1st book of Samuel 16,1b.6-7.10-13a. The LORD said to Samuel: "How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? 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." As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is here before him." 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." In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any one of these." 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." 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 he!" Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.
Psalms 23(22)
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths for His names's sake. for his name's sake. 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. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. 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.
Letter to the Ephesians 5,8-14. Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 9,1-41. As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, 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. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am." So they said to him, "(So) how were your eyes opened?" 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." And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know." They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. 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." 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. 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." 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. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?" His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 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 him self." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him." 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."
--->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." So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 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?" They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man's disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from." 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. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything." They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him. 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." Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains.
FAUSTI - Jesus is not alone : there is the "we" of the disciples with whom He identifies Himself. They are His brethren, begotten by the Word of truth that makes free(Jh8:32), sons capable of doing, like Him, the works of the Father on favor of the brethren. This "we" is contrasted with the final "we" of the blind Pharisees who do the works of their father, lying and murderous from the beginning. The term "must " is connected with the work par excellence , when the Son of Man, lifted up, will give Life to the world (3:14). The day is the one when Jesus came, the one whom Abraham saw and rejoiced (8:56). While He lives, the Son does the works of the Father. The time of His earthly life is the day that enlightened and illuminates every man, showing him His reality. Night represents the end of His day, when darkness will capture the light. Night is the condition of the world without Him, His Light ;it is the very condition from which the blind man will be delivered. Jesus' life on earth, from His birth to His glorification, is Light of the world, for all and forever. With these Words Jesus presents Himself as the servant of YHWH, Light of the nations, who opens the eyes of the blind.( Is 42:6... 49:6...). As long as He is in the world, He manifests the Father's Love to His brothers and sisters. The miracle that follows is the "sign" of Jesus as the Light of the world. He made mud with spit. The gesture recalls the creation of man, made from the ground (Gen. 2:7). But it is a new creation that Jesus places before the eyes of the blind man : the mud is no longer mixed with water , but with the Spirit. This is the original plan of God, who made Adam with the ground animated by His breath : He made him His son. Man is a singular animal : he is related to the earth and the heaven, sharing in the characteristics of creation and at the same time in the Creator. This condition makes him essentially "eccentric" : his body is ground, but his heart lies elsewhere. God himself, the Other than everything, is his life ; therefore he makes himself a stranger to everything and, although he is in the world, he is not of the world. Mud, however, also recalls perdition , sinking in the mud, like Jeremiah in the cistern, is the worst experience ( Jer.38:6). But who can remove from the mire of death the man who is mire and sinks in it , if not that mire which is impregnated with Spirit and Life? His mud, Jesus' mud, is His humanity, similar to ours, but also divine. He is both man and God, the Son who lives by the same Spirit as the Father. His Flesh is the messianic anointing that restores to all flesh its full humanity . "His" mud is God's humanity, saving us from the mud in which we drown. Jesus does not heal the blind man. He commands him, like Elisha to the leper, to go and wash (2 Kings 5:10). He has placed His mud over his eyes, set before him the new man. It is now up to the blind man to say yes or no to the proposal . His life depends on his freedom to hear the Word or not. Faith is man's free response to God's liberating plan.
-->--> His knowledge of Jesus as "That Man" becomes ever clearer and deeper...Jesus in fact is the Light of the world : His mud, earth mixed with spittle, is His humanity as Son of Man and Son of God, which, placed before our eyes, enlightens us about the truth of man and God; the faith that saves is precisely listening to the Word that immerses us in the Son, sent by the Father to the brethren. Outward healing is a sign of inward healing. This comes through the dialogue that explains and makes happen, both in the blind man and in those who read with his eyes, reality without prejudice. In the dialogue that follows, the Word, Light of men, as soon as it shines in the eyes of the blind man who witnesses it, confronts the voices of darkness. Now begin the former blind man's interrogations, beginning with neighbors and associates to whom his former condition was well known. For those used to seeing him sitting and begging, the new situation poses a problem . Is it him or someone else? His previous condition is described by the words "sitting" and "begging": he was immobile and dependent on others. Now, however, he walks and is free. What is his identity? It is important how the other sees me : I am as I am seen. Man is relationship , and relationship changes when the other also sees me other than how he has seen me before, otherwise I remain nailed to his previous judgment, his pre-judgment, precisely. Every true identity is dynamic and vital ; otherwise it is false and deadly. The former blind man can now say : "I am," using Jesus' expression to indicate himself.(4:26-6:20 -8:24...). The light has enlightened him . He himself is light, for his Light has come (IS. 60:1). But opposition and difficulties are for the former blind man like "birth pangs" : they expel him permanently from darkness to Light. Thus he is born as a disciple, ready for the encounter and able to recognize in that man, Who healed him the Lord Himself. The opposition of the leaders has the opposite effect and will make the former blind man see better : he will understand that THE GLORY OF GOD IS THE LIVING MAN. To the "we know" of the leaders, he opposes the "I know" of a man who sees and does not want to renounce saying what he knows.
POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS 22 March 2020 Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! At the centre of the liturgy of this fourth Sunday of Lent there is the theme of light. The Gospel (cf. Jn 9:1-41) recounts the episode of the man blind from birth, to whom Jesus gives sight. This miraculous sign confirms Jesus’ affirmation that “I am the light of the world” (v. 5), the light that brightens our darkness. Jesus is thus. He operates illumination on two levels: a physical level and a spiritual level: the blind person first receives the sight of the eyes and then is led to faith in the “Son of Man” (v. 35), that is, in Jesus. It is all a journey. Today it would be good if you were all to take a copy of the Gospel according to John, chapter nine, and read this passage: it is so good and it will do us good to read it once or twice more. The wonders that Jesus performs are not spectacular gestures, but have the purpose of leading to faith through a journey of inner transformation. The doctors of the law - who were there in a group - persist in not admitting the miracle, and ask the healed man insidious questions. But he disconcerts them with the power of reality: “One thing I do know. I was blind and now I see” (v. 25). Amidst the distrust and hostility of those who surround him and interrogate him, incredulous, he takes a route that leads him to gradually discover the identity of the One who opened his eyes and to confess his faith in Him. At first he considers Him a prophet (cf. v. 17); then he recognises Him as one Who comes from God (cf. v. 33); finally he welcomes Him as the Messiah and prostrates himself before Him (cf. vv. 36-38). He understood that by giving him sight Jesus displayed “the works of God” (cf. v. 3). May we too have this experience! With the light of faith he who was blind discovers his new identity. He is now a “new creature”, able to see his life and the world around him in a new light, because he has entered into communion with Christ, he has entered into another dimension. He is no longer a beggar marginalised by the community; he is no longer a slave to blindness and prejudice. His path of enlightenment is a metaphor for the path of liberation from sin to which we are called. Sin is like a dark veil that covers our face and prevents us from clearly seeing ourselves and the world; the Lord’s forgiveness takes away this blanket of shadow and darkness and gives us new light. The Lenten period that we are living is an opportune and valuable time to approach the Lord, asking for His mercy, in the different forms that Mother Church proposes to us. The healed blind man, who now sees both with the eyes of the body and with those of the soul, is the image of every baptised person, who immersed in Grace has been pulled out of the darkness and placed in the light of faith. But it is not enough to receive the light, one must become light. Each one of us is called to receive the divine light in order to manifest it with our whole life. The first Christians, the theologians of the first centuries, used to say that the community of Christians, that is the Church, is the “mystery of the moon”, because it gave light but it was not its own light, it was the light it received from Christ. We too can be “mystery of the moon”: giving light received from the sun, which is Christ, the Lord. Saint Paul reminds us of this today: “Live as children of light; for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:8-9). The seed of new life placed in us in Baptism is like the spark of a fire, which first of all purifies us, burning the evil in our hearts, and allows us to shine and illuminate. With the light of Jesus. May Mary Most Holy help us to imitate the blind man of the Gospel, so that we can be flooded with the light of Christ and set out with Him on the way of salvation.
BENEDICT XVI ANGELUS 3 April 2011 Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Lenten journey that we are taking is a special time of grace during which we can experience the gift of the Lord’s kindness to us. The Liturgy of this Sunday, called “Laetare”, invites us to be glad and rejoice as the Entrance Antiphon of the Eucharistic celebration proclaims: “Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts” (cf. Is 66: 10-11).
