Daily Catholic Lectio. Sun, 15 March ‘26. Are We Blind as Well?

Daily Catholic Lectio

Sun, 15 March ‘26

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)

1 Sam 16:1, 6–7, 10–13. Eph 5:8–14. Jn 9:1–41

Are We Blind as Well?

Some years ago, when I was serving as secretary to the Archbishop of Madurai, one night around nine o’clock the watchman called me and said, “Father, someone has come to see the Archbishop.” I went downstairs wondering who would come at that hour. The man waiting there was blind. I asked him gently, “Why have you come so late in the night?” He simply replied, “I must meet the Archbishop.” Since the Archbishop was not at home, I told him, “Please come tomorrow morning.” I slowly accompanied him to the main gate. As I was closing the gate, I asked him one more question: “Why do you move around at night like this? It must be difficult.” He replied with a sentence that stayed with me: “For me, day and night are the same. Light and darkness are the same.”

Those words made me stop and think.

Helen Keller once said, “The world of the blind is full of surprising experiences.” But to understand that world, we must enter it. Today’s readings invite us into that world. They revolve around one theme: sight and blindness. 

But the Word of God today is not only about physical blindness. It speaks about different forms of spiritual blindness. In fact, today’s readings reveal four kinds of blindness.

1. The Blindness of the Eyes

The Gospel tells us about a man who was blind from birth. Jesus meets him, makes mud with his saliva, places it on the man’s eyes, and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam. When he washes, he receives sight.

At first this is a physical miracle. But slowly the story becomes something deeper: a journey of faith.

Notice how the man’s understanding of Jesus grows step by step:

First, he calls him “the man called Jesus.”

Then he calls him “a prophet.”

Later he says, “a man from God.”

Finally, he worships him as “Lord.”

His physical sight leads him to spiritual sight. Meanwhile, the Pharisees—who can see with their eyes—refuse to believe. They question, accuse, and reject the miracle.

At the end Jesus says something striking: “I came into this world so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

Then the Pharisees ask the question that becomes the theme of today’s reflection: “Are we blind as well?”

2. The Blindness of Human Judgement

The first reading shows another type of blindness. Samuel goes to the house of Jesse to anoint the new king of Israel. When he sees Jesse’s first son Eliab—tall, impressive, strong—he immediately thinks: “Surely this is the Lord’s chosen.”

But God stops him and says: “Do not look at his appearance or his height… Humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” Samuel was not blind physically. Yet his judgement was blind. Like us, he was influenced by outward appearances—strength, beauty, stature. But God looks deeper.

David, the youngest son, is not even invited to the gathering. He is out in the fields tending sheep. Yet he is the one God chooses. God sees something invisible: the heart. Human beings often judge by external success, status, appearance, or reputation. But God looks at faithfulness, sincerity, and trust. Sometimes we too may suffer from this blindness. We judge people by their clothes, their social standing, their achievements, or even their failures. But God sees differently.

3. The Blindness of Darkness and Sleep

In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks about another kind of blindness. He describes it using the language of darkness and light.

He tells the Christians of Ephesus: “Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Darkness here represents a life without moral clarity—a life trapped in sin, confusion, or indifference.

Paul then quotes an early Christian hymn: “Awake, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” This is the blindness of spiritual sleep. Sometimes we repeat the same mistakes again and again. We follow habits that lead nowhere. We drift through life without asking what God desires. Paul calls believers to wake up—to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. To live in the light means to produce fruits of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

4. The Blindness of Refusing Christ

Finally, the Gospel shows the most serious blindness: refusing to recognize Jesus. The Pharisees see the miracle. They hear the testimony. Yet they refuse to believe. Their problem is not lack of evidence. Their problem is closed hearts.

The blind man receives sight not only because of the miracle, but because he trusts Jesus. The Pharisees remain blind because they reject him. Physical sight does not guarantee spiritual sight. One can see with the eyes but remain blind in the heart.

The Real Question

So today the Word of God asks each of us the same question the Pharisees asked Jesus: “Are we blind as well?” This question invites us to examine our own way of seeing. How do I see myself? How do I see others? How do I see God? Often our vision becomes distorted in three ways.

First, negative vision: “I am worthless. I am a sinner. God does not love me.” Second, illusionary vision: “I am better than others. I am more righteous.” Third, real vision: “I am a person with strengths and weaknesses, called by God to grow.” The way we see ourselves shapes the way we see others and God.

Seeing Like God

Today’s readings offer three steps toward true sight.

First: See as God sees. Do not judge only appearances. Look at the heart.

Second: Walk in the light. Seek what is pleasing to the Lord. Wake up from spiritual sleep.

Third: Believe in Christ. Recognize him as Lord, like the healed man did.

When these three happen, true sight is born.

Conclusion

Today we who possess physical sight are invited to remember those who do not have it—those who have lost it through illness, age, or suffering.

But the Gospel reminds us that physical sight is not the most important thing. The most important sight is the sight of faith.

If we learn to see as God sees, if we rise from the darkness of sin, if we believe in Christ, then the light of Christ will shine upon us.

And we will be able to say with the Psalmist: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23) Otherwise, one day we may also have to ask the question: “Are we blind as well?”

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy