COMMENTARY ON THE LITURGY OF THE SUNDAY OF QUINQUAGESIMA OR SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE LENT
Antiphon (Introit)
Esto mihi in Deum protectorem, et in locum refugii, ut salvum me facias: quoniam firmamentum meum, et refugium meum es tu: et propter nomen tuum dux mihi eris, et enutries me. In te, Domine, speravit, non confundar in aeternum: in justitia tua libera me, et eripe me.
Be my rock of refuge, O God, a stronghold to give me safety. You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name’s sake You will lead and guide me. In You, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In Your justice rescue me and deliver me.
Collect
O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
Readings
1 Cor 13:1-13; Lc 18:31-42
Comment
At the end of the period that separates Epiphany from Lent, today's Gospel reading leads us to Jesus' announcement of his earthly destiny, which will be fulfilled in his passion and death. In order to prepare the disciples for this traumatic event and prevent them from being scandalized by it, the Lord reveals to him that the prophecies of the ancient prophets will have to be fulfilled in him and that, therefore, that imminent catastrophe is part of God's saving plan.
Because nothing will have to remain hidden anymore, Jesus performs the miracle of healing the blind Bartimaeus, not preventing him from witnessing what happened. In fact, no more caution is necessary, since the hatred of Christ's enemies has now reached its peak and, as his sacrifice approaches, he must make himself recognized by all as the Messiah expected by Israel.
Bartimaeus' firm faith and his insistent prayer rise above the roar of the crowd, reaching as far as the Savior's ears. Bartimaeus sees his prayer answered for his unshakable faith, which ignores those who tell him to keep quiet. It is the same insistence with which Jesus invites us to pray in the parable of the importunate friend (Lk 11: 5-8).
Bartimaeus is an example of the gratitude with which we are called to respond to God's mercy: as soon as he is healed, he throws off his garment and begins to follow Jesus. The love of God asks us for conversion and discipleship. Regaining sight and continuing to wear the clothes of a blind person would not make any sense.
Christ, the light of the world, opens our eyes to the wonders of God's charity, of which we must be imitators, as the apostle Paul exhorts in his first letter to the Corinthians. Far from being a mere form of almsgiving, perhaps a way to lighten our conscience by giving the superfluous, charity is selfless love, which gives without asking for anything in return and without seeking ulterior motives.
Paul presents charity as a virtue superior to faith that works miracles and moves mountains, superior to any other gift we can possess. Without it we are nothing. Because when all things have passed, only what we are will remain, not what we have. And in the eyes of God, who is love, we are nothing if we are devoid of love.
Let us not be deceived by the judgment of men, who can praise us for what we have: science, eloquence, material goods. God looks at who we are. Paul considers charity, together with and above faith and hope, as a permanent virtue which goes beyond our earthly life: "these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:13). Charity is the greatest virtue because it makes us partakers of the very nature of God.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
