I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, ”
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”

Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews,
for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”

So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said,
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

Time flies! We are already marching into the second half of the Lenten season!

Today, we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Lent, “Be Joyful” (Laetare).  Let us continue to pray, fast, and give alms to worship and praise our Lord!

Our faith reminds us once again that God loves us so deeply that He hopes we will follow the true light of His beloved Son. Therefore, let us thank the Lord for His kindness and pray that He will continue to enhance our spiritual eyesight, so that we can see more clearly our faults of bias and judgmental attitudes and the value of others so as to transform ourselves and walk with others towards eternal life!

In today’s first reading, the prophet Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse of Bethlehem, to anoint one of his sons as king. While there, he sees Eliab, who was tall and handsome. He thought that he was the Lord’s choice.

However, the Lord said to him, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him;  for God does not see as the human sees; the human looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”.

St. James also said it well: “My brothers, do not be partial as you attach to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ”.

Do we sometimes judge or stereotype others because of their appearance, culture, wealth, and sex, or because of their differences?

In our second reading from St. Paul, he reminds us that we should live as children of light and encourages us to try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.

In fact “to live as children of light” and “what is pleasing to the Lord” are closely related.  God is very happy that we live in His love and enjoy His grace. However, he also understands our weakness: in fact, the most pleasing gift to Him, I believe, is our repentant and contrite hearts!

Are we pleasing God so far in this Lenten season?  Have we confessed our sins?  Did we fast?  Did we devote more time in prayer?  

In the Gospel, the healing of the blind reflects the importance of our spiritual sight!

God is light, without God’s light, no one can see.

Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind”.

Undeniably Jesus comes to the world to heal our spiritual blindness so that we can recognize Him as the way, the truth, and the life!

Therefore, instead of focusing on the blindness of others, why don’t we pay more attention to ourselves?

What causes our spiritual blindness, you might ask?

Our hurtful attitudes of arrogance, our gossip, our prejudice, our greed, our jealousy, will sooner or later make us blind!

The good news is that if we choose to follow Christ and His light, we can brighten our faith, hope, and love, and restore our spiritual vision, we will then be able to walk towards eternal life.

“What is the holy light of Christ?”

It is God’s mercy, compassion, and forgiveness!

My friends in Christ, let us pay attention when St. Paul says:

“Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will Shine on You”.

Let us pray for those who are still walking in the darkness.  May the holy light of Christ guide them and shower them with His blessings!

May the Holy Light of Christ lead us all to everlasting life!

Deacon Antonio Falasca, Jr., Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica – Saint Anthony Parish

When I was a public school teacher I vividly remember our school district participating in Handicap Awareness Week. During that week, a committee of teachers, administrators, and health care professionals proposed various activities designed to give our students an opportunity to experience various handicaps. 

Able-bodied students tried to navigate hallways, classrooms, the cafeteria, and gymnasium using wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, or canes. Some students had their dominant arm wrapped against their body and found it extremely difficult to zip or unzip their backpack, take notes, or throw a ball with their non-dominant hand. 

Some wore ear muffs designed to mimic deafness while others wore special eyeglasses that made them experience near or far-sightedness, tunnel vision, or colorblindness. 

Of all these activities, the one handicap the students found the most difficult was when a blindfold was placed over their eyes and they fell into total darkness. 

Many said they felt utterly helpless and, if there was one handicap they hoped to never have, it was total blindness.    

The gift of sight is a great blessing that many of us often take for granted. Today’s Gospel reading addresses an even darker type of blindness – spiritual blindness.

In today’s Sacred Gospel account, Jesus gave the blind man two priceless gifts; physical sight and spiritual sight. I dare say, while the man was happy to receive his eyesight, he cherished his spiritual sight – the gift of faith – even more; for this enabled him to see God in the person of Jesus.

The Grace of Spiritual sight gave the man faith to move from darkness into light. Had the man not placed his faith and trust in Jesus, he most likely would not have gone to the Pool of Siloam as Jesus instructed and would have spent the rest of his life unable to see. 

The name of the Pool is significant to his cure in that “Siloam” means “Sent”. St. John makes the connection that the blind man washes in Him who was sent. 

In other words, salvation and spiritual light comes in and through Jesus Christ who was “sent” from God.

As a result of his faith, the man progresses from describing Jesus simply as “the man called Jesus”, followed by him proclaiming Jesus being a prophet. 

When pressed by the Pharisees, with great courage the man acknowledges Jesus to be a “man…from God”. 

Even after being expelled from the synagogue and thrown out of the community the man professes that Jesus is the “Son of Man.” 

And, as a final profession of his faith, the man proclaims, “I do believe, Lord” as he worships Christ.

In this progression the one born blind moves from darkness into spiritual light. Yet, the Pharisees and those who do not want to move past their pride remain blind to faith and linger in spiritual darkness. 

Even the blind man’s parents distance themselves from him for fear of being ostracized by their community.

And this begs us to reflect upon the persons we are most like in this account. I suspect that many of us would like to be associated with the blind man because of his courage as he bore witness to Jesus. 

But I can’t help but think of the many times we act like the blind man’s cautious parents who don’t want to take a stand especially in controversial issues. 

When pressed to defend our Catholic Faith, how willing are we to speak out about unjust laws that tear at the fiber of family life such as abortion, transgender ideology, or same sex unions that undermine the sanctity of marriage as being a sacred union between one male and one female? 

How often do we compromise our faith by giving in to peer pressure or to please other people especially in morals and ethics?

While these may be controversial issues, one cannot remain in the darkness and say they are in the light. Those who do are no better than those who have become blind in their soul. 

Souls can easily become blind through indifference, prejudice, by holding a grudge, or through political correctness.

 

Just as the blind man saw God in the person of Jesus, do we see the face of Christ in others including the unborn; the elderly; the poor; the addicted; the margionalized? Or do we remain blind to truth?

Satan offers us darkness disguised as light but Jesus came among us as the Light of the World. As noted theologian Peter Kreeft once said, “there are only two kinds of people: the wise, who know they are fools, and fools, who think they are wise.” 

He also adds, “There are saints, who know they are sinners, and sinners, who [erroneously] think they are saints”. Where do we fall?

The only place to fall is on our knees; to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel as we acknowledge Jesus is the Light who has come to dispel the darkness of our soul.

Deacon Mark Izzo, Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica – Saint Anthony Parish

The LORD said to Samuel:
“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”

As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice,
Samuel looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because man sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There—anoint him, for this is the one!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Brothers and sisters:
You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness
and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore, it says:
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.