BEST TIME

 Today’s 1^st reading reminded me of Sis Joy's testimony of the victorious court trial that took place in October 13, 2009 (Feast of Our Lady of Fatima). She said that the day of their accident was also the day of their Family Consecration to our Blessed Mother Mary. She was completely at a loss for the right words to say and could not understand the meaning of what happened since they got consecrated as a family in the morning, was full of hope and joy on that day but just before that day ended she met this accident that totally wrecked her car and worst the policeman made an erroneous report that states that she is the one at fault. Despite the discouraging circumstances that took place she said that she continued to trust the loving care of Mama Mary. And she was not disappointed for on the day of the court hearing which was originally set for Oct. 6 but moved to Oct. 13 (Feast of Our Lady of Fatima) she was proclaimed not guilty. Everything really happens for a reason at a time we never expect but definitely the best time appointed by the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Jeremiah 31: 7-9

...They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. 

We really tend to take for granted the things within our reach and sight. There are times when we really have to strengthen our faith and hope for something we do not see and wait with endurance. We may be experiencing right now, so many unforeseen events but we should always wait and hope that the Lord will be gracious and reveal His glory. There is some truth to the famous saying, “Easy come, easy go.” If there are some things that we've been praying for and it seems like nothing is happening we should never give up. Every good work should be carefully planned and carried out to completion. Though the process may be long and hard we can always count on God to stick with us through and through and make it happen. If we are always manifesting in our lives the values of the passion and death of Jesus then we are assured of the resurrection. For this reason it is good to share this prayer of Mother Angelica in times of temptation and whenever we are on the verge of giving up when undergoing trials and tribulations. The prayer suggests that we focus on the 12^th station of the cross which is when Jesus dies on the cross while reciting the following: Eternal Father, I offer you the 6 hours of agony, the death and the piercing of Your Son’s Sacred Heart for… (mention the need or petition). This is effective in the sense that the Lord looks down upon His Son, His agony, death and the piercing of His sacred heart for our sake. Only to God can we look with so much hope and confidence that the desert we are presently encountering at the moment will be turned into a refreshing spring of water. We may be suffering long enough under the heat of this life's difficulties but we must not forget that God is able to turn everything into green pastures. It is undeniable that if we will just look very closely at our lives we'll see and find out that the Lord has indeed done great things for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 126:1-2. 2-3. 4-5. 6 (3)

R: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

1 When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. (R) Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. (R) 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert. 5 Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. (R) 6 Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves.

Is there something more we still need to see in order to believe? I guess, we've all seen enough no matter who we are, what we've been through or still going through, how much we've known or learned and where we're all coming from there's always this undeniable reality of a Supreme Being and Power who is God. Except, of course for those stubborn atheists. But if we believe so, then we should all be fully aware that this Almighty God is also All Loving and Most Compassionate that He suffered His only Son to suffer for our sake, what a privilege!  Amen. Hallelujah! 

Hebrews 5:1-6

...No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: “You are my son; this day I have begotten you”;... 

The homily of Fr. Glenn in the TV mass with regards to the gospel for today spoke of the name origin of Bartimaeus which was taken from the words honor and dignity. He said that Jesus did not heal his blindness alone but also restored his honor and dignity. He further said that all of us have a mission and there is a need to distinguish this mission from ambition. There is nothing wrong with ambition and said that there are 2 kinds of ambitions, positive and negative. In order to recognize which of them is present he spelled the word ambition in Tagalog as in ambisyon and enumerated the words that can be found in it like, bisyo which means vice, isyo=issue and yosi if read backwards which means cigarette. These words are things that can bring about problems that give rise to malas=misfortune and sakit=sickness.The words malas and sakit which are by products of a negative ambition can be turned into something good if we have a positive ambition. Since these 2 words when combined together can become concern which means malasakit in Tagalog. We are called to develop a deep sense of concern for our fellowmen and at least start with something in order to fulfill our mission. In today’s gospel the blind man cries out to Jesus by the roadside upon hearing that Jesus is there. If we hope to grow in our spiritual life then we can learn from Bartimaeus. We often times are struggling with our vices and character flaws. Jesus wants to draw us closer to Him. Bartimaeus showed us how to respond to this by calling out to Jesus as Son of David. This signifies an acknowledgement and awareness of who Jesus is. What keeps us from doing this is our struggle with our anguish and our dependence on our own strength instead of immediately turning to God by asking for the grace to grow in virtue. We can not change without God’s grace. When he cried out to Jesus many told him to be quiet but he kept on crying out. This is a beautiful point that we have to take into consideration. We should not de discouraged or disappointed so easily. Another important thing being pointed out here is the importance of family and friends that help us draw closer to God. We need help from above and our friends and families to help us. Bartimaeus has a strong spirituality because it is written that he immediately followed Jesus despite Jesus' words, "Go your way" but he didn't go his own way but followed Jesus. He was healed by word and in an instant the moment Jesus spoke. During that time, the cloak signifies who you are. He is a beggar and his cloak stands for everything he is and owns since he uses it to place the money he gets from begging. Bartimaeus even left his cloak and rushed to Jesus like he did not care about anything anymore for he found in Jesus everything. Bartimaeus throws the cloak aside, this signifies a great desire for Christ. We can not hide anything from God. In our lives, He sees the motives in our hearts. If we go to Him, we will not be left unconsoled. We call out to God to teach us faith and perseverance. There are times when what we pray for takes a while. We must have the kind of faith that believes that Jesus listens to our cries and answers our prayers. He makes us whole, holy and great saints.  Our faith should give us a new sight about things. This new vision of life should make us see God so close to us. The ways that we encounter Jesus today is no different 2000 yrs ago.  We can receive Him body, blood, soul & divinity in the Eucharist. We are in communion with Him through the sacraments. As Catholics we perfect this new reality & wholeness of the presence of Jesus in the sacraments where we’re given this great buffet of graces.  We can make contact with Jesus in the sacraments. If are we faithful to the sacraments and also in service to our brothers and sisters then we encounter the living God in such a real way. Another similar story that could somehow be compared to this is from Jn. 4:4 of a Samaritan woman fetching water but when she learned about the life giving water which Jesus spoke of she immediately left her jar of water when she realized who Jesus is. She left behind her old life and follow the way of Jesus. On the other hand there's this story of another unnamed blind man in Bethsaida, he was not healed instantly rather slowly and gradually. He was healed by touch with a spittle and was sent home. The evangelist, Mark where today's gospel is from recognizes the differences in spirituality of the members of the community. He knows that there are people that are quick in understanding things concerning matters of the faith and there are those who are slow. But this doesn't mean that we kick them out of the community. Mark sees the community as all sinners because ours is a flawed community and it is for this reason that Jesus came. Peter whom we thought was the first person who got it all right about Jesus as the Messiah denied Jesus 3x but he was not thrown out of the community. He proved himself true to his faith by his succeeding actions which led to his dying on the cross upside down but eventually earned him the honor of becoming the 1st pope of the Church. Just like Peter we have to experience everything in order to fully understand what the secret of the gospel of Mark is all about. For in the end, the Markan community mirrors the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, the Paschal Mystery which is the Markan secret. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 10:46-52

...Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.