Blind

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I was part of an RCIA team for many years, and absolutely loved the weeks which led up to the Easter Vigil initiation of our new church members. It’s always a very emotional time.

If the priest chooses, he can use three Gospel readings from Church Year A for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays of Lent. These are three particularly deep and powerful stories of Jesus’ ministry while on earth.

On this 4th Sunday of Lent, the RCIA reading is of the man born blind. It’s something I can related to very much this year.

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Annunciation of God’s presence

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Right in the middle of Lent, we’re given this wonderful gift today!

Nine months before Christmas, the Church celebrates the Annunciation: the day when God sent the Angel Gabriel to Mary:

Coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.”

Luke 1:28-31
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Transfiguration

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Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Keep listening to him!”

Luke 9:31 ISV

I’m pondering today this wonderful story of God’s endorsement of His Son’s work in this world. One of the things which can help bring these readings to life is to use a site (like BibleHub, in this case) which captures all the English translations in a single place.

I picked the International Standard Version here because others simply say, “Listen to him!”, or something similar. In that case, it’s signifying that Jesus will say something important.

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Us

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I firmly believe that we’re here to help each other.

There are many times when it feels like I’m on a lonely journey, it’s about ME finding my holy path and getting to heaven. But Jesus made it clear that it’s not just about loving God, but loving each other.

Love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 27:37
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