healing

When we remember Jesus is with us and for us, we can always change, we can always change course.

As Jesus and his companions shared the Passover, Jesus offered this morsel, “One of you will betray me” (Mt 26:21). I am sure that this bitter herb shifted the mood of the meal and fellowship. Each apostle asked if they were the one to betray him. There is no recorded response, though the assumption is that Jesus says no to each, except for one.

A unique feature about this exchange was that each of the disciples in asking Jesus if they would betray him prefaced their request by calling him, Lord. In doing so, they acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah. When Judas addressed Jesus he called him, Rabbi. He did not acknowledge Jesus as his Lord. Could this be a tell regarding why Judas was willing to turn Jesus over because he did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah, that he too believed Jesus to be a blasphemer?

Jesus’ response to Judas was an affirmation of truth: “You have said so” (Mt 26:25).

Jesus offered this affirmative response two other times, confirming each time the truth presented to him by another. When Caiaphas asked if he was the Messiah and then later with Pilate when he asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. In answering in the affirmative to Judas, was Jesus giving him the opportunity to look at himself in the mirror? Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, he did not have to make this point known. Judas could have remained silent, yet he asked, as did the others who went before him. Could he have been contemplating shifting his prior determination of betrayal? Was Jesus inviting Judas to acknowledge what he had agreed to do, confess, change course, and ask for forgiveness?

Judas chose his course of action to betray Jesus, and unfortunately, even with Jesus’ intervention, Judas was not able or willing to stop or change course. Judas fulfilled his agreement with the chief priests to turn Jesus over. Often we set a similar course of action and even when Jesus makes an attempt to intercede on our behalf, we do not slow down enough to hear.

God speaks to us in the silence of our hearts but too often we are focused on or diverted by other things and we do not hear. We can instead allow fear, anxiety, pride, prejudice, a grudge, or anger to be our guide. We can be too blind to see or too determined to do it our own way, regardless of the consequences. Habitual reactions can also be a big challenge. We can also buy into the lie that the momentum is already too strong to turn around. That it is too late to change course.

We need to know in the depth of our being, that it is never too late to change course, to make amends, to repent, and to turn back to God. The first step is being willing to be still or aware enough to hear or see his guidance. The second step is to be willing to look in the mirror and see what Jesus presents to us, accept what we see, and then seek his forgiveness and repent. Yet, sometimes we feel we are digging ourselves into a hole that we can’t escape from. The answer is that we need to just stop digging and put the shovel down. Jesus will meet us in the deepest of the holes we have dug for ourselves and when we are willing to stop, he will but us on his shoulders and lift us out!

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Photo: One way to remember Jesus is with us, is to breathe, slow down, and look up.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Will we choose to remain in the darkness or come into the light?

The Gospel reading for today from John is painful on two fronts. First, Jesus said to Judas, “What you are going to do, do quickly” (Jn 13:27). Did their eyes meet at that moment, was there an unspoken appeal from Jesus to Judas, or had that already been settled? Judas aligned himself with Satan and set his course. Worse, he removed himself from Jesus and his companions and it was night.

Reference to night in the Bible is typically not a good sign. This is not only the time of day, it is also the spiritual absence of the light in which Judas has now entered. This night has also begun its descent upon Peter as well, although he is not yet fully conscious of the darkness creeping upon him as well.

The second front appears at the end of today’s reading. Despite Peter’s apparent full endorsement of Jesus and promise to even lay his life down for him, Jesus predicted that “the cock will not crow until” Peter will deny him “three times” (Jn 13:38). The momentum of utter betrayal builds. Judas will agree to turn Jesus over for thirty pieces of silver. He will betray the Son of God, yet in so doing, Judas will play his part in salvation history.

Judas will set in motion Jesus’ arrest that will culminate in his crucifixion. Peter will come to deny Jesus three times as Jesus predicted. I cannot think of any experience worse than the pain of betrayal. Yet, how is it that we betray Jesus each day? Remember what he taught us, “What you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me” (Mt 25:45). Who and how have we betrayed Jesus in our lives? This is an important question to ask, and what is even more important is that we not only answer it honestly but seek forgiveness and resist the temptation of isolating ourselves in our sin and pride.

Judas separated himself, cut himself off from Jesus and his companions. As we read or heard this past Sunday, Judas realized his sin, though he did not seek forgiveness. He chose to isolate himself further and in his despair took his life. Peter, also regretted his sin, his cowardice, he wept when he heard the cock crow, but he also trusted, and later affirmed his love for Jesus three times, atoning for his three denials and was forgiven.

This Holy Week we can choose to walk the path of Judas or Peter. With each humble step may we come to see how our spirits are often willing but our bodies are weak, that we have been wounded by others and acted in kind, so falling short of who God has called us to be in what we have done and what we have failed to do.

Through our awareness of our unworthiness though, we must resist isolating and beating ourselves up, but instead recognize that Jesus has come not to call the righteous but sinners. That is Good News! Jesus has come to save us, free us from our sin. We can begin this Holy Week by repenting and seeking forgiveness, and walk out of the darkness, resist the temptation of isolation, and walk into the light. Confessing our sins, we will be forgiven, we will receive the love of Jesus, so that we can rest and abide there, and continue our journey of healing so that we will become wounded healers like Peter and the apostles!

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Photo: Looking up and to the things of heaven. A good practice for Holy Week and a good way to breathe deep and allow ourselves to be loved by God and experience some healing.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 31, 2026

The closer we are to Jesus the easier it will be to give without counting the cost.

“Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (Jn 12:3). This is indeed some gift that Mary shares with Jesus, though Judas’ critical response showed that he missed the point of her offering, which went well beyond the material cost of the perfume. Mary even exceeded the gesture of hospitality by going beyond washing Jesus’ feet and anointing them as well. This act of caring could have been a bestowal of appreciation and gratefulness toward Jesus who brought Lazarus, her brother, back to life, but it was even more than that.

In Jesus’ correction of Judas, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial” (Jn 12:7), we may intuit the best source for interpreting Mary’s act. Mary comprehended better than any of the Apostles that Jesus’ death was imminent. Mary’s washing the feet of Jesus, anointing them, and drying them with her hair was a gift of love, of giving herself in service to the Son of God. This exchange mirrors the communion between God the Father, God the Son, and the love shared between them, God the Holy Spirit. Mary follows the will of the Father and plays her part in salvation history.

Martha is also present and seemed to have learned from their last encounter. She is again serving the meal, but this time she is not complaining nor anxious and worried about many things. Judas was the one corrected this time when Jesus told him to, “Leave her alone.” Mary has shown her spiritual growth as well. She is no longer sitting at Jesus’ feet but anointing them for his imminent death. Her generosity in pouring out such a large amount of perfumed oil was evident because the fragrance filled the entire house. Mary’s generosity foreshadowed the generosity of Jesus not just in his eventual washing of the feet of his apostles but ultimately, his total self-gift pouring out all of himself and holding nothing back on the cross.

We do not know how Mary came to possess this precious oil, but what we do know is much more important. She did not grasp or cling to the oil, she did not count the cost and just pour out a little bit. Mary was moved with compassion and generosity. The same compassion and generosity she experienced from Jesus, she was now sharing with him. May we be open to receive the compassion and generosity of Jesus and share without hesitation as he guides us.

Is there something or some way that God is calling us to pour out, not just for the sake of doing so, but in service to Jesus? The path to holiness and sanctity becomes smoother and the way clearer when can identify and let go of that which we are attached and clinging to. May we follow the lead of St. Mother Teresa who said that she sought to be just a pencil in God’s hand. The freedom of the pencil is that it moves and writes as the author does. Would that we become so free in the hand of our loving God and Father.

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Painting: May we follow Mary’s lead to love as Jesus teaches us to.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 30, 2026

The setting sun helps us to remember how Jesus’ life set.

A core group, the Sanhedrin, within the leadership of Israel has decided. They will not deny themselves, their power, prestige, their place. They will not take up their cross and follow Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. They will not allow the teaching and momentum of the growing number of those following Jesus to continue unchecked. As Passover drew nearer, thousands of people were coming to Jerusalem to purify themselves for the great feast.
This meant that many more centurions would be in place to keep the peace. The division and commotion that Jesus was causing could escalate conflict, unrest, and then swift and violent retribution from the Roman presence. Also, messianic hopes were at a fever pitch during this time. The foundational hope was that the Messiah would come, and amass followers to overthrow the Roman occupiers.
The Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council, followed the lead of the high priest, Caiaphas, who said, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish” (Jn 11:49-50). Caiaphas was looking to protect his people. Even if the image of followers amassing around Jesus was people, the Roman leadership could take this for a mounting rebellion, and would come down with swift, cruel force that would not be an eye for an eye.
With these words, they began to plan how to put to death the carpenter of Nazareth. With the words of Caiaphas, the sun began to set on the life of Jesus. These words even affect us still today as they usher in the sunset of our Lenten observance. The gift of our liturgical readings allows us to relive the story of our faith. Lent has given us a time to reflect, to meditate upon who Jesus is. Is he just a carpenter, another teacher, or a holy man from the past? Is he each of these, but someone so much more, the Son of God who became one with us in our humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity?
Do we see Jesus’ teachings and life as a threat as did the Sanhedrin? Do we like our life the way it is, such that we do not want Jesus to come into our home and start turning over the tables and disrupting our order and comfort? Do the Gospels cut us to the heart and inspire us to shake off our complacency, our indifference, our cynicism, our fear, so to be inspired to acknowledge our sins, to repent, and to begin anew? Are we willing to have our hearts opened such that we see the needs of our brothers and sisters and so are moved with compassion to help?
As Holy Week begins with the Vigil Mass for Passion Sunday may we meditate on the words of Caiaphas, “consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish” (Jn 11:49-50). Caiaphas did not know that what he proclaimed would be so true. The one, Jesus, would die, not only so the nation would not perish, but that all of humanity would not perish and be saved.
Jesus died for each and everyone of us that we might have life and have it to the full. As the sun sets this Saturday evening (or even Friday if you are reading now), may it not be just another rotation of the earth on its axis, but an opportunity to commit once again to make time to ponder and appreciate Jesus dying for us. Let us take up our crosses with Jesus this Passion Sunday, so to die to our false selves, our egos, our self-centered postures, fears, pride, and vices. In dying with Christ, we shall put to death our vices, so to live a new life of virtue and love.
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Photo: As each day ends, may we examine where we have been blessed, said yes to God, and be grateful, as well as acknowledge where we have fallen short, resisted God’s invitation, ask for forgiveness and help to begin again.
Link for the Mass for Saturday, March 28, 2026

Let not the sins and wounds of our past define us. Let Jesus do something new in us.

