Perspective

 Deacon Kevin Gingras

March 19, 2023

4th Sunday in Lent

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031923.cfm

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Perspective, today’s readings, and Gospel compel me to speak about perspective.  First I want to tell you about a good friend of mine Val.  Val passed away on December 5, 2021, after a very long battle with Muscular Dystrophy and a short battle with cancer.  When I first met Val he was already in a wheelchair but could do many things on his own.  As the disease progressed he could do less and less.  Towards the end, he couldn’t feed himself or take a drink without assistance.  He could only move the joystick on his wheelchair.  Some of you remember Mary-Joyce who blessed our parish for so many years.  Their situations were very similar, both needing assistance breathing and doing basic functions to get by in life.  Both Mary-Joyce and Val gave me a new perspective.  They both had many reasons to complain but didn’t.  They had many reasons to be angry at life but they weren’t.  They had many reasons to be mad at God and discard Him but they didn’t!

Val loved God.  For many years Val hosted scripture study at his house.  At times we would study the Sunday readings and Gospel and discuss how they touched or moved us to action.  This is really a practice we should all do, going over the readings before Mass on Sundays.  We would use a method called Lectio Divina to read, meditate and discuss the readings.

Long ago, one Wednesday night we came upon today’s Gospel and that’s when Val shared with us how Jesus’ teaching touched him in a profound way.  The very line:

 “it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him”

That line changed Val’s perspective.  When he was first diagnosed with this progressively debilitating disease he was very angry with God.  He didn’t want to continue with Church any longer and at times, didn’t want to continue with life.  Then, one fateful Sunday in a Church in Fall River he heard this Gospel and it dawned on him.  These are his words, not mine:

After hearing that reading I suddenly realized that it was foolish how I thought that God was punishing me.  I knew that God didn’t put me in this wheelchair as a punishment.  I realized that in a weird way, it is actually a gift from God.  I thought that if God can work through a blind man, why couldn’t He work through me and my disability?

These are the very words from a talk Val gave to hundreds, maybe even thousands of teens and adults during Confirmation and Emmaus retreats.  Val took what could have been a very negative life experience and used it to share the love of God and the Gospel of Christ.  Mary-Joyce did very much the same thing, leading the Confirmation class in the Rosary and being a lector here at Mass.  My wife has also told me that Mary Joice brought remarkable, moving insights and encouragement to the ladies in their bible study.

You were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness, and truth.

St. Paul gives these hopeful words to the Ephesians in today’s second reading.  We always have hope, even now, in the midst of the solemn period of Lent we wear rose vestments because of joy.  We take a break from the mourning movement of Lent to wear a joyful color to represent what we know is coming very soon after a very dark time of Holy Week.  Why?  Because darkness comes before the light.  Jesus suffered greatly and die for our sins and our salvation.  That is the perspective we need to tie our sufferings to Jesus.  Those sufferings in life that we bear in a holy way as Val did, or like Mary Joyce.  The sufferings that we have in our lives can sanctify us and aren’t meant to condemn us as punishment for our sins.  Go to Adoration this week.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help us use these trials and tribulations to unite us to Christ.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help us lay our trials at the feet of Jesus in the most Blessed Eucharist.

Here are some words from St. Teresa of Calcutta that we can meditate on this week:

“Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, and suffering are but the kiss of Jesus — a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.”