Word from the Pastor

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Live as children of light.
1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41

Dear parish family,​

What wonderful readings we have on this Laetare Sunday! Hopefully we will all continue to meditate upon their richness as we go about our day. For now, let us highlight a few spiritual insights. ​

In the reading from Samuel, God gently rebukes Samuel for judging with the eyes and measure of the world, reminding him and us that Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart. Our hearts are our inner sanctuary and we only open them to those we truly trust – those closest to us. God is so close to us that he knows and sees what lies in our hearts. Knowing this about God can be both scary and overwhelming. Scary when we think about our sinfulness: the fruitless works of darkness, the less than charitable thoughts we entertain, the unholy desires in which we indulge in our minds or when no one is around. Overwhelming when we consider that despite knowing the darkness that lies in the human heart, God was not repelled, he did not recoil. Rather, God, in Jesus Christ, assumed a human heart, bringing his light into it and illuminating our own to free us from this darkness. How blessed are we to be so loved! ​

Knowing ourselves to be so loved should prompt us to do as Paul exhorts us to do in his letter: to live as children of light. That is, our lives should abound in goodness and righteousness and truth. At our baptism, we received the light of Christ; our hearts were enlightened by Christ and we were urged to keep that light burning brightly. For this light to burn brightly requires effort on our part. But for every small effort we make, the Lord offers exponential help through his abundant grace which he freely offers. Especially in the sacraments, God comes to meet us and lead us into deeper faith, as he did the blind man in the Gospel. ​

When Jesus first encountered the man born blind, Jesus made and smeared clay on his eyes and instructed him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. The man might have found this a bit strange but he seems to have kept an open mind and gone along. How thrilled must he have been to see for the first time! But then he faced scrutiny and interrogation to which he responded with an increasing level of understanding, reflecting his own deepening awareness of what had happened to him, culminating in his affirming his belief that Jesus is the Son of Man, the Lord. ​

This is a powerful story and one that unfolds in our own lives: a pattern of encountering the Lord, obeying his commands, being transformed, facing challenges, finding ourselves sought out by the Lord and led into a deeper faith. Whatever stage we find ourselves in this story, we proceed in the knowledge that the Lord knows us, loves us, and is here to help us. ​

faithcatholicsubscriptions.com/downloads ​

Fr. Jean Jadotte
Pastor