Day and night, the pleading voice of poor souls is heard from the depths of purgatory fire: “Have mercy on us, at least you, our friends, have mercy on us, because the hand of the Lord has touched us!” Look at our sorrow; great is our misery! Don’t wait, help us – because we are suffering unspeakable torments, unspeakable pains!” So the souls in Purgatory are begging, so fervently sighing for help, because they cannot help themselves. So is it not our duty to help these souls? They may be our parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, friends, and benefactors. Perhaps they are souls whose pain we are complicit in; they are souls who, as members of the suffering Church, have the right to our merciful love.

Our help to the souls in Purgatory will be richly rewarded, both in this life and in the next. The souls in Purgatory are the brothers of Jesus Christ, who said: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40) and “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7). So, a great reward awaits us for help and love!

And maybe you too will become a poor soul in need of help in Purgatory! It will be a great happiness for us if we hear the statement: “Come, you blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world” (Mt 25:34). But when instead we hear the terrible statement: “Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire” (Mt 25:41). Then the time will come when we too will cry for help from this prison. But will we then find mercy when we did not help the poor souls and could help? Didn’t the Lord Jesus say emphatically: “Give, and it will be given to you… For with the measure you measure, it will be measured to you.” (Lk 6:38)

So let’s be generous towards the souls in Purgatory, let’s help them through the sacrifice of St. mass, prayer, almsgiving, and other God-loving deeds! Many throw up their hands and say: Purgatory is not! With this, let the Florentine Church Council answer, which issued: “With all determination, we determine that truly penitent souls, who died in love, before they had made sufficient satisfaction for sins, transgressions, and abandonment of good, will be purified after death through the torments of purgatory, and that the help of living believers contributes to the payment of these fines, especially the sacrifice of St. masses, prayers, and almsgiving and other acts of piety.’

It is therefore a teaching of the infallible Church, and thus of the Catholic faith: that there is Purgatory, i.e. one place of punishment and purification, where those who have died in the grace of God but have not yet fully atoned for their sins, must suffer for a while, and they will be there until they are cleansed of all stains and thus become worthy to look at God.

Believers on earth can help the souls in Purgatory to be delivered as soon as possible. Therefore, let us not forget the souls in Purgatory in our prayers this month. Let’s not forget to pray to the Queen of Heaven and Earth and offer all our good deeds to the Virgin Mary for the release of souls from Purgatory. Let us remind our dear Virgin that she is the Mother in Purgatory of suffering souls, and she is also the Mother of mercy. Let him speak a good word for those souls, and let him come to the aid of his servants. And so, with her powerful intercession, the infinitely merciful God accepts even our weak requests and indulgences that we give to the souls in Purgatory and frees them, leading them to eternal bliss.

Love is wholeness. Not only to God, but also to people. Not only to people, but also to God

Illustration photo: pixabay.com

1. We often hear and read about many ideas about death. Death is the demise of the organism as a whole. Medicine distinguishes between two stages: Clinical death, which we define as the cessation of vital body functions – breathing and heart activity, but at this stage there is no irreversible damage to the brain tissue. And Biological death, as permanent and life-incompatible damage to brain tissue – at the same time, it is a final and irreversible state. Some say that the death of a person is the end of communication between the psyche and the organism, and many of us imagine death as the moment when consciousness leaves the human body…

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1012) says that the Christian view of death is expressed in an excellent way in the liturgy To the Church: “For those who believe in you, God, life does not take away, it only changes; and when we finish living in a mortal body, we have an eternal abode prepared in the heavens.” Even if we look at history, we see that many civilizations believed that human life does not end with death, but continues in the afterlife. We could talk about death for a long time and find many opinions. We also heard about the death of the son in today’s Gospel. Christ at the gates of the city into which he enters is met by a funeral procession. They carried a boy to the grave, the only child of a certain widow (compare: Lk. 7, 12). The Evangelist Luke does not say anything about the boy’s death. Why did he die? How did he die? Was he sick? We do not learn this information. All we know is that the young man is dead

In one publication I read, there was an article about “small heaven”, where the inhabitants of a small village in southern China chased a starving leper girl out of her home with sticks and stones. A missionary saw a crowd of people, went to the child, took him in his arms and carried him away. People shouted, “Leprosy! Leprosy!” The crying little girl asks her savior: “Why did you take me in?” “Because God created us both. So you’re my sister and I’m your brother. You will no longer be hungry and homeless.” “And how will I repay you?” “Gift people with the same love!” For three whole years until her death, this girl bandaged the wounds of other lepers, fed them, but above all, loved them. After the death of this eleven-year-old child, the sick said: “Our little sky has returned to heaven.” How much love have we given in life? As much as the little girl in this story? If not, we still have time. While we live Me too, you too. When we die, we can’t do anything, even if we really want to.

