The Gospel according to St. John 9: 1-41
(Text readings for R.C.I.A. Scrutinies are from the New American Bible, Catholic Edition)

John 9:1-41

How this story is one where Jesus reaches out to one who is judged harshly as one who sinned, therefore, he was born blind.  How often does the world system judge people who have problems as if they were justly being judged by God, and therefore, we ought to also judge them harshly as those that are justly judged by God.
Jesus shows us the real Sacred Heart of God -- Dives in misericordia.  Jesus is rich in Mercy...

1 As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

There was, and still remains, a feeling with many people that when people are afflicted and suffering they must have done something to incur the wrath of a vengeful "god." That is, there must be something they did or did not do to bring this calamity upon them.

I have experienced this too, when I experienced various hardships in the past. Someone very close to me asked me, "Ron, what have you done... there just seems to be so much happening to you for it not to be so?" I want to assure the readers that it is not always what we do that brings calamity to us. Listen to Jesus lay this truth out for us.

3 Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.

Often, the trials of life come upon us in order to bring us closer to God.
This is what happened to me, my beloved.   When I converted and became a Roman Catholic, Jesus brought me closer to the Father through all the trials. I can truly say, that all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to God’s purpose. (Romans 8:28).
Jesus sees and turns aside to help us, not criticize us.

4 We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

There is a work to be done. Jesus does it. The night is coming, but, there will be a resurrection day for him, and, therefore, all of us... that we may work his works in the world.

6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes,
7 and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

Glorious day!
Do you see? Has Jesus touched your eyes that you might tell others where you were sent?
We are sent to be sent to proclaim the Gospel (the Good News) to all who will hear and believe. Are we living that others may see? We need say very little actually. Our actions always speak much much louder than our words.

8 His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn‘t this the one who used to sit and beg?"
9 Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am."
10 So they said to him, "(So) how were your eyes opened?"
11 He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see."

Sometimes, he sends us to people who really do not want to know the truth, yet, he sends us. We may be persecuted for what we have seen, having been sent.
We may have difficulty is telling others. Yet, we live out the newness of life, because we have been washed in the Water of Life.

12 And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don‘t know."
13 They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
14 Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
15 So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."

How simple the Gospel message is, my beloved catechumens and candidates, cradle Catholics and converts!
He washes us and we see. We come to him when we come into the Church he has built on Peter. We become his followers.
Yet, there are those who are engaged in doubt. They will try to make you doubt the reality of your Holy Catholic Apostolic Faith.

16 So some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath." (But) others said, "How can a sinful man do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
17 So they said to the blind man again, "What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

For the one who was blind, he now sees that Jesus is a "prophet." Yes, he is a prophet, but, my beloved, he is greater than a mere prophet. He is Immanuel, God with us.
Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah (Christ), the One promised by God to save his people from their sins.
Yet, the once blind man only saw what he could at the time.
God would not leave him with a clouded view... nor will God leave you with a clouded view of Jesus. We have the Church to teach us. Listen to your Mother, for Mary always leads us to her Son, Jesus, and as at Cana of Galilee, where Jesus was heading last week through Sychar, Mary calls us all to do whatever he tells us to do. We will not be forsaken, ever!

18 Now 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.
19 They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?"
20 His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
21 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 him self."
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue.
23 For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him."
24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner."
25 He replied, "If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see."
26 So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
27 He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
28 They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses!
29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from."
30 The man answered and said to them, "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
32 It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything."
34 They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out.

There must be a time when our Faith is no longer the Faith of our mothers and our fathers, sisters or brothers! Our Faith must become confirmed and personalized. It must be a Faith of our own rooted in God's words. The Faith of our Fathers must become one that is embodied in our Lord and Savior and his Church. How else may we say this?
Jesus and his Church must become reality to us internally and personally.
Then, the faith we have becomes integrated with our Baptism and Confirmation. The Sacraments become reality in the very heart of our being, because we possess a new creation of God and not of ourselves. We have the Treasure (Jesus) in the earthen vessels to show us the transcendent power is of God and not of ourselves. Our blessed Mother, Mary, understood the Holy One she carried. How holy she was as our Immaculata!

35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
36 He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he."
38 He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.

How precious it is when Jesus reveals himself to us.
Jesus, the Son of Man... truly Divine, truly Human (perfectus Deus, perfectus Homo)

39 Then Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind."
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?"
41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

This calls to memory the words of St. Paul to the Corinthian Church -- the wisdom of this world is foolishness with men (I Corinthians 2: 1- 16, read it!)
May God bless you in your journey that may lead you into the desert places with Mary, our Mother (Revelation 12). Let us also remember that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us no matter what our Faith costs us!



Deus et Sanctissima.