From Archbishop Donoghue

Mass at the Donnellan School, and Blessing of the Chapel
May 15, 1998
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[See Georgia Bulletin account]

Dear Friends of the Donnellan School, and my dear students,

One of the best things about being Christian, and about being Catholic, is that we don't have to be super-qualified in order to understand things about what we believe. From the time you are little until the day you die, we are all able to learn something about what we believe - from the time we are children and right up through the years of being old, there is never a moment when we are not learning something about the difference between right and wrong, the difference between loving people and ignoring them. Sometimes we learn these things listening to the stories in the Gospel - sometimes we learn them from people who are older, or who have figured out life a little more than we have.

But there are many people who ignore these things completely. Sometimes we will hear people say things like, "Well, I don't go to Church because there are just too many rules and regulations, there are too many people telling me what I can and can't do, and there is just too much talk about all kind of unpleasant things that just worry me and make me very unhappy."

I know I have heard people say these things, and I bet you have too.

But I don't think that these people really know what they are missing - I think that they are really just running away from the most important thing of all - they are running away from life.

Because life is not simple, and everything does not always go just the way you want it to. Many times, and everybody knows this, whether you are six years old or sixteen or sixty - many times, we have to decide whether to do one thing or the other - many times we have to decide whether something is going to be bad for us or good for us. And many times, things will happen that will make us sad, or angry, or just plain confused. That's just the way life is - no matter how smart you are, no matter how rich you might grow up to be, no matter how you plan ahead, something is going to happen that you will not like, and when it happens, then you will have to figure out, and maybe on your own, what to do.

This is like what happened to the man we heard about in today's Gospel, Zacchaeus. He didn't have any complaints - he was fairly well-off - of course, he was well-off because he collected taxes from all the people for the government, and in those days, the taxcollectors kept some of the money for themselves. But just the same, I am sure he felt, that "everybody does it, why shouldn't I?"

But then one day, Jesus came to town. Zacchaeus had probably heard about Jesus - most people had by then, what with the miracles He was working, and all the sick people that He was healing - so Zacchaeus went out to hear Jesus, and he was so short, and the crowds were so big, that he had to climb up in a tree to get a good view. And so he did. But then something happened that he never expected, and when it was all over, Zacchaeus was a changed man, and he was never the same afterwards.

Because Jesus saw Zacchaeus up in that tree, and Jesus knew that here was a special person, with special talents, and that deep down here was a good man, who really didn't want to cheat anyone, or take anything that belonged to someone else.

And so Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Come down out of that tree, and take me to your house, because I have decided to stay with you, and I want to become your friend."

And that is what happened - Zacchaeus came down out of the tree, and he took Jesus to his house, and they ate together, and talked some, and they became good friends. And afterwards, Zacchaeus gave back all the money that he had taken from the people, and he lived an honest life from that time on, and he never forgot, as long as he lived, that day that Jesus came to town, and changed his life forever.

Boys and girls, Jesus wants to make that same visit to every one of us - He wants to call us down from where we might be trying to hide, hiding just like those people who say that they don't want to be bothered with rules or commandments or with understanding the difference between right and wrong or going to Church, or for that matter, doing anything for anybody. He wants to say to us, like He said to Zacchaeus, "Hello - I am here to visit you - take me home, and let's become good friends."

Now Jesus knew, when He was on earth, that the only way He could keep making visits to us, and making visits to us personally, was to give us a part of Himself, a part that would always be here with us. And this is what we believe that the Holy Eucharist is. We believe, that when the priest says the words, "This is my body," over the host, then it really becomes, not just a piece of Him, but it becomes the whole person who Jesus Christ really is. And we love Him so much, and we want to talk things over with Him so much, that we put a house for Him in our churches, called a tabernacle, and we let Him stay there, so that He is nearby, and we can visit with Him whenever we want to, or more important, whenever we need to.

That is why I am here today, to say this Mass for you, and then to dedicate the chapel where Jesus Christ, our Lord, will be staying, from now on, and where you will be able to visit with Him anytime you need to. And if you make Him this visit, and if you sit quietly, and maybe think about some of the things that He told us to do, things like "Love one another, and love the poor - do good things for one another, be kind to people who are suffering, and remember to visit those who are lonely" - if you sit and think about these things He told us to do, you will see - He will be there in the chapel with you, and you will know that He is talking to you and helping you figure out your problems - and when you are done, you will be able to go out the door, and just like Zacchaeus, the little man in the Gospel, you will be able to make wrong things right, and make people happy again, because you have visited with the Lord, and He has come into your heart to stay there no matter what, and to be your special friend, forever.

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