Saturday, March 25, 2017
4th SUNDAY OF LENT (Laetare Sunday)
March 26, 2017 - 4th SUNDAY OF LENT (Laetare Sunday)
Violet I Rose
1 Sm 16:1b, 6- 7, 10 -13a /I Eph 5: 8 -14 / Jn 9:1- 41
FROM THE 2ND READING: Eph 5: 8
You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Behave as children of light; the fruits of light are kindness, justice and truth in every form.
FROM THE GOSPEL READING: Jn 9:1-2, 6-7, 10, 13 - 14, 16, 35- 39
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been born blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Master, was he born blind because of a sin of his? Or of his parents? ...
. . . he made paste with spittle and clay and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man. Then he said, "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.".. So he went and washed and came back able to see ....
The people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made mud paste and opened his eyes... Some of the Pharisees said "That man is not from God, for he works on the Sabbath," but others wondered, "How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?" ...
Jesus heard that they had expelled him. He found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "Who is he that I may believe in him?" Jesus said, "You have seen him and he is speaking to you." He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshipped him.
Jesus said "I came into this world to carry out a judgment. Those who do not see shall see, and those who see shall become blind."
REFLECTION
Our Gospel reading today is about blindness, the theme of light and darkness.
From testimonies of men who became blind or who somehow regained their sight, we see how the man born blind felt when Jesus gave him physical sight. In the Gospel story, there is a more important miracle that takes place. The blind man's miracle of physical sight was nothing compared to the second miracle Jesus worked for him, the gift of faith that John stresses in the Gospel reading.
John implies that this gift of faith comes gradually, not all at once. John describes the miracle as taking place in three stages. The first stage comes when people ask the blind man about his cure. The blind man replies, "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." The blind man's first perception of Jesus was that he was a remarkable man, but just a man.
The second stage in the blind man's gift of spiritual sight comes when the Pharisees interrogated him, "What do you think of this man who opened your eyes?" The man replied, "He is a prophet." The blind man's answer reveals a growth in his understanding of Jesus. His spiritual vision of Jesus takes a giant leap forward. The more he thinks of what happened, the more convinced the blind man becomes that Jesus must be more than just another man: he must be a man of God, a prophet!
This brings us to the last stage of the blind man's perception of Jesus, when the blind man meets Jesus face-to-face. Jesus was no longer around when the man returned with his sight restored after washing in the Pool of Siloam. Now Jesus asks him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man answers, "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?" Jesus replies, "You have seen him and he is speaking to you." "Lord, I believe," the man replies, and falls on his knees before
Jesus.
The man's spiritual sight, his gift of faith in Jesus, was far more miraculous than his gift of physical sight. Let us pray for this great gift.
WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:
BIRTHDAY
REYNA ROSE P. MANON-OG
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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