The Daily Gospel

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68 Thursday, 29 May 2008 Thursday of the Eighth week in Ordinary Time Today the Church celebrates : St Raymond and companions William of Saint-Thierry : "What do you want me to do for you?" Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10,46-52. They came to Jericho. And as he 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, he 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. Commentary of the day : William of Saint-Thierry (c.1085-1148), first a Benedictine, then a Cistercian monk The Contemplation of God, 1-2 "What do you want me to do for you?" «Come! Let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways,» (Is 2,3). You, good intentions, burning desires, thought and will, affections and all the heart's strength, come!, let us climb the mountain, let us get to the place where the Lord sees and is seen. But as for you, worries, cares and anxieties, hard work and heavy bondage, wait for us here... until, hastening to that place, we return to you when we have worshipped (cf. Gn 22,5). For unfortunately we have to come back again only too quickly. Lord, God of my strength, turn us towards you, «bring us back to you, show us your face and we shall be saved,» (Ps 80[79],20). However, my Lord, how premature, bold and presumptuous he is, how opposed to the rule borne by the word of your truth and wisdom, to claim to see God with impure heart! O sovereign goodness, supreme good, life of our hearts, light of our interior eyes: in your goodness, Lord, have mercy on us. See! my purification, trust and right: see it now, the contemplation of your goodness, my good Lord! You say to my soul, O my God, as you well know how: «I am your salvation,» (Ps 35[34],3). Rabboni, sovereign master and teacher, the only physician able to make me see what I long to see, say to this blind beggar of yours: «What do you want me to do for you?». And how well you know, who give this grace to me..., with what strength my heart cries out to you: «I have sought you, Lord, and still will seek your face! Hide not your face from me,» (cf. Ps 27[26],8-9).