In today’s Gospel account from John, many people gathered around Jesus in the temple area and were sitting and listening to him, when a horrific display of human wickedness breaks in as, “the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle” (Jn 8:3).
This act of depravity is worse if we spend any time thinking about this verse. This was a calculated plan hatched by the scribes and Pharisees. They had been watching this woman for the opportune time to break in and catch her, using their own words of accusation, in “the very act of committing adultery” (Jn 8:4). If they were this calculated and malicious, they would not have probably even given her the opportunity to put her clothes on.
The shame that this woman must have had to endure as she was dragged openly and publicly through the streets was made worse because they brought her to the temple area. The temple was where people came to give sacrifice to atone for their sins and to worship God. What was worse was that the dehumanization of this woman most likely had nothing to do with bringing her to repentance, but had all to do with demeaning her for their own twisted ends to trap Jesus.
The Pharisees and scribes hatched this plot just to trap Jesus in what they believed was a fool proof way to bring charges against him. If Jesus did not follow the law of Moses and condemn her to be stoned, he could be charged for speaking out against the Mosaic law. If he did condemn her, he then could be charged by Roman law. Only the Roman authorities could institute the death penalty.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger (Jn 8:6). With this action, Jesus could have been buying some time to think over his response. He could have just been showing an attitude of indifference toward the charges presented. The truth is, we don’t know what Jesus wrote in the dirt that day. St. Jerome proposed that he was writing the sins of those gathered around him as they were waiting for his judgment. Another interesting speculation is that Jesus was again showing his foundation in the prophetic tradition.
Jesus could have been quoting the prophet Jeremiah: “O LORD… all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 17:13, RSV). Jesus had just shared a few verses earlier that anyone who believed in him : “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37, RSV). Those who came to trap Jesus could have found themselves getting caught in the trap instead and receiving God’s judgement for their forsaking God present before them in His Son (Pitre).
Whatever Jesus wrote had an effect and allowed for the pregnant pause before Jesus spoke: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). Jesus returned to writing in the dirt, allowing for another pregnant pause. One by one, starting with the elders, the accusers, and even those who had gathered to listen to Jesus that morning, all walked away.
Jesus stood a second time only to find the woman standing before him. This is the first time he addressed her: “Has no one condemned you?” She replied with three simple words, “No one, sir.” And Jesus replied, “Neither do I condemn you.” Jesus did not seek to inflict any more shame on this woman and forgave her. Nor did he dismiss the sin. In Jewish law, there needed to be two witnesses to condemn someone of a capital crime. There was no witness left to do so. Jesus chose not to condemn her but also stated clearly, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more” (Jn 8:8-11)
Jesus and the woman looked eye to eye in the temple area, a stone’s throw away from the Mercy Seat of God. Jesus met this woman surrounded in her sin, shame, and anguish and met her with mercy and forgiveness. He cleansed the temple precincts of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes who had darkened the area that day and his forgiveness purified this woman from the stain of her sin. This was no cheap grace. Jesus did convict the woman of her sin, but did so in a way that respected her dignity, unlike those who hauled her out publicly to humiliate her for their own malicious purposes. Jesus convicted her in private, once everyone had gone.
In forgiving her with love and mercy, I can imagine, that she, who had been dragged through the streets, not only experiencing the humiliation, but fearing that her death was imminent, then walked away from her encounter with Jesus crying. Crying not just with tears of relief, but with tears of joy. Could the words of Isaiah have come to her mind then, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see I am doing something new” (Isaiah 43: 18-19). This woman having drunk from the “stream of living water” walked away born again, a new creature, transformed by the purifying love of God.
This account embodies the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We bring our sins, contrition, fears, and are to be met with the loving mercy and forgiveness of Jesus in the priest. Not so that we can then just go out to do whatever we want to again, but with his help, to go and sin no more. To not only be forgiven, but to also receive the grace to help us to resist temptation, to heal, and through participating in the life in Jesus, walk with him along the way to restore the glory we have lost.
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Painting: May we experience and share the same mercy and forgiveness.
Dr. Brant Pitre, Catholic Productions
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 23, 2026

Jesus knew he was when challenged, do we?

In today’s account from John, Jesus responded to the criticism that he received from healing the man at the pool of Bethesda. The issue for those who were incensed was that he healed on the Sabbath, and he did not help his case any when he justified himself by saying that he was directed to do so by his Father: “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes” (Jn 5:21). Jesus did not make concessions with those who opposed him.

He clearly stated the truth about who he is, the Son of God, the Lord of the Sabbath. For those not believing Jesus, that he said that he is equal with God… this is blasphemy of the highest order. This is one of the reasons they plot to kill him.

So too in our own age, there are many ways to express our understanding and belief about who Jesus was in his time and who he is still today. If you haven’t thought about Jesus beyond his name in a while, about who he really is and why he is relevant to our lives, then allow St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, who lived from 297 to 373 AD, to offer a point to ponder today.

St. Athanasius held firmly to and taught with conviction that, Jesus is, “the Son of God [who] became man so that we might become God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 480). We cannot be saved on our own merits, through our own will power, and discipline alone. Jesus can save us particularly because in what he assumes as fully human, he is able to redeem as fully divine.

The reality that the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was sent through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit to enter the womb of Mary and take on flesh, became one with us in our humanity by becoming also human, so that we can become one with him in his divinity, is something worth meditating and praying about. There is much writing and discussion about how many people are leaving the Church, while at the same time their hunger still remains. I would say starving, for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. This is true for those who leave as well as those who remain, whether either could or would articulate it in that way.

Could it be that we have forgotten the foundation of our faith, which is participating in and deepening our relationship with Jesus?

The words of St. Athanasius, “The Son of God became man so that we might become God.” Are words that will help us to remember who and whose we are, beloved daughters and sons of God. They are words that might help us to remember our meaning and purpose in life. They are words that might help us to stretch a little more from our comfort zones, to risk being who we are, and to trust God to walk with us in places where we are need of healing and reconciliation. Hopefully, they are words that help us to slow down and spend some time with Jesus and get to know him a little better.

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Photo: Quiet walk on the way to celebrate Mass.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, March 18, 2026

With Jesus no one is last.

Has there ever been a time when you were picked last for the team, whether on the playground, P.E., or gym class? I remember being on both sides, being picked last, and picking others to join and having to pick someone last. I preferred being chosen last rather than having to be in the situation to choose a classmate last. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus comes upon a man who has experienced an even worse situation.

This man had been in need of healing for thirty-eight years. Apparently, there was a limited time to get into the waters of the pool at Bethesda to experience the healing properties that it afforded, for each time the water stirred, while the man moved to get closer to and enter the water, “someone else [got] down there before” him. This is worse than getting picked last, as he doesn’t in a sense even make the team!

But with Jesus, the last shall become first. Key ingredients are belief, faith, as we heard in yesterday’s account and also along with belief and faith, is there a willingness to be healed. Jesus asks the sick man, “Do you want to be well?” When the man in need of healing explains the limitations he has experienced in the past regarding getting to the pool, Jesus does not hesitate. Jesus commands him to rise, pick up his mat and walk. The man is no longer the one picked over, the one ignored, the one unseen. The sick man encounters Jesus and is healed by his word.

Jesus approaches us in the same way that he encountered the sick man by the pool of Bethesda in today’s Gospel. He meets us in our need, where we are, no matter our station in life. He does not leave us on the outside looking in, he does not leave us wondering if we are loved or if we belong. He comes close and if we are willing, to forgive, heal, and empower us to be about the mission given to us by his Father. Jesus gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Each and every one of us is a gift from God, a beloved daughter or son, and we have been graced with something to contribute, something unique to help make the kingdom of God a reality.

May we enter a place of silence and stillness, without and within. Breathe intentional and slow, settle into a rhytm with no or little distractions, breathe in deep and exhale a few times more, one deep breath for each person of the Trinity, and then close our eyes. How do we see ourselves in our present moment, what is happening, what are we experiencing? As we take a few more breathes, notice Jesus walking toward us.

Jesus is present, right here and right now, for each of us if we are willing to be still long enough to engage with him. There are no boundaries, no limitations, only those we impose on ourselves. We are no longer misunderstood, left out, or picked last. Jesus has come close to be with us in this moment, to embrace us, and help us to really know that we are loved, heard, and we belong in the kingdom of God.

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Painting:”Do you want to be well?” If yes, then continue to breathe, receive, rest, and abide in God’s love.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Jesus has come to heal and help to transform our minds and our hearts.

We hear often in the Gospels how those who believed in Jesus received healings, exorcisms, and were forgiven of their sins. We have also read accounts such as from the Gospel of Matthew that he “did not work many mighty deeds” in Nazareth “because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:58).

In today’s Gospel account from John, Jesus speaks to a royal official whose son is close to death. Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left (Jn 4:50). On his way home to his son the man is met by the slaves from his household and they told him that his son would live and when they compared notes, they realized the healing occurred at the moment Jesus spoke and the man believed.

What do faith and belief have to do with Jesus being active in our lives? The way of the Gospel, the good news, is all about invitation and acceptance. Jesus enters our world, our reality, and he comes to each one of us intentionally, gently, and humbly. He came as a poor infant, completely dependent on Mary and Joseph for his very survival. He lived the majority of his life in the obscure village of Nazareth most likely working as a day laborer. When he began his public ministry he did so by inviting people to be a part of his life, to enter into a relationship with him and his Father. People are free to say, “no”, or to say, “yes”, to that invitation.

Faith is trusting that what Jesus says, is true, and that he is who he says he is. Belief is the act of our will that aligns with our faith, our trust in him. Jesus invited the man to believe that his son was healed and the man believed. He walked away with full confidence that his son would be healed. Belief is followed by an affirmative act of the will. I can believe my car will run, but unless I get in it and turn the key, I am not going anywhere.

This miracle was not just for the man and his son. As with each miracle, Jesus is teaching a lesson to those present. The preliminary statement to the people of Galilee is, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe” (John 4:48). This was a challenge to the man and to those present. The father believed Jesus and went on his way. Did the people who were seeking signs believe as the father did? Because this father did, his son was healed.

Jesus is fully human and fully divine. He has come to show us the promise of the life his and our Father wants to give to us. Jesus, the first born of the new creation, is collaborating with his Father: “To set right a world that has gone wrong” (Barron, 92). Jesus comes into our lives each day to show us a new way, a better way. Are we willing to let go of our defense mechanisms, our comfort zones, stepping out of daily survival mode and instead walk the path of this new way with Jesus? Do we believe, as did this man seeking a healing for his son?

Just as the sun rises each day, Jesus comes to us to set our minds and our hearts on the right path, toward our forgiveness, healing, and freedom. Just as Jesus was present for this man and his son, he is present to each of us as our divine healer, teacher, and savior. We experience that truth the more we believe in and choose to seek his help and guidance with each thought, word, and deed and in every situation. May we trust in Jesus with everything, may we thank him for everything, and when we sin, let us seek his forgiveness and begin again.

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Painting: Jesus meets us where we are and as we are to provide healing for ourselves and those we intercede for.

Barron, Bishop Robert. Lenten Gospel Reflections. Word on Fire, 2020.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 16, 2026

Are we willing to stay with Jesus as did the woman at the well and the man born blind?

As with last week, when the Samaritan women encounters Jesus, we again see this week an account of a transformation with the man born blind from birth. In both cases, neither are seeking Jesus or a healing, Jesus waits for the woman at the well and sees the man as he “passed by”. Both are open to encounter Jesus and are willing to be led by him. For the man born blind, Jesus, 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” (Jn 9:6-7).

To us, this would appear to be a bizarre way to heal. Imagine going into the optometrist and as he is checking an eye ailment and he says wait a minute, I have just what you need. He takes out bowl of dirt, spits profusely and begins to make some mud. How long are you going to remain in the chair? 

In Jewish tradition, and found recorded in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the account was that God when forming Adam out of the earth, also spit into the earth. The moisture needed to kneed the dry earth. Those knowing this account would have understood what Jesus was doing here. He was acting as God did in the creation of the first man. He was forming a new man, to be part of a new creation (Pitre).  

Jesus also helps our modern sensibilities by asking the man to wash his face in the “Pool of Siloam”, he was healed and his sight was restored. He then returned to his neighbors and they noticed that not only was he no longer begging but that he could see. They then asked him how this came to be and the man shared about his encounter with this man who healed him. Because of this miracle, they then brought him before the Pharisees.

Because this healing happened on the Sabbath, they wanted to understand what had happened with this man and although the man did not name Jesus, because he did not know who he was, the Pharisees suspected if not outright knew. This was not the first healing on the Sabbath. Some were hoping to gather information to make a case against Jesus. Unfortunately for them, this man would only share that Jesus healed him, confirm that he was born blind, and wonderfully the man asked if they would like to be Jesus’ disciples!

When he was thrown out by the Pharisees. Now ostracized for being healed and telling the truth, he was alone. Jesus came to him again, and as the conversation deepened, as with the woman at the well, his faith as with her’s grew. He first believed Jesus to be just a man, then he presented him as a prophet, and came to believe that he was sent by God, he was the Son of Man, and finally proclaimed him as Lord!

Would that we could have the same healing of our spiritual blindness as the man did with his physical that opened him up to his spiritual healing, such that we could see the depth of our own hunger deep within for God and the needs of those around us. Are we able to see Jesus as this man born blind or do we see him as some of the Pharisees, in a distorted way based on our own places within ourselves that are wounded and/or hardened and callused?

Allowing Jesus to come close will help us to regain a greater appreciation for him and each other. We will recognize how fragile our lives really are when we let down our guard, and place our trust not in our own self-reliance, but in Jesus. In facing our fears, even of death, resisting to run away or deny the fear, but instead embrace our feasr with Jesus, we will come out on the other side freed from those feats and appreciating the gift of our humanity. 

In allowing ourselves to encounter Jesus, may we be willing to allow him to remind us of who and whose we are. We are beloved daughters and sons, baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We belong to our loving God and Father. This is the foundational truth of our identity. Nothing can shake that truth as long as we allow ourselves to savor and allow that reality to move from our minds, to our hearts, and acknowledge it in the very depth of our souls. This truth helps us to realize that death does not have the final answer and we need not fear even death. 

