Third Sunday of Lent

Dear Parish Family,

In the first reading from the book of Samuel, we hear that Samuel was instructed by the Lord to go to the house of Jesse. There, the Lord would choose one of Jesse’s sons to replace Saul as the anointed king of Israel. One by one Jesse’s sons were brought in to stand in front of the prophet. Each son seemed to have all the physical traits that one would expect for a king. But the Lord reminded Samuel, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the LORD looks into the heart.”

When David came in, it is interesting that Scripture, after making such a strong point that humans don’t see as God sees, says that David made a splendid appearance. It seems that while it is true that humans don’t see as God sees, it may also be true that God sees as humans see. Or, put another way, it is possible for us to see as God sees. How is it possible to see as God sees? What kind of work do we need to do to see as God sees?

Many of us are familiar with Michelangelo’s statue of David in Florence. David is portrayed as strong and muscular, selfpossessed and sure of himself. Statues of David previous to Michelangelo’s portrayed him as a little kid. One statue portrays David picking up the sword of Goliath and you are left asking yourself, “How did that kid pick up that sword?” The sword is as tall as he is! These earlier statues portrayed David as other people saw him. But Michelangelo portrayed David as God saw him: full of faith, of possibility, of potential to do God’s will. This is the way of seeing to which God calls each of us. When we look at one another, we are not to look at the other’s sin, but their possibility to do good. To see as God sees requires that we radically believe that God’s goodness is in every person.

To see as God sees requires that we abandon anything in us that might get in the way of encouraging another’s goodness, whether that is jealousy, anger, or fear. It seems that this is the truly Christian approach. We are not to berate people for their sinfulness, like the chief priests berated the blind man. We are to recognize the potential of every person to follow Christ. Just as Jesus gave sight to the blind man, so Jesus gives us sight. Jesus gives us sight to recognize the potential in others to follow Christ even more closely. The Good News is that Christ shows us how to see as God sees! (hprweb.com)

St Joseph’s feastday is transferred to Monday, March 20. Patron of the Universal Church, he is one chosen by the Father to nurture and protect the Messiah and His mother, to be the head of the holiest family on earth even though he was the least holy. Let us pray that he guide and protect us too. God bless you, Sister Maria Inviolata, SMDG

God bless you,

Sister Maria Inviolata, SMDG