March 19th, 2023

 
Dearly Beloved,
 
“Jesus said to him, ‘you have seen him, the one speaking to you is he’” (Jn 9:37). The Gospel account of Jesus healing the man born blind is a story of faith. It is about enlightenment that develops over time. The Christian life is about the journey of seeing. We all are born blind; that is spiritual blindness. Sin is indicative of this state of spiritual blindness. Jesus is the light of the world, and he has come to heal our blindness. Spiritual blindness points to a state of unbelief, and Jesus came to offer a remedy for it. In the encounter with the man born blind, Jesus restores his sight in stages. He first makes a healing paste from the soil and his saliva and then sends the man to wash his face in the pool of Siloam. The water here also represents the water of baptism that washes our sins away, sins that blind us from seeing and believing God. Hence, we can point to faith and the sacrament of baptism in this story.
 
We cannot fail to see the connection between the healing of blindness and the sacrament of enlightenment, the baptism our elects are preparing to receive at the Easter vigil (which we all have already received in our baptism). Our elects, our candidates, and indeed all of us grow little by little in our faith. Our vision gets better and better as we continue to stay connected with Jesus. Beginning with our baptism and through the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation, we continue to improve our faith and understanding of who Jesus is.
 
We must continue to pray for all our fourteen children who received the Sacrament of Confirmation from the hands of Bishop Robert Gainer last Sunday. They are only beginning to see and know Jesus better. We must support them in getting their full sight. And may the suffering and sorrows that accompany our growth yield the fullness of joy.
 
In the words of Prophet Isaiah, I urge you to “be joyful, all who are mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast” ( Is. 66: 10-11). May St Joseph guide us to the Light of Christ.
 
In His Joy,
 
Fr. Bernard, OP