Brothers and sisters, what is death? So today we started thinking about today’s gospel text. It is an encounter with God – love, which can resurrect us and give us eternal life. 

Most of us keep wishing our close friends health and happiness for the New Year or on personal holidays (name-day, birthday). However, we probably haven’t considered wishing something similar to our friends today, on All Saints’ Day. After all, in our churches today, we read the words of Jesus, which are a blessing or a blessing of something good. When Jesus told some people they were blessed, he wished them well-being, goodness, blessings… We read these wishes and blessings of Jesus in our church today to show ourselves and wish for what should be the greatest in life – holiness, friendship with God, and a righteous life according to God’s will. These goals are achieved by the people we call saints – whether they are Christians like in ancient Rome who preferred to die rather than deny their hope in Christ, or they are Christians of later times who heroically served their fellowmen, prayed sincerely, or performed exceptionally your profession. Today’s All Saints’ Day is a joint celebration of all these people who made it and who deserve not to be forgotten. Today, we also remember them by wishing to achieve something similar. 

In addition, he knows the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew, he notices that they are strange twice. First, they wish well-being and good even to people from whom we would not expect any great good since they are poor, thirsty, or even persecuted. We do not have to ask whether we would like to belong to people with low incomes or the persecuted. None of us desires such a thing. But it is also true that sometimes we find ourselves in such situations, or many other people find themselves in them, and then it is essential to ask how to manage these situations. Jesus’ answer is: It can be done if you do not desire power and wealth but the kingdom of heaven. Then, if you are poor, you will become rich through the kingdom of heaven. If you are a weeper, you will rejoice through the kingdom of heaven. If you are trampled, you will gain influence through the kingdom of heaven. If you hunger for righteousness, you will be filled through the kingdom of heaven. If you are merciful, you will receive mercy. If you have a sincere mind, God himself can be known to you. If you spread peace, God himself will accept you as his own. If you are persecuted for the right cause, you will win through the kingdom of heaven. So, all this can be managed if we desire the kingdom of heaven. However, this is the second thing about Jesus’ words, which seems strange to us – that he wishes us something as big as the kingdom of heaven. Why not expect the poor to get rich and the one down to get up? 

The answer is simple, although only apparent to some. Poverty is not balanced by wealth or persecution balanced by power, but only by the kingdom of heaven. Especially when, like Jesus, we do not mean by the kingdom of heaven some fairy-tale chamber of God, but a situation of understanding with God, people, and ourselves, a state of faith, hope, and love, to which we have reached as a gift from God. It was enough to open this gift. It is similar to when, after 20 years since the democratic revolution, people compare what they have gained or lost. We know that some people, unlike the situation under the so-called socialism, became incredibly rich. So that not only a few become rich but the whole country is lifted. For this, it was necessary not to exchange poverty for wealth but for the poor to obtain the kingdom of heaven, just as Jesus said, so that we strive for wisdom and humanity and a sense of justice and respect for honest people. That we strive to live with trust in God, not in people. One can only hope that if we have succeeded in something so far and are doing well, it is thanks to the efforts of at least some of us.  On All Saints’ Day,

Our church remembers God’s saints from the Roman martyrs until today. The church still has martyrs today. I knew some personally. We also know other good people who live perhaps modestly but honestly and with great love. Some are known by the entire town, others only by the closest few. But they are here among us. It is enough to walk through our cemeteries and notice. At the grave of someone we know, we might think that he died early, at another, that he was a freak, and at another, that the person had an ordinary life. Indeed, while walking through the cemetery, we will also find many such acquaintances and friends with whom we will feel peace, strength, and gratitude. Then we say to ourselves: He was a good person. We are not afraid to say that even a saint. Thanks to the prayers of Jesus and our responses to them, thank God, holiness is not as rare as some think. So, I wish us all well-being, goodness, and blessings. I want to for the kingdom of heaven, lived and realized every day here, among us.

This week, the American bishop Robert Barron, who is described as the “Bishop of the Internet,” is in Prague. Where should we place him in opinion?

