16 November 2020

Monday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

The blind man in today’s Gospel from Luke demonstrates an important attitude for us to imitate as Christians. When he hears that Jesus is passing by him on the road, he does not hesitate to cry out to him, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The blind man recognizes that Jesus is the one who can heal his blindness, and he will not stop asking the Lord to help him, even as the crowds try to shush him and push him aside. His persistence in calling on the Lord is rewarded, and despite the initial resistance, he receives the healing he seeks.

Each of us has our own faults and habitual sins, our areas of spiritual blindness and infirmity, and these can cause us great distress. Yet instead of despairing, we need, like the blind man in the Gospel, to call out to Jesus, because he is the one who can heal us. If the Lord does not respond right away, the evil spirit may act like this crowd, trying to shush us and discourage us from calling out in need. With  faith like the blind man, however, we can continue to call out to the Lord, confident that He will stop as he passes by and visit us with his grace.