What is the profound reason for this joy? Today’s Gospel in which Jesus heals a man blind from birth tells us. The question which the Lord Jesus asks the blind man is the high point of the story: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (Jn 9:35). The man recognizes the sign worked by Jesus and he passes from the light of his eyes to the light of faith: “Lord, I believe!” (Jn 9:38).
It should be noted that as a simple and sincere person he gradually completes the journey of faith. In the beginning he thinks of Jesus as a “man” among others, then he considers him a “prophet” and finally his eyes are opened and he proclaims him “Lord”. In opposition to the faith of the healed blind man is the hardening of the hearts of the Pharisees who do not want to accept the miracle because they refuse to receive Jesus as the Messiah. Instead the crowd pauses to discuss the event and continues to be distant and indifferent. Even the blind man’s parents are overcome by the fear of what others might think.
And what attitude to Jesus should we adopt? Because of Adam’s sin we too are born “blind” but in the baptismal font we are illumined by the grace of Christ. Sin wounded humanity and destined it to the darkness of death, but the newness of life shines out in Christ, as well as the destination to which we are called. In him, reinvigorated by the Holy Spirit, we receive the strength to defeat evil and to do good.
In fact the Christian life is a continuous conformation to Christ, image of the new man, in order to reach full communion with God. The Lord Jesus is the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12), because in him shines “the knowledge of the glory of God” (2 Cor 4:6) that continues in the complex plot of the story to reveal the meaning of human existence.
In the rite of Baptism, the presentation of the candle lit from the large Paschal candle, a symbol of the Risen Christ, is a sign that helps us to understand what happens in the Sacrament. When our lives are enlightened by the mystery of Christ, we experience the joy of being liberated from all that threatens the full realization.
In these days which prepare us for Easter let us rekindle within us the gift received in Baptism, that flame which sometimes risks being extinguished. Let us nourish it with prayer and love for others. Let us entrust our Lenten journey to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church so that all may encounter Christ, Saviour of the world.
1st book of Samuel
RispondiElimina16,1b.6-7.10-13a.
The LORD said to Samuel: "How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? 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."
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is here before him."
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."
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any one of these."
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."
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 he!"
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.
Psalms 23(22)
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for His names's sake.
for his name's sake.
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.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
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.
Letter to the Ephesians
5,8-14.
Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them,
for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
RispondiEliminaaccording to Saint John 9,1-41.
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
When he had said this, 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.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?"
Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am."
So they said to him, "(So) how were your eyes opened?"
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."
And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."
They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
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."
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.
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."
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.
They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?"
His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
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 him self."
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him."
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."
--->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."
RispondiEliminaSo they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
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?"
They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man's disciple; we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from."
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.
We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything."
They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
Jesus said to him, "You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he."
He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.
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."
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?"
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains.
FAUSTI - Jesus is not alone : there is the "we" of the disciples with whom He identifies Himself. They are His brethren, begotten by the Word of truth that makes free(Jh8:32), sons capable of doing, like Him, the works of the Father on favor of the brethren.
RispondiEliminaThis "we" is contrasted with the final "we" of the blind Pharisees who do the works of their father, lying and murderous from the beginning.
The term "must " is connected with the work par excellence , when the Son of Man, lifted up, will give Life to the world (3:14). The day is the one when Jesus came, the one whom Abraham saw and rejoiced (8:56). While He lives, the Son does the works of the Father. The time of His earthly life is the day that enlightened and illuminates every man, showing him His reality.
Night represents the end of His day, when darkness will capture the light.
Night is the condition of the world without Him, His Light ;it is the very condition from which the blind man will be delivered.
Jesus' life on earth, from His birth to His glorification, is Light of the world, for all and forever. With these Words Jesus presents Himself as the servant of YHWH, Light of the nations, who opens the eyes of the blind.( Is 42:6... 49:6...). As long as He is in the world, He manifests the Father's Love to His brothers and sisters.
The miracle that follows is the "sign" of Jesus as the Light of the world. He made mud with spit. The gesture recalls the creation of man, made from the ground (Gen. 2:7). But it is a new creation that Jesus places before the eyes of the blind man : the mud is no longer mixed with water , but with the Spirit. This is the original plan of God, who made Adam with the ground animated by His breath : He made him His son. Man is a singular animal : he is related to the earth and the heaven, sharing in the characteristics of creation and at the same time in the Creator.
