THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Quinquagesima Sunday 19 February 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

We are all sinners and therefore we are all blind and in need of God’s grace. Sin is a blinding influence upon our souls that interferes with our attempt at drawing near and seeing God clearly.

The apostles did not understand Jesus when He told them what was to happen when they went into Jerusalem – how He was to suffer and die. They too suffered a blindness but they tragically were not aware of their own blindness at that time. This truly is the worst kind of blindness (not being aware of not being able to see). Those who are blind and are aware of their blindness at least seek a remedy; but those who are unaware of their blindness never seek help.

The humble sinner with the grace of God discovers his blindness and cries out to God for help. The proud sinner imagines that he sees and that all is well and never asks for God’s help.

The world will do all it can to oppose the sinner’s return to God. Just as the blind man in today’s gospel was rebuked by the crowd, so likewise the world even today does all it can to keep the repentant sinner from turning to God.

Just as the blind man called out all the louder for Jesus, likewise, the sinner must call out all the louder and with greater persistence in his prayers to Jesus for help. This perseverance in prayer will cause Jesus to stop His passing by so that He can call us to Him.

This is not the time to falter or draw back in cowardice as the world would have us do. The world will be trying it’s best to keep us to itself and will pull with all its might upon us to keep us away from God. The more we feel the pressure of the world pulling us back and attempting to stop our advancing towards God the more we should cry out all the louder and persistently.

At the same time we must be very judicious in that which we beg of God. It is true that God can do all things and He can let us stumble upon worldly good fortune and success in this life. This is usually not the best for us. Worldly success usually comes at the expense of eternal happiness. It is all too true that we do not really know what is best for us, or even what is in our own best interest. Only God truly knows what is of greatest benefit for our souls.

Scripture makes it clear and easy for us when we are told to seek first the kingdom of heaven and its justice and everything else will be given us besides. It is the prayer that God’s will be done here on earth just as it is in heaven. When we give ourselves over willingly to God and ask Him to do with us whatever He wills, then we will no doubt receive all that is necessary for us to obtain our eternal reward.

We may not have luxury and comfort in this life. We most likely will be called upon by Jesus to take up our cross daily and follow Him. As long as we refuse to hear this we are blinder than the physically blind man. The blind man’s physical blindness was a blessing rather than a curse once we see that it was the occasion for him to call out to Jesus and to receive a most precious gift directly from the hand of God. Perhaps this man’s blindness prevented him from committing sins of sight for many years and now in receiving sight for the first time he is also strengthened against most of those temptations because he now realizes what a precious gift sight truly is.

We now can see that this man’s blindness was the occasion of grace for him and in this way was truly a blessing rather than a curse for him. Likewise the gift of sight was a blessing for him and an occasion of grace. It should not matter to us whatever God chooses to give us or take away from us. Whatever He does, He does for our own good and we should be pleased with it and see in it an opportunity to grow in grace and love.

May we fill the rest of our days calling out to Jesus that we may see the Truth and thus grow in grace, in light, in faith, in hope, but above all in love. In this manner we will see the vanity and emptiness of this world and long with ever greater desire for the eternal permanence of happiness in Heaven.