Reading 1
Gn 8:6-13, 20-22
At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch he had made in the ark,
and he sent out a raven,
to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.
It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth.
Then he sent out a dove,
to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.
But the dove could find no place to alight and perch,
and it returned to him in the ark,
for there was water all over the earth.
Putting out his hand, he caught the dove
and drew it back to him inside the ark.
He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark.
In the evening the dove came back to him,
and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf!
So Noah knew that the waters had lessened on the earth.
He waited still another seven days
and then released the dove once more;
and this time it did not come back.
In the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life,
in the first month, on the first day of the month,
the water began to dry up on the earth.
Noah then removed the covering of the ark
and saw that the surface of the ground was drying up.
Noah built an altar to the LORD,
and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird,
he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
When the LORD smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself:
“Never again will I doom the earth because of man
since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start;
nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done.
As long as the earth lasts,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
and day and night
shall not cease.”
Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
Responsorial PsalmR. (17a)
To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Mk 8:22-26
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”
Meditation: Mark 8:22-26
“He laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly.” (Mark 8:25)
Have you ever wondered why, after laying hands on the blind man the first time, Jesus asked him if he could see? Hadn’t Jesus already prayed over him? Why did this fellow’s healing require more than one step? Did something go wrong the first time?
Not exactly. This story shows us that sometimes things happen at once, and other times they don’t. This fellow was probably not the only one to experience gradual healing and deliverance. It’s just that his is the only story to make it into the Gospels.
How comforting to know that Jesus didn’t give up on the blind man! He didn’t reject him for having weak faith. And he certainly didn’t think that the man’s sins were an obstacle to his healing power. Instead, he persisted, gradually removing whatever was in the way of his full and complete restoration.
We can all relate to this story. We all know that there are times when Jesus takes away our burdens in an instant, but there are other times when our healing takes longer— sometimes a lot longer than we want.
Let’s take this story as a model for the spiritual healing we can receive in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Have you ever approached this sacrament feeling as if you are confessing the same sins over and over again? Don’t let that discourage you! Instead, know that as you keep bringing your sins into the light, you are exposing yourself to more and more of God’s healing grace.
The next time you examine your conscience, ask the Holy Spirit to show you the deeper roots of your sins. Then be sure to bring these new insights to Confession. Let the Lord work more profoundly. Know that repeated exposure to the sacrament can soften your heart so that deeper healing can take place.
Jesus never gives up on you—so don’t you give up on yourself! He wants to see you healed. He is constantly at work peeling away layer after layer, touching you more and more deeply!
“Lord, I am still blind in so many ways. Help me not to get discouraged but to trust in your patient love. Come, Lord, and keep healing me!”
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