Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
In the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth. Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was drying up. Noah built an altar to the Lord, and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the Lord smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself: «Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease».
My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, o Jerusalem.
“His sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly”
Fr. Joaquim MESEGUER García (Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)Today through a miracle, Jesus speaks to us about the process of faith. The healing of the blind man in two stages shows that faith is not always an instantaneous enlightenment but often requires an itinerary that brings us closer to the light and makes us see clearly. However, the first step of faith – beginning to see reality in the light of God – is already a reason for joy, as St. Augustine says: “Once the eyes have been cured, what else can we, o brothers, have more valuable? Let those who can see that light enjoy it, whether it flares in the sky or comes from a torch. And how unhappy should they feel those who cannot see it!”
When they arrive at Bethsaida, a blind man is brought to Jesus so that he may lay his hands on him. It is significant that Jesus takes him outside; does this not indicate to us that to hear the Word of God, to discover faith and see reality in Christ, we must come out of ourselves, out of noisy spaces and times that suffocate and dazzle us, in order to receive authentic enlightenment?
Once outside the village, [Jesus] “putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked, ‘Do you see anything?’” (Mk 8:23). This gesture recalls Baptism: Jesus no longer puts saliva on us, but bathes our whole being in the water of salvation and, throughout our lives, questions us about what we see in the light of faith. “Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly” (Mk 8:25). This second moment recalls the sacrament of Confirmation, in which we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit to reach maturity in faith and see more clearly. Receiving Baptism but forgetting Confirmation leads us to see, yes, but only halfway.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“God proposes the mysteries of faith to our souls amidst obscurities and darkness. But the act of faith consists in this very acquiescence of our spirit, which has received the grateful light of truth” (Saint Francis de Sales)
“Let us allow ourselves to be healed by Jesus, who can and wants to give us God's light. Let us confess our blindness, our shortsightedness, and especially what the Bible calls the ‘great transgression’: pride.” (Benedict XVI)
“Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them. In his name the apostles will do the same. Even more pointedly, it is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given (…).” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 699)