Seeing clearly

jesus-makes-a-blind-man-seeIt’s the fourth Sunday of Lent. In our parishes, it is the second (of three) weeks of “scrutinies,” the liturgical ritual that “examines” those preparing for Baptism at the Easter Vigil. It’s part of the Church’s formation program called the RCIA — the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults — and this little ritual presents these men and women to the faith community so that it can pray for them in their last days of preparation. The same three Gospels are used every Lent at Masses where the elected are present for the scrutinies; this week’s story of the healing of the blind man is one of them. There are several other Gospel accounts about Jesus healing the blind, but unique in this account is how the blind man’s understanding of Jesus grows. First, he realizes Jesus is a prophet … then that Jesus is “of God” … then that he is “the Son of Man” (Daniel 7:13) who will come on the clouds of heaven to judge the nations. Not only the physical eyes but the spiritual eyes of the blind are healed, and he sees ever more clearly who Jesus is. Isn’t that just like us? Watching the gradual growth of faith of those who will become Catholic and listening to this Gospel where the healed blind man grows in his faith invites us to reflect on our own growth in faith from childhood until now. Can you see that growth?

– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.