Fourth Sunday of Lent

BLIND PURPOSE

It is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. – John 9:3

I wanted to be a priest. Actually, I found it cool to be called Brother Leo and to live a missionary life serving God. Then a priest friend convinced me to seek a higher vocation by joining them if I had really heard God’s call.

       So when I announced to my parents a few days after my elementary graduation that I wanted to become a priest, you could almost hear a pin drop.

       With teary eyes from a mixture of joy and sadness, my parents agreed. A few days before entering the seminary, they changed their minds. I respected their decision and closed the chapter to my priestly vocation. Years went by until I experienced a life-changing crisis that led me to the Light of Jesus Family. Miracles healed and restored me, and I eventually started to reap blessing after blessing.

       In gratitude, I volunteered in various liturgical ministries, served in cause-oriented missions and have been saying yes to God’s call. Since then, I’ve been living a missionary life serving God just the way He had wanted me to. Surprisingly, every time I serve, people call me Brother Leo. Leo Villarico (leovrico@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Have you examined your intentions if they are according to God’s purpose? Allow God’s grace to open your eyes and see the works He has promised.

Lord, we surrender ourselves to Your divine purpose. Lead us not by sight but by faith, not in our own comfortable time but in Your perfect time, and purify my intentions for Your greater glory.

St. Peter Regalado, pray for us.

This time it will be God who chooses who becomes King. The people of Israel have had their opportunity and chose Saul. God chooses David. We are supposed to look at the contrasts and see what makes the difference between a not-so-good and great king. Saul looks the part from a worldly point of view but lacks the inner character to do a good job. David is exactly the opposite.

1 The Lord said to Samuel: Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.” 6 As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” 10 In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any one of these.” 11 Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.” 12 Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The Lord said, “There — anoint him, for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. (R) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (R)

Being a child of the light means being a good example to others in faith and morality. Each one of us is called to embrace the challenge of righteous living so that those whom we meet will be inspired by our holy way of life. This is one of the most important aspects of living and proclaiming the Gospel, namely that our commitment to the truth will make available to others the same choices we have made for Jesus.

8 Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, 9 for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. 10 Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, 12 for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

We should not ascribe medical difficulties directly as the result of personal sin. We can certainly get sick from the choices we make, but that is not the same as saying that God punishes sinners with sickness. Some choices, such as smoking, make certain illnesses like cancer much more probable in a person’s life. God does not give cancer to the smoker — smoking does that!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.

1 As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. 4 We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, 7 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. 8 His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” 10 So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” 11 He replied, “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.” 12 And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.” 13 They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. 15 So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” 16 So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” 18 Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. 19  They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” 20 His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.” 24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” 28 They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. 31  We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. 32 It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” 34 They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out. 35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshipped him. 39 Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”

think: Each one of us is called to embrace the challenge of righteous living so that those whom we meet will be inspired by our holy way of life to embrace it themselves.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Exodus 4-6

VENTURE INTO THE LIGHT

In this Sunday’s Second Reading, St. Paul wrote that when we were in sin, we were like blind men living in the dark. But when Christ came and called us to conversion, we were able to see anew. St. Paul would continue that in Christ, “We are children of the light. There was a time when you were in darkness, but now you are the light in the Lord. Well then, live as children of light” ( Ephesians 5:8 ). Paul here is admonishing the people of Ephesus to remain in the light of Christ and not regress into the darkness of sin.

       In the Gospel, after having been given the gift of sight, the man born blind progressed in his knowledge and faith in Jesus. Ironically, the people in the temple, supposedly people who had received the light of faith, ridiculed the man and put no faith in the person of Jesus. They have regressed into the darkness of unbelief. They have sight, but could not see.

       I’m sure all of us here have had an experience of living in the darkness of sin. But we were converted to the Lord and we lived in the light. Unfortunately, we often go back into the dark, like the darkness of past hurts. I remember a woman who spoke of a hurt a loved one had inflicted on her — 20 years ago — as if it had happened only yesterday. When we refuse to forgive the hurts of the past, we will continue to live in darkness.

       We all have our favorite sins. We confess the same sins over and over again. Sometimes I would tell people in the confessional, “Do you promise that you will do your best to turn away from these sins?” They would say, “Yes, Father, but not this one or that one.” If we continue to hold on to some of our favorite sins, we will continue to live in darkness.

       Elizabeth Kubler-Ross said, “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”

       Today, we ask the Lord to help us out of the dark because by ourselves we cannot do it. Remember what Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Let us have faith in Jesus. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: What darkness covers your real beauty? Allow your beauty to shine forth!

Dearest Lord, help me to cling to Your light. Help me to get out of the darkness that I am in.