A Letter From Fr. Paul - March 22, 2020

We continue to pray for all affected by the Coronavirus or any other physical, emotional, or spiritual illness. May God bless them with what they need.

I am convinced that our school, Wauwatosa Catholic, provides an incredible education through the combination of our Catholic Faith and the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Registration is open and I urge you to consider sending your children to our school; you will not regret your choice.

Last week we learned, by listening to Jesus’ dialog with the Samaritan woman, that He is the living water that quenches our thirst for true meaning in life. This week, through the cure of the blind man, we learn that Jesus is the light that cures our blindness and helps us find our way through life.Just like the story of the Samaritan, this story is long with lots of details. These details show how easy it is for people to judge wrongly: the disciples thought his blindness was caused by someone’s sin, people refused to recognize the man as the same person who had been blind, and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for curing on the Sabbath. Our reading from Samuel shows that even the prophet himself was judging wrongly, believing that David’s oldest brother was the one to be anointed. To judge wrongly is a human foible.

With a somewhat convoluted sentence (I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind), Jesus is saying that those who are so sure they are correct will be shown to be blind, while those who are not sure but open to growth will be shown the way.

It is always dangerous to believe we are absolutely right, because that closes us off to growth, as the disciples were by their concept of what the messiah should be like. Filling out the Disciple Maker Index survey is an opportunity to see some aspects of our spiritual lives that we have been blind to.

Another opportunity is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. One grace of receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation is having our eyes opened as we reflect on our lives and listen to the Spirit speaking to us. I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to allow the Spirit to remove some blindness, so as to enter into Holy Week and the celebration of Easter cleansed of past failings.
​
Reflection for the week: how might I be blocking growth because I am absolutely sure that I am right? How might I be blind and need the guidance of Jesus, the light of the world? What can I do to make sure that I am listening when the Lord talks to me? And let us support each other in prayer.