October 28, 2012

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Jer 31:7-9

Thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my first-born.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Reading 2 Heb 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel Mk 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.

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

1 posted on 10/27/2012 8:31:08 PM PDT by Salvation

To: nickcarraway; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ArrogantBustard; Catholicguy; RobbyS; marshmallow; ...

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2 posted on 10/27/2012 8:33:38 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

From: Jeremiah 31:7-9

Restoration promised

[7] For thus says the Lord:
“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘The Lord has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel.’
[8] Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
the woman with child and her who is in travail, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
[9] With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will make them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my first-born.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

31:1-14. The oracles in this chapter hinge on the promise that Israel will relive its
experiences of earlier times, when it enjoyed the love and protection of God, its
father and shepherd, as it made its way through the wilderness to find tranquility
in the promised land.

The prophet again predicts the happy return of the exiles (vv. 2-3) and the resto-
ration of Israel and of the holy city, here given the glorious name of Zion (vv. 4-6).
The people will return home rejoicing at the goodness of God (vv. 7-9), who will
continue to shower blessings on them (vv. 10-14). The passage stresses the
kindness shown by God. He reveals himself as “a father to Israel” (v. 9) and
“shepherd” to his flock (v. 10), for he is faithful to the love he has for them (v. 3).

Referring to this and other passages in the prophetical books that speak of God’s
tender mercy, Bl. John Paul II points out that “it is significant that in their prea-
ching the prophets link mercy, which they often refer to because of the people’s
sins, with the incisive image of love on God’s part. The Lord loves Israel with the
love of a special choosing, much like the love of a spouse (cf. e.g. Hos 2:21-25;
Is 54 6-8), and for this reason he pardons its sins and even its infidelities and be-
trayals. When he finds repentance and true conversion, he brings his people back
to grace (cf. Jer 31:20; Ezek 39:25-29). In the preaching of the prophets, mercy
signifies a special power of love, which prevails over the sin and infidelity of the
chosen people. [...] Connected with the mystery of creation is the mystery of the
election, which in a special way shaped the history of the people whose spiritual
father is Abraham by virtue of his faith. Nevertheless, through this people which
journeys forward through the history both of the Old Covenant and of the New, that
mystery of election refers to every man and woman, to the whole great human fa-
mily. ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faith-
fulness to you’ (Jer 31:3)” (”Dives in Misericordia, 4).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

3 posted on 10/27/2012 8:35:11 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

From: Hebrews 5:1-6

Christ Has Been Made High Priest by God the Father

[1] For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of
men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. [2] He can deal gently
with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. [3] Be-
cause of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of
the people. [4] And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by
God, just as Aaron was.

[5] So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appoin-
ted by him who said to him, “Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee”; [6]
as he says also in another place, “Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of
Melchizedek.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-10. The central theme of the epistle, broached in 2:17 and taken up again in 4:
14-15, is discussed from here up to the start of chapter 10 — the theme of Christ
as high priest, the high priest who really can free us from all sin. In fact, Christ is
the only perfect Priest: other priests—in both natural religions and the Jewish re-
ligion — are only prefigurements of Christ. The first thing to be emphasized, be-
cause the writer is addressing people of Jewish background, is that Christ’s priest-
hood is on a higher plane than that of the priests of the Old Law. However, the
argument applies not only to the priesthood of Aaron, to whose family all Israelite
priests belonged, but also, indirectly, to all forms of priesthood before Christ. But
there is a basic difference, in that whereas other priests were chosen by men,
Aaron was chosen by God. Sacred Scripture introduces him as Moses’ brother
(cf. Ex 6:20), acting as his interpreter to Pharaoh (because Moses was “slow of
speech”: Ex 4: 10; cf. 7:1-2) and joining him to lead the people out of Egypt (cf.
Ex 4:27-30). After the Israelites left Egypt, God himself instituted the priesthood
of Aaron to minister and carry out divine worship at the tabernacle and later at
the temple in Jerusalem (cf. Ex 28:1-5).

Divine intervention, therefore, brought to a close the period when sacrifice was
offered by the head of the family or the chief of the tribe and when no specific
calling or external ordination rite was connected with priesthood. Thus, for exam-
ple, in the Book of Genesis we read that Cain, and Abel, themselves offered sac-
rifices (cf. Gen 4:35), as did Noah after coming safely through the flood (cf. Gen
8:20); and the patriarchs often offered sacrifices to God in adoration or thanksgi-
ving or to renew their Covenant—for example, Abraham (cf. Gen 12:8; 15:8-17;
22:1-13) and Jacob (cf. Gen 26:25; 33:20), etc.

