Sunday Inspiration - Half-way There

St. Ambrose on the 4th Sunday of Lent:

“Give thanks, Brethren to the Divine Mercy Which has brought you safely half-way through the season of Lent. For this favour they give praise to God, thankfully and with devotion, who in these days have striven to live in the manner in which they were instructed at the beginning of Lent; that is, those who, coming with eagerness to the Church, have sought with sighs and tears, in daily fasting and almsdeeds, to obtain the forgiveness of their sins.”

Sunday Inspiration - Lent - The Acceptable Time

St. Ambrose on Lent:

“Behold, Dearly Beloved, the sacred days are drawing near, the acceptable time, of which it is written: Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (II Cor. vi. 2). And so you must be more earnest in prayer and in almsgiving, in fasting and in watching. He that till now has given alms, in these days let him give more; for as water quencheth a flaming fire, so does almsgiving wipe out sins (Eccles. iii. 33). He that till now fasted and prayed, let him fast and pray still more: for there are certain sins which are not cast out, except by prayer and fasting (Mt. xvii. 20).

“Should anyone cherish anger towards another, let him forgive from his heart. Should anyone take unjustly what belongs to another, let him restore it; and if not fourfold, at least that which he has taken; if he desires God to be merciful to himself (Lk. xix. 8). And though a Christian should abstain at all times from cursings and revilings, from oaths, from excessive laughter, and from idle words, he must do this especially in these holy days, which are set apart so that, during these forty days, he may by penance wipe out the sins of the whole year.

“Let you believe, and believe firmly, that if in these days you have made a thorough confession of your sins, and done penance as we have told you, you shall receive from Out Most Merciful Lord pardon of all your offences; as did the Ninivites, who earned deliverance from their afflictions by doing penance in sackcloth and ashes (Jn. iii). So you also, following their example, if you cry out with all your heart to the Lord, you will invoke His Mercy on you, so that serene and joyful you will celebrate the day of the Lord’s Resurrection, and thus blessed, you will after this life cross over to your heavenly home, by the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.”

March 25 - The Annunciation

St. Luke 1:26-38

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, ‘Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.’ But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.’ But Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?’ And the angel said to her in reply, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.’ Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.”

Fra Angelico - The Annunciation

St. Gregory Thaumaturgus - First Homily on the Annunciation

"Today are strains of praise sung joyfully by the choir of angels, and the light of the advent of Christ shines brightly upon the faithful. Today is the glad spring-time to us, and Christ the Sun of righteousness has beamed with clear light around us, and has illumined the minds of the faithful. Today is Adam made anew, and moves in the choir of angels, having winged his way to heaven. Today is the whole circle of the earth filled with joy, since the sojourn of the Holy Spirit has been realized to men. Today the grace of God and the hope of the unseen shine through all wonders transcending imagination, and make the mystery that was kept hidden from eternity plainly discernible to us. Today are woven the chaplets of never-fading virtue. Today, God, willing to crown the sacred heads of those whose pleasure is to hearken to Him, and who delight in His festivals, invites the lovers of unswerving faith as His called and His heirs; and the heavenly kingdom is urgent to summon those who mind celestial things to join the divine service of the incorporeal choirs. Today is fulfilled the word of David, 'Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad. The fields shall be joyful, and all the trees of the wood before the Lord, because He comes.' David thus made mention of the trees; and the Lord's forerunner also spoke of them as trees 'that should bring forth fruits meet for repentance,' or rather for the coming of the Lord. But our Lord Jesus Christ promises perpetual gladness to all those who believe in Him. For He says, 'I will see you, and you shall rejoice; and your joy no man takes from you.' Today is the illustrious and ineffable mystery of Christians, who have willingly set their hope like a seal upon Christ, plainly declared to us. Today did Gabriel, who stands by God, come to the pure virgin, bearing to her the glad annunciation."


O God, who didst will that Thy Word take flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary at the message of the angel: grant us, we pray, to be aided before Thee by her intercession, whom we believe to be truly the Mother of God. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

On the Fruits of Reading Holy Scripture

“The harvest comes joyfully from the fields, and a yield that is rich and pleasant from the vine; and from the Scriptures teaching that is lifegiving and salutary. The fields have but one season of harvest; but from the Scripture there gushes forth a stream of saving doctrine. The field when reaped lies idle, and at rest, and the branches when the vine is stripped lie withered and dead. The Scriptures are garnered each day, yet the years of its interpreters never come to an end; and the clusters of its vines, which in it are those of hope, though also gathered each day, are likewise without end. Let us therefore come to this field, and take our delight of its life-giving furrows; and let us reap there the wheat of life, that is, the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

-St. Ephraem, from his sermon on the Transfiguration

Sunday Inspiration - The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration by Raphael

St. Matthew 17:1-9

“Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’ When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and do not be afraid.’ And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, ‘Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’”

From Pope St. Leo the Great's Sermon on the Transfiguration:

“And in this Transfiguration the foremost object was to remove the offense of the cross from the disciple's heart, and to prevent their faith being disturbed by the humiliation of His voluntary Passion by revealing to them the excellence of His hidden dignity. But with no less foresight, the foundation was laid of the Holy Church's hope, that the whole body of Christ might realize the character of the change which it would have to receive, and that the members might promise themselves a share in that honour which had already shone forth in their Head.”

Sunday Inspiration – The Temptation of Christ

Matthew 4:1-11

“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.’ He said in reply, ‘It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’ Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, ‘All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.’ At this, Jesus said to him, ‘Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.’ Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.”


Pope St. Gregory the Great on the Gospel reading:

“…dwelling on the sequence of the temptations, let us consider through what greatness we are delivered from temptation. Our ancient enemy set himself against the First Man, our parent, with three temptations; for he tempted him by gluttony, by vain glory, and by avarice; and tempting him defeated him: for by consenting to the temptation he placed himself under the power of the devil.

“He tempted him through gluttony when he put before him the forbidden fruit of the tree, and persuaded him to eat it. He tempted him by vain glory when he said: Ye will be as Gods (Gen. iii. 5). And he tempted him from the heights of avarice when he said: knowing good and evil. For there is an avarice not alone of money, but of grandeur. Rightly is it called avarice when exaltation is desired above all moderation. For if the seizure of honour did not pertain to avarice Paul would never have said: Who thought it not robbery to be equal to God (Phil. ii. 6). In this the devil led our parent to pride, by provoking in him the greed of human grandeur.

“But by the very means by which he laid low the First Man, by these same did he himself succumb to the Second Man. For he tempted Him by gluttony when he said: Command that these stones be made bread. He tempted Him by vain glory when he said: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. By greed of dominion when he showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth, and said: All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me. But by these very means by which he gloried in defeating the First Man, was he overcome by the Second; so that defeated he goes out from our hearts by that very way through which, once forcing an entrance, he was wont to hold us in slavery."

Pope St. Gregory the Great on the First Sunday of Lent

“From this present day till the joyful solemnities of Easter there are six weeks; that is, two and forty days. From which if you subtract the six Sundays there remain six and thirty days of abstinence. And since a year continues throughout three hundred and sixty-five days, we, when we mortify ourselves for thirty-six days, give to the Lord a tithe as it were of our year; so that we who have lived for ourselves throughout the year we have received, may, during His tenth of it, die to Our Maker through abstinence.

“And so, Dearly Beloved, as it was commanded in the Law to offer tithes of all things, so let you offer Him a tithe of your days. Let each one mortify his own body, as far as his strength allows, and let him weaken its desires, and lower the pride of its evil lusts, so that he may become in the words of Paul, a living sacrifice (Rom. xii. I).”

Sunday Inspiration - A House Built on Rock

Matthew 7:21-27

Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”


St. John Chrysostom – Homily 24 on Matthew

“He calls the steadfastness of His doctrine a rock; because in truth His commands are stronger than any rock, setting one above all the waves of human affairs. For he who keeps these things strictly, will not have the advantage of men only when they are vexing him, but even of the very devils plotting against him. And that it is not vain boasting so to speak, Job is our witness, who received all the assaults of the devil, and stood unmoveable; and the apostles too are our witnesses, for that when the waves of the whole world were beating against them, when both nations and princes, both their own people and strangers, both the evil spirits, and the devil, and every engine was set in motion, they stood firmer than a rock, and dispersed it all.”

Sunday Inspiration - The Love of God

Isaiah 49:14-15
“Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

St. John Cassian, Conference 13
“This providence and love of God therefore, which the Lord in His unwearied goodness vouchsafes to show us, He compares to the tenderest heart of a kind mother, as He wishes to express it by a figure of human affection, and finds in His creatures no such feeling of love to which he could better compare it. And He uses this example, because nothing dearer can be found in human nature, saying: ‘Can a mother forget her child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?’ But not content with this comparison He at once goes beyond it, and subjoins these words: ‘And though she may forget, yet will not I forget you.’”

February 23 – St. Polycarp – Bishop and Martyr

St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist who was martyred about the year 155. His memorial was formerly observed on January 26th.

Among the writings handed down by the early Fathers is an account of St. Polycarp’s martyrdom. Therein we read:

“…the proconsul urging him, and saying, ‘Swear, and I will set you at liberty, reproach Christ’; Polycarp declared, ‘Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?’
“But again the proconsul said to him, ‘I will cause you to be consumed by fire…if you will not repent.’ But Polycarp said, ‘You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little [while] is extinguished, but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why do you tarry? Bring forth what you will.’”

With that, the Saint was tied to a stake and set on fire. The fire, however did not affect him and he was run through with a dagger, causing so much blood to pour out as to extinguish the fire.

It would do us well when we experience any sort of suffering in our lives to remember the example of the holy martyrs who gladly gave their lives for the sake of Our Lord. Then at all times, good and bad, we can join in praying with thanksgiving as St. Polycarp did as he was going to his death, “I praise You for all things, I bless You, I glorify You, along with the everlasting and heavenly Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, with whom, to You, and the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and to all coming ages. Amen.”

Sunday Inspiration - Turning the Other Cheek

Matthew 5:38-48
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

St. Augustine – from “on the Sermon on the Mount”
“For it is not easy to find anyone who, when he has received a blow, wishes merely to return the blow; and who, on hearing one word from a man who reviles him, is content to return only one, and that just an equivalent; but he avenges it more immoderately, either under the disturbing influence of anger, or because he thinks it just, that he who first inflicted injury should suffer more severe injury than he suffered who had not inflicted injury. Such a spirit was in great measure restrained by the law, where it was written, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; by which expressions a certain measure is intended, so that the vengeance should not exceed the injury. And this is the beginning of peace: but perfect peace is to have no wish at all for such vengeance.”

Sunday Inspiration - Hard Teachings

Matthew 5:17-37

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful -causes her to commit adultery,and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.D o not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”

St. John Chrysostom
Homily 16 on St. Matthew
“But when you hear, least in the kingdom of Heaven, surmise nothing but hell and torments. For He was used to mean by the kingdom, not merely the enjoyment thereof, but also the time of the resurrection, and that awful coming. And how could it be reasonable, that while he who called his brother fool, and transgressed but one commandment, falls into hell; the breaker of them all, and instigator of others to the same, should be within the kingdom. This therefore is not what He means, but that such a one will be at that time least, that is, cast out, last. And he that is last will surely then fall into hell. For, being God, He foreknew the laxity of the many, He foreknew that some would think these sayings were merely hyperbolical, and would argue about the laws, and say, What, if any one call another a fool, is he punished? If one merely look on a woman, does he become an adulterer? For this very cause He, destroying such insolence beforehand, has set down the strongest denunciation against either sort, as well them who transgress, as them who lead on others so to do.”

Thank God for the absolution that comes from the sacrament of penance! We should frequently seek the forgiveness and grace that the Lord offers us through confession.

Sunday Inspiration - Feast of the Epiphany

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. This is the day we recall the Christ child being visited, brought gifts, and worshipped by the Magi from the East, and therefore being made known to all the earth.

St. Matthew tells us the story (2:1-12):

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.


