, for He looks at us with love and says, "Today, I must stay at your house!"
Let the sinner reading this dance with joy! Let those in mortal sin cry out "Thank You!" to God, for He does not choose the house of the holy, but the home of the helpless—those enslaved by their sins.
SALVATION IS COMING
There is no condition for God’s love. But there is a condition for Salvation. If Zacchaeus remains in the tree, then the Divine Guest passes him by. And so he climbs down the tree and "receives Jesus in joy" because now he knows he is loved.
However, Zacchaeus, is not yet saved simply because he has met Love face to face. The meeting begins his transformation, because he realizes that his sin was not a stumbling block for God. He recognizes finally that his sin is a stumbling block for himself.
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…. (Luke 19:8-9)
There is no condition for God’s love for anyone. But the condition for Salvation for everyone is repentance.
What this world needs, then, is a meeting with Love face to face. And I feel deep in my heart it is coming. Perhaps in that moment of meeting, our hardened hearts will melt, and we too will welcome the Divine Guest into our homes…
OUR LADY’S TRIUMPH
The Triumph of Our Lady in these times, I believe, will be to bring about an opportunity of great conversion for the world; to snatch from Satan what seems to him a certain victory. Just when our nations will seem most lost, we will experience the incredible love of God (see Exorcism of the Dragon). It will be a last opportunity for nations to accept Divine mercy before they must pass through the doors of justice.
I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy… let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. —Jesus, to St. Faustina, Diary, n. 687, 848
My last writing, O Canada… Where Are You? is a painful picture of a country that has wandered away from the Father’s House, much the way the prodigal son had gotten lost. As many of you have written, Canada is not alone.
But where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.
I want to speak about this meeting face to face with the Divine in my next writings.
Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:19-20)
