Today we journey in the company of the blind man. It is the long, often painful, journey of a person who is called to see life in a new way. As a result makes a new commitment. As his blindness was removed, the man could now see. The gift of sight is a most precious gift. But the real message of this Gospel is greater than the gift of sight. It is the gift of faith. Jesus bestows not merely sight but a faith-filled insight. The man born blind eventually sees Jesus, but – a greater gift – he comes to see who Jesus really is.
Like the woman at the well, and the Israelites, we all struggle especially at this time. Jesus’ message for us today is the same as it was for the Israelites and the woman at the well – we do belong! We all belong to God. Jesus embraces all, especially those who are facing difficult situations or feel abandoned. Jesus calls all of us to rebirth and to himself. In this Lent we reflect on how God is speaking to us and aligning our will with His.
My friends, today is the 1st Sunday of Lent - the start of our spiritual Spring Training. A time of preparation for Easter. During the next 40 days, we come together to focus our attention on our relationship with Jesus as we follow Him from the desert to the cross, strengthen essential spiritual skills like prayer, self-control and giving to those in need and to use these skills to recognize and defeat our toughest opponent – the devil. In order to better understand today’s Gospel and the significance of Jesus going into the desert, we must look back to our 1st Reading from the Book of Genesis. It all begins in the Garden of Eden. As an outpouring of His infinite love, God created the human race in His divine image and established us to live in His friendship forever.