Sunday, March 10, 2024 – Fourth Sunday of Lent - Cycle B Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” , Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41

                                         ILLUMINATED EYES
     Men are born blind, in the darkness; but our eyes are opened by the faith of baptism. To live by the light means to get close to Christ so that our good deeds are illuminated by Him. For us, do we still belong to the world of the blind or are we going through life illuminating the world with the torch of faith? It is the Faith in Christ that saves! "He who believes in Him will not be condemned".
 
                                              Sisters and Brothers
1. By curing the man that was blind since birth, Jesus reveals himself to us as He who opens our eyes to the true light, the light that allows us to see things with the new eyes of faith. Illuminated by Christ we must live as true sons and daughters of light; and this demands a conversion in the way of thinking, a capacity to judge according to a new scale of values that comes from God, "He doesn't see the outside, but inside the heart".
     The ceremony of the Easter Vigil explains to us the meaning of the baptismal light. It is a symbol of our Alliance, and that we live like sons and daughters of light. In this same baptismal rite, a candle called the baptismal candle is lit taking light from the paschal candle, and it is presented to the baptized from the godparent with the words, "receive the light of Christ".
 
2. Light means life and grace. Sin is darkness, and on the other hand grace and faith are light. Baptism is a gesture of the divine generosity that frees us from darkness and incorporates us into the Kingdom of his Son so that we may have part in the eternal life together with the saints in the light. God places us in a new situation. He places ME in a new "nature" that I will never part from - divine nature. I become a child and as such I live something like that that comes to life and is committed to live as man and cannot reasonably blame God or his mother for having brought to the world.
 
3. "To walk in the light" is to live coherently this new situation with his eyes fixed upon a new life and a new world. A new way of life with relation to all others: It is fraternal love which distinguishes the "sons and daughters of light". A life that separates sin, like darkness, with a continuous effort of conversion; a new and deep orientation that transforms the existence in a way of light to the glory. Rebirth means consequence and attitude. Jesus Christ came to give life, and it is up to us to accept it.
     We recall the importance of our baptism in the light of Easter. Would it not be a good time to examine the baptismal commitments involving mainly a rejection of sin and confession of our faith in the risen Christ? If we have the opportunity to be godparents at a baptism, pass this responsibility to others.
Amen.

Source: ePriest.com / Best Practices and Homily Resources for Catholic Priests