Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

The miracle that we read of in today’s gospel have various levels of application for us.

Firstly, we see that the reign of God that Jesus came to announce very much includes all and especially those in need of any kind. Today we read of the blind finding their way to Jesus and being nourished by his teaching and hope-filled message but more so, we see that they also experienced physical healing. Do you believe that He can do much more for you that you can tell?

Thus, we see the healing hand of God at work in Jesus. No matter what our external situations – our blindness in life and our failures to see those around us, our inability to walk the way of love and self-giving, or our incompleteness and lacks at times – Jesus is constantly extending healing and the offer of new life to us.

In this reading too, we learn that our situations , meager as they might be in our own eyes, can be taken up by Jesus and used to transform us. What is more, whilst our efforts and capacity might seem to us to be small compared to the scale of the challenge, we should not be discouraged. Jesus takes us in his hands, it is magnified and becomes effective.

So, we might take encouragement from this text today. It is given so that we might follow his plan , have trust and faith in Jesus and in his care for us, and we learn that his mission and presence in our world builds on our own generosity and contribution too

Francis Xavier was a great friend of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Company of Jesus (the Jesuits). Following Christ’s call, he went to evangelize nations far from his native Europe—the “ends of the earth” from that perspective. He opened the eyes of faith in the mission. This was made possible because he believed in the words of Christ in Matthew 26:16. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? What would be your gain in life if you do not gain salvation.

Finally, we might see a reminder that we must always seek mercy from God. The blind men ask Jesus to pity them. The Sacraments are sources of grace, mercy, blessings and nourishment for us – for which we too give thanks, but it is also that place where we can hear the call of Jesus to go out to others and to serve generously.

We do all this in faith, knowing that this passage will come alive again and again and our spiritual blindness will be taken away by our trust in him. Our sins will be washed away and we too will receive sight and be satisfied in the company of Jesus.

Osho