This condition makes him essentially "eccentric" : his body is ground, but his heart lies elsewhere. God himself, the Other than everything, is his life ; therefore he makes himself a stranger to everything and, although he is in the world, he is not of the world. Mud, however, also recalls perdition , sinking in the mud, like Jeremiah in the cistern, is the worst experience ( Jer.38:6). But who can remove from the mire of death the man who is mire and sinks in it , if not that mire which is impregnated with Spirit and Life? His mud, Jesus' mud, is His humanity, similar to ours, but also divine. He is both man and God, the Son who lives by the same Spirit as the Father.
His Flesh is the messianic anointing that restores to all flesh its full humanity .
"His" mud is God's humanity, saving us from the mud in which we drown. Jesus does not heal the blind man. He commands him, like Elisha to the leper, to go and wash (2 Kings 5:10).
He has placed His mud over his eyes, set before him the new man. It is now up to the blind man to say yes or no to the proposal . His life depends on his freedom to hear the Word or not.
Faith is man's free response to God's liberating plan.
-->--> His knowledge of Jesus as "That Man" becomes ever clearer and deeper...Jesus in fact is the Light of the world : His mud, earth mixed with spittle, is His humanity as Son of Man and Son of God, which, placed before our eyes, enlightens us about the truth of man and God; the faith that saves is precisely listening to the Word that immerses us in the Son, sent by the Father to the brethren.
RispondiEliminaOutward healing is a sign of inward healing. This comes through the dialogue that explains and makes happen, both in the blind man and in those who read with his eyes, reality without prejudice. In the dialogue that follows, the Word, Light of men, as soon as it shines in the eyes of the blind man who witnesses it, confronts the voices of darkness.
Now begin the former blind man's interrogations, beginning with neighbors and associates to whom his former condition was well known. For those used to seeing him sitting and begging, the new situation poses a problem . Is it him or someone else? His previous condition is described by the words "sitting" and "begging": he was immobile and dependent on others.
Now, however, he walks and is free. What is his identity? It is important how the other sees me : I am as I am seen. Man is relationship , and relationship changes when the other also sees me other than how he has seen me before, otherwise I remain nailed to his previous judgment, his pre-judgment, precisely. Every true identity is dynamic and vital ; otherwise it is false and deadly.
The former blind man can now say : "I am," using Jesus' expression to indicate himself.(4:26-6:20 -8:24...). The light has enlightened him . He himself is light, for his Light has come (IS. 60:1).
But opposition and difficulties are for the former blind man like "birth pangs" : they expel him permanently from darkness to Light.
Thus he is born as a disciple, ready for the encounter and able to recognize in that man, Who healed him the Lord Himself.
The opposition of the leaders has the opposite effect and will make the former blind man see better : he will understand that
THE GLORY OF GOD IS THE LIVING MAN.
To the "we know" of the leaders, he opposes the "I know" of a man who sees and does not want to renounce saying what he knows.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 22 March 2020
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
At the centre of the liturgy of this fourth Sunday of Lent there is the theme of light. The Gospel (cf. Jn 9:1-41) recounts the episode of the man blind from birth, to whom Jesus gives sight. This miraculous sign confirms Jesus’ affirmation that “I am the light of the world” (v. 5), the light that brightens our darkness. Jesus is thus. He operates illumination on two levels: a physical level and a spiritual level: the blind person first receives the sight of the eyes and then is led to faith in the “Son of Man” (v. 35), that is, in Jesus. It is all a journey. Today it would be good if you were all to take a copy of the Gospel according to John, chapter nine, and read this passage: it is so good and it will do us good to read it once or twice more. The wonders that Jesus performs are not spectacular gestures, but have the purpose of leading to faith through a journey of inner transformation.
The doctors of the law - who were there in a group - persist in not admitting the miracle, and ask the healed man insidious questions. But he disconcerts them with the power of reality: “One thing I do know. I was blind and now I see” (v. 25). Amidst the distrust and hostility of those who surround him and interrogate him, incredulous, he takes a route that leads him to gradually discover the identity of the One who opened his eyes and to confess his faith in Him. At first he considers Him a prophet (cf. v. 17); then he recognises Him as one Who comes from God (cf. v. 33); finally he welcomes Him as the Messiah and prostrates himself before Him (cf. vv. 36-38). He understood that by giving him sight Jesus displayed “the works of God” (cf. v. 3).
