Sight

Fr. Benjamin Earl. "Things Invisible" Torch. May 8, 2023 Every Sunday at Mass we profess together our belief in the one God who is maker ‘of all things visible and invisible.’ Until a dozen years ago we used to say ‘all things seen and unseen’, but it was corrected to ‘visible and invisible’. There are plenty of unseen things which are nonetheless visible.

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe. "The Face of God" Torch. December 27, 2022 Today’s Feast seems an impossibility. How can a human being be the mother of God? Yet the Council of Ephesus in 431 declared that Mary was the Theotokos, the God-bearer. This is more than a biological fact, that her child was truly human and truly divine. Being a mother implies more than just the physical act of giving birth. She raised and formed a child who was divine.

Mary Ortwein. "Perceptions and Perspectives" A Catholic Moment. December 10, 2022 In a communication skills training I often do, there is an activity we call “The Perspective Exercise.” Last week, in describing the activity, I used both the words “perception” and “perspective.” A student asked me, “What is the difference in the meaning of the words perception and perspective?”

Fr. Euan Marley. "Seeing and Saying" Torch. December 6, 2022 Seeing and speaking may seem quite different actions, but not for God. In the book of Genesis, God says ‘let there be light’. Then he saw that the light was good. Many have discussed whom God is addressing in his speech, but the Trinity is an eternal speech, the speaking of the eternal and perfect Word of God in the breath of the Holy Spirit, the Father expressing his whole being in the Son.

Sr. Janet Hockman, MM. "Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. October 30, 2022 I was always enthralled by stories of the Marshallese sea-faring sailors who used only their knowledge of known ocean swells and stars to guide them. The attunement to nature so keen. I, myself, never tired of watching moon phases, bright planets and visible constellations from the majestically yielding and vast darkness.

Mary Ortwein. "Looking Over God’s Shoulder" A Catholic Moment. February 26, 2022 Preparation for Lent in 2010 was a watershed moment for me. My faith had been loosey-goosey for several years. In fact, for quite a while I had stopped saying St Ignatius’ Suscipe prayer (which you see above) every morning—a habit I have generally kept through my adult life.

Fr. Ken Thesing, MM. "Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. October 24, 2021 The followers of Jesus – the disciples as they came to be called – went through a long process of formation as they struggled to understand who Jesus was. They perceived Jesus as clearly human like them, but yet more. Attracted by his teaching and actions among them they felt called to “come and see,” and to follow him. They were constantly called to “see” beyond the human, to grasp what God was doing in their midst.

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "The God of Restoration" A Catholic Moment. October 24, 2021 The ancient Israelites suffered in exile as a result of their spiritual blindness and deaf ear to the oracles of the Yahweh. Bartimaeus in the gospel represents all human condition of wretchedness and desolation. Deprived of sight to perceive our God as a result of our sins, we are called today to beg for his mercy as he makes his way towards our path of misery and abandonment. It is a call to a renewal of our spiritual odyssey. We may have been held hostage by our pride, fear, or any other obstacle that keeps depriving us of the intervention of Jesus (like the crowd telling Bartimaeus to keep quiet), but with Bartimaeus, let us open our ears to hear the voice of Jesus asking, “what do you want me to do for you?” And let us pray for both freedom from spiritual blindness and growth in faith, saying, “Lord, I want to see.”

John Bergsma. "20/20 Vision" The Sacred Page. October 23, 2021 My vision is terrible. Uncorrected, it’s probably much worse than 20/200. My glasses prescription is about -8.5 diopters, for those of you who know what that means. Without my glasses, the whole world looks like a poorly-executed Impressionist painting. I’ve often wondered if Monet had bad eyesight, too. Bad vision usually isn’t too much of an inconvenience these days. High index lenses have taken the bulk out of the old “coke bottles.” For sports, I can slip in a pair of contacts.

Fr. Gregory Pearson. "Seeing the Need for Salvation" Torch. October 20, 2021 Brother Vincent, a much loved brother of our Order who died a few years ago, was born with very limited vision, and his sight deteriorated in the course of his life so that, by the time most of today’s friars knew him, he had been completely blind for many years. When he first joined the Order, though, he could still make out some distinction between light and shade, and he used to tell the story of the moment when he realised the last of his ability to see had gone. He was in the kitchen one evening washing up after dinner, and another brother came into the room and said, “Vincent, what are you doing in here in the dark?”

Fr. Richard Conrad. "Looking Harder" Torch. August 17, 2021 Most Christians, most preachers, who reflect on this Chapter reflect on the Holy Eucharist. They are right; John wants us to do so. All the same, we might ask why John doesn’t tell us plainly about the Eucharist in his account of the Last Supper. Perhaps it’s because he was writing for a non-Christian audience – he tells us towards the end that he wants his readers to come to faith in Jesus. Maybe he felt that people who haven’t come to faith can’t grasp something so strange and precious as the Eucharist.

Fr. Euan Marley. "Sometimes it is all about you" Torch. June 30, 2021 I have seen with my own eyes two people who have now been declared saints. One was Pope John Paul II in his popemobile in Glasgow, where he was taken round the crowds, who were in separate rectangular areas, rather like the crowd in the first multiplication of loaves and fishes in the Gospel of St Mark (6:39-40). So we all had a good view of him. The other was Mother Theresa who came to Glasgow to speak on behalf of pro-life issues.

Fr. Robert Ombres. "Christ the Kindly Light" Torch. March 19, 2020 There are ways and ways of seeing. In today’s Gospel, a man born blind is given sight in a doubly extraordinary way. He is given by Jesus ordinary sight, except that this gift came to him in an extraordinary way. It was by way of a miracle. Receiving sight was also for the man a sign of something else, in fact, a sign about someone else.

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe. "Completing Creation" Torch. March 30, 2019 The healing of the man born blind begins in an unusual silence. The man does not ask to be healed and nor does Jesus ask him if he wants to be. The man is not yet ready to speak or to be spoken to. At that time, a blind person was seen an unfinished work of God. Jesus moulds clay, which in Hebrew is ‘adamah’, from which ‘Adam’ comes. ‘Human’ comes from humus. Jesus is completing the work of creating this ‘earthling’ and so it is appropriate that it is done on the Sabbath, when God rested after completing creation.

Joseph LaCombe. "Seeing the Big Picture" A Catholic Moment. March 30, 2019 As a father, I’m often talking with my son and instructing him on this or that. He’ll then sometimes ask “why?”, or he’ll dismiss what I am saying. I will then respond with, “well, you don’t see the big picture like I do…”, and then we’ll go on.

Fr. Martin Ganeri. "Rabbuni!" Torch. October 24, 2018 This Sunday’s Gospel passage tells us of the physical healing of a blind man. The gift of sight. Yet it also sets out for us a journey of insight which the man undergoes as he comes into contact with Christ and which leads not just to his being healed of a bodily handicap, but to his becoming a full disciple of Christ, to his following Jesus ‘on the way,’ that ancient phrase for being a Christian. It is as a story of insight that what happens to the man born blind becomes a model for all of us as we seek to understand what it means for us to be ‘on the way’ to and with Christ.

Joseph LaCombe. "As God Sees It" A Catholic Moment. March 26, 2017 I love this prayer. And it means so much more to me in recent years. I’ve included it in reflections before, and it was one of the first things that came to mind as I was reflecting upon todays readings, because it’s about us being blind in this world, and not seeing as God sees.

Fr. Robert Gay. "The Vision of Faith" Torch. March 23, 2017 Today a lighter tone is introduced into our Lenten season, where purple gives way to rose, and our more sombre Entrance Antiphons are put aside, in favour of a call to rejoice. These are the unmistakable signs that we have reached Laetare Sunday, a little oasis in the midst of our penitential season, which has hints of the festivities to come. This change in tone is very important for us.

Maria Montello. "Presentation of the Lord" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. January 29, 2017 In today’s Gospel we hear about the presentation of Jesus at the temple, which was a Jewish religious rite of purification and offering required forty days after giving birth to a boy. Rather than focusing on the specifics of the child’s presentation, we hear details of the recognition of Jesus as the Messiah by those in the temple.

Joseph LaCombe. "The Longest Night" A Catholic Moment. December 18, 2016 He was going to divorce her. She’s pregnant, but he didn’t know how. They had not had relations. She must have been with another man, he thought. But he’s a good man, he doesn’t want her to suffer the shame and consequences that would befall a woman in that day.

