Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Homily)

October 25, 2015 7:00 am  · Father Dan Vanyo

Homilies, Ordinary Time

Jesus Son of David have pity on me. There he was on the road. We have some great suggestions in the Gospel for prayer. What do we ask for in prayer? How do we ask for something in prayer? This man is a great model. He didn't say, "Jesus Son of David, get me a new camel. Get me this. Do this." He was simply humble and trusted in the Lord, he just wanted pity from the Lord. Wow. He didn't come to the Lord with a plan and say, "Put you stamp of approval on this. Get me this. Gimme, gimme, gimme". Just to have pity. Can you be any more humble than that?

So how do we approach the Lord in prayer? Is it just gimme this, gimme that? Do we only talk to Him when we want something? Or is our prayer more like this man? Because just guess what happens? You don't have to guess if you were listening. Jesus stops and calls out for him. Now, if he had done it another way I wonder if Jesus would have stopped? Lots of people are yelling at Jesus, crowds of people yelling this and that. The Scripture tells us that He stops. Humility gets the Lord's attention. Pride does not. Pride is the way of Satan and the fallen angels. If I come to the Lord and just want Him to put a stamp of approval of what I want, and it's not good for me, or it's not part of His plan, because I haven't bothered to check in with Him with faith. He tells the man that faith saved you. There's another key thing to keep in mind. Approach Him with humility and faith. If I approach with pride and a plan that I want, and I want you to want it, it's the exact opposite.