Although for a considerable time after the institution of the Aaron priesthood,
sacrifices continued to be offered also by private individuals — for example, in the
period of the Judges, the sacrifice of Gideon (Judg 6:18,25-26) or that of Sam-
son’s parents (Judg 13:15-20) — gradually the convictions grew that to be a priest
a person had to have a specific vocation, one which was not given to anyone out-
side males of the line of Aaron (cf. Judg 17:7-13), whom God had chosen from
out of all the people of Israel, identifying him by the sign of his rod sprouting buds
(Num 17:16-24). God himself meted out severe punishment to Korah and his
sons when they tried to set themselves up as rivals of Aaron: they were devoured
by fire from heaven (cf. Num 16); and it was specified in Mosaic legislation time
and time again that only the sons of Aaron could act as priests (cf. Num 3:10;
17:5; 18:7). This priesthood offered the sacrifices of Mosaic worship—the burnt
offerings, cereal offerings, sin offerings and peace offerings (cf. Lev 6). To the de-
scendants of Aaron, assisted by the Levites, was entrusted also the care of the
tabernacle and the protection of the ark of the Covenant. They received their mi-
nistry and had it confirmed by the offering of sacrifice and by anointing of the
man’s head and hands with oil (Ex 29; Lev 8-9; Num 3:3). For all these reasons
Hebrew priests were honored and revered by the people and regarded (not without
reason, because God had ordained them) as on a much higher plane than other
priests particularly those of the peoples of Canaan, the priests of Baal, for exam-
ple. In Christ’s time the high priest was the highest religious authority in Israel;
his words were regarded as oracular statements, and his decisions could have
important political repercussions.

However, Christ came with the very purpose of taking this ancient institution and
transforming it into a new, eternal priesthood. Every Christian priest is, as it were,
Christ’s instrument or an extension of his sacred humanity. Christian priests do
not act in their own name, nor are they mere representatives of the people: they
act in the name of God. “Here we have the priest’s identity: he is direct and daily
instrument of the saving grace which Christ has won for us” (St. J. Escriva, “In
Love with the Church”, 39). It is really Christ who is acting through them by
means of their words, gestures etc. All of this means that Christian priesthood
cannot be separated from the eternal priesthood of Christ. This extension of God’s
providence (in the form of the Old Testament priesthood and the priesthood insti-
tuted by Christ in the New Testament and the mission entrusted to New Testa-
ment priests) should lead us to love and honor the priesthood irrespective of the
human defects and shortcomings of these ministers of God: “To love God and
not venerate his Priests...is not possible” (St J. Escriva, “The Way”, 74).

1a. These words provide a very good short definition of what every priest is.

“The office proper to a priest”, St Thomas Aquinas points out, “is to be a media-
tor between God and the people, inasmuch as he bestows divine things on the
people (he is called “sacerdos” (priest), which means ‘a giver of sacred things’,
“sacra dans” [...]), and again inasmuch as he offers the people’s prayer to God
and in some way makes satisfaction to God for their sins” (”Summa Theologiae”,
III, q.22, a.1).

In this passage of the letter we can detect an echo of the description of Aaron in
the Book of Sirach: “He chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the Lord,
incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the
people” (Sir 45:16). Four elements characterize the office of the high priest (the
text speaks of the “high” priest in the strict sense, but it is applicable to all
priests —1) his special dignity, because although he is a man he has been spe-
cially chosen by God; 2) the purpose of his mission, which is the good of man-
kind (”to act on behalf of men”); 3) the “material” side of his office, that is, public
divine worship; 4) the specific acts he must perform, the offering of sacrifice at
appropriate times.

In the specific case of priesthood instituted by God—such as that of Aaron or the
new priesthood instituted by Christ—the calling (”taken” or “chosen” from among
men) is not simply an influence the person feels interiorly, or a desire to be a
priest: its divine origin is confirmed by nomination by the proper authority, and
by official consecration.