Bishop Robert Barron in a video discussion where actor Shia LaBeouf talks about his conversion in August 2022.

The controversy before the World Youth Days in Lisbon, surrounding the opening ceremony at the Olympics in Paris, and the revelation of an ordinary day at the synod in Rome. 

These are just some of the last few months’ events where we could meet his name. Of course, in addition to regular videos, reflections, articles, essays, and the like.

American Bishop Robert Barron leads a minor diocese in the American Midwest. Still, his media project Word on Fire and millions of social network followers have earned him the label “Internet Bishop” or “the new Fulton Sheen.”.” 

In any case, the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota is one of the most influential representatives of the Catholic Church. 

Bishop Robert Barron currently has 3.1 million fans on his Facebook, 1.67 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, 501 thousand followers on Instagram, and 305 thousand people following him on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

This media star of the Catholic Church is in Prague these days (October 28-30), where the Czech Bishops’ Conference invited him. On Tuesday, October 29, at 5:30 p.m., Barron will lecture on Ipsum Esse and the Social Teaching of the Church at Charles University.

The capacity of the Blue Lecture Hall of the Charles University Rectorate has long been fully occupied. However, the organizers have ensured a live broadcast, which will be available on the Facebook page cirqueb. cz

Robert Barron stopped in the capital of the Czech Republic on his way back from Rome, where the meeting of the Synod on Synodality ended over the weekend. 

According to the cirque.cz website, the 64-year-old American bishop wanted to address students and the academic community, among other things, during his visit to the Czech Republic. 

In this spirit, Tomáš Sixta, a doctoral student at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the UK and a member of the editorial board of the review for Theology and Spiritual Life Salva, points out the dimension of the visit. He wrote on the Christnet portal that Robert Barron will not come to Prague as a bishop – because the Prague Archdiocese has a bishop – but as a lecturer, as a theologian. “Even his popular social media posts have a concrete theological basis,“ Sixta wrote.

The new Fulton Sheen?

The Czech Bishops’ Conference website is promoting Bishop Barron’s visit with enthusiasm, hailing him as the “greatest media bishop of the United States” since Fulton Sheen. The founder of Word on Fire, an organization producing Catholic-themed audiovisual programs, Bishop Barron is also a prolific author of books, essays, and articles on theology and spirituality. His media appearances include CNN, EWTN, and NBC, and he has lectured at prestigious institutions such as Harvard and tech giants Google, Facebook, and Amazon. According to Bishop Stanislav Pribyl, secretary general of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, securing this visit was a significant accomplishment, given Bishop Barron’s reputation as a world-renowned figure with valuable insights for secularized societies.

Bishop Barron was ordained in the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1986. He also held visiting professorships at the University of Notre Dame and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America (1982) and a doctorate in theology from the Institut Catholique de Paris (1992), where his dissertation compared the theologies of Paul Tillich and Thomas Aquinas. Barron served as rector of Mundelein Seminary in Illinois from 2012 to 2015. Pope Francis then appointed him auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, a role he held from 2015 until he was appointed the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, in June 2022.

According to Word on Fire, Bishop Barron is also the creator and host of the groundbreaking and award-winning documentary series Catholicism. Following its success, Barron and Word on Fire released a follow-up documentary, Catholicism: The Pivotal Players, about mystics, scholars, artists, and saints. Bishop Barron is also a bestselling author, and his latest book, This Is My Body, sells over a million copies.

The team around Robert Barron is also behind the book New Apologetic, which is published these days by our publishing house, Postoj Media. Featuring over forty essays from many of the leading Catholic apologists, theologians, and philosophers, it charts a new direction for the future of apologetics: an intelligent, joyful, and beautiful defense of the faith that appeals to both the head and the heart.

He has critics from both camps.

Evaluating Bishop Barron from a theological perspective yields varying opinions, depending on one’s viewpoint. While some Catholics see him as too conservative, others view him as too modernist. This divergence of opinions may suggest that Barron occupies a middle ground between progressive and traditionalist camps, indicating his integrity and commitment to a balanced stance. This assessment is supported by two in-depth analyses of Barron’s work, one praising and the other criticizing him. As author Peter Laffin notes, “In the Catholic media bubble, Bishop Robert Barron is defined more often by what he is not than by what he is. He is not progressive,” highlighting how Barron’s associations, such as with Jordan Peterson, and his critiques of ‘woke’ culture have elicited criticism from the left.

