“YOU HAVE SEEN HIM, THE ONE SPEAKING WITH YOU IS HE.” JN 9:1-41

Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary.

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, 
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned; 
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he 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” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, 
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, “
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again, 
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”

Now the Jews did not believe 
that he had been blind and gained his sight 
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said, 
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, 
for the Jews had already agreed 
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”

So a second time they called the man who had been blind 
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said, 
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses, 
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing, 
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners, 
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said, 
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment, 
so that those who do not see might see, 
and those who do see might become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this 
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin; 
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains. JN 9:1-41

Jesus reveals Himself last weekend to the Samaritan woman and this week to the blind man.  He is not just revealing Himself to the people in these Gospels, but to us today.  We have a sinful past and we are blind.  
“Not as man sees does God see, 
because man sees the appearance 
but the LORD looks into the heart.” 1 Sam 16:6-7

Jesus reveals Himself as the Light of the world.  The blind man has been living in darkness, but with light we can see things. There is no such thing as darkness, only an absence of light.  We choose to let Christ’s light into our hearts each day and live with Him or be selfish and choose our own path. He died with arms open and head bent to kiss us welcoming us to His love and forgiveness every day.  His side gushes forth with an ocean of mercy.

It’s interesting how we like to stay in the darkness like the people of today’s Gospel.  Even when we can see very clearly that Jesus is the Light, we choose to stay in our sin, we choose to be selfish.  Why? Jesus asks us to do something that is very hard.  Change.  If we want to follow Christ, “we must deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow Him”.  We must worship “God or mammon”, we cannot love God and material things.  The rich young man went away sad because He had many material possessions.

Since light makes everything clear, if we bring ourselves to Jesus at the beginning of each day, He makes things clear for us.  He helps us set our priorities.  It is easy to get distracted, we need the Light, Jesus, to give us clarity.  The world or culture we live in glorifies sex, physical beauty, violence, being in a specific group or no group at all, music that glorifies these things, wealth, and popularity. As a young person, this makes things look blurry as you are trying to figure out your identity.  

Come to Jesus for clarity, there are daily situations that make us unsure as young people and adults.  God created us and knows us better than we know ourselves, He wants us to know His will and wants us to see clearly with the Light of the world whom He sent to die for us, Jesus.  

Invite Jesus into your morning with prayer so you can see clearly throughout the day. Invite Him into every situation throughout the day.  Invite Mary into your day, ask for her intercession in your daily rosary (this defeats the Devil every time and makes things clear).  Invite the Holy Spirit into your life to guide you with wisdom, knowledge, fortitude, piety, fear of the Lord, understanding, and counsel.  

Today, Jesus invites you and me to be with Him in the Light and to stop living in the darkness of our sins.  Lent is a time to come to the Light and rid the darkness from our lives preparing ourselves for the eternal Light, heaven.  

Today’s challenge: Rise each morning asking Jesus to help you see clearly. Listen to the Light and stop listening to the darkness of our culture caught up in our electronic devices.  There is so much more happiness and clarity in the Scriptures and with people God has put around you to teach you about the Light.  Jesus invites you today to come to the Light!!!!  Be not afraid, be tough, and fight to change.

Read article on Near Death Experiences of the Blind, possible proof of an after life, https://magiscenter.com/dr-kenneth-rings-studies-of-the-blind/

Be a servant, become a saint!
​#Christian YOLO