Sunday, March 15, 2026

 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
(1 Samuel 16:1-6, 10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41)

The Gospel of John is full of drama. Several times in the narrative Jesus encounters different people in order to lead them to his Father. Last Sunday we heard about his successful encounter with the Samaritan woman. But he is not always successful. When he meets Pilate on the day of his crucifixion, the governor is intrigued by his words, but in the end he rejects him for political convenience.

Today we hear about Jesus’ encounter with the man born blind. It is a first-class drama. In fact, it is often considered one of the best-constructed narratives in the entire Gospel.  It stands out because of its well-developed plot. With its twists and turns we see the man gradually growing in faith in Jesus. At the same time, the Pharisees gradually lose their faith in him. The loss is tragic because it will deprive the Pharisees of eternal life.

The reading begins with Jesus curing the man born blind by putting mud on his eyes. The healing causes so much discussion among the neighbors that they ask the man whether he is really the one who had been blind and how he was healed. The man replies that yes, he was blind, and that he was cured by “the man called Jesus.”

Amazed by what he says, the neighbors bring the man to the Pharisees to verify his account. After their investigation, the Pharisees are divided. Some say it is a legitimate healing—that is, something done by God—while others doubt it. When they ask the man how he received his sight, he again says that Jesus cured him, but this time he adds that Jesus is a prophet.

Then the Pharisees question the man’s parents whether he is truly their son and how it is that he now sees. They acknowledge that he is their son, but out of fear of the Pharisees they say they do not know how he was healed. They suggest asking him directly.

When they question him a second time, the Pharisees are no longer in doubt about Jesus. They all agree in saying that Jesus “is a sinner,” and they throw the man out for saying otherwise.

It is no coincidence that Jesus meets again the man born blind but now with perfect sight. He is the Good Shepherd who cares about mistreated sheep. When Jesus sees him, he asks whether he believes in the Son of Man, that is the one in the Book of Daniel who receives from God authority to judge the world. At first the man hesitates because he does not know whom Jesus is referring to. But once Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man, the man falls at his feet in worship.

Meanwhile the Pharisees are watching everything. They ask Jesus if they are blind. Jesus tells them that although they have sight, they do not see the truth. They walk in spiritual darkness that prevents them from recognizing what is truly good.

At the beginning of this drama Jesus calls himself “the light of the world.” Like every light, he creates shadows. The characters in the story must decide whether they want to live in the light by recognizing Jesus as Lord or in darkness by denying his authority.  The man born blind opts for the light of Christ, while the Pharisees choose the shadows by rejecting his lordship.

Every human person must make the same decision. Am I a person of the light of Christ, living according to every word that comes from his mouth? Or am I a person of the shadows who follows the leading “influencers” of the world of entertainment, sports, or the internet?  For our good and for the good of others, Jesus wants us to live in his light.

 

 

Friday, March 13, 2026

 

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

 The name “social media” sounds promising.  It speaks of people coming out of their shells to know others.  The reality of social media – it turns out – has been as much harmful as helpful.  From the first, on apps like Facebook many have used social media for exaggerated self-promotion. With more sophisticated apps like X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, Instagram, and Tic Tok along with Facebook, social media has enabled groups to foment common prejudices and hatred.  

As much as anything else, social media is a human invention that is given godlike attention. In today’s first reading the prophet Hosea foresees a time when such artificial creations will cease to enthrall people to distort truth.  He hopes that society “… shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of (its) hands.”  Condemning social media, however, is no more a remedy to the problem than condemning television was fifty years ago when sociologists became aware of all the violence it projected.  Rather than that, there must be a reform that takes society back to the first priorities of a vibrant social life.

Jesus names these priorities in today’s gospel.  First, people must strive to do God’s will.  Then, proceeding from this principle, they must treat others like they want to be treated.  This is a tall order in a pluralistic society where many do not know God and many others understand Him in different ways.  It calls for us to pray that God acts in His mysterious ways.  It also summons our testimony to Jesus Christ through public worship and sacrifice of self on behalf of those in need.

Thursday, March 12, 2026

 

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23)

In today’s gospel, the expression “finger of God” is likely the same earthy metaphor that Jesus used when preaching in his own Aramaic tongue.  In the Matthean parallel of this passage Jesus says that he casts out demons “by the Spirit of God.”  It may be worthwhile to meditate on our use of finger and Jesus’ use.

Beyond the vulgar expression “giving another a finger,” pointing one’s finger in the air often is a way of boasting one’s supremacy.  Around championship time or even in midseason, students whose college team (football, basketball, whatever) will raise their finger and proclaim, “We’re number one!”  Sacred artists have painted God’s finger with an entirely different motivation.  In the center of the ceiling of the Sistine chapel Michelangelo painted God creating Adam by pointing His finger.  In what is said to be a take-off on Michelangelo’s creation scene, Caravaggio painted Jesus’ call of his disciple Matthew with a pointed finger.  The lesson is obvious.  Humans are apt to use the finger to promote oneself or one’s group where God would use His finger to create or promote another.

Hopefully, during this holy season we are becoming more God-like.  That is, we are using not just our fingers but our whole bodies to assist others to know God's love.

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

 

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)

In the Gospel of Mark Jesus tells the Pharisees, “The law was made for man, not man for the Law’” (2:27).  This statement is readily misunderstood.  Jesus does not mean that the law is endlessly malleable such that humans might do whatever they want.  Rather, Jesus wants to assure his disciples that the law is meant for human development.  They are fulfilled when they follow it.  In today’s gospel from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells his disciples that he has come to fulfill the law.  His disciples should see in him how the law is to be lived so that they might live their humanity to the fullest.

Jesus shows himself the law’s fulfilment in two ways.  First, he teaches that the law is best expressed by two commandments very much related to each other.  Humans are to love God above all and to love their neighbor as themselves. In loving God and neighbor and in accepting the love of God and others, humans achieve full realization of what being human means.

Severely limited by pride, we find it difficult to love.  This is so because God cannot be readily seen and touched.  Also, it is true that human faults can repel as much as they draw us to one another.  But we have access to the grace of the Holy Spirit which enables us to transcend these difficulties.  The Spirit moves close to God in prayer.  Likewise, the Spirit moves us to make sacrifices for one another which fosters the growth of our love. 

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

 Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

 (Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)

 Protestants often criticize the Catholic practice of confessing to a priest.  They ask, “Why do you have to tell your sins to a man?  It is God who forgives sins.”  Yes, certainly sins offend God, and He alone can forgive them, but Jesus has given his apostles authority to function as God’s regular agents (Matthew 18:18).  There is a further reason.  When a Christian sins, she or he does harm to the Church which is entrusted with the mission of announcing God’s love to the world.  Gossiping, viewing pornography, cheating on taxes or whatever sin obstructs the deliverance of this message.  The readings today present examples of a sincere confession and what proves to be a faulty one.

 The first reading pictures Azariah, one of the three Jewish youths chosen to serve the king of Persia, expressing contrition for the sins of his people.  As the prophets tell, God desires such a contrite heart more than sacrifices.  The servant in the gospel parable sounds like he has undergone a change of heart as he pleads with his master for an extension of his debt, but actually he has not.  If he were sincere, he would show the same understanding to a fellow servant who is indebted to him.

 It is recommendable that all Catholics go to Confession during Lent whether or not they are in mortal sin.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation humbles us to admit that we make mistakes -- sometimes grave ones -- that divert us from the path of holiness.  Also significant, Reconciliation reminds us that religion is not just a personal affair between God and me but a communal enterprise in which all of us have a role to carry out.