Today is known by the Latin title 'Laetare Sunday' which means 'to rejoice'. As we are half-way through our Lenten pilgrimage it is a good time to stop and take stock, and, yes, answer the call to rejoice! We have just celebrated the feast of Patrick. We are reminded of his deep devotion to the Gospel, and a desire to share it with the people of Ireland. With Jesus on his side, just like the Samaritan Woman and the Blind Man we meet today, Patrick did not fear anything: his focus was to preach and live the good news that Jesus shared:

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's eyes to look before me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

From all who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in a multitude…

…Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ to shield me,

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me.

I arise today.

(Shaun Davey 'The Deer's Cry' based on 'St Patrick's Breastplate).

For Patrick, Jesus formed the way to move forward in everything that he did, from waking to sleeping. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus meets a blind man—he has been blind since birth and has never had vision. We see a very earthy and all too real account of the miracle, with Jesus spitting on the dusty earth to form a paste that he rubbed into the man's eyes. After washing in the Pool of Siloam, full and unconditional sight is given to him. He can see trees, buildings, and faces of loved ones. He can look into the eyes of Jesus and see the overpowering love of God that has entered his life through this miracle. Suddenly, out of the darkness of his heart and his life, there comes a bright and shining light that takes this man out of his sorrow and pain, or whatever it happens to be, and lifts him up so that he can walk freely and become a full person and love and care and reach out.

As his sight is now fully restored, he has no need to beg—for the first time in his life, he can do things for himself. However, his friends do not understand—ironically, they fail to see the greatness of this miracle. The temple leaders and religious figures are equally blind to this obvious gift from God. It is the man born blind who schools them: they cannot see beyond their sectarian and limiting vision to see Jesus as the true prophet.

As a teacher, with degrees in theology, I strongly believe that I need to be open to the insights of others—very often they will blow my insights out of the water. Children have taught me so much about the simplicity of God's love—if we are not careful, in our search for academic greatness, we can lose sight of the reality that God so loved the world that he sent his only son into our lives. We need to listen to the wonderful insights of our little ones. Years ago I learnt a valuable lesson from a six year old who told me, with all the honesty of her age, that we should see life not just as a 'good' experience, but SERIOUSLY GOOD. We have our heroes in the Church such as Mary, Patrick, Dominic Savio, John Paul II, and Oscar Romero. We need these saints as guides and mentors, but, according to another great hero of the Church, Don Bosco we are all called to sanctity. Without a shadow of doubt, this young lady is a saint and a hero for me: her zest and energy for life is infectious and certainly captures the light of Easter joy in the darkest of times. In these times we need to look for the goodness of God in a season that might appear to be strange: the created order of God is blessed and is seriously good.

The pharisees and other religious leaders who fail to recognise Jesus. Despite their bullying and constant questioning, it is the man born blind who can recognise the glory of God in Jesus. He joins the shepherds, magi, centurion, and the Samaritan Woman at the well who see the glory of God in the humanity of Jesus. He can help us in our journey of faith, walking with the Lord in good times and bad. The man in today's gospel was totally healed, and he ended up on his knees, worshipping Jesus. A very practical and simple prayer is "Lord, that I may see." It is a short prayer, but when it comes from the depths of my heart, it is a powerful prayer. However, your Lenten journey pans out this year, I pray that you can see the 'seriously good' in life. You have all given up so much over these past few years, and I hope that you might get a hug—even from the strangest of places. Lent 2023 will take us to new places, if we allow the Spirit to guide us. Lent can be transformative if we enter into that excitement. Pope Francis urges us to use this Lent as a time to change and show some 'seriously good' love:

Love rejoices in seeing others grow Hence it suffers when others are anguished, lonely, sick, homeless, despised or in need. Love is a leap of the heart it brings us out of ourselves and creates bonds of sharing and communion. (Lenten Letter 11/11/2020)

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

Photo by Taras Chernus on Unsplash