Ad Jesum per Mariam

Jesus Does Not Immediately Respond to a Prayer for a Reason. He Wants Us to Pray in Confidence!

Jesus Does Not Immediately Respond to a Prayer for a Reason. He Wants Us to Pray in Confidence! As we move through the last several weeks of ordinary time, there will be a shift in the overall tone of scripture. There will be a note of ultimacy. We hear that in today’s readings of scripture. In today’s Gospel we hear of a blind man on the side of the rode. In the first reading we hear about a return from exile. At first glance this may sound like an odd pairing of ideas the Church has with today’s readings. The key to both of these readings is the events happen when Jesus is going someplace. In the Gospel He has left Jericho, because He is on the way to Jerusalem. He is going to Jerusalem to win our salvation on The Cross. He is going to where salvation will be achieved and won. In the first reading there is movement as well. The return of the people in exile is not merely a political moment. People are freed and on their way to their new home. It is also a vision of fallen man. They are exiled in this world longing for heaven. Longing for salvation. Longing for an end to their persecution. The Lord holds out a vision, not of Israel of old, but a new promise. Hear more within the Homily! Jesus and the Blind Man at the Side of the Road In the Gospel we hear of the blind man by the side of the road. When we are inflicted, life often passes us by. When we are wounded and overwhelmed, we can feel overlooked as the world continues around us. For the blind man life passes by. But on this day, Life itself passes by. He understands Jesus is near and he calls out to Jesus. When he was by the side of the road, he called out for the scraps of the world. The world largely ignored him. The world could not make him better. Jesus then passes by. Listen to the lesson for us all. Hear more in the Homily! Listen to this Meditation Media. Listen to: Jesus Does Not Immediately Respond to a Prayer for a Reason. He Wants Us to Pray in Confidence! ---------------------------- Image: Healing of the Blind Man by Jesus Christ: Danish Painter: Carl Bloch: 1871 ---------------------------- Gospel Reading: Mark: 10: 46-52 First Reading: Jer: 31: 7-9 Second Reading: HEB: 5: 1-6

Duration:: 22m
Broadcast on:: 29 Oct 2024
Audio Format:: other

They'll all be with you, and with your spirit. Everything from the Holy Gospel according to my glory to you, O Lord. As Jesus was living Jericho with his disciples and a sizeable crowd, but Emmaus, 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 men 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 glock, sprung 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 prays to you, Lord Jesus Christ. As we move through these last several weeks of ordinary time, there is going to be a shifting in the tone of the readings that we hear at Mass. There will be a sharp note of ultimacy about them. In an understated way, that begins today, where we have this curious pairing of the incident of the blind man, Bartimaeus, on the side of the road, with a first reading that speaks of a return from exile. It's at first glance an odd combination of ideas and themes from the Scripture, and yet the key to all of this is that this happens while Jesus is going someplace. We hear in the gospel reading that is Jesus left Jericho, he has left Jericho because he is on the way to Jerusalem. And he is on his way to Jerusalem, because when he gets there, he will stretch out his arms on the cross in that great work that wins our salvation. In other words, the scene is this, the Lord is on the move, his disciples are moving with him, and he is going to where salvation will be achieved and won. And it is within this context that the church understands the first reading as well. The return of the exiles is not merely a political moment where people who had been imprisoned are now free and can go back home. Rather, it's also an indication of fallen man, exiled in this world, longing for heaven, longing for salvation, longing for an end to the woundedness that colors and affects and afflicts our lives. And the Lord holding out a promise and a vision not for Israel of old, but for all of us, that the people will be gathered, and the people will move together and they are going someplace, which is not a place of celivary, not a place of imprisonment, not a place of woundedness, but a place of salvation. And so it is then that we have the scene of this nameless man by the side of the road. And I stress nameless because we don't know what his name was. Scripture says Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, but that word Bartimaeus means son of Timaeus. So all we know is that he's the son of Timaeus. We don't know what his first name is. And here he is on the side of the road, and Jesus is moving to go someplace. And the beggar is on the side of the road as he often is because when we're afflicted, life often seems to pass us by, doesn't it? When we're wounded, when we're overwhelmed, when we simply don't know if we can continue, the world goes on around us. And we can feel left behind, lost, overlooked, and the world passes by and the world doesn't stop. And so it is. He's by the side of the road and life is passing him by, except that on this day, it is life itself that is passing by. And he understands that Jesus is here and he calls out to Jesus and it's remarkable. On the side of the road, he was begging from the world from whatever scraps of charity the world could give him. But the world could not heal him, the world could not make him better, and the world left him in that place by the side of the road. But Jesus passes by. And all of a sudden, the beggar does something different. He yells out after this specific man, Jesus son of David, have pity on me, have mercy on me. He doesn't call out for the coin of the world. He doesn't call out merely for