WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?

 READINGS for SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24th, 2021

 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
                       Lectionary: 149

It-Tletin Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

 

 Reading 1               JEREMIAH 31:7-9

Thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob,exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. 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. For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.

QARI 1             mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Ġeremija 31:7-9

Dan jgħid il-Mulej: “Għannu bil-ferħ għal Ġakobb, sellmu lill-ewlieni fost il-ġnus. Xandru, faħħru u niedu: ‘Il-Mulej salva l-poplu tiegħu, il-fdal ta’ Iżrael’. Arani, se nġibhom minn art it-tramuntana, niġborhom minn truf l-art, ilkoll kemm huma, l-għomja u z-zopop, in-nisa bit-tfal u n-nisa fil-ħlas: kotra kbira terġa’ lura hawn. Jiġu bil-biki, imma nfarraġhom jiena u nġibhom lura. Immexxihom lejn l-ilma ġieri, minn mogħdijiet watja biex ma jitfixklux. Għax jien missier għal Iżrael, u Efrajm hu ibni l-kbir”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.Responsorial 

Psalm           PSALM 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
    we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,
    "The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
    we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
    like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
    shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Although they go forth weeping,
    carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
    carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

SALM RESPONSORJALI            SALM 125(126):1-2ab,2ċd-3,4-5,6

R/.(3): Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħna!

Meta l-Mulej reġġa’ lura l-imjassra ta’ Sijon,
konna qisna mitlufa f’ħolma;
imbagħad bid-daħk imtela fommna,
u bl-għajat ta’ ferħ ilsienna. R/.

Imbagħad bdew jgħidu fost il-ġnus:
“Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħhom”.
Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħna!
U aħna bil-ferħ imtlejna. R/.

Biddel, Mulej, xortina
bħall-widien tan-Negeb!
Dawk li jiżirgħu fid-dmugħ
jaħsdu bl-għana ta’ ferħ. R/.

Huma u sejrin imorru jibku,
iġorru ż-żerriegħa għaż-żrigħ.
Iżda huma u ġejjin lura jiġu b’għana ta’ ferħ,
iġorru l-qatet f’idejhom. R/.

Reading 2              HEBREWS 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.e is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 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; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

QARI 2             mill-Ittra lil-Lhud 5:1-6

Kull qassis il-kbir meħud minn fost il-bnedmin, hu mqiegħed għall-bnedmin f’dak li għandu x’jaqsam ma’ Alla, biex joffri doni u sagrifiċċji għad-dnubiet. Hu dak li jista’ jagħder ’il dawk li ma jafux u li jiżbaljaw, għax huwa mlibbes bid-dgħufija; u minħabba f’hekk għandu joffri sagrifiċċji għad-dnubiet tiegħu wkoll, bħalma joffrihom għad-dnubiet tal-poplu. Ħadd m’għandu jieħu b’idejh dal-ġieħ għalih innifsu, imma biss min hu msejjaħ minn Alla, sewwasew kif kien imsejjaħ Aron. Għax hekk ukoll Kristu ma tax lilu nnifsu l-ġieħ li jkun il-qassis il-kbir, imma dan tahulu Alla, li qallu: “Ibni int; illum jien nissiltek”. U kif jgħid ukoll band’oħra: “Int qassis għal dejjem skont l-ordni ta’ Melkisedek”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel          MARK 10:46-52

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.

EVANĠELJU            Qari skond San Mark 10:46-52

F’dak iż-żmien, waqt li Ġesù kien ħiereġ minn Ġeriko flimkien mad-dixxipli tiegħu u ma’ kotra kbira ta’ nies, kien hemm wieħed tallab agħma, jismu Bartimew, bin Timew, bilqiegħda mal-ġenb tat-triq. Dan, meta sama’ li kien Ġesù ta’ Nazaret, qabad jgħajjat u jgħid: “Ġesù, bin David, ikollok ħniena minni!”. Kien hemm ħafna li bdew jgħajtu miegħu biex jiskot imma hu aktar beda jgħajjat: “Bin David, ikollok ħniena minni!”. Ġesù waqaf u qal: “Sejħulu”. Huma sejħu l-agħma u qalulu: “Agħmel il-qalb! Qum, qiegħed isejjaħlek”. Dak tajjar il-mantar minn fuqu, qabeż fuq riġlejh u mar ħdejn Ġesù. U Ġesù kellmu u qallu: “Xi tridni nagħmillek?”. “Li nerġa’ nara, Rabbuni”, wieġbu l-agħma. U Ġesù qallu: “Mur, il-fidi tiegħek fejqitek”. U minnufih raġa’ beda jara, u baqa’ miexi warajh fit-triq. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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Eight-minute  Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil   

OUR LOVING, HEALING AND FORGIVING GOD

Central Theme:

The central theme of this Sunday’s readings is the overflowing mercy and kindness of a loving, healing and forgiving God for His children. (A homily starter anecdote may be added here)

Scripture lessons:

The first reading tells us how a forgiving and compassionate God has been healing the spiritual blindness of His Chosen People by subjecting them to captivity in Babylon; now He will liberate them, bringing them back to their homeland. Connected to this reading is the Jerusalem journey of Jesus in the company of the lame and the blind in today’s Gospel, in which healing of the blind Bartimaeus is seen as the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s joyful prophecy of the exiled Jews return from Babylon to their homeland. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 126) gives us the same encouraging promise: ”Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing!” Today’s second reading, taken from Hebrews 5, presents Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for sins and as the true High Priest of the New Testament. It also gives us the assurance that our High Priest, the sinless Jesus, is sympathetic to us because Jesus has shared our human nature in everything, including temptation. Today’s Gospel explains how Jesus shows the mercy and compassion of His Heavenly Father by healing the blind Bartimaeus. Just as the blind and the lame were God’s concern in the first reading, Jesus is concerned with the blind beggar, Bartimaeus of Jericho. On hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, Bartimaeus loudly expressed his trusting Faith in the healing power of Jesus by shouting his request, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”When Jesus invited him to come near, Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak (suggesting, perhaps, the baptismal divesting). His meeting with Jesus gave Bartimaeus the gift of spiritual as well as physical sight, and the fomer blind beggar became a disciple of Jesus.

Life messages:

1) Instead of remaining in spiritual blindness, let us pray for spiritual sight. Each one of us suffers from spiritual blindness. Hence, we need the light of the Holy Spirit to end our darkness and grant us proper spiritual vision. Let us learn to recognize the causes of our spiritual blindness. Anger, hatred, jealousy, evil habits, addictions etc. make us spiritually blind, and they prevent us from seeing the goodness and presence of God in our family members and neighbors. Hence, let us learn to think about and see the goodness in others without becoming unkind, critical, or judgmental. We are blinded by greed when we are never satisfied with what we have and incur debts to buy luxury items. Hence, let us pray to have a clear vision of Christian values and priorities in our lives and to acknowledge the presence of God dwelling in ourselves and in our neighbors. A clear spiritual vision enables us to see the goodness in others, to express our appreciation for all that they have been doing for us, and to refrain from criticizing their performance.

2) We need to “cry out” to Jesus, as Bartimaeus did. Like Bartimaeus, we must seek the love, mercy, and goodness of Jesus with trusting Faith. Sometimes our fears, anger, and habitual sins prevent us from approaching God in prayer. At times, we even become angry with God when He seems slow in answering our prayers. In these desperate moments, let us approach Jesus in prayer with trusting Faith, as Bartimaeus did, and listen carefully to the voice of Jesus asking us: “What do you want me to do for you?” Let us tell Him all our heart’s intentions and needs.

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