In Sunday’s Gospel, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, ignored by the crowd traveling with Jesus, is invited by Jesus to come forward. We catch a glimpse of his personality. He casts his cloak away — his most prized possession, the thing that kept him warm while sleeping rough at night and protected him from the elements as he begged by the road. When he stands before Jesus, he no longer shouts out for help but is silent. And then when Jesus says, “Go your way, your faith has saved you,” Bartimaeus does not do what we might have done. He doesn’t run down the road shouting with joy, or go to his family, or begin to pursue real work and wealth now that his handicap is removed. He “followed him on the way.” Disciples are followers of Jesus. And they follow him on “the way,” a code word in Mark’s Gospel for the road leading to Calvary. Most of us sometimes fantasize about what we would do if we won the lottery. Well, Bartimaeus won the lottery that day, and he saw with his new eyes a call to become a companion of the Lord, spontaneously it seems, and wholeheartedly. Can I use those words about my own discipleship?
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia