Quinquagesima Sunday

It is Jesus who, by the merits of His Passion, is to open the eyes of man as He did those of the blind man of Jericho, and deliver him alike from the bondage of sin and error.
(The Roman Missal, 1962)

Today is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. We have spent the last three Sundays (Septuagesima, Sexagesima and today, Quinquagesima) preparing for Lent.

During these three Sundays the Gospel readings have Jesus preparing his apostles for what is to come, teaching them what His Gospel is all about. We see them listening to His parable of the workers in the vineyard, the parable of the sower of seeds, and today, the story of the blind beggar. He is bringing them to Jerusalem, but they don't really understand what is going to happen.

Pope St. Gregory the Great says: 'The man born blind of whom the Gospel tells is surely the human race. Ever since man has been turned out of Paradise in the person of our first father, he has not known the light of heaven, and therefore has suffered through being plunged into the darkness of condemnation."

Luke 18. 40, 42, 43
And Jesus standing, commanded the blind man to be brought unto Him, and He said to him: What wilt thou that I do to thee? Lord, that I may see. And Jesus said to him: Receive thy sight, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he saw, and followed Him glorifying God.

Collect:
We beseech Thee, O Lord, graciously hear our prayers: and releasing us from the bonds of our sins, guard us from all adversity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with Thee and Thy Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen