Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 10: 46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Have you ever imagined what it’s like to be blind?

As a kid, I’d probably imagine being blind felt like having your eyes closed. It’s just pitch black; dark all the time.

In reality, there are degrees of blindness. A person who’s legally blind may see light, colors, or have blurred vision. Life isn’t lived totally in the dark.

“Perfect vision,” on the other hand, means a person can see with absolute clarity, even recognizing the smallest detail.

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In today’s Gospel, we encounter a man who’s blind, Bartimaeus.

What makes him unique is not his blindness, but his faith. He “sees” something that many do not – Jesus is the “Son of David,” who has the power to heal him.

Hearing the voice of Jesus off in the distance, he casts aside his cloak – and all the coins resting on it, which he received from begging that day – and throws himself at the feet of Jesus. 

In doing so, Bartimaeus literally parted with everything he owned. It was a desperate display of faith.

“Master, I want to see,” he says. Bartimaeus wants to see more than the physical world; he wants to “see” Jesus, his Lord.

“Go, your faith has saved you.”

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Bartimaeus received two things that day, one we already have: his physical sight.

More importantly, he received something we all need: salvation. “Your faith has saved you,” Jesus says.

Like Bartimaeus, do we “see” Jesus? And if so, where?

Can we see him in prayer? Can we see him in the Eucharist? Can we see him in our neighbor?

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“Master, I want to see.”

May the Lord remove any blindness within us, giving what he once gave to Bartimaeus, perfect vision through eyes of faith.

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Image credits: (1) Adobe Stock (2) Vision Therapy Center (3) The Messianic Light

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Gospel: Luke 1:39 – 56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Our parish vision statement begins with the words, “All generations journeying together.”

So much of that inspiration comes from today’s Gospel, when Mary and Elizabeth embrace. These expectant mothers represent “all generations.” 

Elizabeth, a barren, elderly woman married for many years. Mary, an unwed teenager. And their unborn children, John and Jesus, representing their hopes for the future.

Though Mary and Elizabeth’s age and life experiences are different, they find in each other what they couldn’t have on their own: Community. Affirmation. Friendship. Belonging. Understanding.

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These are things I hope we find “journeying together.”

Although we’re different in age and experience, like Mary and Elizabeth, God has brought us together for his own purpose. He seeks to offer us what we could not have on our own: 

Community. Affirmation. Friendship. Belonging. Understanding.

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May we carry that affirming, communal spirit of Mary and Elizabeth forward so that we can show others what it feels like to be, All generations journeying together with Jesus to satisfy our hungry hearts. Come and see!

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Image credits: (1) Passionist Nuns (2) Catholic Mom (3) Pravmir.com

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Gospel: Mark 10: 28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus,
‘We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Master, we have given up everything and followed you.”

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On the surface, Peter’s right. 

Unlike the rich young man, who walks away from Jesus “sad, for he had many possessions,” Peter and the others have left their boats, their homes, even their families, in order to follow Jesus.

That’s a huge sacrifice.

But the Christian journey – yours and mine – comes at more than a physical cost; we also must part with things we carry in our heart.

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For example, Peter and the others are still journeying with their pride.

Just a few verses prior, Jesus catches them arguing over who is the greatest. They’re interested in titles and seats of honor, not in suffering or persecution.

Although they’ve left everything behind physically, they’re still a work in progress spiritually.

Discipleship in that sense is a total mind, body, soul commitment.

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What have I left behind in order to follow the Lord? Or what do I still need to part with? Perhaps fear, pride, my desire for control, my ego?

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“Master, we have left everything behind to follow you.”

Even if that’s the case, the challenge each day is to pick nothing “up” – to remain totally committed to Christ in mind, body, and spirit.

What might that look like for me today?

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) Reading Acts, WordPress (3) Pinterest