Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, we hear of a blind man sitting by the road as Jesus and the crowd walk past. As he walks past, the blind man calls out to Jesus hoping to be healed, and yet the crowd tries to silence his pleas. As our society slowly becomes more anti-God and anti-faith, it can become difficult for those with faith to persistently pray to God with our petitions. We can relate to the blind man trying to petition Jesus to heal him while being actively silenced by the people around him. Like the blind man, however, we cannot lose faith but should call out even more loudly. In the same way, the blind man continues calling to Jesus despite the rebukes of the crowd, we, too, must persevere in petitioning Jesus, believing that the Lord will hear our prayers. Jesus stops, draws near the blind man, and heals him because of his faith. So, if we too persevere and have faith, Jesus will see our perseverance in faith and answer our prayers. When Jesus comes to us, and answers our petitions, we should imitate the blind man and follow Jesus with an even greater faith.
The experience of having one’s prayers answered is not meant to be private but to be joyously shared for the greater glory of God and the building up of faith in the body of Christ. In my experience, having a prayer answered is powerful on its own, but going forth and humbly sharing that experience with another person amplifies and enriches the goodness initially gifted to one person.
Today’s gospel powerfully reminds us that no one can separate the one who has faith from Jesus our loving God, no matter how loud and disruptive they seem. As you go about your day, try to be aware of Christ drawing near to you and answering your prayers. Take that opportunity to share that joy with others so that all of you may praise God together.
Reflection by Nathaniel, seminarian
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections