“Feed your faith and starve your doubts.”

"Faith embraces many truths which seem to contradict each other ...This then is faith: God felt by the heart, not by our reason." - Blaise Pascal

Gospel Text: (MK 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.

Imagine that you’re driving alone through a thick, dense fog and you can’t see past your windshield. You begin to drive slowly, telling yourself, “I want to see! I want to see!” Now imagine driving through that fog for a month, a year, or even ten years. Can you see yourself in Bartimaeus’ shoes now? A blind man, he was reduced to a life of lonely begging, with no one to help him navigate the darkness around him. But when he heard Jesus coming, he put aside his despair and cried out for help.

The same Jesus who passed by Bartimaeus is alive. The Good News is that no matter what has happened in our past, Jesus walks into the dusty streets of our lives this day. We simply need the eyes of living faith to see Him and the renewed heart to follow Him on the way. Prayer and a Sacramental life (Eucharist and Reconciliation) is the fuel which keeps living faith alive and keeps our eyes open to see. Where is Jesus passing through in our own lives? He always shows up for those who have their spiritual eyes opened to see Him. How about in our workplace? How about in our relationships? How about in our families? Are we running out to meet Him?

Maybe you need him to help you put more order into your life so that you are more faithful to prayer—so that you can see Jesus more clearly. Maybe you need him to remove the distractions that are pulling you in so many different directions—so that you can focus on his plan for your life. Or maybe you need him to set you free from anger, unforgiveness, or resentment—so that you can see him in your neighbors. Whatever it is, cry out to Jesus. Keep on asking, just as Bartimaeus did.