Sunday, November 19, 2006
MONDAY 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
NOVEMBER 20, 2006
MONDAY 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR II
REVELATIONS 1:1-4; 2:1-5
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his
servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his
angel to his servant John, who gives witness to the word of God and
to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw. Blessed
is the one who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this
prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed
time is near. John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace to you and
peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the
seven spirits before his throne. I heard the Lord saying to me: "To
the angel of the Church in Ephesus, write this: "`The one who holds
the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the
seven gold lampstands says this: "I know your works, your labor, and
your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have
tested those who call themselves Apostles but are not, and
discovered that they are impostors. Moreover, you have endurance and
have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. Yet I hold
this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize
how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first.
Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its
place, unless you repent."'"
LUKE 18:35-43
As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside
begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was
happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He
shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" The people walking
in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling
out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!" Then Jesus
stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came
near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He
replied, "Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight;
your faith has saved you." He immediately received his sight and
followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the
people gave praise to God.
REFLECTION
In Jesus' day, the cultural understanding of blindness made a blind
person's disability even harder to bear. The Jews saw blindness as
God's judgment on a sin committed by the blind man himself or by one
of his family members. Therefore, as we see in today's Gospel, no
one in the crowd felt any moral responsibility to help the blind man
who was crying out to Jesus. They even told him to be quiet because
he was making it impossible for them to hear Jesus' words.
Jesus' compassion is in marked contradiction of the crowd's
hostility. Jesus wants all of us to have life in its fullness; you
remember he expressly says this in John's Gospel. He wants all
people to share in the happiness God has intended for them. He wants
all to posses a sufficiency of material blessings so that we will
all be free to search and find God and to experience the love of
God, who constantly searches for us. Bible Alive points out that in
today's Gospel, "Jesus heals the blind man who then follows Jesus on
the way as he realizes he has found not only his sight but the
answer to his deepest needs."
This Gospel incident challenges our own attitude to the millions in
our world who are in need. The late Pope John Paul II, in his
encyclical, "On Social Concern," urges us to develop the virtue of
solidarity with the poor. "This solidarity," the Pope writes, "is
not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at their
misfortunes but a firm and persevering determination to commit
oneself to the common good ... to lose oneself for the sake of the
other."
Bible Alive concludes this reflection, with a prayer: "Father, you
have given all peoples one common origin and your will is to gather
them as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of all with the
fire of your love. By sharing the good things you give us, may we
secure justice and equality for every human being, an end to all
division, and a human society built on love and peace."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the personal intentions of Stefanie.
- for the speedy recovery of Antonio Torre, Jr.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Charito C. Garcia
- In Memoriam (+): Charles Kang Lim (Oct 17, 1960 - Nov 20, 1997)
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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