Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for November 17, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
The Youtube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:
I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. It’s November 17th and I’m coming to you from the beautiful grounds of the shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, New York. As we look at the beautiful uh image of Our Lady of Fatima with the three shepherd children behind me today is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a great lover of the poor, someone who saw Jesus in the poor and reverenced him in the poor, caring for him in his poverty and thereby becoming rich. Today in the Gospel, Jesus shows us how he wishes to give us all eyes to be able to see him in others. In this month of November, we know how important it is to be able to serve and love him and others so that when death and judgment inevitably come, we’re able to pass with him into eternal life. In this gospel, Jesus walking through the lowest place on earth, literally Jericho, more below sea level than any other city in the planet. And there was a blind man sitting by the roadside just begging for alms. And hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he began to scream out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And they tried to make him quiet so that people could listen to Jesus as he was teaching them as he always would as he was walking. And then he cried out. St. Luke uses a Greek word to say almost like a wounded animal, son of David, have pity on me. And Jesus stopped. There was something far more important than the verbal teaching was giving at that moment. He was going to show divine love. So He asked that the blind man be brought to him. Jesus could have obviously gone to the blind man. He could have healed him right there at the roadside, but he wanted him to take a journey of faith. He wanted him to participate by faith in his own curing. So he said, “Be brought what what would have gone through this blind man’s heart as he was told. Jesus wants to see you. Get up. as He’s coming to Jesus. And when he finally arrives, Jesus says, “What do you want me to do for you?” He says, “Lord, I want to see.” He, according to St. Luke, wants to see again. St. Luke uses a term that says that this man had lost his sight and that he wanted to have his sight restored. He knew what he was missing. And so Jesus said, “According to your faith, let it be done.” And his sight was restored. He was able to see Jesus looking on him with love. And then it tells us very instructively, he then used his sight to follow Jesus along the way. Why can we see? We see ultimately so that we can see the Lord and so that we can follow the Lord. St. Elizabeth of Portugal teaches us how to see him in the poor, to see him in the needy. Sometimes Jesus needs to cure our blindness so that we will be able to see him even in the Eucharist in those who have made themselves our enemies in those who have always been our friends and those who have always tried to bring us the Lord. It’s so important for us to be able to see him. Missionaries go throughout the entire globe trying to help people see Jesus, to come to know that God with us is with us in the world, to come to find him in sacred scripture, to find him in the Eucharist, in the other sacraments, to find him in the distressing disguise of the poor, to find him in each other. We pray for all missionaries today. And we recognize that we too are missionaries. Having seen the Lord, we’re called to go out as eye doctors and help people learn how to see him, too. God bless you.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on:
Gospel
As Jesus approached Jericho
a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.