V.J.E.
Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!
This Lent, we will be sharing reflections by our Sisters on Ash Wednesday and each of the Sundays of Lent. Our hope is that the fruit of our Sisters’ prayer may bless you as we journey through Lent seeking greater intimacy with Jesus each of the forty days.
This reflection, on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is written by Sr. Sara Cecilia Ferreira, HMSS.
“Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” These words from the prophet Samuel speak truth and also challenge us all this Lent. When we look at this week’s Gospel, we see a man born blind, supposedly because of his sin or the sins of his parents. The Pharisees only want to see this man’s sins and to charge Jesus of sin. Jesus sees into the heart of this man, sees the truth of his story, and heals him. Imagine if Jesus hadn’t looked at this man’s heart and only judged him with the eyes of the world. Where would he be? He would still be in the dark, but instead he approached the Lord and came into the light.
The same can be said for each one of us. Take a minute to look at your story. Where were you blind? Where did you only see yourself with the eyes of the world? Where did Jesus look into your heart, come into your life, and open your eyes? Maybe as you are praying with these questions, they come into the present. Maybe there is somewhere in your life right now where you are blind or you are only seeing yourself with the eyes of the world. Maybe you are caught up in judgments of others and allowing yourself to be defined or blinded by them. Maybe there is a sin on your heart that keeps you from fully receiving the light of His love. Today Jesus invites you to come to Him to be healed. Will you allow Him to take the clay off of your eyes so you can see the truth of who you are?
This process may seem difficult but the Psalm shows that we are not expected to do this alone. “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” The Lord is our Shepherd. He guides us, His sheep, to the pastures of healing and truth. He will give you every grace and blessing you need to come to Him and be healed. This may happen through conversation with Him in prayer or through the Sacrament of His Mercy; Confession. Regardless of how this healing comes about, when we allow Him to guide us, He gives us everything we need to step into our true identity as His sheep, as His Beloved.
In both the Psalm and the First Reading, it speaks of the chosen one being anointed with oil. Jesus wants to anoint you with oil as His chosen son or daughter. This all comes when we step into the light of His love. This week’s Gospel Acclamation says, “I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.” Will you come to Him and receive the light of life?
When a light shines, it does not just illuminate itself, but it lights up the whole room. When we see ourselves with the eyes of Jesus who looks into our hearts, we can also see others through this lens. The light of Jesus’ love shines from us into others and we can help them to come to Jesus and be healed of their blindness. It is like the light of the Easter candle that we will see in just a few short weeks. If you’ve ever been to an Easter Vigil Mass, you know the beautiful sight of the light of the Easter candle being passed through the Church, from one person to another, until the Church that was once in darkness becomes illuminated by many lights. Will you be one of those candles this Lent? Will you receive the light of life and allow your heart to be seen and healed by the Lord, and then pass on this light to the rest of the world? I pray that all of us will. God Bless You.