Joseph LaCombe. "See the Forest" A Catholic Moment. January 31, 2016 Do you ever have something, and not realize it? Do you ever take something for granted? Do you ever misunderstand your calling, even if it is spelled out in front of you? Welcome to the human experience.

Kathy McNeely. "Epiphany" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. January 3, 2016 “Arise, shine; for your light has come,” proclaims Isaiah, referring to a time when people who had once been dispersed gather again. It’s the dawn of a new age, a new time in history where things are radically different from the past.

Maggie Fogarty. "Christmas Day" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. December 25, 2015 My husband and I and our two young children had been living in Amachuma, Bolivia for about two years when I had an experience that enabled me to recognize what it truly means to be in mission. It was Christmas time, and a local church had organized a Nativity play for the children in our village. Everyone was thrilled. There would be costumes and hot chocolate and the whole village would be there to watch the play.

Fr. Lawrence Lew. "Why Stand Looking into Heaven?" Torch. May 12, 2015 A man in white, the astronaut Yuri Gagarin, reportedly said: “I went up to space, but I didn't encounter God”. But had he listened to the two men in white who spoke to the men of Galilee, he could have saved himself the trouble of seeking God up in space. “Why do you stand looking [up] into heaven?” (Acts 1:11). As another man in white said forty days earlier on Easter morning, “he is not here” (Mk 16:6). For neither down in the grave nor up in the skies will we find our God. Where, then, is Jesus? How might Man encounter God?

Fr. Peter Hunter. "Why Do We Suffer?" Torch. March 30, 2014 There is something deeply mysterious about suffering. One thing is certain: ultimately, God does not want suffering for us. In Heaven, every tear will be wiped away, and when God came among us as a man, he relieved suffering. So why do we still suffer?

Laura Kazlas. "Jesus Healed a Man Born Blind" A Catholic Moment. March 30, 2014 Jesus healed a man born blind in today’s gospel reading and it is very lengthy and was recorded in great detail. Is it any wonder? What human being has ever given sight to a person that was born blind, simply by smearing a little clay on their eyes?

Debbie Northern. "Second Sunday of Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. January 19, 2014 In today´s Gospel, John the Baptist announces to the people gathered at the Jordan River that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Even though Jesus was right there in front of them, the people needed help to recognize him … and even so, many chose not to believe.

Fr. Euan Marley. "The Servants Knew" Torch. January 20, 2013 Some people have a lot of magic in their lives. Tables are magically set, heating just works, clothes are cleaned and ironed, and the most of the things they need just appear. At Christmas the magic works overtime. All sorts of delightful things spring up as if from nowhere. Where does it all come from? How did these delights get here? There is an easy answer to this and it is in the Gospel of today.

Fr. Peter Hunter. "Seeing in Love" Torch. August 5, 2012 “You can know a thing to death, and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it. A man can know his father, or his son, and there might still be nothing between them but loyalty and love and mutual incomprehension.” So says the old preacher, Ames, to his son in the book Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. It seems to me to express a deep, and strange truth.

Fr. Simon Gaine. "Sharing His Vision" Torch. April 29, 2012 Why should Jesus be the one we should follow? Why should we place absolute trust in his voice among all the voices and noise we hear in our world? Why should he be the one equipped to be our Good Shepherd, the one to lead us to pasture? Our second reading proclaimed to us the promise of our ultimate goal. The glory of this final destination is something that escapes us for now. We cannot put this heaven into words that come anywhere near expressing what this renewal of our life will mean for us.

Fr. Vivian Boland. "Hoping to See God" Torch. November 1, 2011 A few days before he died my father said to me ‘I know my sins but still I hope some day to see God’. He said a lot of other things in those days but I treasure these as his last words to me, a kind of legacy. They express succinctly and accurately what Christian hope means. He did not despair and he did not presume.

Fr. Aelred Connelly. "Born Blind" Torch. April 3, 2011 I am writing this sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which is Mother’s day, having recently lost both my mother and godmother on the same morning. Things will never be quite the same again.

Fr. Bruno Clifton. "Look!" Torch. December 12, 2010 The Austrian philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, with this advice, was trying to get us to consider things as they are in each case and not as we think they should be or as we are used to them. When we inquire into reality, we should not presume we have understood simply through a previous suggestion or by what we expect to be the case.

