SUNDAY HOMILY - The Happy Priest: Open Your Eyes
This beautiful passage from the Gospel of Mark gives us an encouraging
lesson of hope. Jesus passes by. He passes by every circumstance of
our daily lives. It is only through the vision of faith that we come to
recognize his daily presence in our lives.
PrintCORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - Jesus is passing through Jericho and a large crowd surrounds him as he passes by on his way to Jerusalem. From the Gospel, we can assume that everyone can physically see Jesus except a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus. While he cannot physically see Jesus, a superior form of vision illumines his mind and heart. It is the light of faith that tells him that the Lord is passing by.
"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The blind man cries out to Jesus. He is in need and his faith allows him to recognize that Jesus is the Lord, and that it is the Lord that can answer his need. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Many people try to stop Bartimaeus. However, the Lord Jesus is able to hear his cry for help, and turns to him with kindness and compassion. "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'. 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" (Mark 10: 51-52).
This beautiful passage from the Gospel of Mark gives us an encouraging lesson of hope. Jesus passes by. He passes by every circumstance of our daily lives. It is only through the vision of faith that we come to recognize his daily presence in our lives. Pride, rationalism, indifference, laziness and discouragement will blind us. However, the light of faith will allow us to see Jesus as he makes himself present.
Faith will allow us to perceive his presence when we pray, when we read the Scriptures, and when we worship at the Eucharistic Banquet. Faith allows us to see him present in our brothers and sisters. Faith allows us to see him present in the ordinary circumstances of our lives, even in those moments that are difficult to handle. Jesus is passing by. It is this vision of faith that allows us not to miss his presence as he passes through each moment of our lives.
One Sunday morning as I welcomed a new young woman to the parish, I asked what she did for a living. She told me that she works with the blind. I smiled and I said that we both have a lot in common. Spiritual blindness is more obstructive than physical blindness. Is not this the situation of our contemporary world?
It is obvious and evident that life begins at the moment of conception, and yet in the face of scientific proof, many continue to promote abortion. If human life did not begin at the moment of conception, why would an abortion be necessary in the first place?
A blind humanity continues to advance destructive practices such as embryonic stem-cell research, homosexual marriages, euthanasia, and human cloning. Many refuse to see the consequences of godless behavior on human society. How much more destruction must take place before people begin to see the truth?
Those who think that they have all of the answers are no longer reachable. Pride is the root of spiritual blindness. Bartimaeus exemplifies the humility that is needed in order to see and to grasp the truth.
Unfortunately, our own country has become profoundly divided between polarizing forces. Moreover, for the first time in the history of our nation, religious liberty is being threatened.
Chicago's Cardinal Francis George, OMI said: "I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square."
The only solution for the problems that we face as a Church and as a nation is to be humble, sincere and open. We are all born blind. Only through the faith we received at baptism do we truly see. Faith gives us a superior vision that allows us to see clearly.
Blessed Pope John Paul II once wrote: "It is urgent to rediscover and to set forth once more the authentic reality of the Christian faith, which is not simply a set of propositions to be accepted with intellectual assent. Rather, faith is a lived knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance of his commandments, and a truth to be lived out. A word, in any event, is not truly received until it is put into practice. Faith is a decision involving one's whole existence. It is an encounter, a dialogue, a communion of love and of life between the believer and Jesus Christ, the way, and the truth, and the life. It entails an act of trusting abandonment to Christ, which enables us to live as he lived, in profound love of God and of our brothers and sisters" (Veritatis Splendor, 88).
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a Year of Faith. He is calling all of us to live the gift of faith that we have received with renewed commitment and a newness of how we live this ...
"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The blind man cries out to Jesus. He is in need and his faith allows him to recognize that Jesus is the Lord, and that it is the Lord that can answer his need. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Many people try to stop Bartimaeus. However, the Lord Jesus is able to hear his cry for help, and turns to him with kindness and compassion. "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'. 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" (Mark 10: 51-52).
This beautiful passage from the Gospel of Mark gives us an encouraging lesson of hope. Jesus passes by. He passes by every circumstance of our daily lives. It is only through the vision of faith that we come to recognize his daily presence in our lives. Pride, rationalism, indifference, laziness and discouragement will blind us. However, the light of faith will allow us to see Jesus as he makes himself present.
Faith will allow us to perceive his presence when we pray, when we read the Scriptures, and when we worship at the Eucharistic Banquet. Faith allows us to see him present in our brothers and sisters. Faith allows us to see him present in the ordinary circumstances of our lives, even in those moments that are difficult to handle. Jesus is passing by. It is this vision of faith that allows us not to miss his presence as he passes through each moment of our lives.
One Sunday morning as I welcomed a new young woman to the parish, I asked what she did for a living. She told me that she works with the blind. I smiled and I said that we both have a lot in common. Spiritual blindness is more obstructive than physical blindness. Is not this the situation of our contemporary world?
It is obvious and evident that life begins at the moment of conception, and yet in the face of scientific proof, many continue to promote abortion. If human life did not begin at the moment of conception, why would an abortion be necessary in the first place?
A blind humanity continues to advance destructive practices such as embryonic stem-cell research, homosexual marriages, euthanasia, and human cloning. Many refuse to see the consequences of godless behavior on human society. How much more destruction must take place before people begin to see the truth?
Those who think that they have all of the answers are no longer reachable. Pride is the root of spiritual blindness. Bartimaeus exemplifies the humility that is needed in order to see and to grasp the truth.
Unfortunately, our own country has become profoundly divided between polarizing forces. Moreover, for the first time in the history of our nation, religious liberty is being threatened.
Chicago's Cardinal Francis George, OMI said: "I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square."
The only solution for the problems that we face as a Church and as a nation is to be humble, sincere and open. We are all born blind. Only through the faith we received at baptism do we truly see. Faith gives us a superior vision that allows us to see clearly.
Blessed Pope John Paul II once wrote: "It is urgent to rediscover and to set forth once more the authentic reality of the Christian faith, which is not simply a set of propositions to be accepted with intellectual assent. Rather, faith is a lived knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance of his commandments, and a truth to be lived out. A word, in any event, is not truly received until it is put into practice. Faith is a decision involving one's whole existence. It is an encounter, a dialogue, a communion of love and of life between the believer and Jesus Christ, the way, and the truth, and the life. It entails an act of trusting abandonment to Christ, which enables us to live as he lived, in profound love of God and of our brothers and sisters" (Veritatis Splendor, 88).
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a Year of Faith. He is calling all of us to live the gift of faith that we have received with renewed commitment and a newness of how we live this ...
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Said a blind man "Open my eyes Lord so that I may see you, the hurdles I am prepared through life or death, just as you ran the race for the prize of Joy to end up standing at the Right hand of the Father".
A few words to the wise and those who have ears to hear and understand the wonderful message above.
Today a mature mind with some knowledge of human history and especially the past fifty or sixty years of world developments has seen a wide choice of inspirational causes or movements. People are drawn to follow any of them which affect their way of life or the future they have in mind for themselves. Unfortunately many have made their decisions based on a finite view of life that is focused only on the here and now. They prefer or chose not to be concerned with what is going on in the world around them which does not currently affect them or is outside of their narrow vision of life and the choices they think they have.
When we as Christians come to know our true nature and the promise in store for us through the sacrifice of Christ and our willingness to follow Him in love and obedience to the Father, there can be but one obvious choice for us who value God, His creation, and particularly ourselves. We will do whatever is necessary to obtain eternal life with Him. The alternative would be denial of the love of God for us and spiritual self destruction.
In our response to the call of the Father we take three things into account. We must believe that God loves us. This gives us faith in His word. We must trust in His judgment for He is omnipotent and He alone can in absolute truth judge the hearts of men. We must also be willing to change our characteristics and become a new creation in Christ thereby living our lives for the sake of our redeeming creator. We leave behind our old self and the shackles sin placed upon us.
Think about this, do we not all imagine how others perceive us? We spend much of our energies and labors trying to build and fashion a profile of ourselves which suggests the image that best represents what we feel the world expects and desires of us. This is greatly influenced by people in Hollywood, entertainers, advertisers, the fashion industry, and cosmetic companies. They show us what is acceptable and what is not and the things which impress them the most. There is also the elite in the fields of sports, music, education, and even politicians who offer their portraits of acceptable lifestyles to follow.
To satisfy any image among the hundreds of possible combinations presented by these forces within our society we burden ourselves with all their associated requirements of appearance, demeanor, stature, and relevancy. Today this often sadly becomes more than one can handle and eventually erodes ones values and dilutes their morals or flat out deceitfully ruins their life.
All this is avoidable when we offer our lives to God instead. He does not want to complicate our lives. Our response to His call requires only that we commit our lives to a love of our created nature. We were created in His image and we can handle that image if we accept its nature. This is when one realizes the image designed for him through Christ is to be recognized as being at peace with God, himself, and mankind and through our words, thoughts, and actions reveal our love of God and all of His creation. How could you not admire one who possessed these characteristics even if the world should reject him?
As Christians, we must thoroughly convince ourselves that, as Christ revealed to us, our kingdom is not of this world. Life here is an audition for what is to come. We have chosen our character, an imitation of Christ, and desire to live in eternity with Him through a grateful performance here according to the biblical script we have been given.
However, when we look at history and see how the world treated Jesus (as in The Passion Christ) can we then really expect anything better? We can be assured many will want us to be handed over, ridiculed, and persecuted for our imitation of Him as it is not acceptable here. The evil one, the Deceiver, is still at large at this time and will not tolerate allegiance to the rules of the Creator or His teachings. The rule of Satan here is to be content with the way things are because this is it, this is all there is to it, make the most of it however you can, no restraints to your human desires, be all you can be, do unto others as it pleases you to do. Do not deny yourself, deny God, deny eternal love, deny the cross, deny eternity. And many are those who do just that.
Many are called, few are chosen.
Be ye perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect. Without Him we are nothing but we believe that with Him all things are possible.
One thing we must remember is this, we are in a battle for the souls of men whom God desires to be returned to Him. We are at war! There is no retreating or deserting. We are guaranteed victory but not casualties. Our only weapon is the Truth and every sacrifice or wound is in honor of it. Maintaining its power and might within us requires consistent prayer, meditation, and devotion to our duty and His just cause. Be sworn to do all that will be asked of you for we can also be assured that our leadership can not fail and our reward will not be taken from us.
Standing for Christ is standing by Him. Standing by Him is standing by His Word. He has said he who is not with me is against me and again the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Our strength must be in Him for we are but human and the enemy, the deceiver, is very strong, like a wild beast set to devour his prey. However, Jesus rebuked him three times with but the Word alone and sent him on his way. Gods Word is truth. It is our eternal weapon and our shield never to be forgotten, never to be overcome.
Lord we pray that you will give us wisdom to know you, a heart to love you, and the will to serve you for we have put our trust in you and your word. Our lives are now in your almighty hands.
When I read the quote from Cardinal Francis George, "I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square." I was taken aback and would hope all that read this also stop and think about what is happening not only to our country but the world. I guess we all need to take some time and soul search.