"I gave in, and admitted that God was God."

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. -Saint Augustine

(Gospel text: LK 18:35-43)

As Jesus approached Jericho
a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
"Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
He shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!"
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me!"
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
"What do you want me to do for you?"
He replied, "Lord, please let me see."
Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you."
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

If Jesus were to enter your room right now and ask you, “What do you want me to do for you?” what would you say?

I invite you to think about it.

Would you ask for riches? Would you ask for fame? Would you ask for all your dreams to come true? Maybe you would ask for healing or for the answer to a troublesome dilemma.

It’s an interesting thing to consider.

Of everything you could ask for, though, there is one thing that is greater than the rest: faith. Faith is a unique gift, given to us by God. It allows us to believe the things we cannot see, feel, touch, taste, or hear. It gives meaning to our everyday activities, and it is the door through which we must walk in order to discover what it means to live with Christ.

We believe in one God, who is our Father. We believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life who is eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. Do we understand it? No, we don’t. Can we ever understand it? No. All of the theology in the world cannot do away with the mystery of God. That is why we need faith.

We do not have faith because we understand. Rather, we believe so that we might come to understand better.

We will never be able to explain how Jesus Christ comes to us under the form of bread and wine in the Eucharist. All we know is that He does, and in doing so, He invites us to a deeper relationship, to a renewed faith in Him.

The choice to respond is ours.