Fourth Sunday of Lent

Blindness, darkness, sinners, blame… this story from the ninth chapter of John’s Gospel about the man born blind is fitting for today’s world as well as the time of Jesus. Walking into this scene with honesty and truth, Jesus proclaims through action and word that light will triumph; with a simple mud solution and faith, the young man born blind is healed. But rather than rejoicing in someone’s good fortune, the authorities seek to blame and fault-find.

I believe that Jesus would choose to heal all blindness, blindness of soul as well as eyes, the blindness and blame that corrupts one’s spirit. The young man was healed of physical blindness as well as spiritual blindness, recognizing the goodness of Jesus as a prophet. The parents answered the questions of the authorities with another form of blindness, fear. And the young man speaks for himself in truth and courage. The contrasts are striking… The ability to listen and hear also enters into this story but sometimes we choose not to listen. If we follow the path of discipleship, listening, seeing, hearing and speaking truth are all part of the call. Belief is strengthened when we set aside fear to follow the path of truth  

Perhaps as we ponder this reading, we might consider our own areas of blindness and the role that fear might play in perpetuating our inability to see, understand and proclaim truth and liberation with our lives. Can we display the courage of the young man who spoke for himself, who recognized Jesus as a prophet? As in the reading from 1 Samuel, we are invited to look beyond appearances and find truth in front of us in our world, to move beyond our blind spots, into the endless mystery of God’s love and healing. Our shadow work invites us to face into the darkness and find the pockets of light and goodness in ourselves, our neighbour and our world.

- Sr. Helen Russell , csj

The Prodigal Son; The Forgiving Father

As I turn the page of my missalette to the Gospel for the 4^th Sunday of Lent, my mind sighs, “Here we go again”. How many times since childhood have I read and pondered “The Prodigal Son”, an age-old parable of love, sin and forgiveness.  Turning from the son’s transgressions, these days my focus lingers on the longsuffering father who lovingly and mercifully welcomes the errant son back home. Amazingly, the father asks no questions but envelops his son in an embrace of warmth and forgiveness. I find myself asking, “When have I been a forgiving person?  When have I been forgiven?”  Ah yes – my mind settles on the forgiving mother!

When I was a little girl, my parents went to town for groceries, leaving me and my siblings at home.  They weren’t more than in the car when my sister and I began running around making noise and having fun.  Somehow, we chose the revered spare bedroom to cavort and play.  As fate would have it, I bumped into the beautiful golden hued antique lamp and sent it smashing to the floor.  Imagine my horror as I surveyed the treasured lamp now in shards.  We pondered what Mom would say when she arrived home.

Finally, the back door opened, footsteps crossed the kitchen and into the hallway.  The house was ghostly quiet.  I’ll never forget my mother’s shocked countenance as she entered the bedroom and surveyed the damage.  Not a word was said as she bent down and began to clean up the mess. the two of us sadly crouched on the floor handing her delicate fragments of gilt-edged glass.  There were no angry words, no reprimands.  I felt complete forgiveness wash over by being.  My soul was quietly restored to peace.  We had a forgiving mother. 

If my mother’s love was beneficent and merciful    how much more expansive and universal is God’s loving, healing presence as portrayed in the magnificent parable of the wayward son and his magnaimous father.

- Jean Moylan, csj

You might enjoy this lovely song by Keith Green, The Prodigal Son Suite, which tells the story of the Prodigal Son is such a loving way.

Stay the Course

I suspect that all of us, at some point in our lives, were faced with a challenge that called for a great deal of endurance and perseverance. The goal was almost within reach but the energy was faltering, self-doubts were creeping in, and the temptation to give up was increasingly gnawing at our resolve. Yet, having come so far, we felt compelled to stay the course, a little longer anyway, just in case, and we did achieve what seemed unachievable.

Could this be happening to us at this mid-point on our Lenten journey? The enthusiasm with which we undertook this soul quest on March 01 might be waning; some guilt may have set in over our perceived lack of fidelity to the spiritual practices and discipline we had embraced at the onset; calling everything off might seem the honest thing to do. Yet, we have made it to the 4^th week, by God’s grace. And just as we may be teetering between abandoning the journey or carrying on, this Sunday’s Scriptures remind us that the Lord is our shepherd, that He is there to restore our souls, to comfort us in our walking, be it through the darkest valley, and lead us with His rod and His staff to pause by restful waters.

All around us, nature has also come to a decisive moment as new life seeks to break through earth’s winter-hardened surfaces.  As a community of beings in this hemisphere, we are indeed all on a journey from death to life together, with God’s love embracing everyone and everything every step of the way, ‘weak knees’ and all.  The glory of the Resurrection is already beckoning us.

This is a time to remember that the journey is always about returning to God’s love, to the dear neighbour and to the promise of new life. This is a time to reach out to each other already on the journey, to welcome and encourage new pilgrims, and stay the course. The path is made by walking. (Antonio Machado)      

Nicole Aubé csj