MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY - Sunday - October 24, 2021

Sunday - October 24, 2021

“The Rosary is the best therapy for these distraught, unhappy, fearful, and frustrated souls, precisely because it involves the simultaneous use of three powers: the physical, the vocal, and the spiritual, and in that order.”

-Archbishop Fulton Sheen

October 24, 2021

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 149

 

Reading 1                                                                 Jer 31:7-9

Thus says the LORD:

    Shout with joy for Jacob,

        exult at the head of the nations;

        proclaim your praise and say:

    The LORD has delivered his people,

        the remnant of Israel.

    Behold, I will bring them back

        from the land of the north;

    I will gather them from the ends of the world,

        with the blind and the lame in their midst,

    the mothers and those with child;

        they shall return as an immense throng.

    They departed in tears,

        but I will console them and guide them;

    I will lead them to brooks of water,

        on a level road, so that none shall stumble.

    For I am a father to Israel,

        Ephraim is my first-born.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

 

R. (3)    The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

 

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,

    we were like men dreaming.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

    and our tongue with rejoicing.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,

    "The LORD has done great things for them."

The LORD has done great things for us;

    we are glad indeed.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

    like the torrents in the southern desert.

Those that sow in tears

    shall reap rejoicing.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Although they go forth weeping,

    carrying the seed to be sown,

They shall come back rejoicing,

    carrying their sheaves.

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

 

Reading 2                                                                 Heb 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters:

Every high priest is taken from among men

and made their representative before God,

to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,

for he himself is beset by weakness

and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself

as well as for the people.

No one takes this honor upon himself

but only when called by God,

just as Aaron was.

In the same way,

it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,

but rather the one who said to him:

    You are my son:

        this day I have begotten you;

just as he says in another place:

    You are a priest forever

        according to the order of Melchizedek.

 

 Alleluia                                                                      2 Tm 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death

and brought life to light through the Gospel.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       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.

 

********************************

 

Making the Most of Divine Opportunities

After Jesus touches our lives -- answers a prayer, gives us a healing, provides a life-changing insight, or makes any other kind of difference -- what do we do next? Our life has been changed by divine grace. Do we make the most of this new opportunity?

 

God never forces us to take a new direction or follow a certain path, not even if we've made a bargain with him, such as: "Lord, if you heal me, I will go to Mass every day."

 

Jesus says to us what he said to Bartimaeus, the man he healed in this Sunday's Gospel reading: "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Go where?

 

Sometimes his instructions are a little more informative than that. When he cures someone from sin, he adds: "Go and sin no more". Okay, but go where?

 

Every step we take is important. Where we go and what we do next makes a difference that ripples off into the future with ramifications (blessings and/or woes) that are impossible for us to predict. Jesus isn't down-playing the significance of this. Rather, what happens next is so important that he wants us to have full control over it.

 

Jesus told Bartimaeus "Go your way." And what did Bartimaeus do with that freedom? He "followed him on the way." He opted for the best possible direction. His life changed dramatically, not only because he had been blind and now he had good eyesight, but because he wanted to learn from Jesus and become one of his followers.

 

How many times have we returned to an old familiar path after an encounter with Christ? If following him means taking a new direction, getting involved in a new ministry, or changing careers or friends, we too often settle back into old routines. Comfort zones are hard to leave. But following Jesus is a life-changing adventure if we're sincere about our faith.

 

Following Jesus and learning from him should be our highest priority. Every encounter with Christ should change us -- even at Mass when we reunite ourselves to him in the Eucharist.

 

Think of the last time Jesus responded to your need for help. What changed afterward? How long did the change last?

 

Today's Prayer

 

I praise You and thank You, Jesus because You called me and opened my eyes to a faith-filled life, full of love for You and for my brothers and sisters. Amen.

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”