This page was updated 11/02/2006 07:45 AM Click here for Men of Epiphany home page

Men of Epiphany will be meeting this Saturday, October 28th, 6:30 a.m. in the Hearth room. We are resuming our use of these study reflections, so if you can make it, it is a marvelous preparation for this week's Mass readings.

Invite someone to come with you!

Click here for a PDF of this week's study.   Click here for the study in a Word document.

Calling out to the Lord, With God All Things Are Possible

Sunday, October 29, 2006
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 126:1-6
Hebrews 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52

Click here for readings  (For quick review only; bring your Bible)

The past few Sundays, we have read about Jesus’ call to humility, service, and lowliness. Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man (Mark 10:17-27) and James and John’s request (10:35-45), emphasize both the impossibility of following the Lord on our own strength and God’s abundant generosity in enabling us to do things that are beyond our natural ability. In these stories, we meet people whose responses fell short of what Jesus was looking for. But in today’s story of blind Bartimaeus, we are introduced to someone who understood.

Jesus asked Bartimaeus the same question he asked James and John: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51; 10:36). He knew that they would only ask of him the things they believed he could accomplish, and that this would reveal who they really thought he was. Was Jesus just a good and wise teacher (10:17)? Was he a king who promoted his loyal followers (10:37)? Or was he the Son of David who could perform the miraculous with a word of command (10:51-52)?

Bartimaeus asked for something that he could not accomplish on his own, while James and John asked for something they felt they could live up to. To petition in our weakness and need is harder for us, because it requires humility as well as faith. Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus despite the crowd’s rebuke. He saw his helplessness, but he also trusted that Jesus would answer him.

We all have different needs: physical, financial, relational, and spiritual. No matter what our need, however, Jesus can help us if we cry out to him. The world often rebukes simple faith in God, but God never does. So cry out to Jesus today as Bartimaeus did. Be humble but confident. Trust that what is impossible for you is possible for him. Jesus asks us: “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see you today. I cry out to you believing that you will answer my prayer for healing, for peace, and for salvation. Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men

1.    In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah urged the people of God to exult and shout joyfully over what God had accomplished for them: “The Lord has delivered his people” (Jeremiah 31:7). Share with the men in your group what the Lord has done in your life that causes you to gratefully and joyfully exalt Him.

2.    The Responsorial Psalm again repeats the theme that God’s people should be filled with joy - more than joy, laughter - because the Lord has delivered his people from captivity. St. Augustine said that a Christian should be an alleluia “from head to foot”. In what way is your relationship with Jesus Christ a source of joy for you? What steps can you take to deepen that relationship?

3.    The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews describes the difference between the Jewish high priest and Jesus Christ, our High Priest. What are some of these differences? Why do these differences have such an impact on the effect of the sin offering of the Jewish high priests compared to Jesus’ offering of himself for our sins (see Hebrews 9:13-14)? Reflect on these truths as you prepare to receive the Eucharist at Mass Share at your next men’s group meeting on the impact it had.

4.    In the Gospel, we hear of Bartimaeus the blind man, who “kept calling out” beseeching help from Jesus even when advised by the disciples to keep quiet? How persistent (and consistent) are you in prayer? What can you do this week to eliminate those things that are keeping you from a time of prayer each day? How can you deepen your expectancy?

5.    Also in the Gospel, Jesus says to Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” How would you respond if Jesus asked you this same question? Would you be able to respond with the same expectant faith that Bartimaeus had? When you call out to God in prayer for your needs do you believe that he will answer you? Why or why not?

6.  The meditation encourages us to “cry out to Jesus today as Bartimaeus did. Be humble but confident. Trust that what is impossible for you is possible for him.” Take some time to pray for each other at the end of your meeting for an increase in faith and trust in Jesus. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as a starting point.

Come Holy Spirit!  ~  Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and en kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, you taught the hearts of your faithful by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit. In that same spirit give us your right judgment and the joy of your consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayer to St. Joseph  ~  Glorious St. Joseph, guide and protector of the Holy Family, we ask that you obtain for us from your son, Jesus, the strength and wisdom to lead our families to their Father in heaven. Most Chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we imitate your obedience to the will of God and be ever mindful of the vocation to which we have been called. Amen