Fourth Sunday in Lent 2026 (Gaudete Sunday)
Today we are gifted with one of the longest first-person testimonies in St. John’s Gospel, the story of the man born blind. We hear this on Gaudete Sunday, when the entrance antiphon sings “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.” Our opening prayer is perfect for the occasion: “O God, who through your Word reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way, grant, we pray, that with prompt devotion and eager faith, the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come.” Those celebrations, just three weeks from now, commemorate the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and they feature the initiation sacraments to be given to all those coming into the Church then.
We begin with the Israelite history, as the prophet Samuel goes to Bethlehem to find Jesse’s son, the man destined to be the king of Israel. One by one, Jesse’s sons pass before Samuel and are rejected by the Lord. The youngest, David, was tending the family’s herd of sheep. When he appeared, Samuel heard the voice of God telling him to anoint red-headed singer David as king of Israel.
The spirit of the Lord then came on the boy, and Scripture testifies that it never left him. What was the Lord looking for? He tells us elsewhere that David was a man “after God’s own heart.” This appears a thousand years later, when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and revealed His Sacred Heart as the source of infinite grace on Calvary.
St. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus a few years later, telling them that their sacramental union with Jesus makes them into light sources, children of light. Gardeners know that the most important part of garden planning is making certain that the plants get the right kind of light at the proper hours. We must all learn what is pleasing to the Lord—doing good and avoiding evil. We can all become light sources for the world, a world that is desperate for the light of Christ to come into its life.
Now to St. John’s Gospel, as Jesus passes by a man blind from birth. That’s all of us, is it not? When we are given life by our parents, it’s only natural life. God intended for all humans to be created in His own image and likeness. We cannot live in light and joy for all eternity unless we are in His presence, exhibiting the love He gives us. So, in a real way, we are all sitting on the side of the road when we are born, waiting for the Son of God to give us His light. We are born with the potential to become sources of light, but the switch is off. God gives us the gift of faith, and makes us ready to power up a thousand-watt lamp of evangelization.
Look carefully at John’s story. What does it remind you of when you read that Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the dust and saliva, and smeared it on the blind man’s eyes so that when he washed it off, he would be sighted? It should remind you of the story in Genesis when God made clay, formed it into Adam, and breathed life into his soul. The Holy Spirit energized Adam, and empowers us after we are baptized.
Our catechumens have spent several weeks or months longing for the light of Christ to come into their lives. Why? So that they, as well as we, can become enlighteners for the world that now lurks in darkness. Let’s devote several hours or days to praying for these men and women as they prepare for Jesus to change their lives as He has changed ours—for the better always.
