16/03/2026
2026 March 15
SUNDAY â LENT 04, YEAR A /// LAETARE SUNDAY
1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a// Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6// Eph 5:8-14// GOSPEL = Jn 9:1-41 or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38. âSurely we are not also BLIND, are we?â
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.His disciples asked him, âRabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?âJesus answered, âNeither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.Night is coming when no one can work.While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.âWhen he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him,âGo wash in the Pool of Siloamââwhich means Sentâ.So he went and washed, and came back able to see.His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, âIsnât this the one who used to sit and beg?âSome said, âIt is,â but others said, âNo, he just looks like him.âHe said, âI am.âSo they said to him, âHow were your eyes opened?âHe replied, âThe man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, âGo to Siloam and wash.âSo I went there and washed and was able to see.âAnd they said to him, âWhere is he?âHe said, âI donât know.âThey brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.He said to them, âHe put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.âSo some of the Pharisees said, âThis man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.âBut others said, âHow can a sinful man do such signs?âAnd there was a division among them.So they said to the blind man again, âWhat do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?âHe said, âHe is a prophet.âNow the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.They asked them, âIs this your son, who you say was born blind?How does he now see?âHis parents answered and said, âWe know that this is our son and that he was born blind.We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes.Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.âHis parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue.For this reason his parents said, âHe is of age; question him.âSo a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, âGive God the praise!We know that this man is a sinner.âHe replied, âIf he is a sinner, I do not know.One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.âSo they said to him, âWhat did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?âHe answered them, âI told you already and you did not listen.Why do you want to hear it again?Do you want to become his disciples, too?âThey ridiculed him and said, âYou are that manâs disciple; we are disciples of Moses!We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.âThe man answered and said to them, âThis is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.âThey answered and said to him, âYou were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?âThen they threw him out.When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, âDo you believe in the Son of Man?âHe answered and said, âWho is he, sir, that I may believe in him?âJesus said to him, âYou have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.âHe said, âI do believe, Lord,â and he worshiped him.Then Jesus said, âI came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.âSome of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, âSurely we are not also blind, are we?âJesus said to them, âIf you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, âWe see,â so your sin remains.
ESSENCE OF GODâS WORD
đWISDOM OF THE CHURCH FATHERS
01. SILOAM IS THE TYPE OF JESUS, AND OF THE BAPTISM HE BRINGS. The Flemish Jesuit Biblicist Cornelius aâ Lapide (+AD 1637) made the following notes: âBut why did Christ send the blind man to this particular pool? *(1.) Because it was a type of Himself, who was sent into the world, to enlighten it. (See S. Chrysostom and S. IrenĂŠus, iv19.) *(2.) Because Christ was meek and gentle like its waters, and because He was secretly and silently sent forth by the Father, as G_D in heaven, and on earth by His birth from the Virgin. He is also, like Siloam, a fountain of water, âspringing up into eternal life.â *(3.) He is the Fount of graces, who distributes His gifts to the faithful by channels. (See Isaiah 12:3, and Zechariah 13:1) And Isaiah , who was an express type of Christ both in his life and martyrdom, caused this pool to be built. *(4.) Solomon was anointed to be king near the spot. Hence the waters of Siloam signify the royal race of David. And Christ sent the blind man there to show that He was the Son of David. *(5.) He sent the blind man to Siloam to recall the prophecy of Jacob ( Genesis 49:10), as indicating that he was the messenger and ambassador sent from the Father. *(6.) Siloam was the type of Christian Baptism, whereby we are spiritually enlightenedâŠâ
02. TWOFOLD GRACES TO THE MAN. St Cyril of Alexandria (+AD 444) said: âThe benefit which the man formerly blind had received from Christ appears to have been twofold: his understanding was in some way enlightened at the same time as his bodily eyes, and as he possesses the, light of the physical sun in his fleshly eyes, so the intellectual beam, I mean the illumination by the Spirit, takes up its abode within him, and he receives it into his heart.â
đđđGOSPEL FOCUS
The miracle of Jesus giving sight to the man born blind has more than what we can read about in the story. First, people associated the blindness of the man to his sinfulness, or to that of his parents. Second, Jesus contrasted the manâs recovery of physical sight⊠to the Phariseesâ inability to âseeâ inspite of their good physical eyes! Sight here therefore symbolises the gift of True Faith in Jesus, which may be obstructed by personal sin, and ancestral sin⊠something that is washed away by Baptism. Sight as the Gift of True Faith in Jesus, as in the case of the unbelieving Pharisees and Jewish leaders, can also be rendered blind by pride and obstinacy. But the Pharisees remarked â âSurely we are not also B-L-I-N-D, are we?â
In what ways can we be indeed B-L-I-N-D?
> B = Biological inability to see. In Hebrew biblical thought, this physical blindness is devastating, unnatural deviation from G_Dâs creation⊠hence it attracts G_Dâs care and compassion.
> L = Legalism. The law is a guide, a pedagogue for social order. However, we must also circumstances of people that call for compassion.
> I = Intentional inability to see. Refusal to see the way of light is a harder condition to cure! It is a denial, many times, of truth and reason.
> N = Need for new spiritual vision. Even among spiritual and religious people⊠traditions and dogmatism can imprison their life of faith. Hence the need to always examine and profound our spiritual visions.
> D = Darkness. We must constantly see if our thoughts and actions are also being drowned by the negativity of anger, bias, revenge, personal ambitions.
EPICLESIS FOR PEACE
= IN THE MIDDLE EAST & THE WORLD
= FOR THE PHILIPPINES. *For Deliverance from Natural Calamities of Earthquakes, Storms and Floodings, Volcanic Eruptions⊠*For Deliverance from Human-made Evils of Corruption and De-stabilization.
ug nag-ampo ko nga ablihan sa Diyos ang iyang kasingkasing ug pauswagon ang iyang makaluluoy nga kahimtang sa kinabuhi ug hatagan siya og kusog sa pagtrabaho og maayo aron makakita og trabaho aron bisan gibiyaan siya sa iyang asawa, ang iyang mga anak anaa gihapon aron suportahan niya pinaagi sa iyang kaugalingong paningkamot ug dili na siya kinahanglan nga mosalig sa iyang inahan nga luya ug tigulang na ug tinuod nga makatabang siya sa iyang mga igsoon labi na karon nga gikinahanglan ang iyang tabang.
Sa ngalan sa Amahan ug sa Anak ug sa Espiritu Santo
