Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 23, 2020

Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 22, 2020

Deacon Anthony J. Cincotta

Assistant Director for Retreat Ministry

 

First Book of Samuel 16:1b, 67, 10-13a

Psalm 23

Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

 

In Vienna, Austria there is a church in which the former ruling family for about 250 years, the Habsburgs, are buried.  When there was a royal funeral the mourners knocked at the door of the church requesting to be allowed in.  A priest would ask, “Who is it that desires admission here?”  A guard would call out, “His apostolic majesty, the emperor.”  The priest would answer, “I do not know him.”  They would knock a second time, and again the priest would ask who it was.  The guard would announce, “The highest emperor.”  A second time the priest would say, I do not know him.”  A third time the answer to the question would be, “A poor sinner, your brother.”  They would finally be admitted into the church. 

This true story reminds us of the fact that we are all sinners no matter what our rank is in society or in our Church.  Perhaps we don’t think of ourselves very often as sinners who are in need of God’s mercy.  Bishop Fulton Sheen said that, In the past Catholics believed Our Lady was immaculately conceived but now we believe we are all immaculately conceived.”  Is what Bishop Sheen said true?  I suspect another way of asking that question is, “Are we blind to our sinfulness and our need of God’s mercy?”

“Blind!”  Kind of an interesting word, don’t you think?  I would guess that most of us would define “blind” as “unable to see.”  But it can also have other meetings.  For example “blind” can mean “unwilling or unable to perceive or understand” or “lacking all consciousness or awareness.”

 Prosit

 

Deacon Anthony J. Cincotta

Assistant Director for Retreat Ministry