50 Days After

In John chapter 11 there is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. We all know the story, and we can all agree that although Lazarus had only a brief part in the Bible, his story has played a huge role in the salvation of many through the years.
It is an example to point to when we contemplate or speak of the resurrection to come when Jesus returns. It is also an undeniable miracle for a dead and actually rotting man to come back from the dead. This miracle caused a great ripple through the years as the Jews who believed because of it testified of the truth to others who told others and so on.
St Augustine compares Lazarus to a non-repentant sinner (numbers 3 and 4) who seems beyond hope, but that Christ can heal and cause repentance when we have given up hope and he is seemingly dead in his/her sin.
Paul calls the Resurrection the cornerstone of our faith and indeed this is more proof of it that we may hold to our belief.


May God bless all who read my ramblings,

Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was a blind man in the Bible who cried out "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" (Mark 10:46-52, Matthew 20:29-34, Luke 18:35-43) He only appeared in this one incident and it is a brief story. However, despite this small appearance his great act of faith and desire for Jesus' healing has given countless souls inspiration to draw closer to Jesus.
He realizes that no one but Jesus could heal his blindness. Just as Jesus healed physical infirmities, He also heals the soul. We may not be blind in our sight, but more often than not we are blind to something spiritual. Almost all of us realize that there is something we are unable to see. As St Paul put it, "At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known." (1 COR 13:12) Not only that but all of us know our spiritual handicaps, the thorn in our flesh. Blind or not all of us could do to pray as Bartimaeus did for Jesus to heal our weakness and our infirmities, physical and spiritual.
Among those who have been inspired by Bartimaeus is St Josemaria Escriva:

But poor Bartimaeus would not listen to them. He cried out all the more: Son of David, have pity on me. Our Lord, who had heard him right from the beginning, let him persevere in his prayer. He does the same with you. Jesus hears our cries from the very first, but he waits. He wants us to be convinced that we need him. He wants us to beseech him, to persist, like the blind man waiting by the road from Jericho...
And now begins a dialogue with God, a marvelous dialogue that moves us and sets our hearts on fire, for you and I are now Bartimaeus. Christ, who is God, begins to speak and asks, Quid tibi vis faciam? What do you want me to do for you? The blind man answers, Lord, that I may see. (Mk 10:51). How utterly logical! How about yourself, can you really see? Haven’t you too experienced at times what happened to the blind man of Jericho? I can never forget how, when meditating on this passage many years back, and realizing that Jesus was expecting something of me, though I myself did not know what it was, I made up my own aspirations: Lord, what is it you want? What are you asking of me? I had a feeling that he wanted me to take on something new and the cry Rabboni, ut videam, Master, that I may see, moved me to beseech Christ again and again, Lord, whatever it is that you wish, let it be done.

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May all of us persevere in faith and prayer.

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

I saw a quote here:
The Magi set out because of a deep desire which prompted them to leave everything and begin a journey. It was as though they had always been waiting for that star.
This quote caused something in me to think of the Magi's story as an metaphor for vocations. They left everything for a calling to follow the star and meet the new King. When Pope Benedict XVI said "It was as though they had always been waiting for that star.", the lightbulb went off and I realized that God calls all of us to do something like the Magi's journey to glorify Him and lead others to Him. How many people over the two millenia since have been inspired by the story or meditated upon it and developed a deeper relationship with Christ.
That got me to thinking about all the minor characters in the Bible and all the Saints who led quiet, unassuming lives, but have been an inspiration to many people and their example and/or writings have led many others into a deeper relationship with Christ. The Magi were minor if you consider how much they are mentioned in the Bible, but they are quite popular so I will use someone else as a better example.
In the Gospels for instance, is the story of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), the blind man who called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" so that he might be healed of his blindness. Among the Saints is St Therese de Lisieux who led a quiet life in the cloister, but her writings have led millions around the world into a deeper life in Christ and she is now a Doctor of the Church.
Obviously, the list goes on and I'm sure that you could also name many, many more. This is going to be the beginning of a weekly segment on my blog (at least for as long as I can remember to keep doing it; I can be forgetful). I'm calling it Small Seed Saturday. I got the name from the Gospel of St John 12:24: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." There are many Saints and others who have been small seeds planted in the ground who have produced much fruit.
Next week, I'll expound more on Bartimaeus.

May God bless all who read my ramblings,