May we too have this experience! With the light of faith he who was blind discovers his new identity. He is now a “new creature”, able to see his life and the world around him in a new light, because he has entered into communion with Christ, he has entered into another dimension. He is no longer a beggar marginalised by the community; he is no longer a slave to blindness and prejudice. His path of enlightenment is a metaphor for the path of liberation from sin to which we are called. Sin is like a dark veil that covers our face and prevents us from clearly seeing ourselves and the world; the Lord’s forgiveness takes away this blanket of shadow and darkness and gives us new light. The Lenten period that we are living is an opportune and valuable time to approach the Lord, asking for His mercy, in the different forms that Mother Church proposes to us.
The healed blind man, who now sees both with the eyes of the body and with those of the soul, is the image of every baptised person, who immersed in Grace has been pulled out of the darkness and placed in the light of faith. But it is not enough to receive the light, one must become light. Each one of us is called to receive the divine light in order to manifest it with our whole life. The first Christians, the theologians of the first centuries, used to say that the community of Christians, that is the Church, is the “mystery of the moon”, because it gave light but it was not its own light, it was the light it received from Christ. We too can be “mystery of the moon”: giving light received from the sun, which is Christ, the Lord. Saint Paul reminds us of this today: “Live as children of light; for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:8-9). The seed of new life placed in us in Baptism is like the spark of a fire, which first of all purifies us, burning the evil in our hearts, and allows us to shine and illuminate. With the light of Jesus.
May Mary Most Holy help us to imitate the blind man of the Gospel, so that we can be flooded with the light of Christ and set out with Him on the way of salvation.
BENEDICT XVI
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 3 April 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Lenten journey that we are taking is a special time of grace during which we can experience the gift of the Lord’s kindness to us. The Liturgy of this Sunday, called “Laetare”, invites us to be glad and rejoice as the Entrance Antiphon of the Eucharistic celebration proclaims: “Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts” (cf. Is 66: 10-11).
What is the profound reason for this joy? Today’s Gospel in which Jesus heals a man blind from birth tells us. The question which the Lord Jesus asks the blind man is the high point of the story: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (Jn 9:35). The man recognizes the sign worked by Jesus and he passes from the light of his eyes to the light of faith: “Lord, I believe!” (Jn 9:38).
It should be noted that as a simple and sincere person he gradually completes the journey of faith. In the beginning he thinks of Jesus as a “man” among others, then he considers him a “prophet” and finally his eyes are opened and he proclaims him “Lord”. In opposition to the faith of the healed blind man is the hardening of the hearts of the Pharisees who do not want to accept the miracle because they refuse to receive Jesus as the Messiah. Instead the crowd pauses to discuss the event and continues to be distant and indifferent. Even the blind man’s parents are overcome by the fear of what others might think.
And what attitude to Jesus should we adopt? Because of Adam’s sin we too are born “blind” but in the baptismal font we are illumined by the grace of Christ. Sin wounded humanity and destined it to the darkness of death, but the newness of life shines out in Christ, as well as the destination to which we are called. In him, reinvigorated by the Holy Spirit, we receive the strength to defeat evil and to do good.
In fact the Christian life is a continuous conformation to Christ, image of the new man, in order to reach full communion with God. The Lord Jesus is the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12), because in him shines “the knowledge of the glory of God” (2 Cor 4:6) that continues in the complex plot of the story to reveal the meaning of human existence.
In the rite of Baptism, the presentation of the candle lit from the large Paschal candle, a symbol of the Risen Christ, is a sign that helps us to understand what happens in the Sacrament. When our lives are enlightened by the mystery of Christ, we experience the joy of being liberated from all that threatens the full realization.
In these days which prepare us for Easter let us rekindle within us the gift received in Baptism, that flame which sometimes risks being extinguished. Let us nourish it with prayer and love for others. Let us entrust our Lenten journey to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church so that all may encounter Christ, Saviour of the world.