95th Meditation on God the Father
“The Lord gives sight to the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down” (Ps 146:8).
Indeed, the blind came to Jesus and He opened their eyes (cf. Mk 10:46-52). What a great grace when a person whose physical eyes could not see, regains ability to look on the glorious Creation and to see people face to face!
But incomparably greater still is the grace of having the eyes of the spirit opened to us, to behold the glory of God and to recognize the love of our Heavenly Father.
Jesus laments that “you have eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear” (Mk 8:18). This means that one can suffer from spiritual blindness and deafness, so that one does not consciously perceive God’s benefits or receive them from His hand. In such a case, God continues to shower us with His gifts, but we do not see the hand that gives them to us.
There are many kinds of spiritual blindness and the Lord wants to heal all of them, if only we raise our eyes to Him. When the light of the Holy Spirit begins to shine in us, it pierces all darkness. Thus, there is an awakening, our spiritual eyes are opened and we begin to see with the eyes of God. With the passage of time, everything becomes clearer and the mist fades away.
The Lord calls to those who are bent under the burden: “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt 11:28-30).
The burden that most burdens us is that of sin. It subjugates man and makes him a slave. Thus, he can no longer breathe freely, nor is he able to recognize the reality of God as he should. Even if he himself does not perceive it, true life will awaken in him only when he consciously encounters God’s love, when the scales fall from his eyes and he allows himself to be set straight by the Lord.
This is precisely the desire of our Father. He does not want men to be blind or bound by sin. On the contrary, He wants to give us that freedom which only Jesus can grant: “If the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free” (Jn 8:36).
The Father sends us His beloved Son as a pledge of His unswerving fidelity, and in Him the words of Psalm 146 become a reality for all to see: “the blind see again, and the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Mt 11:5).
Our Father has fulfilled His promises!