1b. A priest is “chosen from among men”, that is, he should possess a human
nature. This is a further sign of God’s mercy: to bring about our salvation he uses
someone accessible to us, one who shares our human condition, “so that man
might have someone like himself to have recourse to” (St Thomas, “Commentary
on Heb, ad loc.”). These words also indicate the extent of God’s kindness be-
cause they remind us that the divine Redeemer not only offered himself and
made satisfaction for the sins of all, but desired that “the priestly life which the
divine Redeemer had begun in his mortal body by his prayers and sacrifice
(should not cease). He willed it to continue unceasingly through the ages in his
mystical body, which is the Church; and therefore he instituted a visible priest-
hood to offer everywhere a clean oblation (Mal 1:11), so that all men all over the
world, being diverted from sin, might serve God conscientiously, and of their own
free will” (Pius XII, “Mediator Dei”, 1).

He is “chosen from among men” also in the sense that he is given special con-
secration which is some way marks him off from the rest of the people of God.
St John Chrysostom comments, recalling Jesus triple question to Peter after the
Resurrection (cf. Jn 21:15-17): “When he asked Peter if he loved him, he did not
do so because he needed to know whether his disciple loved him, but because
he wanted to show how great his own love was; thus, when he says, ‘Who then
is the faithful and prudent servant’, he does not say this because he does not
know the answer, but in order to show us how unique and wonderful an honor it
is, as can be deduced from the rewards: ‘he will place him over all his goods.’
And he concludes that the priest ought to be outstanding in holiness (”De Sacer-
dotio”, II, 1-2).

“The priests of the New Testament”, Vatican II reminds us, “are, by their vocation
to ordination, set apart in some way in the midst of the people of God, but this is
not in order that they should be separated from that people or from anyone, but
that they should be completely consecrated to the task for which God chose
them” (”Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 3). This calling, then, constitutes a distinction
but not a separation because it is indissolubly linked to a specific mission: a
priest is “chosen from among men” but for the purpose of acting “on behalf of
men in relation to God”. In this delicate balance between divine call and spiritual
mission to men lies the essence of priesthood. Christians, therefore, should ne-
ver view a priest as “just another person”. “They want to find in the priest the vir-
tues appropriate to any Christian and even any upright man—understanding, jus-
tice, commitment to work (priestly work, in this case), charity, good manners,
social refinement. But the faithful also want to be able to recognize clearly the
priestly character: they expect the priest to pray, not to refuse to administer the
sacraments; they expect him to be open to everyone and not set himself up to
take charge of people or become an aggressive leader of human factions, of
whatever shade (cf. “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 6). They expect him to bring love
and devotion to the celebration of Mass, to sit in the confessional, to console the
sick and the troubled; to teach sound doctrine to children and adults, to preach
the Word of God and no mere human science which—no matter how well he may
know it—is not the knowledge that saves and brings eternal life; they expect him
to give counsel and be charitable to those in need” (St. J. Escriva, “In Love with
the Church”, 42).

Priests “could not be the servants of Christ unless they were witnesses and dis-
pensers of a life other than that of this earth. On the other hand, they would be
powerless to serve men if they remained aloof from their life and circumstances”
(”Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 3). In this connection, Bl. John Paul II made the fol-
lowing appeal: “Yes, you are chosen from among men, given to Christ by the
Father, to be in the world, “in the heart of society”. You are appointed to act on
behalf of men (Heb 5:1). The priesthood is the sacrament whereby the Church
is to be seen as the society of the people of God; it is the ‘social’ sacrament.
Priests should ‘convoke’ each of the communities of the people of God, around
them but not for themselves—for Christ!” (”Homily at an Ordination of Priests”, 15
June 1980).

The specific function of the priest has, then, been clearly identified: he is con-
cerned about his brethren but he is not here to solve temporal problems; his role
is only “in relation to God”. “Christian ministerial priesthood is different from any
other priesthood in that it is not an office to which someone is appointed by others
to intercede with God on their behalf; it is a mission to which a man is called by
God (Heb 5: 1-10; 7:24; 9: 11-28) to be towards others a living sign of the pre-
sence of Christ, the only Mediator (1 Tim 2:5), Head and Shepherd of his people
[...]. In other words, Christian priesthood is essentially (this is the only possible
way it can be understood) an eminently sacred mission, both in its origin (Christ)
and in its content (the divine mystery) and by the very manner in which it is con-
ferred (a sacrament)” (A. del Portillo, “On Priesthood”, pp. 59f).

