In both our First Reading and the Gospel we hear reference to “blindness.” The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the Messianic time, notes that a time is coming when “out of the gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.” Many centuries down the road in the gospel we hear Jesus heal two blind men, painting a fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies.
Spiritual Blindness
Throughout Scripture, “blindness” goes beyond the physical sight and touches on spiritual insight, enlightenment, or a deeper understanding of divine truths. Blindness refers to a lack of any of these elements.
Blindness can mean the inability to see the poor and the homeless who live in our communities. It can mean seeing the poor and needy but lacking empathy to feel for them and do something to alleviate their situation. We can be blind to the power of prayer, the power of the sacraments, or a lack of awareness of the Real Presence of Christ or a recognition of Scripture as the Inspired Word of God. Blindness can refer to our lack of awareness of our value in the eyes of God or a lack of understanding of our own weaknesses that need the grace of God. We are here today being reminded that we all have some “spiritual blindness” that needs the Lord’s attention. We are being encouraged to see spiritual clarity especially through prayer, reflection on the Word of God, and community engagement to fight our person spiritual blindness. Is there something about you or in the community to which you long for better insight from God? Let us name it and ask His wisdom.
Follow Christ Faithfully
I will conclude with a brief comment on how Jesus ended up performing the miracle of the healing of the two blind men. Did you notice that he did not cure the two blind men immediately? They followed him for a while crying out “Son of David have pity on us! Son of David have pity on us!” until they caught up with him at the house where he was going to spend the night. Only then did he cure them of their blindness. Why did he do that? He wanted their faith to mature. He wanted them to mean what they were saying.
Sometimes it does not matter what you say in the big crowd, the Lord wants to hear what you say and mean when it is only the two of you! It is quite easy to be excited and be driven by the crowd, in the end the Lord wants us to own our faith in Him. He checked that out when he asked the two blind them, “Do you believe I can do this for you?” We have attended in the past big spiritual rallies or events that were highly spiritually charged. Everyone left feeling spiritually high! Away from the crowd, in the secrecy of your bedroom, the Lord wants you to face him alone and make your own profession of faith in him.
Today as we continue with our Mass, let us identify what our “blindness” looks like. Is it attitudes, Is it behaviors? Is it a lack of faith? What do we want the Lord to heal? May we be like the two blind men and cry out to Him “Son of David have pity on us!”
- Father Pinto's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
