It is 16th November 2020. We celebrate the memorial of Sts. Margaret of Scotland, and St Gertrude, virgin.
The readings are from Revelations 1:1-4, 2:1-5; and the Gospel from Luke 18:35-43.
As there are seven beatitudes (Rev.1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; 22:14) in the book of Revelation, we read one of them today from Rev. 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it.”
It is hard to believe that love can expire or diminish by time. The initial love for God and for that significant one in our life could be turbulent, explosive, eruptive and volcanic. The bitter truth is love is like a fire; it dies down until we fan it.
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Rev.2:4).
God complains in the first reading that our initial love for God is either reducing or shrinking by now. In everyone’s life, we can recall the moment, how good, generous, loving, revering when we were young. God was everything for most of us. We never had any difficulty to run near God and talk to God all our concerns and fears. As we grow up, we fear people, events and start pretending to love. The initial passion, desire, and hunger for God turn cold, distant, resentful, burdensome, rigid by time. We begin prioritizing many things in our life than God and we tend lose enthusiasm and zeal for God eventually abandon loving God gradually but surely. It is time well up to reignite and fan the dying fire of love towards God and one another.
The responsorial Verse praises, “Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.” (Rev.2:7).
The Gospel invites us to recognise our blindness as that of the blind man and encourages us to place the petition to the Lord. “The blind man said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” (Lk.18:42). When we have love for the Lord, our faith becomes strong. Let us continue to be spiritually blind pacifying ourselves everything with God and ourselves are airtight when we have chosen to keep God out of our lives. There is no question, God cannot answer; no sickness, God cannot heal; no struggle, God cannot participate. We all strive to trust Him who has the power change our lives instantly. May you have a lovely day. God bless you.