2-3. From the moral qualities a priest needs, these verses single out mercy and
compassion, which lead him, on the one hand, to be gentle to sinners and, at the
same time, to desire to make personal reparation for their sins. The Latin transla-
tion of v. 2a puts the emphasis on the fact that the priest shares in suffering for
sin: he can “suffer along with” (”aeque condolere”) but in just measure on seeing
those who go astray, and, imitating Christ, he can himself perform some of the
penance those sinners should be doing. The original word translated here as
“deal gently” recalls the profound, but serene, sorrow which Abraham felt when
Sarah died (cf. Gen 23:2) and at the same time it alludes to the need for forbea-
rance, generosity and understanding: a priest must be a person who, while rejec-
ting sin, is understanding to the sinner and conscious that it may take him time
to mend his ways. He is also inclined to put the sinner’s intentions in the best
light (cf. Gal 6:1): people do not always sin deliberately; they can sin out of ig-
norance (that is, not realizing the gravity of their actions) and, more often than
not, out of weakness.

The Old Testament makes a clear distinction between sin committed unwittingly
(cf. Lev 4:2-27; Num 14:24, 27-29) and sins of rebelliousness (cf. Num 15:22-31;
Deut 17:12). Further on (cf. Heb 6:4-6; 10:26-27; 12:17), the letter will again refer
to the gravity of sins committed out of malice. Here, however, it is referring to sin,
whether grave or not, committed out of weakness. “Ignorant” and “wayward” are
almost synonymous, for a person who sins out of ignorance is described in He-
brews by a word which means “he who goes astray, he who does not know the
way”. The basic reason why a priest should be understanding and compassio-
nate is his awareness of his own weakness. Thus, the Church puts these words
on his lips in Eucharistic Prayer I: “’nobis quoque peccatoribus’—for ourselves,
too, sinners” (cf. Wis 9:5-6). A priest is compassionate and understanding be-
cause “he himself is beset with weakness”. The word translated as “beset” con-
tains the idea of surrounded or covered by or wrapped as if in a cloak. Pope Pius
XI wrote: “When we see a man exercising this faculty (of forgiving sins), we can-
not but repeat (not out of pharisaical scandal, but with reverent amazement)
those words, ‘Who is this, who even forgives sins?’ (Lk 7:49). It is the Man-God,
who had and has ‘authority on earth to forgive sins’ (Lk 5:24), and has chosen to
communicate it to his priests, and thereby with the generosity of divine mercy to
meet the human conscience’s need of purification. Hence the great consolation
the guilty man receives who experiences remorse and contritely hears the priest
tell him in God’s name, ‘I absolve you from your sins.’ The fact that he hears this
said by someone who himself will need to ask another priest to speak the same
words to him, does not debase God’s merciful gift: it enhances it, for the hand of
God who works this wonder is seen (as operating) by means of a frail creature”
(Pius XII, “Ad Catholici Sacerdotii”).

3. Everyone, including the priest, is a sinner. In the Old Testament rites for the
Day of Atonement (”Yom Kippur”), the high priest, before entering the Holy of
Holies, offered a sin-offering for his own sins (cf. Lev 16:3, 6, 11; Heb 9:6-14); so
too the priests of the New Testament have a duty to be holy, to reject sin, to ask
for forgiveness of their own sins, and to intercede for sinners.

The model the priest should always have before him is Jesus Christ, the eternal
high priest. “The main motive force actuating a priest should be the determination
to attain the closest union with the divine Redeemer [...]. He should continually
keep Christ before his eyes. Christ’s commands, actions and example he should
follow most assiduously, in the conviction that it is not enough for him to submit
to the duties by which the faithful are bound, but that he must at a daily increa-
sing pace pursue the perfection of life which the high dignity of a priest demands”
(Pius XII, “Menti Nostrae”, 7). But, one might object, Christ never had any defect,
never sinned, because his human nature was perfect and totally holy: is he not
therefore too perfect a model for men who when it comes down to it are sinners?
The answer is, No, not at all, for he himself said, “I have given you an example,
that you also should do as I have done to you” (Jn 13:15). Besides, when the text
(v. 2) refers to “weakness” this may refer to two things the weakness of human
nature (of man as creature), and the imperfection resulting from his faults and his
passions. The former kind of defect is one Christ shares with us; the second is
one he does not.

