Monday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
“Lord, please let me see.”
The blind man in today’s gospel story was not only cured of his blindness but, more importantly, he allowed himself to be enlightened by Jesus. Blindness in the Bible is very often a symbol of spiritual blindness. It is the incapacity to see what is really the case; the inability to take in what truly matters; the incapacity to see “the big picture.” (Robert Barron) People who do not realize the plan and will of God, people who divert from the ways of the Lord, people who do not recognize their own sinfulness… are considered and called spiritually blind.
Bishop Robert Barron says that the spiritual problem today is that most people are blind but they do not know it. They are spiritually blind but they act as if they can see. They focus on worldly goods: wealth, power, honor, prestige, pleasure. They do not see how blind they are to truly important things: participating in God’s life, living in grace, giving one’s self in love. They are blind to things that give life its real meaning: knowing, accepting and doing God’s will, personally sharing in Christ’s life and mission.
Lahat naman tayo ay may kanya-kanyang uri ng pagkabulag na nararanasan. We might not be physically blind, but we could be spiritually, emotionally or psychologically blind. This blindness is manifested in our failure to see the signs of God’s love because we are focused on the negative things from within and without. It is manifested in our inability to see the needs of our neighbor because we are too preoccupied with our own needs and wants. It is manifested in our tendency to overlook the goodness of others because we are bent on finding faults in them. It is manifested in our lack of concern for our parish community because we are unwilling to leave our comfort zones.
Let us constantly pray that we may have the “eyes of faith” – that we may have insight into what will lead us to true and lasting happiness. Like the blind man in today’s gospel, may we say, with sincerity and humility: “Lord, please let me see.” So, in this Mass, let us ask the Lord for that particular grace: the grace of faith, the grace of moral insight… that we may be able to see as Jesus sees… to see what is really important in life… to see Jesus and follow Jesus. Again, may each of us be able to say with faith: “Lord, please let me see.”
Parokya ni Osong 