Today’s 1st reading reminded me of Sis Joy's
testimony of the victorious court trial that took place in October 13, 2009
(Feast of Our Lady of Fatima). She said that the day of their accident was also
the day of their Family Consecration to our Blessed Mother Mary. She was
completely at a loss for the right words to say and could not understand the
meaning of what happened since they got consecrated as a family in the morning,
was full of hope and joy on that day but just before that day ended she met this
accident that totally wrecked her car and worst the policeman made an erroneous
report that states that she is the one at fault. Despite the discouraging
circumstances that took place she said that she continued to trust the loving
care of Mama Mary. And she was not disappointed for on the day of the court
hearing which was originally set for Oct. 6 but moved to Oct. 13 (Feast of Our
Lady of Fatima) she was proclaimed not guilty. Everything really happens for a
reason at a time we never expect but definitely the best time appointed by the
Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!
Jeremiah 31: 7-9
...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.
We really tend to take for granted the things within our
reach and sight. There are times when we really have to strengthen our faith
and hope for something we do not see and wait with endurance. We may be
experiencing right now, so many unforeseen events but we should always wait and
hope that the Lord will be gracious and reveal His glory. There is some truth
to the famous saying, “Easy come, easy go.” If there are some things that we've
been praying for and it seems like nothing is happening we should never give
up. Every good work should be carefully planned and carried out to completion.
Though the process may be long and hard we can always count on God to stick
with us through and through and make it happen. If we are always manifesting in
our lives the values of the passion and death of Jesus then we are assured of
the resurrection. For this reason it is good to share this prayer of Mother
Angelica in times of temptation and whenever we are on the verge of giving up
when undergoing trials and tribulations. The prayer suggests that we focus on
the 12th station of the cross which is when Jesus dies on the cross
while reciting the following: Eternal Father, I offer you the 6 hours of agony,
the death and the piercing of Your Son’s Sacred Heart for… (mention the need or
petition). This is effective in the sense that the Lord looks down upon His
Son, His agony, death and the piercing of His sacred heart for our sake. Only
to God can we look with so much hope and confidence that the desert we are
presently encountering at the moment will be turned into a refreshing spring of
water. We may be suffering long enough under the heat of this life's
difficulties but we must not forget that God is able to turn everything into
green pastures. It is undeniable that if we will just look very closely at our
lives we'll see and find out that the Lord has indeed done great things for us.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 126:1-2. 2-3. 4-5. 6 (3)
R: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with
joy.
1 When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion , we were like men
dreaming. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with
rejoicing. (R) Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great
things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.
(R) 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert. 5
Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. (R) 6 Although they go forth
weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying
their sheaves.
Is there something more we still need to see in order to
believe? I guess, we've all seen enough no matter who we are, what we've been
through or still going through, how much we've known or learned and where we're
all coming from there's always this undeniable reality of a Supreme Being and
Power who is God. Except, of course for those stubborn atheists. But if we
believe so, then we should all be fully aware that this Almighty God is also
All Loving and Most Compassionate that He suffered His only Son to suffer for
our sake, what a privilege! Amen.
Hallelujah!
Hebrews 5:1-6
...No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called
by God, just as Aaron was. 5 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”;...
The homily of Fr. Glenn in the TV mass with regards to the
gospel for today spoke of the name origin of Bartimaeus which was taken from
the words honor and dignity. He said that Jesus did not heal his blindness
alone but also restored his honor and dignity. He further said that all of us
have a mission and there is a need to distinguish this mission from ambition.
There is nothing wrong with ambition and said that there are 2 kinds of
ambitions, positive and negative. In order to recognize which of them is
present he spelled the word ambition in Tagalog as in ambisyon and enumerated
the words that can be found in it like, bisyo which means vice, isyo=issue and
yosi if read backwards which means cigarette. These words are things that can
bring about problems that give rise to malas=misfortune and sakit=sickness.The
words malas and sakit which are by products of a negative ambition can be
turned into something good if we have a positive ambition. Since these 2 words
when combined together can become concern which means malasakit in Tagalog. We
are called to develop a deep sense of concern for our fellowmen and at least
start with something in order to fulfill our mission. In today’s gospel the
blind man cries out to Jesus by the roadside upon hearing that Jesus is there.
