Vangeli per le Famiglie - IV Domenica di Quaresima - "La Luce Gioiosa di Cristo" - 15/03/26

www.chiesadomestica.org From the Gospel according to John Jn 9:1-41 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God might be made visible in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. He anointed the blind man's eyes with the mud and said to him, "Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). He went and washed and came back seeing. Then the neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No, but he looks like him." And he said, "I am he." They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Then some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. Then they said to the blind man again, "What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He answered, "He is a prophet." They answered him, "You were born entirely in sin, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he found him, he said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him; it is he who speaks to you." And he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he knelt before him. The Word of the Lord. _____________________________________ Dearly beloved, today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which is "Laetare" Sunday, literally "Rejoice," which reminds us of Paul's invitation to "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice" (Phil 4:4). In short, we celebrate "Joy Sunday." And today's Gospel shows us the reason for our joy: the light of faith with which Christ has illuminated our lives. Today's Gospel tells us the story of the healing of the man born blind, a sort of metaphor for Baptism, our New Creation. But, precisely as today's passage tells us, in which Christ heals the blind man by making mud with his saliva and placing it on his eyes, the New Creation consists in "refreshing our eyes," so that, illuminated by the light of faith, we can look at life with the eyes of Christ, with the eyes of God. And indeed, Christ proclaims himself in the Gospel as the "Light of the world," reminding us in another passage, after proclaiming the Beatitudes, that we, his Church, must also be the light of the world: "You are the light of the world... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5:15, 18). Just as light is born from fire, so the testimony of light and joy we are called to give in the world is the light of our good works, born from a heart pervaded by the love and grace of God. And this light of joy and love—as I explain in my homily—must permeate our families first and foremost, lights always alight that ensure the Church is that city set on the hill that shows the way to travelers. This is my wish for this Joyful Sunday for you and all your families. Hugs Gf