I Do Believe
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March 29, 2025This Fourth Sunday of Lent is also known as Laetare Sunday, a day of joy for laetare literarily means rejoice. We are at the halfway point in the season of Lent towards the celebration of Easter. We are joyful as well because this weekend is also the second Sunday of Scrutiny of the Electas they continue to prepare for the reception of the sacraments of initiation on Easter vigil.
Jesus is the light of the world. We are invited to turn from darkness to the light of truth. Our second reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians (5:8-14) reminds us not to try to take part in the works of darkness for we are children of light who are capable of producing the fruits of righteousness, goodness and truth. In the Gospel, John(9:1-41) presents the account of the healing of the man born blind who was taken out from that dark void with Jesus’ command, “go and wash,” which are outward signs for that man to experience the miracle of seeing the light for the first time. But more than the healing of his blindness is the transformation of his spiritual sight. Although he was tested and ridiculed by the unbelieving authorities, he was able to see clearly who Jesus was, the true light of the world, and so he confessed his faith “I do believe, Lord.”
Whenever we deal with blindness in the Scriptures, it is not just about the condition of the physical eyes nor the quality of our vision but rather, the darkness within us. It impedes us to see the blessings around us for what we see and how we see manifest the darkness of the world within us, our fears, our doubts, our anger and our anxieties. Until we let Jesus heals our blindness, our seeing will remain just a projection of ourselves onto the world. If we wish to see God’s graces around us as they really are, then we must attend to what is going on in that world inside of us, have the courage to acknowledge the darkness and let the light of Jesus shine through and heal that part that impaired our vision.
On this second Sunday of Scrutiny, let us continue to pray for our Elect. There might be a constant struggle between light and darkness, between seeing the world as it is and seeing the world as a projection of the world within,however, embracing the faith means allowing the healing touch of Jesus dispel that darkness within so that the beauty of our Christian faith may clearly be seen. Having the courage to say the same words of the healed blind man“I do believe, Lord” also means being ready to encounter ridicule and rejection and faith being tested.
This Lenten season, we intensify the light we received when we were baptized, journeying with the Elect as they are being guided to receive some degree of the same enlightenment. We know that we do still need to grow on God’s truth, to have our own darkness and blindness be revealed and receive healing from Jesus. And together,whether baptized or getting ready to be baptized, we confessed the same truth, “One thing I do know is that I was blind but now I see.” (John 9:25)