This was one of the most emotional times for me for a variety of reasons. In today's gospel, Bartimeous of his blindness. He "throws off his cloak" and immediately goes to Jesus. This gesture of "throwing off the old" means his whole is changing. He needs to let go not so much of his external blindness but the inner blindness that is much more serious...and we all struggle with inner blindness when we refuse "to see" our God through the eyes of Christ, a God who created us to share in the transformation of the world; " to see" his presence in all people; "to see" the face of God freeing us from our sins being transformed by his mercy; "to see" as God sees each one of us, as his beloved son or daughter.
Letting go of the stones of burden was my hope for you... for us...to let go of the burden...to "rise up" to a new way of living. We need to throw off the inner cloak that blinds us in so many ways. I needed to weep tears of letting of of things I need to let go of...things that have blinded me on my own journey. As I told one of my companions today, I am called to be a priest for God's people, helping others "throw off their cloaks" a vocation that his beautiful , powerful, fulfilling and yet lonely.
I hope you felt a bit lighter today. What "cloak" do you need to let go of,along your life less burdensome? Buen camino. Padre
Hi Father Frank!!! How are you doing? I miss you and continue to pray for you! My birthday is this Saturday November 3rd. I will be 31!! My wedding day at St Teresa's is a little more than 6 months away, I'm excited!! I will be contacting Deacon Dean to see what happens next!
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible, courageous journey you are taking both outside and inside. One of the wonderful parts of this is that you will have this blog to help you when you return, when you're tempted to hold on to what should be discarded, when you are tempted to wonder if what you're experiencing really happened. Thank you for sharing this with us and for inspiring us to always go deeper and let go and let God.
ReplyDeleteHi Father Frank! Brad and I are enjoying following along on your journey by reading your blog. We keep you close in thought and prayers. May courage, faith and commitment to your inner truth continue to be your guide. Much love. Liz and Brad
ReplyDeleteHi Padre! Thinking of you often - reading your blog is an inspiration! Thank you for sharing so much with us at St. Teresa's when you are here in Chicago, but especially for sending us advice, inspiration, and insight from afar in the form of this blog. It's like getting a mini-homily every day. Stay strong, and know we are thinking of you and praying for you. -Sara
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