Now I See

4th Sunday of Lent
02 March 2008

First reading: 1 Samuel 16:1 - 13
The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you go on mourning over Saul when I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’
Samuel did what the Lord ordered and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came trembling to meet him and asked, ‘Seer, have you come with good intentions towards us?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’

Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘the Lord has not chosen these’. He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep’. Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes’. Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one’. At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on. As for Samuel, he rose and went to Ramah.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 22 (23)
The good shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
He has taken me to green pastures,
he has led me to still waters;
he has healed my spirit.
He has led me along right paths
for his own name’s sake.

Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil, for you are with me:
your rod and your staff give me comfort.

You have set a table before me
in the sight of my enemies.
You have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup overflows.

Truly goodness and kindness will follow me
all the days of my life.
For long years I shall live
in the house of the Lord.

Second reading: Ephesians 5:8 - 14
You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things which are done in secret are things that ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light. That is why it is said:
Wake up from your sleep,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.

Gospel: John 9:1 - 41
As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?’ ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered ‘he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

‘As long as the day lasts
I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;
the night will soon be here when no one can work.
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.’

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, ‘Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘Yes, it is the same one’. Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him’. The man himself said, ‘I am the man’. So they said to him, ‘Then how do your eyes come to be open?’ ‘The man called Jesus’ he answered ‘made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, “Go and wash at Siloam”; so I went, and when I washed I could see.’ They asked, ‘Where is he?’ ‘I don’t know’ he answered.

They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see’. Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath’. Others said, ‘How could a sinner produce signs like this?’ And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?’ ‘He is a prophet’ replied the man. However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight, without first sending for his parents and asking them, ‘Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’ His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, ‘He is old enough; ask him’.

So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him, ‘Give glory to God! For our part, we know that this man is a sinner.’ The man answered, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see’. They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He replied, ‘I have told you once and you wouldn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’ At this they hurled abuse at him: ‘You can be his disciple,’ they said ‘we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from’. The man replied, ‘Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where he comes from! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind; if this man were not from God, he couldn’t do a thing.’ ‘Are you trying to teach us,’ they replied ‘and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!’ And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you’. The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him. Jesus said:

‘It is for judgement
that I have come into this world,
so that those without sight may see
and those with sight turn blind’.

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, ‘We are not blind, surely?’ Jesus replied:
‘Blind? If you were,
you would not be guilty,
but since you say, “We see”,
your guilt remains.

Reflection
By Elizabeth R Eguia

I still remember that girl named Fatima Soriano. She is the little blind child friend of Fr Jerry Orbos whom he introduced to the public in some of his Masses featured on TV. He was amazed by her vibrant spirit, her enthusiasm, her being fully alive. Sometimes we will be wondering where does she get that strength and power to move on with life despite of this disability.


Comparing myself with Fatima, I would say I am blessed with good eyesight. Thank God! I am blessed that I can see the beautiful rays of the sun, the sky, and the twinkling stars at night, the colorful flowers around me, the people around me that I talk to and deal with. It’s one gift that at times I have neglected to be thankful for and to take care of. One typical example is I surfed all night through the internet without rest causing my eyes to be tired and stressed out.


Blindness can be interpreted not just the loss of physical eyesight but also the loss of seeing what is important in life. In the busy world that we live in, we tend to be focused only on work, on striving to get what we want (e.g. to buy a new house, to have a new car, to purchase a new phone, etc.). It is not a bad thing to do, however when our focus is more on this earthly things, we tend to forget what really matters most. Like for example, have I spent sometime with a friend who has been calling me up for sometime now just to say “Hi” and get acquainted with? Or have I said “I love you” to my husband/wife and to kids or even to my parents who are there all my life but I have been neglecting because of work? Simple acts as it seems, but are considered treasured moments to live by.


Another way to interpret blindness is, being focused on the negative side of a situation rather than on the positive that are happening in our lives. For instance, a tragedy has happened in the family. Some tend to get miserable and not moving on with life instead of facing it and living life. Yes it is hard. But that is the reason why Jesus came. He is here through the people around us, through friends, through the Mass. He came to heal the blind. Yes, it will take time because it will require a self reflection and realization on our part. And it’s only when we accept this fact and decide to move on then we will see the light.


Dear Lord, we praise and thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed on us. Thank you especially for the gift of sight which enables us to see all Your wonderful creation. At times we are temporarily blind because we are focused on our selfish desires. Thank you for reminding us once again about this and helping us to realize our faults so that we can move on to the right direction. Amen.