Are these words familiar to you: “Veni, vidi, vici: I came, I saw, I conquered?”
They’re attributed to Julius Caesar after his victory over the kingdom of Pontus.
We could put them on the lips of Bartimaeus in today’s gospel. He came to Jesus, he saw and he believed and became a disciple.
How did Jesus choose his disciples? He would be passing by, would see ordinary men working and would say: “come, follow me,” and they would leave whatever they were doing and go with him.
This blind man was begging by the roadside. He learned that Jesus was passing by and started crying out: “Son of David, have mercy on me.” People tried to silence him, he cried even louder: “Son of David, have mercy on me.” When Jesus, touched by his faith and persistence heard this, he said: “Call him.” As soon as they told him, “Cheer up, he is calling you, he jumped on his feet, threw away whatever could impede him from being completely free, and made a leap of faith as if he already could see Jesus and when asked: “What do you want me to do for you?” the answer came: “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told
him: “Go, your faith has healed you.” He did not go anywhere, but instead followed Jesus, praising God. In other words, he became a disciple, and he will go to Jerusalem and follow Jesus, who knows, maybe to the Calvary.
The Apostles, to this point, do not have the faith of this neophyte. Here is someone who made a leap of faith. He threw himself completely into belief in the son of David, the Lord of Mercy and this new convert is stronger in his newly graced faith than the twelve who have been with Jesus in the past three years.
This is a time when each one of us should investigate our life of faith, our journey with the Lord Jesus. Some of us are cradle Catholics, some became Catholics a few months or years ago. How is our faith today? How much has it grown? What are we doing to make sure it is growing year by year? It is not enough to follow as a sheep follows the herd. Bartimaeus was following the crowd, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. He encouraged others with his zeal.
How many of us can truly acknowledge that others are encouraged to persevere in faith, to grow in the faith, and to sometimes make a leap of faith because of the fervent example they see in us?
If we want our faith to grow, let us find ways to learn more. Let us find where we can volunteer our service to others, to share our faith with brothers and sisters around us. The more we share it, the more it will grow.