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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sunday Meditation: The Blind Will See!

Today is Laetare Sunday. We are half way through Lent and rejoice to reflect on the sure knowledge of our rescue from sin and eternal death. The Gospel reading today is one of my favorites -- the story of the man born blind. Jesus doesn't heal him outright. He makes a paste with saliva and mud and sends the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. Why? Perhaps as a gift. The man didn't beg for a cure. The disciples used the man to ask Jesus a question about sin. Whose sin caused his blindness, his or his parents? Neither, Jesus answered. Bad things aren't necessarily a punishment for sin; sometimes they occur to allow God to show his power. And Jesus does just that, restoring sight to this man who did not ask for it.

But what about the person who does ask and does not receive a cure? Does that mean God isn't listening and doesn't care? No! Sometimes the biggest miracle is the cheerful acceptance of our misfortunes and offering them in atonement for our sins and the sins of others.

Blessed Margaret of Costello knew that. She was born blind and hunchbacked, shunned and abandoned by her parents. And yet she modelled cheerful abandonment to God's providence. When a woman she knew received news that she was going blind she despaired and begged Margaret, renowned for the power of her prayers, to ask God for a cure. Think of the irony of this wealthy woman, a member of the nobility, weeping and begging the poor little blind woman, who never had the use of her eyes, to pray for her sight to be restored. Margaret tried to convince her to accept her blindness as a gift to walk more closely with the Savior, but she could not. So Margaret prayed for her and the woman's sight returned. Perhaps had she accepted the loss of physical sight, she would have been particularly blessed with interior sight. It is something to ponder.

The blind man cured by Jesus had to act. Jesus sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash. And when he finished, he could see. He became a reproach to the Pharisees who questioned him over and over about who cured him. When he described Jesus as a prophet, the Pharisees rebuked him and called Jesus a sinner. You can almost hear the man, his sight restored, laughing in their faces as he asks has a sinner ever cured a man blind from birth? "If this man were not from God, he could never have done such a thing." They insult him and throw him out into the street. But Jesus, in a touching scene, seeks him out and asks, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" And he responds, "Who is he, Sir, that I may believe in Him." Jesus reveals that He is the Messiah. "I do believe, Lord," replies this grateful and humble servant and he "bowed down to worship Him." (John 9)

How I love that blind man whose story shows us how eager Jesus is to seek us out and help us "to see." The Pharisees who overhear the conversation are indignant. Is Jesus calling them blind? To which he responds, "If you were blind there would be no sin in that. 'But we see,' you say, and your sin remains." We live among modern day blind Pharisees who claim to see. In fact, there is a Pharisees' conference meeting on Pentecost weekend to "reimagine" the Church in their own heretical image. They call themselves the American Catholic Council. Pray that the misguided among them will meet Jesus and have their sight restored. As for the malicious, many of their leaders, some demons are only driven out by prayer and fasting.

I'm praying today to have the faith of the blind man. Like the other blind man who sat at the gate calling, "Son of David, have pity on me." I want to respond to Jesus' question, "What do you want of Me?"  saying "Lord, that I may see...that I may see all those you put in my path and treat them as you would."

If you haven't been to Confession this Lent, it's not too late. Go now. It's the greatest cure for spiritual blindness.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting theory. I believe that God does not involve himself in our earthly lives whatsoever. There are no "blessings" to be received here on earth and no punishments here either. One can live a very happy, but immoral life. Or one can sacrifice and be very unhappy. I don't think God has anything to do with it.

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  2. God has intervened in my life too often for me not to believe in Him. Are you sure your eyes aren't closed to spiritual realities?

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  3. I can only believe that Anonymous actively ignores the role of God in his or her life. God doesn't much intrude on the lives of those who actively ignore Him except every now and then to nudge them with the interaction with others or perhaps the characteristic role of pain and suffering. C.S. Lewis called pain God's megaphone.

    It is amusing to think that those who live immoral lives live happy lives. What they live is smug and self-satisfied lives endlessly layered with distractions to ignore the reality that surrounds them.

    Paul pointed out that God reveals Himself in His creation so we have no excuse. (Romans 1:20) Those that sacrifice are rarely if ever unhappy unless they are "counters" in which case they are not sacrificing at all but doing what the Pharisees did, giving for show and have already received their reward.

    God involves Himself in every moment of our lives because as contingent beings we could not exist at all were it not for the creative and permissive will of the Almighty. God knows us because did He not, we would not exist at all.

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  4. I do not doubt the existence of God and in fact am quite devout. However, I do not think that God causes things to be in our lives here on earth. I think perhaps he simply watches to see how we will react to the random circumstances. If God truly plans for some of us to have lives of "characteristic pain and suffering" as Ray said... then that is very unfair. I have ceased trying to find some meaning in the many misfortunes of my life and simply accept that this is the life I am living and it is my reaction to it that God is watching. If I try to believe that there might be some good in the affterlife, then I can go on. I am in no way 'ignoring' God. I just have to beieve that he has not set out to make my life miserable on purpose.

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  5. I can understand the difficulty of coming to terms with suffering in life. Why does a good God allow suffering and pain?

    But then I look at the cross. If the suffering and pain Jesus endured could bring about salvation, why should our suffering and pain in union with His not bring about good? May I not atone for my own sins through suffering? I surely have plenty to atone for. And what about those I love who are living sinful lives. May my suffering not be transformed into a channel of grace that may help bring about their conversion?

    I look at the suffering of the saints who went to their martyrdom in the Roman Coliseum singing hymns of joy and hope to have their courage in times of trouble.

    To think of God just watching indifferently as we experience random sufferings makes Him seem to me like a collector watching bugs squirm on the end of a pin. There is no comfort in that. The personal God who carries us in our sufferings seems more in conformity to my experience of reality. Often he has sent "angels" to minister to me in my pain -- perhaps a friend who always calls when I am at my lowest point.

    Suffering is inevitable in life, much of it self-inflicted through sin. Certainly the promiscuous person who acquires an incurable and deadly STD can't blame God for his suffering. The innocent who suffer, especially children, are harder. But they often become a source of inspiration and edification to everyone around them. That is no small contribution to our sad world.

    I recommend a book called The Boy Who Went to Heaven about a child who was badly injured in an auto accident in 2005. He is a quadriplegic, but filled with joy. Rather than bemoaning his fate, he draws others to God. I can't explain it, you need to read the book to understand.

    May God lead us all to a closer walk with Him and a personal experience of His deep love for each of us as a precious individual. Anonymous, I'm offering my rosary for you tonight.

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  6. In the spirit of this article,

    An amazing man spreading the faith in an unconventional way throughout New York City!

    http://newyorkknowsbest.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/if-you-need-me-call-me-no-matter-where-you-are-no-matter-how-far/

    This cab driver is a Pastor!
    A great read!!!

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