« Faith
is the most wonderful gift that God has given us.
« Faith
enables us to discover the loving presence of God in our life.
« Faith
is the light which illumines our journey toward the eternal embrace of the
Three Divine Persons.
« The
readings for this Sunday teach us the meaning of faith. We are celebrating the
Year of Faith.
FIRST READING :
Jer 31:7-9
Ø We
have already met Jeremiah in former Sundays, let us try to know a little bit
more about his book.
o
The text we will read is taken from what is
called “the small book of Consolation = chapters 30 and 31.”
o
These chapters have a parallel in the book of
the Second Isaiah called the Book of
Consolation. The Second Isaiah speaks of the marvels God will do again
in the second Exodus, the return of the exiles from Babylon to their beloved
country, to the city of God Jerusalem. Wonderful
works of God which will remind the people of the wonders of the first Exodus.
Ø The
prophet invites to shouting of joy for Jacob – Israel. To shout with joy because the Lord has saved
his people, the remnant of Israel, the anawin, the little, the poor, the
marginalized, the oppressed who have remained faithful.
Ø The
prophet puts in front of our eyes a wonderful vision, they are a multitude
coming from all the corners of the earth where they were exiled.
Ø This
large crowd is formed by the blind, the lame symbols of the past sufferings and
also by
Ø Pregnant
women who are about to give birth, image of the future, symbolizing the new
life,
Ø God
speaks and says “if they left in tears
o
Now they come back full of the consolation of
God who leads them and
o
Brings them to fountains of water, they are no
longer in the desert,
o
We can apply all these images to our spiritual
journey.
Ø Again
we hear from the voice of the prophet that God is a Father, he is a father to
Ephraim, one of the tribes, the tribe of
Joseph whose territory was distributed between the two sons(Ephraim and
Manasseh) who had been born to him in
Egypt.
RESPONSOTIAL PSALM – Ps 126 THE
LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US, WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY.
ü It is a psalm of joy
ü It speaks of the passage from sorrow to joy; they left in tears, they sowed in tears.
ü It speaks of the passage from sorrow to joy; they left in tears, they sowed in tears.
ü But
now there is joy, their mouth is filled with laughter and songs.
ü What
God has done for them is so extraordinary that even the nations are surprised
on seeing it.
ü God
has changed the sorrow into dancing.
If they sowed in
sorrow now they return carrying their sheaves with joy.
GOSPEL MK 10:46-52
« In
the last two Sundays Mark has presented to us some men who even having eyes
were blind. They could see the light of the sun but they could not understand
the teachings of Jesus.
o
The rich man who wanted to know how to get to
eternal life
o
The two disciples who wanted the first places in
the Kingdom
« Now
Mark presents to us a blind man who cannot see the light of the sun, but he has
inside of his heart the light of faith which enables him to cry out “ Jesus, Son
of David, have pity on me” “Master I want to see”
« This
man is called Bartimaeus which means son of Timaeus.
« Jesus
calls him, and after hearing what he wants, Jesus tells him “Go your way, your
faith has saved you.”
« The
light, the possibility to see, is compared in the Scriptures with having faith,
which is the possibility to see the truth of God, to discover his presence in
our life and in the world.
« Jesus
does not touch the man, he only speaks and says “your faith has saved you.”
With these words Jesus is speaking about a reality which goes beyond the
natural sight, he speaks of the faith of the man in Jesus, faith which can save
us.
« During
several Sundays Mark has spoken to us about the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem
and his teachings to the disciples.
o
He tries to teach them the difficult lesson
about discipleship, how to be like the Teacher
o
These series of lessons reached their
culmination last Sunday when Jesus spoke of service, not as doing things, but
as giving up our life for the salvation of others.
o
And this service is the ultimate love of Jesus
on the cross, the call to love, like Jesus did, any man and any woman as
brother and sister.
« Today
this severity and the fear that these words of the Teacher may awake in us
o
Is changed in a vision of light as the eyes of
the blind man were open to see
o
As we read in the first Reading the exiled come
back singing like the harvesters carrying their sheaves with joy.
o
He who gives his own life for the sake of love
receives the same gift as Bartimaeus, the inner light of faith that enables us
to discover the loving presence of our God, even in the midst of darkness.
SECOND READING : He 5:1-6
ü This
letter is a theological meditation on the Priesthood of Christ. He is
the High Priest of the New Covenant, of the New Law.
ü The
author says that any High Priest
o
Is of the
same human condition as his brothers and sisters
o
That he has not conferred on himself the
priesthood, on the contrary, he has been called by God to the priesthood
o
He is called to offer sacrifices for his sins
and the sins of others
o
Being member of the human race, he knows the weaknesses
and the sins of his people, because he
has experienced them himself.
o
Christ did not conferred on himself the dignity
of the priesthood, He received it from the One who said to Him:
§ “You
are my son, today I have begotten you” “You are a priest forever according to
the order of Melchizedek.”
§ And
in the Jordan “You are my Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
This time, it
happened to me while I was so afflicted for the things I have mentioned above –
and many other more who made me so disgusted – Our Lord told me with great
affection: “Why are you so afflicted, my poor daughter? “Then it came to my
mind how well this great, omnipotent Lord fulfills his words, and that the one
who took care of maintaining four little ants that we were before has the power
to sustain four thousand spouses of His and the whole world as he is actually
doing. O, what consolation and trust these words give! Venerable
Maria Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 90.
I have learned that zeal is an ardent and violent love
that needs to be wisely controlled. Otherwise it might go beyond the limits of
modesty and discretion. Not because divine love, however violent, can be
excessive in itself, nor in the movements and inclinations it gives to our
spirits, but because our understanding fails to choose the proper means or else
uses them in a disorderly manner. Uncontrolled zeal takes us over rough and
wild roads; moved by anger it fails to keep within the bounds of reason and
pushes the heart into disorder. This is how zeal acts indiscreetly,
intemperately, so that it becomes evil and reprehensible. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of
the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 381.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiografía.
PAGOLA, José A. Following in the Footsteps of Jesus. Meditation on the
Gospels of Year B. Convivium, Bogotá 2011.
PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos.
PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos.
Ravassi, Gianfranco. Según las
Escrituras- Año B. San Pablo Bogotá
2005.
Sagrada Biblia, Versión oficial de la Conferencia episcopal española,
Madrid 2011.
