First reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah Jer 31:7-9
Thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.
Psalms, 126 When Yahweh brought back Zion's captives we lived in a dream;
then our mouths filled with laughter, and our lips with song. Then the nations kept saying, 'What great deeds Yahweh has done for them!'
Yes, Yahweh did great deeds for us, and we were overjoyed.
Bring back, Yahweh, our people from captivity like torrents in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears sing as they reap.
He went off, went off weeping, carrying the seed. He comes back, comes back singing, bringing in his sheaves.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews Heb 5:1-6
Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: You are my son: this day I have begotten you; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
GOSPEL From the Gospel according to Mark Mk 10:46-52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, 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 many 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 cloak, sprang 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Greater than any discussion to the contrary, there is a voice in mankind’s heart that invokes. We all have this voice within. A voice that comes forth spontaneously without anyone commanding it, a voice that asks itself about the meaning of our journey on earth, especially when we find ourselves in darkness: “Jesus, have mercy on me! Jesus have mercy on me!”. This is a beautiful prayer. (General Audience, 6 May 2020)
FAUSTI Jesus is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), the Son of David who exercises His kingship by showing Mercy, He is the Lord who gives sight to the blind (Ps 146:8). The invocation of His Name is our salvation. And it saves us because it is all Mercy addressed to our misery. The disciple becomes a disciple through the calling of the Name of Jesus and request for His Mercy. This heals his blindness and he can contemplate in the Crucified One what the eye has seen nor hear heard, nor ever enter the heart of man, but which God has prepared for those who love Him. He is enlightened: finally seeing reality. "What do you want Me do for you? asks Jesus to the blind man. It is the same question that the Gospel asks of each of us, who, like him, finds himself blind, in a position of sitting and out of the way. This is the decisive question of the Gospel. It is only if I am blind, and I know it, that I know what I want, and I ask Him. And we make our own the answer of the blind man: "Jesus have mercy on me. "Rabboni," Rabboni, let me see now! " Finally, Jesus hears the request He has always waited for. Only in this way can we obtain the sight: we have faith that saves, and we follow Him on His way. Seeing the Lord is the life of man. Born for this reason, he is always agitated until he contemplates the Face. Jesus on the Cross will tear the veil of the temple and fully will reveal God on earth. The purpose of all the catechesis of Jesus to his disciples and of Mark to his reader is to bring here, where the last miracle is done, the definitive one: the healing of blindness. This miracle is a baptismal illumination that brings us into being, out of darkness into the light. It is the gift of the Spirit to see what Jesus is doing in Jerusalem and to examine the depths of God in the Crucified One. In the Gospel of Mark, this blind man is the only one - after the demons - but in a very different way - who calls Jesus by His Name. He has a personal relationship of knowledge and familiarity with him. To call Jesus is to pronounce His Name, the only one in which there is salvation. This blind man is a mirror for each of us. Listening, he has heard God's promise, and he can desire and ask what God wants to give us. The invocation of Jesus' Name makes him jump on his feet, throw his cloak, go to Him, pray to Him and get his sight, so that he can follow Him on his way.
From this story, faith is ear to hear, mouth to invoke, feet to come to Him, hands to throw the cloak and eyes to see and follow Him. Its principle is the recognized misery, its means are the invocation of Mercy, its accomplishment is the illumination that shows the Lord. Jesus is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), the Son of David who exercises his kingdom with mercy, the Lord who gives sight to the blind (Ps 146:8). The invocation of His Name is our salvation. And He saves us because He is the Mercy of our misery. The disciple is begotten as such by the invocation of the Name of Jesus and His Mercy. Thus he heals from his blindness and can contemplate in the Crucified One what the eye has never seen, nor the ear has ever listened, nor has it ever entered the hearts of men and what God has prepared for those who love Him... He is enlightened: he finally sees reality.
First reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
RispondiEliminaJer 31:7-9
Thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my first-born.
Psalms, 126
When Yahweh brought back Zion's captives we lived in a dream;
then our mouths filled with laughter, and our lips with song. Then the nations kept saying, 'What great deeds Yahweh has done for them!'
Yes, Yahweh did great deeds for us, and we were overjoyed.
Bring back, Yahweh, our people from captivity like torrents in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears sing as they reap.
He went off, went off weeping, carrying the seed. He comes back, comes back singing, bringing in his sheaves.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews
Heb 5:1-6
Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.
GOSPEL
From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 10:46-52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, 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 many 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 cloak, sprang 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Greater than any discussion to the contrary, there is a voice in mankind’s heart that invokes. We all have this voice within. A voice that comes forth spontaneously without anyone commanding it, a voice that asks itself about the meaning of our journey on earth, especially when we find ourselves in darkness: “Jesus, have mercy on me! Jesus have mercy on me!”. This is a beautiful prayer. (General Audience, 6 May 2020)
FAUSTI Jesus is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), the Son of David who exercises His kingship by showing Mercy, He is the Lord who gives sight to the blind (Ps 146:8). The invocation of His Name is our salvation.
RispondiEliminaAnd it saves us because it is all Mercy addressed to our misery.
The disciple becomes a disciple through the calling of the Name of Jesus and request for His Mercy.
This heals his blindness and he can contemplate in the Crucified One what the eye has seen nor hear heard, nor ever enter the heart of man, but which God has prepared for those who love Him.
He is enlightened: finally seeing reality.
"What do you want Me do for you? asks Jesus to the blind man. It is the same question that the Gospel asks of each of us, who, like him, finds himself blind, in a position of sitting and out of the way.
This is the decisive question of the Gospel. It is only if I am blind, and I know it, that I know what I want, and I ask Him. And we make our own the answer of the blind man: "Jesus have mercy on me. "Rabboni," Rabboni, let me see now! "
Finally, Jesus hears the request He has always waited for.
Only in this way can we obtain the sight: we have faith that saves, and we follow Him on His way.
Seeing the Lord is the life of man. Born for this reason, he is always agitated until he contemplates the Face. Jesus on the Cross will tear the veil of the temple and fully will reveal God on earth.
The purpose of all the catechesis of Jesus to his disciples and of Mark to his reader is to bring here, where the last miracle is done, the definitive one: the healing of blindness.
This miracle is a baptismal illumination that brings us into being, out of darkness into the light.
It is the gift of the Spirit to see what Jesus is doing in Jerusalem and to examine the depths of God in the Crucified One. In the Gospel of Mark, this blind man is the only one - after the demons - but in a very different way - who calls Jesus by His Name. He has a personal relationship of knowledge and familiarity with him. To call Jesus is to pronounce His Name, the only one in which there is salvation.
This blind man is a mirror for each of us. Listening, he has heard God's promise, and he can desire and ask what God wants to give us. The invocation of Jesus' Name makes him jump on his feet, throw his cloak, go to Him, pray to Him and get his sight, so that he can follow Him on his way.
From this story, faith is ear to hear, mouth to invoke, feet to come to Him, hands to throw the cloak and eyes to see and follow Him.
Its principle is the recognized misery, its means are the invocation of Mercy, its accomplishment is the illumination that shows the Lord.
Jesus is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), the Son of David who exercises his kingdom with mercy, the Lord who gives sight to the blind (Ps 146:8). The invocation of His Name is our salvation. And He saves us because He is the Mercy of our misery.
The disciple is begotten as such by the invocation of the Name of Jesus and His Mercy.
Thus he heals from his blindness and can contemplate in the Crucified One what the eye has never seen, nor the ear has ever listened, nor has it ever entered the hearts of men and what God has prepared for those who love Him...
He is enlightened: he finally sees reality.