In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be God forever.

We gather together as a family to celebrate the Lord's Day.  One with our sisters and brothers and with the entire Church, let us now listen to God's Word and join in prayer.

Amen.

The LORD said to Samuel:
 “Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
 I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
 for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”

As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice,
 Samuel looked at Eliab and thought,
 “Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
 But the LORD said to Samuel:
 “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
 because I have rejected him.
 Not as man sees does God see,
 because man sees the appearance
 but the LORD looks into the heart.”
 In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
 but Samuel said to Jesse,
 “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
 Then Samuel asked Jesse,
 “Are these all the sons you have?”
 Jesse replied,
 “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
 Samuel said to Jesse,
 “Send for him;
 we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
 Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
 He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
 and making a splendid appearance.
 The LORD said,
 “There—anoint him, for this is the one!”
 Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
 anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
 and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

R. (1)  The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 beside restful waters he leads me;
 he refreshes my soul.
 R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
 He guides me in right paths
 for his name’s sake.
 Even though I walk in the dark valley
 I fear no evil; for you are at my side
 With your rod and your staff
 that give me courage.
 R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
 You spread the table before me
 in the sight of my foes;
 you anoint my head with oil;
 my cup overflows.
 R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
 Only goodness and kindness follow me
 all the days of my life;
 and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
 for years to come.
 R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Brothers and sisters:
 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.
 Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
 rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
 the things done by them in secret;
 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
 for everything that becomes visible is light.
 Therefore, it says:
 
 “Awake, O sleeper,
 and arise from the dead,
 and Christ will give you light.”

 As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
 He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva,
 and smeared the clay on his eyes,
 and said to him,
 “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” — which means Sent —.
 So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
 “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
 Some said, “It is, “
 but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
 He said, “I am.”

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
 Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
 So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
 He said to them,
 “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
 So some of the Pharisees said,
 “This man is not from God,
 because he does not keep the sabbath.”
 But others said,
 “How can a sinful man do such signs?”
 And there was a division among them.
 So they said to the blind man again,
 “What do you have to say about him,
 since he opened your eyes?”
 He said, “He is a prophet.”

They answered and said to him,
 “You were born totally in sin,
 and are you trying to teach us?”
 Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
 he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
 He answered and said,
 “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
 Jesus said to him,
 “You have seen him, and
 the one speaking with you is he.”
 He said,
 “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.

The Story of the healing of the blind man in the Gospel of John has been, since the fourth century, associated with preparation for those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. It is a story that participates in the richly symbolic world of the Fourth Gospel. Sight serves as a metaphor for faith in Jesus and the life of discipleship. The journey by which the blind man comes to “see” who Jesus is, is counter posed with the increasing blindness of “the Jews”, a designation that actually refers not to first-century Judaism in general but to a small subset of religious leaders opposed to Jesus. As the biblical scholar Francis Moloney has noted, in this story the religious leaders are preoccupied with how such a miracle could have happened, whereas the real question at issue is who Jesus really is. Like so many of us, “the man born blind” comes to this insight only gradually. Initially, he identifies the one who healed him simply as “the man called Jesus.” The interrogation he undergoes leads him to acknowledge Jesus as “a prophet.” But it is only by way of direct engagement with Jesus that he acknowledges him as “the Son of Man,” a title that suggests Jesus is the one who makes God known in human history.

In this story, acquiring sight is all about recognizing the true identity of Jesus and learning to live out of that truth. This Gospel insight is complemented by the Letter of the Ephesians, which invites followers of Jesus to “live as children of light.” Our Lenten journey alongside those moving toward baptism is about learning to see Jesus as the one who gives true meaning to our lives. 

For all those who are seriously ill at this time, that they may feel God's love and receive healing,let us pray to the Lord.

All:Lord, hear our prayer.

For medical workers, police, government leaders, and all those working hard to help others at this time, may God give them strength and wisdom, let us pray to the Lord.

All:Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who are lonely, scared, and confused at this time, that they can feel God’s love for them, let us pray to the Lord.

All:Lord, hear our prayer.

A spiritual communion is a desire to receive the Holy Eucharist at a time when a person can’t actually receive the body and blood of Christ. St. Thomas Aquinas defined a spiritual communion as “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received him.”

A spiritual communion can be a formal, informal or even nonverbal prayer, that expresses a person’s hunger for the Eucharist, desire to be united to the Eucharistic life of Christ and profound love for the sacrament. Recommendations:

My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.

St. Catherine of Siena imagined Christ holding two chalices: ‘In this golden chalice I put your sacramental communions. In this silver chalice I put your Spiritual Communions. Both chalices are quite pleasing to me.”

St. John Vianney: “If we are deprived of Sacramental Communion, let us replace it, as far as we can, by Spiritual Communion, which we can make every moment; for we ought to have always a burning desire to receive the good God. Communion is to the soul like blowing a fire that is beginning to go out, but that has still plenty of hot embers; we blow, and the fire burns again…. When we cannot go to the church, let us turn towards the tabernacle; no wall can shut us out from the good God.”

St. Jose Maria Escriva: “Do not neglect to say, “Jesus, I love you”, and make one Spiritual Communion, at least, each day, in atonement for all the profanations and sacrileges he suffers because he wants to be with us.”

St. Leonard of Port Maurice: “If you practice the holy exercise of Spiritual Communion several times each day, within a month you will see your heart completely changed.”

St. Teresa of Jesus: “When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a Spiritual Communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

May the Lord bless us protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Go in the peace of Christ and thanks be to God.