Topics for Today: In the morning, it was on Repentance from all sins. We are God's beloved sons and daughters and although we are sinners, we are loved. The afternoon was on Mercy and Compassion.

She has forewarned me Herself that mercy is reserved for those who fear God. Do I think Mary will approve of my iniquities? She is very willing to implore my forgiveness and obtain my return to God's favor, but she will do so only if I manifest a sincere will to revert to the good and regret having separated from God and having offended Him.

Compassionately encountering the sinner, love takes on the face of mercy. Mercy is another side of love that Jesus taught as the essence of the Law that combines love of God and love of neighbor. The combination provides us with the basic commandment for life.

To believe in God's love is to believe in mercy. Mercy is a necessary dimension of love; it is love's second name and the specific way in which love is revealed in the face of the reality of sin and evil in the world. 

Jesus comes to call sinners to repentance. He calls us at this moment. 

Let us bow in prayer.

We don't let anyone silence us or dampen our enthusiasm when we chase after Jesus. How amazing is Bartimaeus' enthusiasm as he hears that Christ is nearby and he knows that he has a chance to be healed. Being blind, Bartimaeus can't walk nimbly through the crowd to get near Jesus. His voice is his one resource.

Our relationship with Jesus is personal. God is a relational God. He wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. This does not happen if we don't fix our eyes firmly on Him and let anyone or anything distract us. When blind Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, He stops.

Obstacles may be in our way. Let us be ready to put them aside. We lay aside anything that blocks us from God. Like blind Bartimaeus, we decide to pursue God even when things get in our way. Bartimaeus' story is our story.

We don't pay attention to the crowd. A Pastor once asks, "When has the majority ever been right?" It's a lesson we ponder often. In the story of Bartimaeus, we see the people try to silence him when he cries out to Jesus.

An important note: the humble sees God. The people look down on Bartimaeus simply because of his blindness, which many Jews believe is a punishment due to sin.

Bartimaeus sits beside the road on the outskirts of Jericho. It is the road that leads to Jerusalem. Jesus sets His face toward Jerusalem, which is an uphill climb at a distance of about 27 km.

Like blind Bartimaeus, we need to focus on God and Him only. We run a race which we can only do when we pay attention to the path set for us and not allow ourselves to be distracted by what other people say to us. 

So dear friends are we still spiritually blind? We hear all about Jesus: His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His death on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead, the many proofs that He is indeed alive, and His bodily ascension to the right hand of God.

What about us? How many times does Jesus not pass us by, but also knocks at our door, and calls us out? Time and again He invites us, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!"

Jesus and salvation are offered to us now. Do we let Him pass us by? We may not hear His call again. How much better to call Him now and ask Him to open our eyes that we may see the glory of His salvation?

We hear of Jesus forgiving others. Do we not accept the forgiveness He offers us? Perhaps we don't yet believe but only hope. We hear the Good News that Jesus comes into the world to save sinners, and we hope that it is true. We hope that it is true for us. We are assured that it is true, and that there is hope for us!

The Topic: "The Eucharist and Church Mission". It's a beautiful topic - reminding us of the real presence of God in the Blessed Sacrament.

In the Eucharist, Jesus shows love, which goes to the end and knows no measure. Our relationship with Jesus begins at Baptism and is strengthened by the Eucharist.

Imagine how precious a moment that is when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. When we receive Jesus, he is in us and we are with Him. It is like what Genesis says about the marriage of man and woman, no longer two but one. It is the same when we receive Jesus. We are no longer two but one. 'He who eats my flesh abides in me and I in him" (John 6:57). 

This is the very center and heart of our Church, the center and heart of our faith, the center and heart of our parish, the center and heart of the lives of each of us.

When we submit to God we do not lose anything, we gain everything. There is a beautiful chant. "Trust, surrender, believe, receive." Surrender our logic to God, and receive the love of God for us! Surrender to God and receive His love.

The founder of the Redemptorists, Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote: 'Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us".