After salvation had come to his house, Zacchaeus immediately stated his intent to make reparation for the damage done by him through his sins. This is traditionally called "doing penance." Zacchaeus "said to the Lord: 'I give half my belongings, Lord, to the poor. If I have defrauded anyone in the least, I pay him back fourfold' " (Lk 19:8). Likewise, if we have truly repented from our sins, we will want to do penance and repair in some way the damage done by our sins.

Because sin is such a great evil, its damage is very extensive. Zacchaeus realized this. So he began to make partial reparation by giving half of his possessions to the poor. Because Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and tax collecting was a lucrative business, half of Zacchaeus' assets could probably be at least the equivalent of several hundred thousand dollars. This shows the extent of the need to make reparation and do penance.

The indulgences given by the Church also imply that the victims of sin are severely damaged. An indulgence is the Church's application of Christ's merits and the Church's share in those merits to the repair due to sin. Unless the repair job was extensive, why would we need help of such magnitude?

Purgatory is partly for reparation of the damaging effects of sin. This again implies that justice and love require reparation for our sins and that this repairing is extensive.

Zacchaeus is a patron of reparation and penance. Let us follow his example and return to being a people of penance.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, March 31, 2016

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