Jeremiah 31:7-9 / Hebrews 5:1-6 / Mark 10:46-52

Dear brothers and sisters, it is great that we are gathered together again, beginning a new week. We are in the final stretch of Ordinary Time. 

And, this Sunday, the evangelist Mark presents us with Jesus recognized as the Son of David by the blind Bartimaeus, who recovers his sight through faith and follows Jesus on the way. 

It is very uncomfortable not to be able to see. Sight is a fundamental sense. Without sight, we become vulnerable and dependent. Life is seriously impaired if we cannot see well and clearly. 

From the perspective of Judaism, those who are with God see perfectly and walk in righteousness, and the blind are sinners far from God. But Jesus' logic and actions are different. 

When the blind Bartimaeus - full of faith - cried out to Jesus, many rebuked him, certainly because they saw the blind man as a sinner who should stay away. But Jesus - sensitive to Bartimaeus' vulnerability and seeing his faith - in addition to asking him to come closer, made him recover his sight, recover his dignity, and his autonomy. 

Bartimaeus' eyes could not see, but his heart saw perfectly. Full of faith, the blind man recognized Jesus as the Son of David, which was one of the messianic titles. In fact, the Messiah would be a descendant of King David, according to the Jewish faith. We must ask God for the same faith as Bartimaeus to recognize Jesus as the Son of God capable of recovering our dignity wounded by sin. 

In life, we must ignore people who try to hinder our encounter with Jesus and we must value people who encourage us to approach Him with faith. 

The Church today must carry out the same mission as Christ, opening the eyes of humanity so that they may recover their sight and walk with God in righteousness. 

The prophecy of Jeremiah - today's first reading - speaks of God's promise that He would bring back the exiled members of His people. God would answer the praise of His people in tears. There would be blind people among them, who would be led on a level road so that none would stumble. 

As we saw in today's Gospel, Jesus, as the true Messiah sent by God, fulfills the divine promises made through the prophets, bringing us back after our failure in sin and leading us on the way of righteousness and holiness.  

The letter to the Hebrews - today's second reading - speaks of Jesus as the High Priest made before God, in the order of King Melchizedek, that is, an eternal priesthood. Being truly man, Jesus knows human weakness and, therefore, has compassion for us who are in ignorance and error.  

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus offered the most perfect of all gifts - his life on the Cross - as a sacrifice for sins. For this reason, we have been forgiven by God.  

By participating in the priesthood of Christ, may the ordained ministers (bishops, fathers and deacons) - taken from among men and made their representative before God - also be able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, announcing the Good News of the Kingdom of God with joy and hope.

Local: Springfield, MA, EUA

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