November
1st, All Saints, and 2nd, All Souls, are holy days in the Church. Mass will be
celebrated at 7:30 on both days. The Book of the Dead is out this weekend so
that you may inscribe the names of your loved ones in the book. They will be
remembered and prayed for during all the Masses in November.
Please
remember that the candles for the holy souls are available from the office. The
candles are $7.00. Please don’t put any dollar store candles on the stands.
They will be taken away because they catch fire and burn.
The
pasta dinner will be held on November 24th and tickets are available at the
exits this weekend and from the office during the week.
Sacred
Scripture
Have you ever encountered a once in a
life-time opportunity you knew you could not pass up? Such a moment came for a
blind and destitute man, named Bartimaeus. He was determined to get near the
one person who could meet his need. He knew who Jesus was and had heard of his
fame for healing, but until now had no means of making contact with the Son of
David, a clear reference and title for the Messiah.
Seeking
Jesus with effort and persistence pays off
It
took a lot of "guts" (courage) and persistence for Bartimaeus to get
the attention of Jesus over the din of a noisy throng who crowded around Jesus
as he made his way out of town. Why was the crowd annoyed with the blind man's
persistent shouts? He was disturbing their peace and interrupting Jesus'
discourse. It was common for a rabbi to teach as he walked with others. Jesus
was on his way to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem and a band of pilgrims
followed him. When the crowd tried to silence the blind man he overpowered them
with his emotional outburst and thus caught the attention of Jesus.
Goodness
and mercy follows those who put their trust in God
This
incident reveals something important about how God interacts with us. The blind
man was determined to get Jesus' attention and he was persistent in the face of
opposition. Jesus could have ignored or rebuffed him because he was disturbing
his talk and his audience. Jesus showed that acting was important than talking. This man was in
desperate need and Jesus was ready, not only to empathize with his suffering,
but to relieve it as well. A great speaker can command attention and respect, but
a man or woman with a helping hand and a big heart is loved more.
What
do you want Jesus to do for you?
Why
did Jesus put a question to Bartimaeus - "What do you want me to do for
you?" Jesus wanted to draw out of him a personal response of faith and trust
in his power to heal and make whole. Jesus commends Bartimaeus for recognizing
who he is with the eyes of faith and grants him physical sight as well. Do you
recognize the Lord Jesus with "eyes of faith" as your merciful Lord
and healer? Ask the Lord Jesus to strengthen your faith that you may draw near
to him and receive his grace and mercy.
"Lord
Jesus, may I never fail to recognize my need for your grace and mercy.
Strengthen my faith and trust in you that I may seek your presence daily and
listen to your word with a readiness to follow you who are my All." (Servants of the word, 2018)
I hope you will have a good
week!Fr. Phil
