Ad Jesum per Mariam

Ad Jesum per Mariam
...if you genuinely wish to reach a high level of prayer in all honesty and without falling into the traps that the devil sets for those who pray, SAY your Rosary everyday... St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort

Saturday, November 16, 2013

GOSPEL AND MEDITATIONS FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013

The Healing of the Blind Beggar (Luke 18:35-43)

The Proclamation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke


 [35] Now it came to pass, when he drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the way side, begging.
[36] And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. [37] And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. [38] And he cried out, saying: Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. [39] And they that went before, rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out much more: Son of David, have mercy on me. [40] And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him,
[41] Saying: What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord, that I may see. [42] And Jesus said to him: Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole. [43] And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

St. Luke the evangelist tells us about a blind beggar, the Lord Jesus, the people who knows Jesus and shares the name of Jesus, and those people who wants to shut-up the persons who calls Jesus loudly and persistently and perseveringly loudly and loudest. The blind beggar calls God like an attention-seeker or limelight stealer or disturber in order to be seen, we call this in Filipino as "papansin" and, "epal" in a less vulgar word.

We can deduce (pardon me for using the word. I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes) in the Gospel for today that there are different kinds of people. Let me show them to you:

First are the people who were blind to the truth and begging for light or begging to other people for they are in darkness, they want to feel in order to see, in order to have sight. This kind of people hopes (of course!) and dreams that the day will come when they will have their sight - to feel more clearly everything the eyes sees. Some blind persons who were literally blind see more clearly - for they have faith in God, and they are dancing in the dark with God as their partner in dancing. But some blind persons are governed by feelings and emotions and not by light - by faith and reason. This blind people do not know the reality that faith and reason must govern feelings and emotions. The senses of man must be governed by faith and reason or by light and truth. I do not condemn feelings and emotions but
these two must be governed by truth and light. For just as time and space is where everyone and everything is living and moving and God is beyond or above the time and space, so must be the feelings and emotions must be subjected in obedience to faith, reason, light, and truth. Feelings and emotions is where a human being is prisoned. The body of man is corrupted by sin and death, darkness, ignorance,
and blindness. So must the soul be the master of the body and not the other way around. For we must understand that the soul is of light, truth, faith, and reason that gives the soul life on this earth and life in God which we call eternal life. That's why in making meditations of the Gospels, I always pray the PRAYER OF SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS BEFORE STUDY (the long version). I allow God, I allow the Holy Spirit to work in me - God wants me to be a man of light, faith, reason, and truth - and feelings and emotions must be my slave and God's slave as well.

Second are the people who know God and shares who is God to every people especially the blind who want to see the Truth who is Jesus Christ Himself. These people shares God also to those blind persons who do not yet know the truth like the pagans. Some of these people shares the truth to those blind persons who do not want to see, those who are not calling or seeking for the Truth and wants to be blind forever - the Protestants, Born-Agains, cults and sects like Iglesia ni Manalo, atheists, agnostics, Freemasons, and many more. There are also persons who have a burning desire to spread the Gospel (I'm one of them), to spread the Truth, and to spread God like a mayonnaise - for they are governed by God. They are governed by truth, light, reason, and faith. God is working in them. God is inside of them. These people know the Will of the Father who wants Jesus to be revealed.

And the last group of people are those who want the blinds and the beggars be a blind and a beggar forever. They persecute and turn to silence those who are in hunger and thirst for the Truth and for salvation and healing. Those who are in need they persecute. These people are self-righteous people - these people are very sure of their salvation and they will never be damned - and they are proud and arrogant and their pride is evident. Mayabang or arrogant in its fullness! These persons uses the Truth blasphemously for their own happiness and own satisfaction. They are extremely worst than blinds and the beggars for the Truth is not in them. They are the blind guides who leads the blind and who both falls into a pit of eternal damnation. Although some of them share the Truth in a perverse way to the blinds and the beggars, they are just doing this for their own sake. The blinds and the beggars will forever be blinds and beggars - governed by feelings and emotions that they ignorantly treat as the Truth.

Let us not hesitate to shout and to call and to get the attention of God for He will surely call for us in return for us to be healed and saved by Him. But we must first desire to be healed and be saved in order for God to heal and save us. We must say to God our desires and this is what we call prayer. God wants us to know our desire that is why He asked the blind beggar what he wants. Although God fully knows and already knows what we want or what we desire, still, He wants us to express these desires to Him! He is calling us to pray to Him for prayer is the only way that expresses our desire for God. That's why the meaning of Prayer is a desire for God. Let us rejoice then and glorify and praise God who established prayer for us to connect ourselves to Him. Let us follow God who gives us light, truth, faith, reason, and above all, love.

Here are some points to consider:

1. We must be a person of unceasing prayer.

2. We must be a person of faith, reason, light and truth. Not a person of darkness, sin, ignorance, blindness, feelings, and emotions.

3. We must be Truth seeker and defender. Paraphrasing my great brother St. Thomas Aquinas, "Truth cannot be destroyed nor cannot be attacked for it in itself is strength and great shield. Truth is truth. It will defend itself. Truth is as solid as God."

4. The meaning of Prayer is prayer is a desire for God.

5. Rejoice and glorify and praise God always!

6. We must all go and set the world on fire!

"Jesus, I trust in You." "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

Go and set the world on fire!

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!




Mary H. Distributist


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