For this very reason, in the case of the priest, consciousness of his sins, plus
his conviction that he has been called by Christ, moves him to be very committed
to his apostolic ministry of reconciliation and penance; and in the first instance
priests perform this ministry for one another. “Priests, who are consecrated by
the anointing of the Holy Spirit and sent by Christ, mortify the works of the flesh
in themselves and dedicate themselves completely to the service of people” (Va-
tican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 12). As Bl. John Paul II stressed, “the priest’s
celebration of the Eucharist and administration of the other sacraments, his pas-
toral zeal, his relationship with the faithful, his communion with this brother
priests, his collaboration with his bishop, his life of prayer — in a word, the whole
of his priestly existence — suffers an inexorable decline if by negligence or for
some other reason he fails to receive the sacrament of Penance at regular inter-
vals and in a spirit of genuine faith and devotion. If a priest were no longer to go
to confession or properly confess his sins, his priestly being and his priestly ac-
tion would feel the effect of this very soon, and it would also be noticed by the
community of which he was the pastor.

“But I also add that even in order to be a good and effective minister of Penance
he priest needs to have recourse to the source of grace and holiness present in
this sacrament. We priests, on the basis of our personal experience, can certain-
ly say that, the more careful we are to receive the sacrament of Penance and to
approach it frequently and with good dispositions, the better we fulfill our own mi-
nistry as confessors and ensure that our penitents benefit from it. And on the
other hand this ministry would lose much of its effectiveness if in some way we
were to stop being good penitents. Such is the internal logic of this great sacra-
ment. It invites all of us priests of Christ to pay renewed attention to our personal
confession” (”Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia”, 31).

What the Pope says here ultimately stems from the fact that “ as ministers of the
sacred mysteries, especially in the sacrifice of the Mass, priests act in a special
way in the person of Christ who gave himself as a victim to sanctify men” (”Pres-
byterorum Ordinis”, 13).

In this way, “Christ the shepherd is present in the priest so as continually to ac-
tualize the universal call to conversion and repentance which prepares for the co-
ming of the Kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 4:17). He is present in order to make men
understand that forgiveness of sins, the reconciliation of the soul and God, can-
not be the outcome of a monologue, no matter how keen a person’s capacity for
reflection and self-criticism. He reminds us that no one, alone, can calm his own
conscience; that the contrite heart must submit its sins to the Church — institu-
tion, to the man-priest, who in the sacrament of Penance is a permanent objective
witness to the radical need which fallen humanity has of the man-God, the only
Just One, the only Justifier” (A. del Potillo, “On Priesthood”, p. 62).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States

4 posted on 10/27/2012 8:36:33 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

From: Mark 10:46-52

The Blind Man of Jericho

[46] And they (Jesus and His disciples) came to Jericho; and as He was leaving
Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the
son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. [47] And when he heard that it was
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mer-
cy on me!: [48] And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out
all he more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” [49] And Jesus stopped and said,
“Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; rise, He is
calling you.” [50] And throwing off his mantle he sprang up and came to Jesus.
[51] And Jesus said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind
man said to Him, “Master, let me receive my sight.” [52] And Jesus said to him,
“Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his
sight and followed him on the way.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

46-52. “Hearing the commotion the crowd was making, the blind man asks,
‘What is happening?’ They told him, ‘It is Jesus of Nazareth.’ At this his soul was
so fired with faith in Christ that he cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on
me!’

“Don’t you feel the same urge to cry out? You who are also waiting at the side of
the way, of this highway of life that is so very short? You who need more light,
you who need more grace to make up your mind to seek holiness? Don’t you feel
an urgent need to cry out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me’? What a beau-
tiful aspiration for you to repeat again and again!...

“’Many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.’ As people have done to you, when
you sensed that Jesus was passing your way. Your heart beat faster and you too
began to cry out, prompted by an intimate longing. Then your friends, the need to
do the done thing, the easy life, your surroundings, all conspired to tell you: ‘Keep
quiet, don’t cry out. Who are you to be calling Jesus? Don’t bother Him.’

