Cycle A - Year II:  

22 March 2020: Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)

(Liturgical Color: Rose/Violet)

Readings:

First Reading:        1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a

Second Reading:   Ephesians 5:8-14

Gospel:  Please Read  John 9:1-41 (or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38)

"I believe and now I can see"

Today we all woke up to a new and beautiful day, and so we are truly blessed to be a part of this new unfolding day.  So let us praise the Lord, especially for the gift of sight that allows us to behold the beauty of God's creation and to celebrate life anew!

Although sometimes we get so used to seeing the morning sun that there is the tendency to make just a routine out of it, meaning we just take it for granted.

But what if.... one day we wake up in total darkness because we lose the sense of sight?  That is a personal tragedy!

Now in this Sunday's Gospel narrative, we will hear of the encounter between our Lord Jesus Christ and a man born blind.  The gist of the story, Jesus heals the blind man and he is able to see.  Now this is one of the most remarkable miracles of Jesus, which reveals the power and glory of God.  But the healing incident happened on a Sabbath, so the Pharisees faulted Jesus for performing the healing during the Sabbath.  For the Jews kept the Sabbath holy and even such miracle is forbidden.

Looking deeper, this story on the healing of the blind man speaks also of the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees.  For while the blind man saw our Lord Jesus pretty clearly as a divine healer, the Pharisees were totally blind of who Jesus is.

 What then is the message of Jesus' healing the blind man to us today?

First, let us ask ourselves, what is really worse: physical blindness or moral and spiritual blindness?  Physical blindness blocks us from seeing the beauty and wonder of our physical world.  But in moral and spiritual blindness sin clouds the mind in darkness and closes the heart to God's love and truth.  The latter happens when we deliberately choose to disobey God's laws over the sensual pleasure of humanity.

The Good News is that our Lord Jesus Christ is ever ready to heal us and free us from the darkness of sin and deception by the evil one.  Jesus offers us freedom from spiritual blindness caused by sin and He restores us to wholeness of body, mind, soul and heart.  For only in the light of God's truth can we see sin for what it really is, which is a rejection of God and opposition to His will.  And only if we keep faith in Jesus, and believe in Him, that we are able to see in the light of Christ.  For true faith means being the hearts and minds of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that through us He may continue to do the healing and saving works of people in need of God's mercy today. 

The fourth Sunday of Lent is also called "Laetare Sunday".  The word "laetare" is Latin which means "rejoice" in anticipation of Easter Sunday.  Laetare Sunday is similar to the fourth Sunday of Advent which is called "Gaudete Sunday".  The point of both Laetare Sunday and Gaudete Sunday is to provide us encouragement toward the end of each respective penitential season.  The liturgical color of the priest's vestment and the altar cloth is pink or rose.

So let us pray:  Lord Jesus, in Your name the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead raised to life.  Come into our lives, especially during these most trying times in our worldly journey, in the midst of the covid-19 epidemic.  Heal those afflicted by the virus, heal the wounds of our souls due to sin, and instill in us the courage to proclaim Your glory in all we say and do.  Amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!