Edit this in WPZOOM Theme Options 800-123-456
 

WSC Reflection October 24, 2021

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B, Year I)

Community Word: The Kingdom of God is for those who obey His commandment of love.
Theme: We obey God’s commandment of love when we persevere in our faith.
Promise: “I will console and guide them, I will lead them… so that none shall stumble.” (Jer 31:9a)

Reflection:
Narrated in the gospels of Mark (10:46-52), Matthew (9:27-31) and Luke (18:35-43), the story of the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus, is of significant inspiration. The story manifests that Jesus is acknowledged as the Messiah because of the many miracles He has done.
When Jesus passed by, the blind man cried out in desperation, but with a vague cry for mercy, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk 10:48b). In reality, the blind man wanted something more specific than mercy. As Jesus called him, Bartimaeus threw his cloak aside signifying that he wanted to present himself openly, body and soul, in complete surrender to Jesus with an expectant faith that he will be healed from his blindness. When asked by Jesus what he wanted, he specifically answered he wanted to be cured of his blindness. After receiving his sight, he became a follower of Jesus.
Sinfulness is our spiritual blindness which we “cry out” to God for healing. He gives mercy to those who recognize their need for his forgiveness and healing. However, God wants to strengthen us from our weaknesses by changing and transforming our lives, and faith is the key to this transformation. Faith is the foundation of our relationship with the Lord. We must be able to walk by faith and not by sight.
Faith opens the way for us to see the love of God and to experience his healing presence in our lives. Faith is a gift freely given by God to help us know Him personally, to understand His truth, and to experience His unconditional love. For faith to be effective it must be accompanied with trust and obedience – an active submission to God and a willingness to do whatever He commands. Jesus wants us to live in the confident expectation that He will fulfill His promises and bring us into the fullness of His kingdom, a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Like any other virtue, we need to develop a strong and persevering faith. To possess true faith, we should read and ponder on God’s words, have a regular prayer time and seek to recognize God’s commandments in all the people, events, and things that we encounter every day. It is also the kind of faith which can sustain a heart of reverence for and submission to God in every challenging situation, whether encountering illness and disasters, hardships and persecution, setbacks and failures. We must be able to seek the truth, understand God’s will, decide according to His words, and continue to be devoted to Him.
If we persevere in our faith, we will be able to stay on the path leading us to the kingdom of God, living a strong relationship with Him and loving others out of the abundance of love we have received from Him. This is God’s promise to those who possess a persevering faith in Him: “I will console and guide them, I will lead them… so that none shall stumble.” (Jer 31:9a)

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for making me realize that You are always ready to hear the cry of a truly repentant heart and to grant the prayer of those who faithfully persevere in their struggles. We pray that you will continue to console, guide and lead us in our journey towards Your kingdom so that we will not stumble along the way. This is my prayer, hear me Lord. Amen

Reflection Questions:

  1. Are there any blind-spots in your life that hinders you from recognizing God’s power and mercy?
  2. What was your greatest trial and suffering? How did you apply your persevering faith to overcome such situation?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
October 24, 2021 (Sun) – Jer 31:7-9/ Ps 126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6/ Heb 5:1-6/ Mk 10:46-52
October 25, 2021 (Mon) – Rom 8:12-17/ Ps 68:2, 4, 20-21/ Lk 13:10-17
October 26, 2021 (Tue) – Rom 8:18-25/ Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5,6/ Lk 13:18-21
October 27, 2021 (Wed) – Rom 8:26-30/ Ps 13/ Lk 13:22-30
October 28, 2021 (Thurs) – Eph 2:19-22/ Ps 19:2-3, 4-5/ Lk 6:12-16
October 29, 2021 (Fri) – Rom 9:1-5/ Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20/ Lk 14:1-6
October 30, 2021 (Sat) – Rom 11:1-2,25-29/ Ps 94:12-13,14-15,17-18/ Lk 14:1,7,11

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”

 
 

Share this Post