If we hope to grow in our spiritual life then we can learn from Bartimaeus. We
often times are struggling with our vices and character flaws. Jesus wants to
draw us closer to Him. Bartimaeus showed us how to respond to this by calling
out to Jesus as Son of David. This signifies an acknowledgement and awareness
of who Jesus is. What keeps us from doing this is our struggle with our anguish
and our dependence on our own strength instead of immediately turning to God by
asking for the grace to grow in virtue. We can not change without God’s grace.
When he cried out to Jesus many told him to be quiet but he kept on crying out.
This is a beautiful point that we have to take into consideration. We should
not de discouraged or disappointed so easily. Another important thing being
pointed out here is the importance of family and friends that help us draw
closer to God. We need help from above and our friends and families to help us.
Bartimaeus has a strong spirituality because it is written that he immediately
followed Jesus despite Jesus' words, "Go your way" but he didn't go
his own way but followed Jesus. He was healed by word and in an instant the
moment Jesus spoke. During that time, the cloak signifies who you are. He is a
beggar and his cloak stands for everything he is and owns since he uses it to
place the money he gets from begging. Bartimaeus even left his cloak and rushed
to Jesus like he did not care about anything anymore for he found in Jesus
everything. Bartimaeus throws the cloak aside, this signifies a great desire
for Christ. We can not hide anything from God. In our lives, He sees the
motives in our hearts. If we go to Him, we will not be left unconsoled. We call
out to God to teach us faith and perseverance. There are times when what we
pray for takes a while. We must have the kind of faith that believes that Jesus
listens to our cries and answers our prayers. He makes us whole, holy and great
saints. Our faith should give us a new
sight about things. This new vision of life should make us see God so close to
us. The ways that we encounter Jesus today is no different 2000 yrs ago. We can receive Him body, blood, soul &
divinity in the Eucharist. We are in communion with Him through the sacraments.
As Catholics we perfect this new reality & wholeness of the presence of
Jesus in the sacraments where we’re given this great buffet of graces. We can make contact with Jesus in the
sacraments. If are we faithful to the sacraments and also in service to our
brothers and sisters then we encounter the living God in such a real way. Another
similar story that could somehow be compared to this is from Jn. 4:4 of a
Samaritan woman fetching water but when she learned about the life giving water
which Jesus spoke of she immediately left her jar of water when she realized
who Jesus is. She left behind her old life and follow the way of Jesus. On the
other hand there's this story of another unnamed blind man in Bethsaida , he was not healed instantly rather
slowly and gradually. He was healed by touch with a spittle and was sent home.
The evangelist, Mark where today's gospel is from recognizes the differences in
spirituality of the members of the community. He knows that there are people
that are quick in understanding things concerning matters of the faith and
there are those who are slow. But this doesn't mean that we kick them out of
the community. Mark sees the community as all sinners because ours is a flawed
community and it is for this reason that Jesus came. Peter whom we thought was
the first person who got it all right about Jesus as the Messiah denied Jesus
3x but he was not thrown out of the community. He proved himself true to his
faith by his succeeding actions which led to his dying on the cross upside down
but eventually earned him the honor of becoming the 1st pope of the Church.
Just like Peter we have to experience everything in order to fully understand
what the secret of the gospel of Mark is all about. For in the end, the Markan
community mirrors the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, the Paschal
Mystery which is the Markan secret. Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 10:46-52
...Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the
roadside begging. 47 On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry
out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 48 And many rebuked him, telling
him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have
pity on me.” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind
man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” 50 He threw
aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 51 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.” 52 Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
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