Jeremiah 31:7-9, Psalm 126:1-6, Hebrews 5:1-6, Mark 10:46-52

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel. 2 Tim 1:10
Jeremiah 31:7-9, Psalm 126:1-6, Hebrews 5:1-6, 
Mark 10:46-52


Jeremiah 31:7-9

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

Ever since we lost paradise God has sought to restore more than sin destroyed. God revealed to His sinful creatures, totally unworthy of His love, the extent that He would go to reveal to them His love. It is unfathomable that the Father was willing to send You, His only Son, to become like us and take upon Yourself our shame, our iniquity, our punishment. 

God has indeed delivered His people. We are the New Israel. He has brought us back to Himself. He will gather us up from every corner of the globe. 

You heal us of all our infirmities, You cleanse us of all our sins, You feed us with Your Body, and Your Blood and You make us members of Your Body, the Church, Your Bride. You have taught us to call the Most High, Father. Grafted to You, His Son, we are indeed His children and co-heirs with You to the Kingdom.

Psalm 126:1-6

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

Truly we ought to exult all the days of our life because You have saved us. You have restored all that our first parents lost through original sin. We who were captives of sin and have been set free and we are made welcome once again in the household of God.

We who had lost everything and faced eternal death have now become members of the family of God. You have revealed the Face of the Father and His infinite and unfathomable love for His unworthy creatures.

Truly God has done the unthinkable, the unimaginable, when He sent You into the world to become the means by which we are all saved. You have restored a hundred-fold all that we had lost. Thank You for the Sacraments that provide the grace to enable us to work our salvation with fear and trembling with the help that they provide. We cannot be holy and perfect on our own strength. Thank You for giving us the means through which we can draw grace from the springs of Living Water.

Hebrews 5:1-6

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

Thank You for reminding us that every priest is invited by God to represent His people as He offers to the Father the only Sacrifice that is pleasing to Him. From the rising of the sun to its setting the pleasing fragrance of this Sacrifice makes atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world. 

Our corrupt world would have long ago been annihilated and vaporized out of memory were it not for the Holy Mass that is offered continually to the glory of God. It is You who alone takes away the sins of the world. It is You who makes intercession night and day before the Throne of the Father. 

You did not come into the world but were sent by God as our High Priest without stain or blemish. Pure and Perfect and pleasing to the Father in every way. Just as God sent You, in the same way, it is God who calls men to be priests. This is why we must respect them, pray for them, encourage them, love and support them and help them to be true to their calling. 

Mark 10:46-52

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

You healed many, too numerous to count or to name but there are some miracles recounted by the evangelists where they give some details of the person healed. 

The evangelist Mark in his account of the miracle makes the scene come alive. It is vibrant with sound, with pain, with hope. Bartimaeus must have been a familiar sight to regular travelers on that road that is why perhaps they knew that he was the son of Timaeus. Most of them must have dropped coins in the blind man's begging bowl as they walked past him. Some of them may have mentioned You to him and the miracles You were performing everywhere You went. It is no wonder then that he was practically trembling with anticipation when he found out that You were to pass that way. This was perhaps his only chance for a miracle and he was not about to let the opportunity slip by.

He heard the crowd get louder as they drew nearer. He shouted as loud as his lungs would let him, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

There are many people in the world who get uncomfortable when people draw attention to themselves. There were many like them in this particular crowd who rebuked the blind beggar and urged him to be quiet. But he would have none of it. The more they scolded him the louder he shouted. Until he was heard. Of course, You heard. You knew he was there and You would bless his faith in You.

When You called to him to approach You, the crowd changed their tune and said, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you." That was all the invitation he needed. He threw aside his cloak, sprang up and almost sprinted to You. I love what You said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?"  It was obvious what he wanted but You desire us to make our needs known to You even though You know what is in our hearts. You want us to open our mouths and express all that we desire. The blind man made known to You his deepest need, "Master, I want to see." That's all it took for the miracle to take place. "Go your way; your faith has saved you." He received his sight and his joy was so great he did not go back but followed You.

This is the conversion story of everyone who has been blind to the Good News but upon being given the gift of faith, leaves behind the old way of living, and follows You.