May the Lord give you peace and blessings in the Holy Spirit.
It is 15th November 2021. We celebrate the memorial of Saint Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor.
We reflect on 1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64 and the Gospel of Luke 18:35-43.
Suffering suffocates at times but stabilizes our being at the end.
There is no one is mandated to inflict sufferings on any human person or on any God’s creation whether it is institutionalised, corporate, domestic, or religious to get the best for themselves at the cost of sacrificing the individual dignity.
Viktor Frankl reminds us gently, “If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering.”
When we are blind, selective, exclusive, prejudiced, biased, indifferent, racial, nepotic, we tend to make others suffer repeatedly, unconsciously at times without realising what we are doing to them.
The first reading reveals and recounts on the attempts of the Syrian King who inflicted suffering by suppressing their practices and belief. The unspeakable sufferings of the Maccabean family did not reduce their enthusiasm to be faithful to God and the Law and even they were prepared to go through martyrdom for the love of the same. No one can suppress and silence God by inflicting pain to the faithful believer. Faith is strengthened and spread wide and far when it is suppressed.
The Psalmist echoes the voice of a suffering person: “Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your will.” (Ps.119).
Faculty to see is taken for granted in all our lives until we have issues with our vision. But to perceive the presence of God never gets dry even when we are ignored, forgotten, manipulated, and taken for granted.
The story of the blind man and his cure appears in synoptic gospels. The question of the blind person is our question too. “What do you want me to do for you?” God heals us whenever we are blind yet grateful. God deserves the praises when healing has taken place. Praising and thanking are always due to God no matter whether we have received or not.
Even though we may not all be blind physically, yet we can remain blind when we ignore the needs of others. “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” (Lk. 18:42). May the Lord bless you to see all that God wants us to see in ourselves and in others.