“But poor Bartimaeus would not listen to them. He cried out all the more: ‘Son of
David, have mercy on me.’ Our Lord, who had heard him right from the beginning,
let him persevere in his prayer. He does the same with you. Jesus hears our cries
from the very first, but he waits. He wants us to be convinced that we need Him.
He wants us to beseech Him, to persist, like the blind man waiting by the road
from Jericho. ‘Let us imitate him. Even if God does not immediately give us what
we ask, even if many people try to put us off our prayers, let us still go on pra-
ying’ (St. John Chrysostom, “Hom. on St. Matthew”, 66).

“’And Jesus stopped, and told them to call Him.’ Some of the better people in the
crowd turned to the blind man and said, ‘Take heart; rise, He is calling you.’ Here
you have the Christian vocation! But God does not call only once. Bear in mind
that our Lord is seeking us at every moment: get up, He tells us, put aside your
indolence, your easy life, your petty selfishness, your silly little problems. Get
up from the ground, where you are lying prostrate and shapeless. Acquire height,
weight and volume, and a supernatural outlook.

“And throwing off his mantle the man sprang up and came to Jesus. He threw off
his mantle! I don’t know if you have ever lived through a war, but many years ago
I had occasion to visit a battlefield shortly after an engagement. There strewn all
over the ground, were greatcoats, water bottles, haversacks stuffed with family
souvenirs, letters, photographs of loved ones...which belonged, moreover, not to
the vanquished but to the victors! All these items had become superfluous in the
bid to race forward and leap over the enemy defenses. Just as happened to Bar-
timaeus, as he raced towards Christ.

“Never forget that Christ cannot be reached without sacrifice. We have to get rid
of everything that gets in the way—greatcoat, haversack, water bottle. You have
to do the same in this battle for the glory of God, in this struggle of love and
peace by which we are trying to spread Christ’s Kingdom. In order to serve the
Church, the Pope and all souls, you must be ready to give up everything super-
fluous....

“And now begins a dialogue with God, a marvelous dialogue that moves us and
sets our hearts on fire, for you and I are now Bartimaeus. Christ, who is God, be-
gins to speak and asks, ‘Quid tibi vis faciam?’ ‘What do you want Me to do for
you?’ The blind man answers. ‘Lord, that I may see.’ How utterly logical! How
about yourself, can you really see? Haven’t you too experienced at times what
happened to the blind man of Jericho? I can never forget how, when meditating
on this passage many years back, and realizing that Jesus was expecting some-
thing of me, though I myself did not know what it was, I made up my own aspira-
tions: ‘Lord, what is it You want! What are You asking of me’? I had a feeling that
He wanted me to take on something new and the cry, ‘Rabboni, ut videam’, ‘Mas-
ter, that I may see,’ moved me to beseech Christ again and again, ‘Lord, what-
ever it is that You wish, let it be done.’

“Pray with me now to our Lord: ‘doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia Deus me-
us es tu” (Psalm 142:10) (’teach me to do Thy will, for You art my God’). In short,
our lips should express a true desire on our part to correspond effectively to our
Creator’s promptings, striving to follow out His plans with unshakeable faith, be-
ing fully convinced that He cannot fail us....

“But let us go back to the scene outside Jericho. It is now to you that Christ is
speaking. He asks you, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ ‘Master, let me
receive my sight.’ Then Jesus answers, ‘Go your way. Your faith has made you
well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Him on His way.” Fol-
lowing Jesus on His way. You have understood what our Lord was asking to from
you and you have decided to accompany Him on His way. You are trying to walk
in His footsteps, to clothe yourself in Christ’s clothing, to be Christ Himself: well,
your faith, your faith in the light our Lord is giving you, must be both operative
and full of sacrifice. Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think you are going to find new ways.
The faith He demands of us is as I have said. We must keep in step with Him,
working generously and at the same time uprooting and getting rid of everything
that gets in the way” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 195-198).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

5 posted on 10/27/2012 8:37:35 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Readings at Mass

First reading	Jeremiah 31:7-9 ©

The Lord says this:

Shout with joy for Jacob!

Hail the chief of nations!

Proclaim! Praise! Shout:

‘The Lord has saved his people,

the remnant of Israel!’

See, I will bring them back

from the land of the North

and gather them from the far ends of earth;

all of them: the blind and the lame,

women with child, women in labour:

a great company returning here.

They had left in tears,

I will comfort them as I lead them back;

I will guide them to streams of water,

by a smooth path where they will not stumble.

For I am a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is my first-born son.

Psalm	Psalm 125:1-6 ©