A while back I was given a wonderful gift, a set of 4 volumes called The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers. The title is quite self-explanatory; it is a collection of sermons related to the Sunday Gospel readings by the great fathers of the Church. I often read through these and have used excerpts on a number of occasions on this blog. For the Feast of the Epiphany, this collection yields 6 wonderful sermons from St. Ambrose, St. John Chrysostom, St. Leo the Great, and St. Gregory the Great. I wish I had the time and space to share these all with you. I encourage anyone who can get their hands on these wonderful sermons to read them. I did want to share at least a bit of these beautiful words of wisdom, however, so from Pope St. Leo's Sermon for the Solemnity of the Epiphany II:

"May this sacred day be therefore honoured among us, in which the Author of salvation revealed Himself to all men: and let us adore Omnipotent in heaven, Him Whom the Magi adored an infant in His cradle. And as they from their treasures offered to the Lord mystic kinds of gifts, so let us bring forth from our hearts gifts that are worthy of Him. For though He is the Giver of all gifts, yet He also looks for the fruits of our diligence: for the kingdom of heaven is not given to those who sleep, but to those who labour and watch in the commandments of God; so that if we have not wasted His gift, through that which He gave us, let us merit to receive that which He promised."

Let us join our prayers today that Our Lord may be made known to all the ends of the earth, so that, as the Psalmist says, "All kings of the earth shall adore him: all nations shall serve him." And let us not forget our roles in introducing those who do not already know Him to Our Lord and Saviour.

Sunday Inspiration - Fourth Sunday of Advent

On this last Sunday of Advent, as we we prepare for the coming of Our Lord, we hear of Mary, with child, visiting her relative Elizabeth, who is herself pregnant with John the Baptist.

As St. Luke tells us (1:39-45),

"Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

As St. Ambrose points out for us (from the Catena Aurea of St. Thomas Aquinas):

"Elizabeth was the first to hear her voice; but John was the first to be aware of the divine favour. She heard in the natural manner; he leaped for joy because of the Mystery. She sees Mary's coming; he the Coming of the Lord."

Speaking of Mystery, this song was recently posted on the New Liturgical Movement's site. It is so beautiful that I felt that I had to share it. Additionally, I believe it goes perfectly with today's Gospel. I pray that it inspires you to give praise to Our Lord and His Blessed Mother as it did for me.

O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum jacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Jesum Christum. Alleluia!

O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament,
that the animals should see the new-born Lord lying in a manger.
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia

Sunday Inspiration - Second Sunday of Advent

In today's Gospel, we hear about St. John the Baptist fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah:

"a voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled: and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight; and the rough ways plain; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

In this time of Avent, as we eagerly await the coming of Our Lord, we need to be the John the Baptists of today, crying out in the wilderness of our modern society, sharing the Gospel and preparing the way of the Lord.

As Pope St. Gregory the Great said, "Everyone that preaches true faith and good works, what does he do but prepare the way of the Lord so that He may come into the hearts of his hearers, and may make straight the path for God, forming right dispositions within them by the words of his exhortations, so that this power of pardon may enter in there, and the light of truth shine there?"

Let us not cease in praying and preaching the Gospel until that day when all flesh knows of the salvation that God offers through His Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Sunday Inspiration

The Gospel for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

St. 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, Jesus 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.

From St. Thomas Aquinas' Catena Aurea, a summary of Pope St. Gregory the Great's homily on the Gospel:

The blind man is the human race which, in its first parent, turned from the brightness of the heavenly light and suffered the darkness of its own banishment...As our Savior therefore draws nigh to Jericho, the blind man returns to the light; because when divinity assumed to itself the failing of our flesh, mankind received back the light it had lost. He therefore that knows not the brightness of the eternal light is blind. But if he believes in the Redeemer Who said "I am the Way," he is sitting by the way side; if he has believed, and now earnestly implores that he may receive the light he is sitting by the way side, begging.

They who walked in front of Jesus, signify the crowds of carnal desires, and the tumult of the vices, which, before Christ makes entry to our heart, scatter our thoughts, and torment us in our prayer. But he cried out much more; because the more we are afflicted by the excessive troubling of our thoughts, the more earnestly ought we to persevere in prayer. But when in our prayer we still suffer the thronging images of the senses, we are in a manner hearing Jesus passing by. But when we are earnestly insistent in our prayer, God is held fast in our heart, and the lost light is restored.

It pertains to His Humanity that He passes by, and to His Divinity to be still. And so the Lord when passing by heard the blind man crying out, and standing He gave him sight; for suffering with us in His own humanity He hears with compassion the cries of our blindness; but it is by His Divinity that the light of His grace is poured into our souls. For this however He asks the blind man what he wishes: that He may waken our hearts to prayer.