The Catholic Calendar for Sunday, October 29, 2000
The Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 126:1-6
Hebrews 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52
Full text: http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/index.htm
A reflection on today's Scripture:
Despite the crowd's attempt to silence blind Bartamaeus, Jesus heard
the anguish in his cry and healed him. Our Lord desires to heal
humanity beyond physicalinfirmities; He heard from Bartamaeus a plea
for mercy, relief from the indignities inflicted on him by those on
whose charity he depended.
Today we disguise our wish to be rid of "inconvenient" people through
medical advancements. We seek to improve the quality of life by
killing the helpless or by interrupting untimely pregnancies then
harvesting cells and organs for transplant or using their bodies for
experimentation.
However lofty they may sound, all human plans at self-improvement will
fail if they negate God's universal law that humanity, created in
God's image, is sacred, that we possess an immortal soul, a spirit
enabling us to commune with Him and participate in His very life and
holiness, if we obey His Word.
Rejecting this premise, we declare one another worthless, revert to
jungle morality where the strong prey on the weak. Christ's healing of
blind Bartamaeus strongly affirms the Almighty, ever-loving God's
mercy and overturns the crowd's heartless view that he is worthless,
undeserving of being heard. Our world needs to relearn the truth of
human sanctity, cease measuring human worth by worldly standards.
Merciful God,
gentle our hearts
that our every word and action
may reveal your love. Amen.
- Marie L. Bocko, OCDS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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