need to address you who are not part of them.
I now speak to all the rest of you, the parishioners of St. Mary’s
Cathedral Parish. You are the faithful and loyal disciples that the Lord Jesus
desires.”
How can I, knowing that Christ often leads us #into deeper truths by taking us away from the familiar—just as He commanded, “Do not even go into the village”—reconcile my search for a miracle for Daniel through the intercession of the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen with Pope Francis’s call to refuse turning reality into an object for our control, and the Synod’s reminder that the Spirit draws us fully into the mystery of Christ—especially as I, one of “the few,” feel led away from St. Mary’s Cathedral and into a new season of faith, much like planting Aji Amarillo chilis indoors during a brutal cold snap❓
Gospel
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything❓”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”
I find myself being led into unfamiliar territory, much like the blind man in today’s Gospel. He was taken by the hand and led into a place outside the village before his sight was restored. Likewise, I have been led into a deeper search for faith, longing for a miracle for Daniel through the intercession of the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. But instead of feeling welcomed into the arms of the Church, I feel pushed further away, left to wonder why this journey has taken me outside the walls I once trusted.
Pope Francis reminds us that Saint Francis refused to turn reality into an object to be used and controlled. This challenges me to reflect on whether I have, in my frustration, tried to shape this journey into my own vision instead of allowing God to lead me. Have I been so focused on seeking a miracle that I have forgotten to trust the process of being drawn into God’s greater plan❓ Perhaps, like the blind man, my sight is only being restored in stages, and I must allow myself to be led completely before I can see clearly.
truth (cf. Jn 16:13), until he leads us fully into the mystery of Christ and enables us to see all things as he does. “
The Synod speaks of the Spirit guiding us into the mystery of Christ, leading us toward a fuller truth. If I truly believe in this journey, then I must allow myself to be drawn into deeper trust, rather than getting caught up in human disappointments. Maybe being excluded from St. Mary’s Cathedral is actually an invitation into something greater—a more profound reliance on God rather than institutions, a more personal encounter with Christ rather than one dictated by the approval of others.
As I tend to my Aji Amarillo chilis, carefully nurturing them into growth despite the harsh cold outside, I realize that faith often requires patience. Seeds must push into the soil before they break through. Roots must deepen before fruit appears. And just as Jesus commanded the man not to go into the village after his healing, perhaps I, too, must resist the urge to go back to what was familiar, and instead trust the new path God is leading me on.
The poverty and austerity of Saint Francis were no mere veneer of asceticism, but something much more radical: a refusal to turn reality into an object simply to be used and controlled.
FROM PARAGRAPH 11 OF THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME