Gospel (Mk 10,46-52) - At that time, while Jesus was leaving Jericho together with his disciples and a large crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, who was blind, sat along the road begging. Hearing that he was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say: «Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!». Many rebuked him to keep quiet, but he shouted even louder: "Son of David, have mercy on me!". Jesus stopped and said: «Call him!». They called the blind man, telling him: «Courage! Get up, he's calling you! He threw off his cloak, jumped up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him: "What do you want me to do for you?". And the blind man answered him: «Rabboni, may I see again!». And Jesus said to him, "Go, your faith has saved you." And immediately he saw again and followed him along the road.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Prayer done with faith always opens the heart to a different way of living. Bartimaeus had understood this when he was begging at the gate of Jericho. Like all blind people, he too is clothed in weakness. In the Gospels they are the image of poverty and total dependence on others. Bartimaeus, like Lazarus, like many other poor people, near and far from us, lies at the gates of life waiting for some comfort. Yet, this blind man becomes an example for each of us, an example of the believer who asks and prays. Everything around him is dark. He doesn't see who is passing by, he doesn't recognize who is next to him, he doesn't distinguish faces or attitudes. That day, however, something different happened. He heard the noise of the crowd approaching and, in the darkness of his life and his perceptions, he sensed a presence. He had "heard that it was Jesus", notes the evangelist. At the news of that passage he began to shout: "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!". It is the prayer of the poor that we must all learn and make our own. And shouting is the only way he has to overcome the darkness and the distance that he cannot measure. Just as in ancient Israel the cry of the people in prayer caused the gates of the city of Jericho to collapse (see Jos 6:16-27), so Bartimaeus overcame the walls of indifference of that city. However, the crowd didn't like that cry, so much so that everyone tried to silence him. It was an inappropriate cry, it risked disturbing even that happy meeting between Jesus and the city crowd. In all its supposed reasonableness that logic was ruthless. But the presence of Jesus made that man overcome every fear. Bartimaeus felt that his life could change completely from that meeting and with an even stronger voice he shouted: "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!". It is the prayer of the little ones, of the poor who day and night, without stopping because their need is continuous, turn to the Lord. Bartimaeus, as soon as he heard that Jesus wanted to see him, threw off his cloak and ran towards him. Listening to the Word of God does not lead towards emptiness, it does not lead towards a psychological landing point aimed at reassuring rather than changing. Listening leads to a personal encounter with the Lord and the resulting change in life. It is Jesus who begins to speak showing an interest in him and his condition. And he asks him: «What do you want me to do for you?». Bartimaeus, just as he had prayed with simplicity before, says to him: «Rabboni, may I see again!». Bartimaeus recognized the light even without seeing it. For this reason he immediately regained his sight. "Go, your faith has saved you", Jesus tells him.