The man born blind was grateful for the gift of receiving his sight, so much so that he came to believe and worship the one who healed him. When we allow ourselves some time with Jesus, may we grow more deeply committed to living as his disciple, be freed from our fears, and experience the love of God in such a way that we know him and breathe, receive, rest, and abide in who we are. 

Photo: Jesus is the light of the world and whoever follows him will have the light of life.

Pitre, Brant. Mass Readings Explained Year A, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 15, 2026

Resist justifying or denying and instead confess our sins and we will experience God’s forgiveness, heal, and grow in his love.

It is much easier to find fault in others, and in some cases, the act of doing so has become entertainment in the private as well as the public sector. Gossip has a seductive allure and can be consuming. Judging others is also a way to justify and or project our own inappropriate behavior onto others. We may even place ourselves in a false sense of exalted pride. Have we ever, not just stated, but, thought or prayed something along the same lines as the Pharisee in today’s Gospel? “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income…” (Lk 18:11-12).

To pray any part of this prayer stunts the growth in our spiritual life because we are focused on ourselves instead of emptying ourselves before God. A hyper sense of self reliance leads us away from the truth they we are dependent on God our Father for anything and everything and apart from him we can do nothing. Anytime we rationalize, cover over, deny, or completely ignore our sinful behavior we create and support habits of selfishness and feed our selfishness. Left unchecked, we can become enslaved to them. Lent is a time to pause and ponder, to be grateful for God’s love and his care, and also to give ourselves time to be aware of where we fall short of the glory of God. When we are willing to identify and confess our sins, we are forgiven and can begin to heal from sinful attitudes and actions that have become habitual vices.

In reading more lives of the saints, I have come to understand that their recognition and their confession of their sinfulness was not just pious platitudes, but true presentations that they were growing closer in their relationship with Jesus. The closer we grow in our relationship with Jesus the more we experience his light and love, which unveils more of our sins.

When we drive our car while it is dark we don’t give much thought to the cleanliness of our windshield because we can see fine. Yet as the headlights from an oncoming car illuminate our windshield we can see how dirty in actuality it is. This can be evident in our spiritual life as well. The more we remain in our own darkness of denial, self righteousness, resist slowing down to examine our conscience, we feel we are fine, all is right with the world. If we experience any problems, it is because of something or someone else, never us. The closer we grow in our relationship with Jesus though, the more his light shines in our darkness, and reveals to us our sin.

Jesus invites us to resist the prayer of the Pharisee who prays comparing himself to someone else, who refuses to acknowledge his own sinful actions and instead emphasizes that we are to follow the honest humility of the tax collector, who did “not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner’” (Lk 18:13). Now, Jesus is not saying this is the only way we pray. We have the opportunity to worship and praise the Lord joyfully, we can seek his help in praying for others through intercessory prayer or for ourselves in petitionary prayer, we can also sit in quiet meditation during adoration or out among God’s wonder of creation and experience deep consolation.

Each prayer has its time and place and each type of experience of prayer helps us to grow and deepen our relationship with Jesus and each other. The key to each of our prayers is our willingness to be the humble children we are and lift up of our hearts and minds to God who is always inviting us to spend time with him.

True humility happens when we are willing to see who we are from God’s loving gaze. If we are to set a standard to live up to and if we are to compare ourselves to anyone, let it be Jesus. A daily examination of conscience of allowing ourselves to rest in our Father’s loving gaze is a healthy practice and discipline. When we invite Jesus to shine his light of love into the darkness of our fear and anxiety, our loneliness and idols, we will see our sins. Jesus does not do so to shame and condemn us, but so that we can experience our sorrow and separation from God that sin causes.

As we experience our loneliness, pain, and wounds, and resist putting anyone or anything else before God to compensate for what we are feeling, we can feel his love and begin to realize that we are not alone, that we never have been alone. And that the only one who can fill our deepest longings is God. With this attitude, temptations and sins became opportunities for God’s grace, because we can now see clearer our life without Jesus and our life with him. Each time we choose Jesus over our temptations, we will experience him more, know him better, grow in our relationship with his Father, and experience the love shared between them, the Holy Spirit.

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Photo: Spending time with Jesus, helps us to slow down, then we can follow him as he leads us from the darkness our sins so that we may experience the light of his love.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, March 14, 2026