Seeking Hope Up a Tree

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."     Luke 19:1-10
Luke 19:1-10 is the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. It takes place while Jesus was passing through the city of Jericho. Zachaeus, a tax collector, was trying to see Jesus but could not due to his small size. Therefore, he went ahead and climbed a tree so he could see Jesus as he passed. When Jesus passed, he called Zacchaeus down from the tree and says that he will stay at his house for the night. This shocked the people of Jericho who wondered why Jesus was staying at the house of a sinner. Zacchaeus then offered to give back all that he had taken from the people. Jesus then said that salvation has come upon his house and that the Son of Man (Jesus) had come the seek out and save the lost.
This passage shows how God sent Jesus to forgive the sins of the people. It also shows God’s mercy towards those who admit their faults and repent by undoing their wrong deed.
The Catholic Catechism teaches us this about sin and mercy:
The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to sinners. The angel announced to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." The same is true of the Eucharist, the sacrament of redemption: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (CCC 1846)
"God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us." To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (CCC 1847) Our sins are only forgiven through Christ and only if we are truly sorry and seek penance.
Core Values: hope
In Luke 19:1-10, the core value Hope is expressed throughout the entire passage. Do you think Zacchaeus had hope when he climbed up the tree? Did he have hope that Jesus could change him? Zacchaeus knew he needed to change and he was willing to ask for Jesus’ help. If Zacchaeus did not hope that God would forgive him, he may have never asked for help to follow the teachings of Jesus and become a new and better person.
Prayer: 
O God, mercy and forgiveness are Yours by nature and by right.
Receive our humble petitions.
Though we are bound tightly by the chain of our sins, set us free by the power of Your great mercy.
Amen.

I Can't Hear You!

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth, break forth into joyous song and sing praise. Psalm 98:4

In Psalm 98 the nations, all the ends of the earth, the world, the sea are coming together to sing God’s praises.  God is the one who sets the people free.  Do you remember what it was like to be in junior high and not sing during the Mass? Do you remember being told to sing loud and proud, while your friends never even move their lips?  Does the Psalm really mean sing a song? Should we hear continual music at Hoban.

  The actual Hebrew word is SHOUT!  Shout as if it is a battle cry!  All should hear the praise that we give to God.  Does this mean our voices should be as loud as a certain lovable religion teacher at Hoban High, or the priest up on the altar?

 Psalm 98 tells us that God will set his people free, and he will not only rule over all of Judah, but over the entire world.  Psalm 98 is a praise psalm which encourages the community of faith to give thanks and praise to God in a variety of ways.  So how do we show our thanks and praise in our lives at Hoban?

In the Catholic Catechism, we are reminded:

 Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God, testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from who are all things and for whom we exist."  (CCC 2639)                                 

- Hoban Core Value: Reliance on Divine Providence.

We know and believe that God is present and active in our world.  In Psalm 98, it is said that God is the one who sets us free.  We believe that God is always with us, setting us free.  In our daily life, do we show that we are reliant on the Lord?  Do we give thanks to other people in order to show our gratitude to God?  Do we thank the support staff at Hoban, the women who serve us food, and the custodial staff?  Do we thank our parents?  Do we thank our friends?  Do we pray for those who work for our success?

-Prayer:

Lord, may I sing a new song to You this day, not so much with my voice as with my life. 

May I live today in praise to You. 

May my actions reflect Your grace and mercy.

 May I find joy in You

                       Amen!

The Broken Hearted

The Lord is close to the broken hearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. Psalm 34:18

Psalm 34 is an alphabet psalm.  Each of its 22 lines starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  This memory device makes it easier to remember and recite this psalm  by the believers who pray it.  It was written by King David, when he feigned madness before the Philistine king, Abimelech.  David had fled to him to be safe from King Saul who is trying to kill.  When he got to Abimelech he realized that he was still not safe and he acted like he was mad so that he would not be killed. Abimelech allowed David to take refuge in a cave along with 400 others who are described as “all those who were in difficulties or in debt, or who were embittered, and he became their leader.” (1 Samuel 22:2) Truly David was among the broken hearted and those crushed in spirit.

Jesus truly became man.  This is his incarnation.  He is truly among us and stays with us.  Just as David was among the broken hearted Christ is with us.  When we suffer Christ is with us to be our hope and to save us.

In the Catholic Catechism, we are taught:
Christ's compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that "God has visited his people" and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins; he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of. His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: "I was sick and you visited me." His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them. (CCC 1503)
When we suffer, Christ identifies himself with us. Christ is tireless in his efforts to comfort us.

One of the core values of Hoban High is an option for the poor. The call to do Christian service allows each student to witness and participate in the building of Christ's kingdom.  It empowers the student to be faithful to our Holy Cross tradition that calls us to "have the competence to see and the courage to act."  Thus our service must directly serve the poor and the vulnerable. We directly serve the vulnerable as witnesses that Christ is truly with us.  We become Christ’s hands to those who suffer.

What is your attitude towards your service project?  Are you doing the hours only or truly being with the crushed and broken hearted?  Do you try to learn ways not only to serve in charity but also ways to empower real changes that will help those in need? Have you volunteered for Project Hope? How do you help your fellow students that suffer?  Do you listen to them?  Encourage them to seek out the help of counselors and caring adults at Hoban?  Do you pray for them?

Prayer:

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

St. Teresa of Avila

Slow of Speech

Ex. 4:10-13

10 But Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ ¹¹Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹²Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.’ ¹³But he said, ‘O my Lord, please send someone else.’

When the Lord called Moses to speak to pharaoh, Moses seems unwilling.  His excuse is that he is slow of speech.  Yet in Acts 7:22, Stephen tells us that “Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.” This verse speaks of Moses as being a highly educated man, one who could work and speak well. Moses, who is now 40, spent his time in Midian learning a new language and before he left Egypt he was able to speak to the Hebrews.  So why did he believed that he would be unable to communicate, especially with the Pharaoh, who he was raised with like a brother.

Now think of Moses in his situation. The people, whom he is called to lead, were not ready to accept him. Also, he had to face an uncooperative pharaoh. A lot changes in 40 years, one of which is the language, notice the difference in the words I use and the words you use.  But was it his ability to speak or his fear that God has asked too much of him?

Previously Moses had challenged the Lord and seemed to be avoiding returning to Egypt. Moses first tried to avoid Egypt by asking God, "who am I that I should go before Pharaoh and bring the Israelites, out of Egypt?" (Ex. 3:11)  The Lord replies that he will be with him. Then Moses asked, "What if I go to Israelites and they ask me what God’s name is?" (Ex. 3:13) Does Moses not know the Lord?  Interestingly enough, the Lord tells him his name.  Moses needed to learn that with God’s grace nothing is impossible.  The strength of Exodus is not in the epic hero but in the Lord.  Look at what Moses did through God’s grace!

With Pharaoh, he not Aaron does the talking.  He speaks with great courage and authority. He is the leader when the Israelites are victorious in battle. He leads them through the Red Sea and prays during the battle with Amalek.  He leads a people who were slaves to freedom.  He did this for 40 years in a desert with little food and water. When the Israelites abandoned worship of God and built the golden calf, Moses calls them back. At the end of his life, he proclaims the speeches that make up Deuteronomy.

The standard of language for those who believe that Jesus is Lord is measured in the Eighth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Ex. 20:16) In the Catholic Catechism, we are instructed about the eighth commandment:

The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant. (CCC 2464)

One of the core values of Hoban is integrity.  What is the integrity of your language?  Is your language always a witness to the grace God gives you? Is your word honorable?  Coming from God and speaking what the Lord is calling you to say?  Can a parent, teacher, or young child hear you and be proud of what you are saying?  How does your speech protect the reputation of others?  Does your language defend the poor and vulnerable?  If you were like Moses and spoke directly to the Lord, what would he hear?

A prayer:

Lord - Guide me by your wisdom,
Correct me with your justice,
Comfort me with your mercy,
Protect me with your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
My words: to have you for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for you;
My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:
In the way you ask,
For as long as you ask,
Because you ask it. (Pope Clement IX)