Laetare Sunday

[1Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13; Psalm 22; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41]

NB- Year A readings are used here because the Second scrutiny will take place at St Bede’s this Sunday.

Our readings today speak of light, of seeing and of blindness. In the first reading we hear that man does not see as God sees; when Samuel mistakenly thought that Eliab was being called to kingship instead of his youngest brother David. In the second reading we are reminded that once we were in darkness, but our Baptism brought us into the light. Through the Eucharist Christ gives us light, allowing us to take this light and shine it into the darkness of the world; hopefully bringing more people to Christ. The line in the second reading “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” sums up this link between Baptism, light and the Paschal mystery succinctly.

In the Preface used alongside these readings we hear “By the mystery of the Incarnation, he has led the human race that walked in darkness, into the radiance of faith, and has brought those born in slavery to ancient sin, through the waters of regeneration to make them your adopted children.” This illumination, begun in baptism, is enhanced each time we receive the Eucharist, a point underscored by the words of the blind man taken up in the Communion Antiphon: “The Lord anointed my eyes: I went, I washed, I saw and believed in God.“[1]

If we look at the Gospel, we notice that the more the blind man sees, the more difficult it is for the Pharisees to accept what they have seen. The cured man begins by describing his healer as “the man Jesus“; then he professes that he is a prophet; and by the end of the passage he proclaims, “I do believe, Lord” and worships Jesus. The Pharisees, for their part, become increasingly more blind: they begin by admitting that the miracle took place, then come to deny that it was a miracle, and finally expel the cured man from the synagogue. Throughout the narrative, the Pharisees continue to profess confidently what they know, while the blind man continually admits his ignorance. The Gospel ends with a warning by Jesus, that his coming has created a crisis; in the literal meaning of that word, a judgment: he gives sight to the blind, but those who see become blind. In response to the Pharisees’ objection, he says: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your blindness remains.”

Sometimes it is difficult for us to see what is in front of us. I have lost count of the number of times I have looked for something at home and asked for help only to be told the object I had searched for was ‘right in front of me’. How the Pharisees must have struggled, as Holy men they were waiting for the Messiah, they were responsible for helping to keep the people hungry for his coming. But Jesus did not fit their image of what the Messiah would look like, He was from the wrong town, He did not stick to their rules, He pointed out their hypocrisy. Their bias blinded them; which blind spots do we have?

Do we have images of perfection that we fail to live up to, that stop us from seeing Jesus in our lives or that stop us from accepting the love and forgiveness of Jesus in our lives?

Jesus offers to free us from our blindness. He is calling each of us to Him and asking those of us who believe, to recognise Him as our Saviour and to bear witness to Him in the same faith as the man who was cured of blindness. He recognised and bore witness to Jesus as a prophet, even though he had never seen Jesus.

In the first reading we hear that “the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward.” It is the same for us when we are baptised or confirmed or ordained. The Holy Spirit comes upon us and fills us, energising our gifts and charisms. However, as humans we are not perfect vessels, we leak; that is why we need to be topped up continuously through the other Sacraments. The graces we receive through the Sacraments of Reconciliation, the Eucharist and Sacrament of the Sick refill us with the Holy Spirit. The more frequently we receive these Sacraments, the less likely we are ‘to leak’ as we become closer to Jesus.

For me, I leak, when my prayer life feels dry or like going through the motions. These are times when I realise I need to spend some more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, looking towards Jesus and recognising that Jesus is looking towards me. If that is not possible I will think of hymns which I find uplifting and maybe play them as I drive.

As we rejoice that we have two people in our Parish; and many thousands of others throughout the world who wish to join the Church at this time. I would like to encourage us all to pray for those who are joining the Church this Easter, ask the Lord for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on them and on us. Help those journeying towards becoming full members of the Church to feel the love we have for them and the love that Jesus has for them. We also pray for the Catechists who are preparing them and their Sponsors, remembering that they do this work on behalf of us, The Body of Christ.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Fourth Sunday of Lent

CCC 280, 529, 748, 1165, 2466, 2715: Christ the light of the nations
CCC 439, 496, 559, 2616: Jesus is the Son of David
CCC 1216: baptism is illumination
CCC 782, 1243, 2105: Christians are to be light of the world

Please keep in your prayers this week

  • The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
  • Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
  • The continued fight to protect all life from conception until natural death.
  • Fr John Chadwick, who is ill at this time.
  • Polly and Audrey who will undergo the second scrutiny at St Bede’s this weekend.
  • On Mothering Sunday, we remember all mothers, especially those no longer with us and those who have lost their children.

Deacon Tony, 29th March 2025

[1]Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Homiletic Directory of the Catholic Church,[Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Rome, 2015] available from Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments accessed 29th March 2025.