St James Catholic Church

Dear Parishioners,  In today’s first reading, the Lord asserts that God does not see how people see. We tend to see appearances, but God looks into the heart. How often do we find ourselves unable to see past appearances the way someone looks, or sounds, or acts? In doing so, are we showing unconscious biases, prejudices, or assumptions? Let us not be like the Pharisees in the Gospel who become indignant when questioning the man who once was blind. They cannot see past their belief that the man must have been born in sin. Nor can they look past the fact that Jesus happened to heal this man on the Sabbath. These preconceived judgments blind them to the wonders of God, revealed in Christ.   The questioners in the Gospel think they have a good argument in their assertion that the formerly blind man was born in sin. What they fail   to realize is that we all were born totally in sin. We all have inherited original sin. Moreover, we all are sinful creatures, susceptible to sin each and every day. Do we look at others who have sinned as less than us because their sin is worse or more visible? Does acting holier than those help us feel better about ourselves? Can we challenge ourselves to look honestly at ourselves before criticizing or judging others? Let’s look in the mirror this Lent for none is so blind as the one who will not see.  Love, Peace, Joy,   Fr. Bob