John 9, 1- 41

        We have microscopes to see tiny objects and telescopes to see distant bodies, but often we don’t see those closest to us. A priest friend had a health crisis that nearly cost his life. I heard about it late and felt bad I wasn’t there to support him. I tried to make up as much as I could, but from the incident I learned the irony: I know the troubles of many people but about my close friend, I know nothing.

        We live in strange times. We know more about celebrities and our idols than we do about our next-door neighbors, friends or family members. St. Theresa of Calcutta says, “I think the world today is upside down. We have no time for our children, we have no time for each other; there is no time to enjoy each other. In the home begins the disruption of peace in the world.”

        Isn’t it terrible to not see those close to us? But a worse form of blindness exists: our failure to see Jesus. We hear about Jesus curing a blind man. But we are like that man. We need Jesus in order to see: to see those near us – their heart, not just their appearance and above all to see the reality of who Jesus is.

        The man born blind has a lot to teach us. Initially, he only sees Jesus as a fellow human being. But when they press him, he declares, “He is a prophet.” Then, when he has a moment alone with Jesus and hears his question, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” His reply is a profession of faith, “I do believe, Lord.” In Scriptures the title, “Lord,” belongs to God himself. When the man born blind calls Jesus, “Lord,” he is making a most profound profession of faith in God.

        The blind man sees what others do not – that Jesus is God. We say in the Creed, “true God from true God…one in being with the Father.” The man born blind undergoes a progression from man to prophet, to Son of Man, to Lord, that is, the true God.

        Heavenly Father, heal our blindness, particularly our failure to see those close to us. Help us see our own family, our fellow parishioners. Help us see not just faces but the heart.

        Brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord for the sight to see those near us and to see his face in them.

        + Emmanuel Cabajar, C.Ss.R. D.D.