The healing of the blind man in the Gospel is an instance of light coming into the world. The Lord reveals himself as the light of the world produces mixed reactions. The Jewish leaders refuse to believe, while the man who was healed believes in Jesus and becomes a disciple. The man who had been given the gift of sight progressed in his knowledge and faith in Jesus. Ironically, the people in the temple, supposedly people who had received the light of faith, ridiculed the man and put no faith in the person of Jesus. They have regressed into the darkness of unbelief. They have sight but could not see. The story of Jesus healing a blind man testifies therefore to the power of Jesus to heal not just the blindness of the eye but, above all, the blindness of the heart.
Lent is a time to remove obstacles that block our view of truth and of God. The whole liturgy during this Lenten season is geared towards the preparation for candidates who would be baptized during Easter Vigil. At the same time, all baptized should renew their baptismal promises. The Lenten liturgy wants us to become aware once more what our baptism was all about. Let us then during this Lent, pray to the Lord to cure us of our blindness.
