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HomeHomilySunday Homily - 19 March 2023

Sunday Homily – 19 March 2023

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Also Read: Mass Readings for 19 March 2023 Mass Reading Reflection for 19 March 2023

Gospel: John 9: 1-41

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” This is an eternal question. It is a question Jesus answered well, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him”.

God who sends rain and shine upon the good and the wicked alike (Mt 5:45), gives sufferings also without any discrimination. The shine, the rain, or the crosses we receive are not the measurements of our merit. Our responses to them make us worthy or not. 

Your sufferings have meaning. Your sufferings on earth do not mean that you are paying for your past sins, nor for that of your ancestors. It just means God intends that ‘the works of God might be made visible through you.’ If you meet someone out there who is suffering, it has only one meaning God wants ‘the works of God might be made visible through you.’ The last ‘you’ includes both you and the one suffering.

What are the works of God that the Almighty wants to make visible?  We get some clues from the gospel we just heard. Jesus intervened in his life without prejudice, He healed him through a process. It witnessed that it was God the Father who worked through Jesus.  It let them know that God is among them, and God is working. When you are non-judgmental and empathetic with the suffering person, God’s works are made visible through you. When you intervene in the lives of those who are at the receiving end, you are manifesting the works of God. You can do miracles when you are out there to help those suffering, and for the glory of God.

Anything can be a blessing if you are walking with Jesus. Poverty, illness, betrayal by the trusted ones, loneliness, denied rights, troubled childhood, physical and mental disability, missed opportunities, past failures… anything, anything can be a blessing when you decide to walk with Jesus. It is faith in God that decides. It is trust in God that decides.

Nick Vujicic is a living example. He was born without limbs; no legs, no hands! But today, just over 40 years old, he is a wonderful evangelist and motivational speaker and has visited more than 50 countries sharing his story with over 400 million people. Were he born a perfect child he would have been another regular Australian. Today he inspires millions of people; both born perfect and born different. He is a living miracle. He has every right to say, “When you don’t get a miracle, you can still be one!” He was referring to his prayers for limbs. God can give them miraculously any moment if He decides, but God decided Nick be the miracle for the world, and Nick gracefully accepted that vocation. Your faith in God or the lack of it decides whether you are a miracle or curse to the world.    

Everything can be a curse if you decide to move solo; when you decide to leave God and move alone every fortune can bring you a curse, or even worse, with everything at hand you could be a curse. Big house, costly car, gadgets, relationships with the powerful, perfect partner, perfect children, perfect body, perfect health, huge assets… anything can turn out to be a curse when you decide to move without God.

Everything is a blessing for a true believer. Everything is an opportunity to do the “work of God … made visible…” for you if you decide to hold hands with Jesus. If God does not seem to answer your prayer for a miracle, it means that He intends you to be the miracle. Be the miracle Jesus wants you to be!

Amen.

Courtesy: YouTube interview, Nick Vujicic with Dallas Jenkins (Creator of ‘The Chosen’); Link: https://youtu.be/TyI9bngWex4?list=PLmuIciKOoSf1t3KD_Y6FXxWjks72MMOaw

Fr. Bobby Joseph CMI
Fr. Bobby Joseph CMIhttps://www.catholicgallery.org/
Hello, I am Fr. Bobby Joseph CMI, a Catholic priest belonging to the Indian Carmelite order, Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), founded by three pious 19th-century priests: Fr. Thomas Palackal, Fr. Thomas Porukara, and St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara. Currently, I work as a missionary priest working in Peru. May God bless you all!

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