This Sunday's reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Mark: Jesus gives sight to Bartimaeus.

‘Jesus hears,’ Pope Francis says, ‘and immediately stops. God always listens to the cry of the poor.’ The story of Jesus’ encounter with blind Bartimaeus shows this to be true. Shouting for aid, Bartimaeus evidently irritates many of those following Jesus. To an extent, this is understandable. They wanted to see and hear from Jesus, after all, and Bartimaeus was disrupting the procession. But Jesus hears the cry of one who, as the Pope puts it, is ‘full of faith, a faith that is not afraid to insist.’

As the Pope points out, Bartimaeus keeps his prayer simple. He honours the Lord and then asks first for mercy and only secondly for sight. In light of this, the Pope suggests that we take Bartimaeus’ prayer as our own and use it to reflect on the authenticity of our prayer life. Adapted from Nick Brodie

Important Reminders and Upcoming Dates:

Reconciliation Parent Formation Evenings: A reminder that our parish Reconciliation Parent Formation evenings are tonight (5:30 - 6:30) and tomorrow night (7 - 8 p.m.) at Holy Family Church. This is a compulsory parent session; children are not required to attend. 

Year 4 Reconciliation Retreat Day: On Tuesday, November 12th, Year 4 students will attend Holy Family Church and participate in the Corpus Christi, 

Reconciliation Retreat Day. Further details will be sent out via Compass shortly.