From the Gospel accoording to Luke 19:1-10

At that time 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,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they 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.”

Zachary is indeed a sinner, yet he seeks Jesus with burning desire. Nothing stops him; he overcomes every obstacle he finds— the crowd, his small stature, his shame, his sin… When the soul truly longs for Christ, it breaks through any barrier in order to reach Him. And then something happens that he did not expect: Jesus looks at him—though He had been watching him already. He calls him by name and enters into his story, his shadows, his sins, in order to reach even deeper.
What matters to Jesus about Zacchaeus is precisely what others failed to see when they judged him: the longing for God in his heart. Jesus is never indifferent to a heart that recognises its weakness and seeks Him despite all difficulty.
And what is Jesus’s response? “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”  That is how Jesus is: when you seek Him with a sincere heart and a proven desire, He comes, He goes ahead of you.
Zacchaeus obeys Jesus. He climbs down at once and welcomes Him joyfully, Scripture says. It is a joy that only those who let God inside them, without obstacles, can truly experience. In that encounter, the Lord’s love pierces him within: it awakens his conscience, melts his pride, and kindles the most perfect repentance because it repairs what is broken. The change in his life has already begun, because Zacchaeus chooses to do His will. We want our marriage to change… but do we still fail to seek Jesus with real hunger? Ask the Lord for that hunger!
Do we expect a new life while allowing ourselves to be held back by a thousand excuses—lack of time, work, noise, criticism, selfishness, whims, comfort?
We say we love God, but when He asks something concrete of us… do we hesitate, negotiate, or postpone? If we want the Lord to transform our marriage, let us follow Zacchaeus’ way: seek Him wholeheartedly, let Him look at you, respond without delay, open your heart without reserve. Then Christ will be able to say of you as well:
“Today salvation has come to this house.”

Marianne knew that morning she had spoken harshly to Leonard. Her heart quickly burned to restore their communion, so she called him mid-morning. She barely managed to whisper a timid “hello” before Leonard answered with a tenderness that completely disarmed her: “Hello, my love… shall we go out for lunch today?” Marianne smiled with joy on the other end of the line and immediately replied, “Yes, of course!” And what more? Nothing more.That is how the love of communion is built—so simply—when two hearts are willing to overcome the obstacles of pride, arrogance and judgement, because they have discovered the treasure of living in God’s love.

Mother,

How delicate is the Heart of Jesus, how deeply His gaze penetrates the soul. Make us like Him; teach us how to love. Praised be the Lord!