From Darkness to Light — Silvio José Báez, ocd

“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

John 9:25

The gospel story of Jesus healing a man born blind shows us that it’s possible to emerge from blindness and that the light of Jesus can illumine our conscience and life.

Blindness doesn’t have to last forever—we can be enlightened by Jesus and become authentic believers.

Believing is a way of seeing, a particular way of looking at life.

The believer looks at everything with God’s eyes, with humility and trust in his love. The believer isn’t someone who pretends to know everything and explain everything that happens; rather, the believer is someone who, like a blind man, recognizes that he cannot see clearly, but always lives open to the light, without resigning himself to the darkness.

Believers go through dark moments that we don’t know how to explain, but we allow ourselves to be enlightened by Jesus. Believers, like the blind man in the story, are often misunderstood, criticized, and persecuted, yet we face life with confidence because we know that we live in the loving hands of a good God who is our Father.

We, believers, may doubt but interiorly we do not break; we may suffer, but we don’t remain dejected forever; we may live through incomprehensible and painful situations, yet we don’t lose our serenity and hope. Listening to Jesus and allowing ourselves to be led by him interiorly, we feel secure.

“We are always journeying toward a fuller yet humbler faith.” (Bishop Silvio José Báez) #gospel

Tweet

The blind man who was healed in the gospel faces a series of conflicts and misunderstandings with determination, without becoming discouraged by those who don’t understand his healing.

In the midst of the hostility and difficulties he encounters, he doesn’t back down, he isn’t paralyzed by fear, and neither is he discouraged; on the contrary, he resists and responds with simplicity, telling the truth, without inventing or hiding anything. 

This is how we believers are. We receive God’s gifts with amazement, we bear witness to what Jesus does in our lives, we know how to recognize the good, and we seriously commit ourselves to the defense of the dignity of persons.

“We were not created to dwell in darkness.” (Bishop Silvio José Báez) #gospel

Tweet

Certainly, life often is presented to us as a dark path that requires us to grope to find our way. However, we go through the dark times with serenity, without fear or rigid thinking, or sterile nostalgia for the past.

We know that the light of Jesus is always with us and, like the man born blind, we allow ourselves continually to be enlightened by Jesus.

Let’s not live in deception, rejecting the truth; let’s not shroud ourselves in our ideas or resign ourselves to darkness.

We heard Jesus say: “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind” (Jn 9:39).

It’s like this: when we close ourselves up in lies and pride, we remain blind. When we humbly recognize our blindness and welcome the light of the Gospel, we begin to see the truth and live with joy and hope.

Bishop Silvio José Báez, o.c.d.

Auxiliary Bishop of Managua
Homily, Fourth Sunday of Lent (excerpt)
19 March 2023

Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.