help. From his heart, he cries out for the mercy of God. And he knows that that mercy, if it's going to come to him, is going to come in and through Jesus, or nobody else. And so he calls and he calls and remarkably, Jesus doesn't stop right away. And that's important too. Jesus is pleased to let him cry out. Jesus is pleased to let him find his voice and lift it. Jesus doesn't stop immediately. Jesus doesn't turn immediately. Jesus lets him call out. Son of David, have pity on me. And what does the world around him say? Shut up and leave the man alone. It's a remarkable moment. Those who are moving with Jesus don't understand what is happening. Those others who don't know Jesus don't understand what is happening except the blind man is making a nuisance of himself. They tell him to be quiet and he refuses. This is important too. How often when we pray and we begin calling out to heaven, if we don't feel an immediate answer, do we stop? That little doubt inside of us says, who are you to think you're going to get answered? Leave the Lord alone. He's obviously too busy for you today. Bartimaeus hears that insidious temptation to say, "Look, Jesus is still moving. What do you think he's going to stop for you?" Just give it a rest. But he refuses to believe that. He refuses to give into that. And so he keeps calling all the louder. And note what that shows Jesus. I believe so strongly I want this so badly. I will not lay this aside for anyone or anything. Jesus' delay is what surfaces the strength of this blind man's faith. He's calling out now not just in need. He's calling out confident that he knows where mercy is found. And knowing where mercy is found, he is not going to stop calling out until he gets an answer. And so it is then that Jesus who is on his way to save us pauses and says, "Call him to me." And suddenly the world becomes so encouraging. "Take courage. He wants you." And he's like, "He's already taken courage. It's the courage of calling out so boldly against the doubt and against all of those voices that say you're not going to be answered." But he calls. He calls. He comes to Jesus leaving aside his cloak because he doesn't need it anymore. Although you guys are all wearing your cloaks. I think you do need them in the cool air up here. It looks like a football stadium. But he leaves it aside. He will not be hindered. He will not be encumbered. He will not cling to the scraps of how things used to be. Because he's moving forward towards something and someone new. And coming before the Lord, Jesus does as he does so often he asks him a question. What is it that you want me to do for you? If Jesus asks you that, what would you say? See, this is not just a story about Bartimaeus. When we call out to the Lord and he has that moment where he turns and says, "Okay, I'm listening, what is it that you really want?" What would your answer be? Because it's absolutely remarkable how often we can pray without even really being sure what it is we're looking for. What it is we're asking for. Bartimaeus knows. And so when the Lord asks him, "What do you want?" he doesn't stop and say, "Well, let me think about that Lord. I have a big list." He knows what it is that he wants. I want to see. Nobody doesn't say. He doesn't say, "I want to be healed." He doesn't say, "I want my eyes to work again." I want to see. The site that he's asking for is more than merely physical vision. The site that he is asking for is tending beyond this world. He wants to see the face of God. He wants to see the face of salvation. He wants to see that glorious home where Christ is bringing us. That is what he wants to see. I want to see where we're going. I want to see who you truly are. I want to see the good things that God has in store for me. The Scripture says, "Seek ye his face." And when you see his face, indeed you will be saved. I want to see. And the Lord gives him his sight. And beautifully what happens? The Lord gives him his sight and says, "Go your way. Your faith has saved you." And now note, go your way. Go back. Go back to your life. Go wherever you're going. Go to your family. Go your way. And note what Bartimaeus does. He shows us what his way is. Bartimaeus goes with Jesus. He doesn't leave. He stays. And what happens now is Bartimaeus goes to Jerusalem with Jesus. Bartimaeus moves to the place of salvation with Jesus. Jesus is going to work out our salvation and Bartimaeus goes with him because that's his way. That is his way. That's our way too. We are a people who are going someplace with the Lord. And where we are going is no merely worldly destination. We do not go to an earthly Jerusalem, but we go to that heavenly realm where Jesus has opened the door for us. That joyous, light-filled realm where our eyes too will see the face of God and rejoice in his goodness and his glory. And it's good that we recognize that today. I'm going to ask our team members to pass out some sheets of paper for all of you guys. Because over these particular days, something important happens every year. This coming Friday is the Feast of All Saints. All Saints Day. That's a holy day of obligation. The next day, November 2nd, is All Souls Day. Over these days that are coming up, the church asks all of its faithful members to be conscious of our loved ones who have passed away, and not just to remember them, but to pray for them. This is vitally important. All of us have those who have lost. Our families have those across the generations who have passed away. And all too often we live our lives without thinking of them. They need the help of our prayers, but it's as if they're sitting by the side of the road. Life and everything is passing them by. And why? Because they're longing for entry into heaven. Our prayers are effective. When we pass away, we can no longer help ourselves. While we live, we can help ourselves and we can help those we care about who have passed away. And so over the first eight days of November, first through November 8th, the church accords a special grace and power to the prayers that we lift up on behalf of our loved ones. When we cry out on behalf of them, Jesus son of David have mercy. Our prayer is more effective over those days than at any other time. So what we have on the sheets is a summary of what is available and possible for our loved ones. So point number one, on all souls day, that's this coming Saturday, simply by visiting a church or an oratory, the shrine counts, simply by visiting and praying quietly for our loved ones. We can gain a gift of what the church calls a plenary indulgence for someone who has passed away. I'll explain that in a moment. And so on all souls day, simply going to a church, praying the our father and the apostles creed on behalf of one of our loved ones who has passed away can gain that gift for them. And then over the first eight days of November, November 1st through November 8th, visiting a cemetery, any cemetery, okay, your loved one doesn't have to be there. And that's important because with the way we move around, many of us who have loved ones who have passed away on the other side of the world, or the other side of the country, visiting any cemetery. And while they're saying any prayer on behalf of the faithful departed, likewise allows us to gain the gift of a plenary indulgence for one of our loved ones. That's eight different plenary indulgences that can be gained in the first eight days of November. Note how marvelous that is, and how wonderful that is. We are conscious of this, and it reminds us that when we think of our dead, we do more than reminisce. We can pray for them, and we can help them. So just so we're clear what an indulgence is, is there anybody here who's not a sinner? Good. Sin always damages something every single time. There is no such thing as a sin that doesn't break something. And as we know when we're children, if I take my brother's toy and I break it, I can apologize, but the toy is still broken, isn't it? If I take something from you that belongs to you, and I apologize for doing that, that's wonderful, but you still don't have what I took from you. And so the way repentance works is it has two dynamics to it. There is the apology, the saying I'm sorry, the asking for mercy and the receiving of forgiveness. That is absolutely necessary and essential. Our sins must be forgiven, but that doesn't repair the damage. The other thing that all of us are obliged to do is to recognize that because of our wrong actions, we've left a series of effects of damage behind us in the world. We are on the hook for that, for fixing it. You know, and if you've been alive for more than 10 minutes, you've probably got a pretty big pile already. That is what works of penance are for. They are to repair and overcome and heal the damage that we've caused by our wrong actions. And so our sins are forgiven, but we still need to repair what we've broken. If we don't do that while we're alive, it will happen after we pass away in purgatory. And so those souls that are in purgatory are on their way to heaven, but they're not there yet, and they're not there yet because of that unfinished weight of damage that they've left behind. They can't repair that on their own now, but we can help them. And so every now and then the church looks at its treasuries and it recognizes that the saints, our lady, our Lord have all done works of penance that go beyond anything they've done, especially Jesus and Mary, who never committed any sin. And so every now and then the church opens the treasury of that extra goodness and it makes a gift to its people from that treasury. That gift is called an indulgence. And what an indulgence does is it writes down some of that debt. It takes some of that unrepaired damage away. That's a significant gift. A plenary indulgence takes it all away. It's an enormous gift. The soul in purgatory who receives the gift of a plenary indulgence is that soul that hears Jesus say, "Call him to me." "What do you want me to do for you? Lord, I want to see salvation. Come with me." It's a remarkable moment. Our prayers are graced by the church over these coming days and we would be wise to take advantage of that. Every year this grace is accorded to us. Every year this privilege is given to us. Every year the church wants us to call out to heaven on behalf of our loved ones whom we miss, whom we care about, and whom we can help by means of our prayers. Note how wonderful that is. We are not helpless in our loss. We in fact can do something. Here at the shrine, beginning on November 2nd, our all souls, novina will begin. We'll be setting aside nine consecutive days. The mass intention for those nine days and the intention of the extra novina prayers likewise is for our departed loved ones. It's reserved for all of those people whose names come back to us on our envelopes and we'll have the envelopes available at the end of mass. But again, I can't stress this enough. We've all lost somebody. We are not helpless in our loss. We can pray. And we can do it with confidence because that same Lord Jesus who gave sight to Bartimaeus, who longs to receive our loved ones is going to be right here. And he's not going to pass us by. He's going to come to the front of this sanctuary and he's going to call us to himself today. And however helpless or blind we may personally feel it is the Lord coming here to us. And when you come forward, you stand before the minister with the seborium with the sacred host in his hand. And the priest lifts it up and says to you the body of Christ. That is Jesus looking at you saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" Stretch out your hand in faith. Receive him in faith. And if all you say is the prayer of Bartimaeus, Lord I want to see, or son of David have mercy on me, that's a really good prayer. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]