The opening sentence of Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, in the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, says:
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of men. United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation which is meant for every man. That is why this community realizes that it is truly linked with mankind and its history by the deepest of bonds.”[1]
Dear brethren, your health and your safety are our primary concern. In the Gospel reading of this fourth Sunday of Lent, liturgically called Laetare {Rejoice}, we are invited to see.
The people who surrounded Jesus had their eyes fixed on something else. Because of that they were divided into the following groups:
- The Disciples: they began by asking the wrong question: “Who sinned?” We may be inclined to find the culprit, the one who has brought us into this horrible situation.
- Friends of the man with visual impairments: can’t believe that the same person they knew to be blind can now see. They cannot figure out who he has become, a new creation. They do not believe that people can change. Conversion shocks them.
- The parents: kept a distant relationship with their son. “Ask him, he is old enough. They did not want to risk their faith. This man was betrayed by the most important people in his life, those closest and dearest to him.
- The Pharisees: because Jesus did this on the sabbath, they were unable to see God’s hand in what had occurred.
- Jesus: he saw a man created in the image of his father, suffering and in need of redeeming enlightenment. This is because the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of his followers.
- The man who was blind: But the man himself could see what all this meant. He not only received physical sight, but spiritual sight as well. He, at least, could see that Jesus is from God. And when Jesus meets him after he is thrown out of the synagogue, he believes that Jesus is the Messiah.
- What about us? We may recall times in our own situations in which we have been made to see differently. Those were moments of grace. This moment of uncertainty may be one of those situations into which God is asking us to acknowledge our blindness about people, and situations beyond our control that surround us. Through social distancing, Jesus has called us away from everyone else, so he can perform a personal miracle. Faced with this invisible enemy, called Covid-19 pandemic, we are invited to strengthen our bonds of friendship and solidarity. Only in solidarity with all humanity will we be able to see what God may be saying about our blindness. We are all connected. Consequently, we have responsibility for each other. God has given us a bond that cannot be broken: Prayer. Prayer of intercession unites us and strengthens us. Because we are prolife, we will respect the call to social distancing in solidarity with all humanity to protect others who may be at risk.
What can we ask for in Prayer? We must not pray to return to the past. We must pray so that we can move into the future, transformed into the kinds of people God desires for himself, Humanity, that will be cleansed, of spiritual numbness, moral indifference, and of everything else that makes us blind.
May God in his wisdom sustain us with his manifold blessings.
Fr, Lucas Kazimiro Simango
Pastor
[1] Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium Et Spes, Promulgated by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI on December 7th, 1965