Bishop Barron’s views have drawn criticism from some corners of progressive Catholicism, particularly his stance that abortion is the central moral issue of the time and his lamentation of the Protestantization of liturgy and church architecture. Laffin notes that despite these criticisms, Barron is not a traditionalist, as evidenced by his agreement with Hans Urs von Balthasar’s assertion that we can hope for a hell devoid of occupants. From the right, some have criticized Barron for emphasizing God’s mercy, which they see as coddling “petty-bourgeois Catholics.” His media organization, Word on Fire, has also been perceived as overly polished and accommodating.

Bishop Robert Barron has faced conservative backlash for endorsing a book on prayer by Jesuit James Martin, a vocal advocate for LGBT rights who was featured in The New York Times alongside a photo of a same-sex couple. Czech author Tomáš Sixta has written about Barron, describing him as a proponent of post-liberal theology, which posits that the secular world has nothing to enrich Christianity.

“The American bishop coming to Prague can charm us with the confidence with which he speaks about Christ and the Catholic identity, who this time no longer bows to the secular world, and the sovereignty with which he knows theology and postmodern philosophy. The greater this enchantment, the greater the caution of the listeners must be, whether along with this self-assurance comes an inconspicuous spirit of triumphalism, identitarianism, reluctance to listen to others, a belief in the fullness of one’s truth, which closes our eyes to the truth in others,“ writes Sixta. 

According to him, Barron can be a true role model in his academic work and theological erudition, as well as in the persuasiveness of his preaching. Sixta acknowledges many inspiring thoughts of the American bishop but ends his article with provocative words – that personally, given the theology that Barron draws from, he would recommend another, “one of the most prominent and most watched personalities of the Catholic world,“ namely the current bishop of Rome.

From Lisbon to Paris

Bishop Barron’s stance is best demonstrated through his actions and public engagement. He regularly participates in pastoral and evangelistic content, addressing current events and confronting controversy head-on. A notable example is a bishop from Minnesota who drew attention to a problematic scene from the Olympic Games opening ceremony, posting a video on social media where he expressed his distaste for a “disgusting mockery” of the Last Supper, despite initially being excited to watch the ceremony which was held in Paris, a city he loves and where he completed his doctorate.

The American bishop also engages in intra-church debates. Before the World Youth Days in Lisbon last summer, he responded to comments made by Lisbon’s auxiliary bishop, América Aguiar, who was the event’s main organizer. Aguiar stated that the aim was not to convert young people to faith in Christ or the Catholic Church, but rather for young Catholics to bear witness to their faith while respecting the diversity of others. He emphasized that understanding and embracing differences as a valuable asset is key to creating a better world for all young people.

At the time, Robert Barron may even have written the following words: “The great Polish Pope was pleased that so many young people from all over the world, in all their diversity, were coming to these meetings, but if you had told him that the real purpose of the event was to celebrate diversity, to give everyone feeling that he feels good the way he is and that you are not interested in converting anyone to Christ, he would pierce you with a look that would stop a train.“

Robert Barron will give five presentations on World Youth Day, each focusing on evangelization. His views are also evident in the Synod on Synodality, where he participated as a US delegate. In discussing the church’s approach to the LGBT community, he argues that there is no inherent tension between love and truth. Love, Barron notes, is not a feeling but a selfless act that seeks the good of another; therefore, authentic love requires a genuine understanding of what is truly beneficial for the other person. Barron concedes that tension can exist between helpfulness and truth, but not between true love and truth.

A recent text by the “Bishop of the Internet” on the link between liturgy and charity offers valuable insight, particularly amidst the intensifying divide between traditionalists and liberals. Barron articulates a key principle: the more elevated the liturgy, the deeper one’s commitment to serving the poor should be. “The danger is a one-sided emphasis on liturgy or a one-sided emphasis on service, while the former leads to anxiety and the latter reduces the church to an organization of social services,“ he stated.  Perhaps this is Bishop Robert Barron’s most vital point. Despite the polarization, which does not bypass the church, it can shed light on the essence of the problems. And what’s more, it doesn’t make it boring.

We are always looking for a golden thread to grasp the world in which we live. We want and need to trust someone, but we especially need to see.

Philosopher and theologian Ladislav Hanus once said aptly that we should confess not only the sins we committed with thoughts, words, and deeds but also by misunderstanding the context. I understand him well. We can have the best ideas, but we harm ourselves with ideas if we use them at the wrong moment and in the wrong context.

