Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 27, 2021
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
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, Jesus 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.
As I reflected on this gospel, I marvelled at how Bartimeaus was able to call out to Jesus with such great trust and faith. I wondered how I could come to such a place of profound faith. All of a sudden, the answer was obvious. I needed to recognize my own blindness.
Bartimaeus was a blind person, so he knew that he could not see. He was vulnerable from that start. This made me question how I am blind in my own life. What are things that are too close for me to see clearly? Or what are the things that I choose not to see?
I learned from another commentary on this gospel reading that Bartimeaus’ act of great faith was not only calling out to Jesus for healing, it was also throwing aside his cloak to go to the Lord. As a blind beggar, his cloak was likely the sum total of his worldly possessions. It was not only his wardrobe, it was his shelter. Bartimaeus is able to follow Jesus’ command to leave everything behind and follow him. And he followed him without even being able to see where he was going!
I like to think that I see my life clearly, but Bartimeaus makes me question my own blind spots. Can I see the blessings in my life that God has given me? Am I blind to my own sinfulness which keeps me far away from God’s love? These questions disrupt my secure sense of how I view my own life. That is a good thing, I think. It makes me vulnerable like Bartimeaus. That is the starting point of his great faith in Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, let us be realistic about ourselves and our needs. We ask for courage in the face of difficulties, for faith in the presence of doubt and uncertainty, and for confidence in your strengthening grace. Let us not rob ourselves of these gifts by indifference and merely routine words. Let us know the richness of prayer offered from our hearts.
Saint of the Day
St. Augustine of Canterbury was a missionary who re-evangelized England in the late sixth century through his administrative skills and miracle-working faith.
When Romans withdrew from England in 410, the English were left vulnerable to attacks from the Germanic Saxon tribes. The faith had come to England with the Romans, and it went underground when they left.
In 596, Pope St. Gregory the Great decided it was time to re-evangelize England, having received news that the Church would be welcomed among the kingdoms there. He sent 30 missionaries from the monastery to which he belonged, including the leader of the community, Augustine.
The group arrived in the north of France and were vehemently warned against crossing the channel to England because of the danger of the voyage and the savagery of the people there. Discouraged, Augustine and the group returned to Rome, but Pope Gregory sent them back.
They landed in Thanet and were received by the local king, who would be baptized and later crowned a saint himself—St. Ethelbert. He was open to their mission, gave them the use of a local, unused church, and gave them permission to teach the faith.
Their work helped the faith take root in the region, the king himself was baptized, and Augustine was raised to the position of archbishop. Ethelbert gave Augustine land in Canterbury for a church, where he built Christ Church and an abbey that now bears his name. The Church spread through England, and new dioceses were established in London and Rochester.
Augustine spent his last years consolidating the faithful communities that had been underground, and administering the growing Church. Under Gregory’s guidance, he did not destroy pagan temples, but consecrated them for Christian use; and retained local customs and festivals, using them as occasions to celebrate the Christian faith instead.
His detailed correspondence with Pope Gregory described miracles worked through his intercession—Gregory warned Augustine of pride, and told him to stay focused on the inward realities that the outward signs pointed to.
St. Augustine of Canterbury, you re-established the faith in England—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Augustine of Canterbury is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Last accessed March 11, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons. Modified from the original.
