Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (October 29, 2006)

Readings Jer 31: 7-9 Ps 126: 1-6 Heb 5: 1-6 Mk 10: 46-52

Suggested Emphasis

Have the strength to recognize in our own blindness how Jesus might heal us.

Salesian Perspective

In our first reading we are reminded of the Lord's promise to the people of Israel that God will protect them and bring them home for He is "the Father of Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn." God is particularly solicitous of the weak, women with children, and those who cannot care for themselves.

This concern exhibited by a loving Father gives us some glimpse into the unique relationship between God and His people. St. Francis de Sales continually reminds us of God's love for his creation. This "truth" certainly makes sense and is very consistent with the fundamental reason for our existence. After all, what child is not loved by his or her parents in a totally gratuitous fashion?

In our second reading we are confronted with the role of the high priest, human as we all are. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews makes clear that the high priest is able to be compassionate because he, himself, is a wounded healer. Here, again, we see the gratuitous nature of our relationship to our God. God gives to us a vocation, no matter what our state in life. It is not ours to take, but rather to respond to his invitation.

The Gospel recounts the story of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. What a wonderful story to help us to understand how much we are loved by our God unconditionally. However, this relationship, while gratuitous, is not passive. Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus to have pity on him. Jesus, in response, returns the sight of the blind man. The blind man asks that he might be able to see and Jesus tells him that his faith has saved him.

We ask for the faith that we need to see the fundamental relationship between God and his people. Our blindness keeps us from seeing the unique goodness in each person. This inability to see the good keeps us in our sinfulness and denies us the possibility of maximizing our gifts and talents for our own good and the good of our brothers and sisters.

Francis de Sales challenges us to have the faith of the blind man and so to be confident enough in our own intrinsic self worth that we dare to ask our Lord for his healing power in our lives, that we might see. If we are strong enough to take this step, oh, the places we will go!

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.