Then the eyes of the blind will see….The deaf will hear…And the lame will walk….Only by our witness will this come to be

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St John some very powerful claims made by Jesus to his accusers….."If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me”….."If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me”….How easy we can “get lost” and be deceived by the devil…These men were standing face to face with God!…And not only did they not recognize him, they were trying to kill him…..They were throughly convinced that they were right in having Jesus put to death in the name of “god”….How we can get so lost!….The first mistake human beings make is they think they are somehow "above" not being fooled…..The second mistake is, people believe the devil is not real - I got news for you - The devil is very real!…The devil is smarter than you…Stronger than you and the devil knows all your weaknesses - Every single one of them!…And if you do not bind yourself thorough Sacramental grace to God - The devil will exploit those weaknesses…Oh, I can hear it now…Your crazy!…Really?….Look around - Why is it some of the “smartest people” somehow can get “lost” in “this” or “that”…Make huge illogical mistakes - Big mistakes that lead to their lives crashing down - We see this all the time….The Pharisees were highly educated and frankly were looking down at Jesus…”Who are you! - You are an uneducated carpenter! - Who are you to tell me about God!”….Yes - These men were smart but they like everyone else, they had many weaknesses…Their biggest weakness was pride - The “queen of all the vices”…And here comes the devil…Give the devil a small opening, and he will exploit it….This is why as Catholics it is vital to always be in the state of grace…What does that mean?…We confess our sins regularly, most especially our mortal sins and receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament every Sunday….Being in the state of grace “arms” us against the temptations of the devil…It fortifies our will….It gives us “eyes to see” the pitfalls in life, which so many fall into….I don’t care where you went to school…What you got on your SAT Test…How high your IQ is....What you do for work…How big your house is….How much money you have in the bank…The devil sees right through you!…..And if you are not in the state of grace, you are vulnerable…Don’t believe me?…How could the Pharisees, highly educated men, who prayed everyday, who read the scriptures daily and knew all the ancient writings of the Torah like the back of their hand…How could men like that not see God standing right in from of their face?…Answer that….Not only did they not see Jesus, they killed him…Just think for a moment what we do not see?

“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”

There is a famous painting of a young Joan of Arc…She is in a garden and she is looking intently at “something”, which no one can see….For those who may not know - Joan of Arc lead the French army at the age of 17 to victory over the English Army - This is a historical fact…But Joan of Arc is also a canonized Catholic saint…What did Joan “see” in that painting that no one else saw?…This is question we must ask ourself….What is it that we do not see because we are not in the state of grace?…..Today there are many behaviors that are viewed as very acceptable in our society…So much so, we do not even blink at them anymore…However, in the eyes of God those behaviors are an abomination….So many people are trying to influence the culture…I am one of those people…But ultimately, no one can “open the eyes” of a person….We must pray that people see themselves as God sees them - warts and all!….This is what we must pray for…..Before Jesus Christ returns, he will give the world every chance to turn to him and repent…Why?…Because God’s mercy is endless…Many Catholic mystics have written about a period of time before Jesus returns where people will have what is called an illumination of conscience…..What does that mean?….It means we will see our sins as God sees them…And then we will make a clear choice - To change or continue down the wrong road, which leads to destruction…Allow me to give you an example of being blind - A personal example….As a young man, I did not “see” drinking alcohol in excess as something that was wrong….I was not “hurting anyone”….But when a person drinks excessively and losses control of his reason…That is a objective mortal sin…..I clearly did not “see” it that way…But over time as I developed my prayer life….Continued to go to confession regularly and receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…My eyes were opened…I still enjoy a few drinks and there is nothing sinful about that…But I now do not abuse alcohol…Why?…Because my eyes were opened…This is just one example of how we can be blind and do not see what God sees……In Holy Scripture there is story after story about how the “blind” regain their sight…How about us?….What is it that we do not see?

"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Today St John in the Gospel gives us an example of how highly educated people were blind to God…..Our world today is no different…We are distracted by “this or that”…”Noise” fills our day…God is the friend of silence…Its in silence that we hear the ever small voice of God…And when we hear that voice, we must respond….The minute you “think” you can’t be “fooled”, that is the minute the devil “got ya”…..Our world needs to acquire “eyes to see”…And this is something that only God can do…But what can we do?….We can give a witness to the world by living a holy life….When the world encounters such a person, it stops people in their tracks…They are in a way stunned - I know this because I have been “stunned” by the witness of holy men and women in my life…..An example of a holy life is a way of “holding up a mirror” to the world and allowing them to “see” clearly who they really are and what they are doing…..This is our job as Catholics…To give a witness....But remember this - A holy life can not be “self manufactured" - You can't "muscle your way to being holy"…A holy life is simply the “fruit” bore from a deep interior life - We have to "work at it" daily utilizing the "tools" given to us by the Church…This is something each of us can do…Its the only thing we can do….Then the eyes of the blind will see….The deaf will hear…And the lame will walk….Only by our witness will this come to be