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I choose patience...I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complaining that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
- Max Lucado
(The key word is "choose." Pray the grace to remember to use wisely your power to choose your response to the circumstances in your life.)
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Jas 1:19-27; Psalm 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5
Mk 8:22-26
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“A second time Jesus laid hands on his eyes, and he saw perfectly.” —Mark 8:25
In today’s Gospel reading, it took a bit of extra time and a second prayer for the blind man to be fully healed. In tomorrow’s Gospel reading, we will see that St. Peter also needed some time to be fully formed. Through divine inspiration, Peter recognized that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God (Mk 8:29). Shortly afterwards, Peter showed that he still needed more growth, as he allowed the devil to speak through
him (Mk 8:33).
In a few years, however, Peter was fully formed and ready to serve as the first pope, the head of the early Church. He was able to preach boldly in public, lead 3,000 people to faith in one day, and perform miraculous healings (Acts 2:14ff; 3:6-8; 5:15-16; 9:33-41).
Are you frustrated with people in your life who have no faith or are not growing in faith as you wish? Today’s readings offer you hope. God is gentle and patient. He forms His people with tender love. He is a divine Potter Who gently molds and transforms people (see Is 64:7; Jer 18:3ff). The Lord often works in hidden ways (Mk 4:23-27). Therefore, “trust in [God] at all times” (Ps 62:9) and never lose heart in
prayer (Lk 18:1). Tell the Lord: “I do believe! Help my lack of trust!” (Mk 9:24)
Prayer: Father, not my will but Yours be done (Lk 22:42). Help me to do my part in Your plan and never block Your action.
Promise: Be “slow to anger, for a man’s anger does not fulfill God’s justice.” —Jas 1:19-20
Presentation Ministries
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Growing in Inner Freedom: A Guide for Today
- by Philip St. Romain. Liguori Publ., 1986.
28. Practice Forgiveness
If you forgive the faults of others, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours. If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you (Matthew 6:14).
It has often been said that the door into the kingdom of heaven opens from the inside out. If we want to experience love, we must reach out in love; if we want to know peace, we must become peacemakers; if we want to be forgiven, we must practice forgiveness. It is as though the energy of God’s life is always there, ready to light up our lives; but only we can turn on the
switch by practicing spiritual principles.
The relationship skills discussed on the previous six days will surely help anyone to grow in love of God, self, and neighbor. Nevertheless, we will often fall short of the ideal of love that Christ demands of us; we will even hurt ourselves and one another from time to time. When we do so, we need to practice forgiveness.
We will know that we have forgiven when we are able to consider the wrongs we have experienced without harboring ill-will toward the parties involved. This does not mean that we forget about what happened; to forget is to risk making the same mistakes again. For example, Paul never forgot that he had persecuted the Body of Christ, but his confessions reveal only the freedom he later found in God’s merciful forgiveness rather than a guilt-ridden reminder of his immense crime.
Forgiveness gives us the freedom to let go of resentment and start over with a clean slate.
Suggested Practices
- When you are wrong, admit it and apologize to those you have hurt. Be specific about what you have done. Make amends, if necessary. If the other does not forgive you, let it go and move on.
- Hold nothing against anyone or anything: yourself, another person, God, country, sickness, etc. Ask God to give you the grace to forgive.
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