Context is a very important context. This question is especially important in our time filled with hoaxes and misinformation. We already remember from Slovak lessons that the literary meaning of a text cannot be deciphered without knowing the circumstances when the text was written and cannot ignore the events that preceded it in the work. 

Context is essential to knowing who we are. Moral theology teaches that circumstances can turn even a small matter into a big problem, whether you steal five euros from a millionaire or a person receiving a living wage.

Today, we are witnessing how people distinguish themselves in various social topics. Exclusion largely depends on the context in which some information is provided. We perceive polarization, for example, in the evaluation of mandatory vaccination during the covid pandemic; in search of the culprit in the war beyond our eastern borders. We could go on.

Seeing the connections that Hanus talks about correctly is not only a question of intelligence but also of attributing (dis)credibility to specific sources. If we choose a dubious information source, we will likely be aware. No one wants to be lied to or live in error, yet we face a considerable risk of making the wrong choice or betting on the wrong horse.

The Gospels describe several cases where a blind man saw again under the influence of Jesus’ divine power. This is also the case with Bartimaeus, as Mark’s Gospel describes. This desperate man begs Jesus to restore his sight. Because he is persistent and has faith, Jesus will grant him.

“Many times we are so disoriented and disappointed that we end up either trusting no one or trusting everything.”

The problem of today’s man, who wanders for hours in the virtual world, lies in the illusion of self-assurance of knowledge. We know exactly how it is, how it should be, or what the problem is. 

We will not even admit that it could be otherwise or that we could be deceived. At the same time, we are often so disoriented and disappointed that we either don’t trust anyone or we trust everything.

However, neither is correct. When Jesus restored Bartimaeus’ sight, he discovered reality. He no longer had to dream and imagine the real world; he did not have to misunderstand him, as if he saw a slice of him. He saw him whole because his sight returned, and he saw the reality of life as it was. That saved him. 

Even if a blind person can live, it is much more difficult for him in practical matters. It is possible to function even with imperfect eyesight, but without glasses, we see things dimly and vaguely, and we can hurt ourselves and others.

Seeing reality means understanding connections, seeing things in context, or, as teachers say, reading with understanding. It can be learned, but only with one condition. If we find humility in ourselves, we will not be too self-confident and admit that we can be wrong even in serious matters and that someone could mislead or deceive us.

I understand that it is sometimes difficult to navigate this complicated world. So many have disappointed or deceived us. We are always looking for a golden thread to grasp the world in which we live. We want and need to trust someone, but especially, we need to see. Perhaps we should, like blind Bartimaeus, say to Jesus, “Let me see!” 

My physical sight is fine, Lord. But I am asking you for the gift of wisdom so I can honestly see myself and the world around me. And where I am still unclear, give me the courage to seek the truth, even if it takes time and may be difficult and painful. 

If I live in a lie and an illusion, if I let myself be deceived, I will not move anywhere and gain nothing, I can only harm myself. Let me see; grant me the ability to understand the connections even in complex social topics, express myself carefully, act wisely, and make the right decisions in every election. 

It’s not just about me; it’s just about my eternal salvation. I want to survive in this world so that I can contribute my life to building God’s kingdom. If I understand the connections and make wise decisions, it will be easier, and it will benefit the whole community.

To see better… When I meet young people, I often say to myself how well these young people can see. Few people wear glasses. And when we talk longer, it becomes clear that their eyesight is not so famous. Many people wear contact lenses. Today we will look together at the word of God on the 30th Sunday in the year B. Again, it is from the Gospel of St. Mark. And in it, two important words are typically repeated. The first is the word go – actually, the whole Gospel is the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem. And the second word is: to see, to look – the gospel reveals to us the dynamics of looking and seeing and understanding who Jesus is and what it means that he is the Messiah, the Son of God. The entire Gospel of Mark reveals the good news – Jesus is God’s Son, God. At the same time, it reveals the slowness of people in accepting this news and the difficulty of believing in this fact. The Gospel, from the beginning, describes the difficulties of understanding, seeing the essence of things and relationships, and the greatness of God, who became so small. There are two episodes in it about the healing of the blind, that is, about gaining sight, and today we will focus on the second of them. But first, let’s take a moment to look at the first reading. There, too, they talk about the blind and walking along the road. 

This is what the Lord says: “Sing, full of joy for Jacob, rejoice over the first of the nations; proclaim, sing and say: ‘Save, Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.’ Behold, I will bring them back from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, together with the pregnant and the mother: a great community will return here. They will come crying, I will lead them in humble supplication and I will lead them through streams of water, on a straight path, they will not stumble on it, for I am the father of Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn » Jer 31,7-9. 

