LORD, I WANT TO SEE
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: Sometimes we feel like blind people groping in the dark, sitting disheartened by the side of the road. We can’t make sense of what’s happening in our lives. We need to turn to Jesus and ask him: “Lord, let me see!” He will restore our eyesight so that we can walk on the road he shows us.
Penitential Rite
L: For our blindness to the Lord and to his action in our lives, we ask his forgiveness.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you consoled and guided those in tears:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you called the blind Bartimaeus whom the people were rebuking and silencing:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you gave the blind Bartimaeus his sight:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: Have pity on us, God our Saviour.
Grant us grace and courage to cast off our sins
and turn to you for healing.
Show us in Christ the sure path of salvation
and strengthen us to follow him gladly
in the way of the gospel,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Response The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Reading 2 Hebrews 5:1-6
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
Gospel Mark 10:46-52
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are with Jesus and his disciples leaving Jericho. What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear Bartimaeus cry out, when you hear Jesus call him, and when you see that he has received his sight?
Sunday Snippets
In Pastor Steven Albertin’s office, hung a modern picture, a maze of colours and shapes. He knew this picture contained some profound artistic message but was unable to figure it out.
One day, Adam, a kindergartener, came to his office, saw the picture, and asked: “Do you see what I see?” The pastor asked: “Do you see something in that picture? I don’t.” “Pastor, can’t you see Jesus hanging on the cross?”
The pastor stared at the picture, tried to find the image of the crucified Jesus hidden in the maze, but couldn’t.
Slowly Adam moved his finger along the picture: “There, Pastor, is Jesus’ face, his arms outstretched on the cross.” The image began to appear. There hidden behind the colours and the shapes was the image of the crucified Jesus.
Adam helped a “blind” pastor to see the suffering messiah.
Like Pastor Albertin, many of us fail to see Jesus in the maze of colours and shapes in our lives, in the suffering in our lives and around us. We need help to see him and to make sense of suffering.
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus helps blind Bartimaeus see!
This healing appears at the end of the section on discipleship in mark’s gospel, in which the theme is suffering. Jesus thrice predicts his passion and death; each time his disciples fail to understand the meaning of suffering in his mission. They are blind. For instance, in the verses preceding this text, Jesus makes the third prediction, and James and John ask to sit beside him in his glory.
Mark uses the healing of Bartimaeus as a device to open the eyes of the disciples to the meaning of suffering. Mark contrasts the disciples with the blind beggar. Jesus puts the same question to Bartimaeus that he put to James and John: “What do you want me to do for you?” James and John wanted to advance themselves; Bartimaeus asks only to see.
Before the encounter with Jesus, Bartimaeus is blind, sitting, on the side of the way. After his encounter, he sees, gets up, and follows Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. Bartimaeus has understood the meaning of suffering in the life of Jesus and of a disciple. He is the paradigm of the ideal disciple.
Like Pastor Albertin in the story, like the disciples of Jesus, we fail to see Jesus as the suffering Messiah, we fail to understand that suffering is an essential part of discipleship. Like Bartimaeus, we sit by the side of the road of life and struggle to make sense of suffering.
May we, like Bartimaeus, recognize Jesus passing by the way, and call out to him to heal us. May we cast off our cloaks, our false securities and follow Jesus on the way… because it is the only way to life.
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: Is there anyone in my life who just needs the road “levelled out” a little? What can I do to help him/her?
Reading 2: “He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness.” How does awareness of my weakness help me in ministering to others? Does it make me more compassionate/ understanding?
Gospel: Do I accept Jesus as the suffering Messiah? How can I make sense of suffering in his life, in mine and around me? How can I follow Jesus more closely on “the way”?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Let us turn to God in prayer that he may open our eyes to our real needs and those of our Church and world, as we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we may passionately and continuously call out to Christ for our needs and courageously follow Jesus, the crucified Messiah, on the way of life, we pray…
R: For the world: that the eyes of the world be opened to the suffering of the people of Gaza and Lebanon and that peace be quickly restored to those territories, we pray…
R: For all who help others grow in faith – parents, catechists, and spiritual directors: that God may bless their efforts as they strive to nurture the seeds of faith that God has planted, we pray…
R: For all who are blinded by prejudice: that God may enlighten their hearts and help them recognize the value and dignity of each person, we pray…
R: For commitment to care for our common home: that we may see the beauty and wonder of God’s creation and care for our earth and all its creatures, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we may not be blind or try to silence those who cry out in pain or seek our assistance, we pray…
L: Father, open our eyes, our hands, and our heart so we can look on this world and on people with the same gentle eyes as you and your Son, Jesus who is Lord for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Jesus,
the blind Bartimaeus kept calling out to you
and refused to let people silence him.
Son of David, have pity on me.
Make me see
with eyes of faith,
the road to follow,
and to recognize you in my life.
Help me and all people to “see” our way
to end the climate crisis;
to end racial injustice, human trafficking, and poverty;
to end violence and oppression.
Give me Bartimaeus’ faith and his sight.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Our living God,
give us the eyes of faith and love to see
the mission you have given us in life
and the courage and grace to carry it out.
Make us also clear-sighted enough to see
the needs of people
who cry in misery or suffer in silence,
that we may bring them your compassion
and lead them to you.
May we follow Jesus on the way of the cross.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
