Sunday Reading Reflections
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 25, 2009 (29B)
SUNDAY READINGS
HOMILIES FOR SUNDAY
BURNING QUESTION: What is Faith?
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First Reading
Book of the prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 31, Verses 7-9
1. This reading is about God’s promise to deliver his people. They are a remnant, blind and lame, with child or not, and they departed in tears. What does your parish or office or family do to help God’s promise come true? What do you do?
2. Is there anyone in your life who just needs the road “leveled out” a little? If you help, how is this good for both of you? Does self-giving help bring about the reign of God?
Second Reading
Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 5, Verses 1-6
1. “He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness.” How would “experiencing weakness” help a person minister to others? Do you think Jesus’ human experience and suffering draws people to him?
2. Baptism makes all of us ministers in the reign of God. Think about Moses, Peter, Paul, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Blessed Fr. Damien and others. Discuss how weaknesses can help make good ministers.
Gospel
According to Mark, Chapter 10, Verses 46-52
1. Bartimaeus was kept calling out to Jesus, in spite of the fact that the crowd was trying to shut him up. What do you do when others tell you to keep quiet? In the history of the Church can you think of great scientists and theologians who were silenced?
2. “Master, I want to see.” What is it that you want to “see” that will change your life as radically as Bartimaeus changed his? What was the miracle here, the faith of Bartimaeus or the healing of physical blindness?
Share Your Reflections
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Our Priest was talking about this at Mass and recanted the following true story.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago in London at Hyde Park a man stood on a soap box, a non-believer, and said.
"People say there is a God, but I cannot see him"
"People say there is life beyond death, but I cannot see it"
"People say there is a Heaven and a Hell, but I cannot see them"
and he stood down. Then another, frail man went to the soap box, and needed some help to get up, for he was blind, and he said;
"People say there is green grass all around, but I cannot see it"
"People say the sky is a bright blue, but I cannot see it"
"People say there are trees of many colours, but I cannot see them"
Faith therefore, is surely the ability to see.
Hebrews 11:1 says, " Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen." i.e., We know God will work all things for our good even though any concrete evidence of that is still lacking or unclear. It takes no faith to have something resolved or in hand. It's also encouraging to note Jesus' word on the subject - that we only need faith the size of a mustard seed
ReplyDeleteI describe faith as a state of mind born from the repetition of our catholic traditions, prayer and bible study. To transform our thoughts and actions into alignment with the Holy Trinity. Faith is a verb not a noun. Not to go to deep into this but to many times people say I have faith as a description instead of like the blind man faith became action and he was healed because of it.
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