The prophet Jeremiah invites us to look to the future with optimism. It calls for joy. Also, it reminds us that God did not come to gather his people only from the chosen, the best, the wise, and the healthy. No, he said that he will also bring to himself those who cannot yet see, who have not yet learned to walk well. Many of them will come crying, that is, with regret over their past and maybe even their present, and yet God will guide them so that they do not meet on the road. Although they will not go on a wide and comfortable road, but on a narrow and crooked road. We know that Jesus taught in parables. And yet he stated that he says that people should look, look, and not see. Mk4. More than once this year we discussed the secret of not being able to see those who were close to Jesus: family, relatives, or even his disciples. He also said to them several times: do you have eyes and do not see? Mk 8,14-21 It was especially striking in the story after the multiplication of the bread. Then we have the nameless blind man at Bethesda. As if his slow acquisition of sight resembled his disciples’ gradual acquisition of vision and understanding. (Who do you think I am?) 
But let’s go and listen to the second story about the healing of the blind man. The blind beggar is the only one who calls Jesus by name and who himself has a name. The story of Bartimaeus of Jericho is worth listening to carefully.

Heard that there was no one to bring the blind beggar to Jesus – unlike at Bethesda. He was dependent on himself, so when he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he decided only based on his intuition that someone was passing by who would save him. Someone to have mercy on him. And he decided to scream. People around him threatened him to keep quiet. But he didn’t give up. He shouted even louder. Have mercy on me. God is not only merciful, he is merciful. God, like a father who listens to the cry of his children, stopped in Jesus. And he sent people to call him. Jesus’ call also often comes to us through others. So they went to call him and tell him to be of good mind, not to be afraid. And that important word sounds: Get up! (Awake, you who are sleeping, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you) What appeals to me

Next, the blind man threw away his cloak. The only thing he had. A beggar’s coat is like a closet in a house. Many things are hidden in it. It is perhaps the bed on which he sleeps, the duvet with which he covers himself. And the beggar gave up the only certainty he still had. He did it without being asked. What a disproportion to the rich young man who ran to Jesus. He was asked by Jesus to give up the wealth that he considered his security, and he did not know how to do it and did not want to. And he went away from Jesus in sorrow. When Jesus and Bartimaeus found themselves face to face with the blind beggar, Jesus, although he heard him screaming, asked him again the question he had previously asked his two disciples: John and James. It is perhaps the decisive question of this Gospel. Jakub and Johannes – they didn’t know what they wanted. The blind beggar knew that. To see. More precisely, so that I can see again so that I can see up. Looking up means seeing the cross of Jesus and on it the one who gives salvation. All of us are often called to look at and contemplate the face of Jesus.

Finally, we notice that Jesus made no gesture. He just concluded that the miracle had already happened. He said: go, don’t see…your faith has saved you. Yes, it was a faith that did not allow itself to be disgusted discouraged, or intimidated by various external influences. He knew how to leave what little he had. This man represents the character traits that a disciple of Jesus should have: someone who is independent of his certainties, someone who has steadfast faith, and someone who longs to see and regain his sight. To see and understand how it is with the Messiah and with his – God’s kingdom. But even that is not enough. It is still important to see and understand so that I can follow. And so it was with Bartimaeus. Jesus did not say to him: and now follow me. But go. Nevertheless, it was clear to the former blind man that if he did not want to lose his sight again, he needed to follow Jesus. To follow him, to walk behind him. And so he does not depart from Jesus. This experience of rescue helps him to decide that the path of his life will wind near the Savior. And so it is with us. We are blind too. We need to see. Getting rid of dependence on our certainties. To build in faith and desire to see better than before. And follow Jesus.

Let us be encouraged by the story of one blind masseur, who was told by Father Elias Vella. He worked for the people, talked with them, encouraged and prayed for them. Many were healed by his intercession. One asked him: why don’t you pray for yourself too, so that God will heal you of your blindness? He said: I haven’t even thought of that yet. I meet many people who don’t see the meaning of their lives, they have their troubles that they tell me about, they lost their jobs, family, and health, and so I try to help them. I have a job, I have a family, and good friends, so I didn’t even have time to start praying for my recovery. After all, I have so much and others don’t. What will we answer to Jesus when he asks us on Sunday: What do you want me to do for you?