Blind But Now I See (2026-03-15, Lent 4th Sunday / Parade / Novena)

🎧 [Listen to Sat 5:30 pm March 14 Homily: Audio]

📺 [Watch Sat 5:30 pm March 14 Mass: YouTube Video]

*** Play 9:30 am Mass March 15 pre-Parade Mass Livestream ***

[v.4]  2026-March-15 – Sat. 5:30 pm (Novena) 4th Sunday Lent    ●● 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a ●● Psalm 23 ●● Ephesians 5:8-14 ●●  John 9:1-41 ●●   

During these middle Sundays of Lent, we hear three Gospel readings that depart from the usual pattern. This is the Year of Matthew, but on these Sundays the Church gives us three important passages from the Gospel of John.

Last week we heard John chapter 4, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.
This week we hear John chapter 9, the healing of the man born blind.
Next week we will hear John chapter 11, the raising of Lazarus.

Each of these Gospels invites us to see more clearly who Jesus is.

Last week Jesus was in Samaria, in the northern region of Israel, speaking with people who were often looked down upon by those closer to Jerusalem. Now, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is in Jerusalem itself. And there is a serious debate among the religious leaders about the man who has been healed of blindness.

The disciples begin with a question that people still ask today.

They ask Jesus:
“Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

In other words: Who is to blame?

The disciples assume that suffering must be a punishment for sin. But Jesus rejects that idea completely.

He says:

“Neither he nor his parents sinned. It is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.”

Jesus is teaching us something very important. Suffering and difficulty are not always punishments. Sometimes they become the place where God’s grace becomes visible.

In a surprising way, Jesus is saying that there can even be an advantage to blindness.

An advantage to not seeing everything perfectly.

An advantage to not knowing exactly what will happen next.

If we knew every difficulty that would come in the future, we might never take the first step.

If a couple knew every challenge that marriage would bring, they might hesitate before saying “I do.”

If parents knew every worry that comes with raising children, they might be afraid to begin.

Sometimes people hesitate to retire because they do not know what the next stage of life will look like. Others hesitate to change jobs because they cannot see clearly what lies ahead.

In a certain sense, not knowing everything can be a gift.

Because if we knew every difficulty ahead of time, we might never move forward.

Faith often means trusting even when we cannot see the whole picture.

Or to put it another way:

God rarely shows us the whole road. He gives us light for the next step.

[St. Joseph Novena]  We see this very clearly in the life of Saint Joseph.

Joseph faced a moment of deep confusion when he discovered that Mary was with child. From a human perspective everything seemed wrong.

But God spoke to Joseph in dreams.

One dream told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife.
Another dream warned him to take the child Jesus and flee to Egypt.
Later he was told it was safe to return.
And finally he was guided to settle in Nazareth.

Joseph never saw the whole plan at once.

Each dream was simply a little light for the next step.

And Joseph trusted that light.

[St. Patrick's Parade Mass]  

We see this very clearly in the life of Saint Patrick, whose feast we celebrate this week.

Patrick had been kidnapped as a teenager and taken to Ireland as a slave. For years he lived in isolation, tending sheep far from home.

During that difficult time Patrick began to pray deeply, and his faith grew stronger.

Eventually he escaped and returned home. But later he experienced a vision in which he heard the voices of the Irish people calling him back.

Think about that for a moment.

The very place where he had suffered was now the place where God was calling him to serve.

Patrick could not see the whole plan. He did not know what the future would hold. But he trusted the light that God gave him.

He returned to Ireland as a missionary.

Churches and monasteries were founded, and those monasteries became centers of prayer and learning.

At a time when much of Europe was falling into disorder, Irish monks were copying books and preserving knowledge for future generations.

From Patrick’s darkness came a light that spread far beyond Ireland.

Once again we see the same pattern:

God rarely shows us the whole road. He gives us light for the next step.

God often works in the same way in our lives.

He rarely gives us the whole map.

Instead, he gives us enough light to take the next faithful step.

Many years ago I experienced something like that in a very small way.

When I was about seventeen years old, I had a part-time job umpiring Little League baseball games.

It was not exactly a major league assignment. I certainly did not go through a long training program or a rigorous interview process.

But I found myself standing behind home plate calling balls and strikes. And since I was getting paid a little bit, I suppose I was accountable.

During one of my first games, there was a very unhappy parent in the stands who was loudly criticizing my ability to see the strike zone.

Apparently he did not think my vision was very good.

As a 17-year-old umpire, that made me pretty nervous.

But standing behind the backstop was a friend of my father’s who quietly supported me. He did not say much. At one point he simply rolled his eyes in a way that let me know he understood what was happening.

It was a small gesture, but it meant a lot.

In that moment I felt less alone.

Sometimes God works like that in our lives.

In moments when we feel unsure, when we feel criticized, when we feel like we cannot see clearly, God gives us small signs of encouragement.

A supportive friend.
A quiet word.
A moment of reassurance.

A little light for the next step.

The man born blind in today’s Gospel eventually says something very simple and very powerful:

“I was blind, and now I see.”

Those words may sound familiar because they are echoed in the hymn Amazing Grace, where we sing:

“I once was lost, but now am found;
was blind, but now I see.”

That hymn reminds us that it is God’s grace that saves us and sets us free, opening our eyes so that we can see the presence of Christ in our lives.

That is the journey of faith for every Christian.

We do not always see clearly at the beginning. But as we walk with Christ, our vision slowly changes.

So during this season of Lent, we ask the Lord to open our eyes.

And we remember this simple truth:

God rarely shows us the whole road. He gives us light for the next step.

And if we trust this light, Christ will lead us forward.