Reflection From

Fr. John

Meditation from Father John

March 15, 2026

Do we see with the eyes of faith or only through physical sight? The readings for this week and the Gospel passage all speak about the importance of sight. The First Reading mentions, "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

The Second Reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians mentions,"...but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light." (Ephesians 5:13-14) St. Paul mentions at the start of his letter, "Brothers and sisters: You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,..." (Ephesians 5:8) The images of light and darkness as well as spiritual sight are powerful themes seen throughout the Gospel of John.

We see these images depicted in the healing of the blind man by Jesus in the Gospel this week. The Gospel writer mentions, "As Jesus passed by He saw a man blind from birth. 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.‖ (John 9:1,6-7) Similar to other miraculous accounts, Jesus in the Gospel this week healed the man of his blindness not immediately but in stages. He heals him in stages to elicit the man’s faith and increase his trust in God. We see again in the Gospel of John the theme of moving from darkness to light. The man’s physical blindness served as an analogy for his ignorance of who Jesus was and His role as the Messiah. We see how, as the story progresses, the man not only went from physical blindness to sight, but also how he gained spiritual sight. His faith and trust in Christ deepened.

We see within this Gospel passage how God wants to heal and transform each of us. Similarly to the blind man, Jesus desires to heal and transform our faith through small acts of trust, by responding to his initiative in our lives. Jesus wants to move us from unbelief to belief, so that we may see not only with our physical eyes but more importantly with eyes of faith. Many times, in our own lives or in the lives of others, a person goes through life without asking the most basic and important of questions relating to God and His loving plan for him or her. This season of Lent, as we journey with Jesus towards the Cross, we are invited to reignite our faith and to place our hope and trust firmly in the hands of a God who loves us and cares for us. Unlike our limited vision, God sees the entirety of His plan for our lives. May we trust ever more this Lenten season in the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) Through approaching Lent and these upcoming weeks with a spirit of renewed hope in Christ and His Love, we will be open to the many blessings and graces God has in store for us now and during Easter. This Lent and coming Easter, may we trust not in ourselves, but rather in God who loves us and cares for us. May we trust in Jesus who desires to heal us and lead us from darkness to light, from blindness to sight, and from unbelief to belief.

Father John

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