Monday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
Do you ever feel jealous of the saints? It seems impossible not to have a firm faith if you bear the marks of Christ’s crucifixion on your body like St. Francis of Assisi, or if our Lord comes to you in visions like he did for St. Faustina. Their stories are remarkable for the way we can so clearly see God working in and through them. But it sometimes also raises a question: Lord, why don’t You do the same for me? Don’t You want me to have such a deep faith?
A small detail in today’s gospel reveals a different way to think about the gifts given to those around us. Jesus giving sight to the blind man is certainly a special grace, but did you notice what happened afterwards? Not only does the blind man follow Jesus, “giving glory to God,” but “all the people gave praise to God.” Seeing the Lord’s work in just one brother’s life was enough to lead all the people to praise!
In truth, the graces someone receives from God’s hand are never meant only for them. These gifts are meant to build up the whole Body of Christ. That means when God blesses anyone around you, the gift is, in a way, for you, too: it can strengthen your faith in Him and lead you to a greater love of God through that gifted neighbor. We can take comfort in knowing that our Lord, in His providence, bestows those gifts when and where they are needed, and He chooses the types of gifts that will best accomplish His will. We might feel like it would be easier to live the Christian life well if the Lord would only give us some extraordinary grace, as with great saints, but really, He has already given us everything we need to live well and love Him in the way He has chosen for us. By humbly accepting even the mundane, seemingly un-saintly circumstances in which God wants us to glorify Him, our lives become a witness of His power truly at work in the world, and the entire Body of Christ is led to deeper faith.
Reflection by Noah, seminarian
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections