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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Bartimaeus is the last person we meet in Mark’s Gospel before Jesus is arrested and led off to be crucified. 

Was this a coincidence? Or did Jesus know he’d meet this blind beggar all along? 

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Imagine Bartimaeus seated along the roadside begging. He’s wrapped in a cloak with his legs crossed. As people pass by, some may have thrown a coin or two into his lap.

At the sound of Jesus’ voice, however, Bartimaeus throws his cloak and the coins resting on it aside, lunging forward to meet his Lord. 

It’s an act of desperation – and an act of faith. Bartimaeus has literally parted with everything he owns.

But in so doing, he fulfills the greatest commandment in all of religion:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind, and with all your soul.” 

Bartimaeus put God first. His possessions and the life he lived came second.

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What becomes of him?

Scholars say that we know his name – “Bartimaeus” – because he joins the early Christian community. As the Gospel tells us today, after regaining his sight, Bartimaeus followed Jesus, “on the way.” 

Shortly thereafter, he either witnessed the death of Jesus or was told about it by another. But Bartimaeus hung around long enough to also bear witness to the resurrection.

Interestingly, the clothes and coins Bartimaeus parted with that day would’ve been replaced tenfold. We know the first Christians were incredibly generous, so they would’ve made sure he was clothed and fed not only that day, but every day after.

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Bartimaeus reminds us that when we put God first, everything else falls into place. 

As Jesus himself says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be given to you.”

So, how can we put God first in our lives today?

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Image credits: (1) Life-Giving Water (2) KSIM.org (3) America Magazine

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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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Did you ever hear the story of the two monks?

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One was an elderly man revered for his wisdom. The other was just a novice, having joined the monastery only a few months ago.

One day the older monk asked the novice to accompany him into town as he needed several items from the marketplace.

Returning home, they encountered a young woman struggling to cross a river, so they went over to help her.

Later that night back at the monastery, the older monk overheard the novice speaking to others about how rude that lady had been. 

“All we did for her,” he said, “and she didn’t even say thank you!”

Pulling the novice aside, the elderly monk admonished him. “I left her at the river. It seems you’re still carrying her in your heart.”

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In the Gospel, Peter tells Jesus that he’s left everything to follow him. On the surface, Peter’s right: he’s left his home, his family, and the life he once lived.

But like that angry young monk, Peter is carrying something extra in his heart… pride.

Just a few verses earlier, Jesus catches Peter arguing with the others about who is the greatest, a sign they still have much to learn.

A true disciple leaves his pride at the river.

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I’m sure we’ve all left something at the river in order to follow Jesus – our family, our career plans, a relationship, a sinful habit, or perhaps our pride.

Is there anything else the Lord is inviting us to let go of?

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“No one has given up anything for my sake,” the Lord, says, “who will not receive a hundred times more now and eternal life in the age to come.”

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Image credits: (1) The Empty Boat, Om Swami (2) FrBonniesReflections (3) Living Rivers Foundation

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Gospel -John 19: 25-34:

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
    and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
    and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,
    he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
    “Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
    in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
    Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
    and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
    “It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. 

Now since it was preparation day,
    in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
    for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
    the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
    and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
    and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
    they did not break his legs,
    but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
    and immediately Blood and water flowed out.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The death of Jesus ushers in the rarest moment in scripture. 

It is the only three days in history where God seems absent, nowhere to be found. 

Imagine Jesus locked away in a dark and dusty tomb, hidden behind a stone.

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In some sense, Mary is the closest anyone will get to Jesus; she alone was with him from the womb to the tomb.

She became like his second skin; she learned his habits; she knew his heart; and he knew hers.

If anyone can speak on Jesus’ behalf during his absence, it’s Mary, which is why he says to John in today’s Gospel, “Behold, your mother.”

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Perhaps some of us have felt like John the Apostle in that moment – lost; as if God has been taken from us.

It’s the most difficult experience in the spiritual life, feeling the absence of God.

But in those moments, we can turn to Mary, who assures us the Lord is nearby.

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For all who are in need peace, healing, or consolation, we ask for Mary’s intercession, saying:

Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, amen.

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Image credits: (1) The Crucifixion, The Community of Jesus (2) The Crucifixion, by Peter Paul Rubens (3) The Crucifixion with the Virgin, St. Mary Magdalene, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Vitus, by Garofalo