Fr. Timothy Calvert. "As Easy as Climbing a Tree" Torch. October 31, 2010 There is often something essential about seeing, times when hearing by itself won’t do. When I was a little boy the Queen was driven through our town, and the entirety of the primary school was led down to the high street to welcome her. I was the only child, so my teacher said, who managed to be looking in the wrong direction when the car, at quite some speed to be fair, passed through.

Fr. Dermot Morrin. "Take Heart, He Is Calling You" Torch. October 25, 2009 The character Bartimaeus leaps out from the pages of Mark’s Gospel and stays with us as we go on our way from Sunday to Sunday. He becomes a follower at the eleventh hour, just before Jesus finally enters Jerusalem, at a stage when those who have been disciples all along are beginning to lose heart. His story is told so that we may take heart, not just sitting by the wayside but actually following Jesus in the Way.

Fr. Timothy Calvert. "A New Vision" Torch. March 2, 2008 This Gospel does not tell of the healing of a blind man, as we find in the other Gospels, but of a man blind from his birth. What’s the difference? I can imagine losing sight, although it’s hard to begin to appreciate the courage it would require to live with the loss of what is so easily taken for granted.

Fr. Fergus Kerr. "Wise Men came from the East to Jerusalem" Torch. January 6, 2007 Not the only magi in the New Testament… A certain Simon, who practised ‘magic’, was converted and baptized by Philip; offered the apostles money if they would grant him authority to give people the Holy Spirit; was rebuked and repented (Acts 8:9-24) – yet is remembered mainly for ‘simony’. A certain Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jewish prophet, is also a magos; court astrologer to the Imperial proconsul, whom he tries to prevent the apostles from converting: Paul stares him down, curses and blinds him (Acts 13:6-12).

Fr. Duncan Campbell. "Believing is Seeing" Torch. October 29, 2006 The Gospel is about a beggar who was blind being instantly healed. It was enough to lift him out of such total destitution as we can hardly imagine today. We can be thankful that we live in such a different world. Society’s natural response today is to provide medical care for the sick and invalids, and support for the destitute. Stories of healing like this may have introduced such concern.

Fr. Benjamin Earl. "Seeing the Christ" Torch. April 2, 2006 From time to time, probably, all Christians ask themselves, 'what would it have been like to have been in the gospels, to have seen Christ face to face?' Today we get our question answered. We came to know Jesus not by having met him during his life on earth. Rather we were introduced to him by reputation: those who formed us in the Christian faith told us about him. But just knowing things about Jesus is not what the Christian faith is about. We want to know and love Jesus. Having heard about him and having believed what we have heard, ultimately, we wish to see Jesus.

Ron Rolheiser, OMI. "The Danger of Riches" ronrolheiser.com. May 15, 2005 “Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor!” That’s an axiom attributed to James Forbes, the pastor of Riverside Church in New York City.

Fr. David Goodill. "Seeing and Believing" Torch. April 10, 2005 You can’t help feeling sorry for Dr Watson as his friend Sherlock Holmes explains his latest piece of deduction. A stranger appears at Baker Street and Holmes reveals facts about them that astound and amaze. Later Holmes explains to Watson how he arrived at these conclusions, stressing that he possesses no special powers of observation but is merely putting into practice basic abilities of observation and deduction.

Fr. David McLean. "No Explanations" Torch. March 6, 2005 In the gospel reading Jesus cures a blind man by rubbing spittle and dirt into his eyes, but the Pharisees are not happy about this. The Pharisees find it difficult to believe that the blind man has been cured. On the whole the Pharisees simply seem to be ungrateful and angry.

Fr. Brendan Slevin. "What would you see up a tree?" Torch. October 31, 2004 I don’t know what it’s like elsewhere in the world but here in sunny Scotland our television news bulletins have daily coverage of a certain presidential election. The pictures are like many election campaigns, crowds of people trying to get close to their candidate or just wanting a glimpse of him.

Ron Rolheiser, OMI. "What Is Religion All About?" ronrolheiser.com. November 1, 1998 There is a Jewish parable, quite famous, that runs something like this: Once upon a time there was a Rabbi who was old, wise, and very holy. One day he gathered his disciples around him and asked them this question: