“ He shouted all the louder” Mark 10:46-52.

Book of Sirach 42:15-26. 
Now will I recall God's works; what I have seen, I will describe. At God's word were his works brought into being; they do his will as he has ordained for them.
As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the LORD fills all his works;
Yet even God's holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the LORD, Though God has given these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory.
He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come:
He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets.
No understanding does he lack; no single thing escapes him.
Perennial is his almighty wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same,
With nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for him!
How beautiful are all his works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision!
The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved.
All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has he made in vain, For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor?




Psalms 33(32):2-3.4-5.6-7.8-9.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.

For upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
By the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as in a flask;
in cellars he confines the deep.

Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all who dwell in the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it was made;
He commanded, and it stood forth.




Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10:46-52.
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, he is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

“ He shouted all the louder”

If anyone recognizes the darkness of his blindness... let him cry with his whole mind, let him say: “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” But let us hear what happened when the blind man was crying out: “And the people ahead rebuked him, that he should be silent” (Lk 18,39). What is meant by 'the people ahead' as Jesus comes if not the crowds of bodily desires and the uproar caused by our vices? Before Jesus comes into our hearts they disturb our thoughts by tempting us, and they thoroughly muddle the words in our hearts as we pray. We often wish to be converted to the Lord when we have committed some wrong. When we try to pray earnestly against the wrongs we have committed, images of our sins come into our hearts. They obscure our inner vision, they disturb our minds and overwhelm the sound of our petition...

But let us hear what the blind man, still unenlightened, did. “But he cried out all the more: 'Son of David, have mercy on me'”... In proportion to the tumult of our unspiritual thoughts must be our eagerness to persist in prayer... It is surely necessary that the more harshly our heart's voice is repressed, the more firmly it must persist to overcome the uproar of forbidden thoughts and break in on our Lord's gracious ears by its intrepid perseverance. I believe that everyone observes what I am saying in himself, and herself. When we turn our minds from this world to God, when we are converted to the work of prayer, what we once enjoyed doing we later endure in our prayer as demanding and burdensome. Holy desire only with difficulty banishes the recollection of them from our hearts... But when we persist ardently in our prayer, we fix Jesus to our hearts as he passes by. Hence: “But Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought to him” (v.40).