"I do believe, Lord."

by Fr. Jerome Cayetano  |  03/15/2026  |  The WORD in other words

At the 4:00pm Mass last Saturday, we held the first scrutiny to our Catechumens. I told them that they are like Jesus who thirsts for water...not just for the element of water that quenches our thirst, but for the faith (Baptism) and the Holy Spirit who guarantees eternal life. And in the process, they gradually discover Jesus as the ordinary man, the prophet, the Messiah and the Savior of the world. And the secret is just they have to be attentive and be focused on Jesus, especially on his words - the words of Jesus that lead to the truth. Like the Samaritan woman, who was able to proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the world to her people.

Today, we hear the beautiful story of the man who was born blind. Jesus saw him near the pool of Siloam. It was a Sabbath day. Of course, Jesus took pity of him. Jesus spat on the ground and made clay with his saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes. And he told him: "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam," which means sent. So he went and washed and he came back able to see. This miracle or sign points to the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism, which cleanses us of our original sin and opens our eyes to faith in Jesus. This is the internal journey, which our catechumens are on right now. Jesus is slowly making a clay of his saliva and smearing it on their eyes...and on Easter Vigil, Jesus will tell them go and wash yourselves in the water of Baptism. We are also being asked to reminisce this journey within us to appreciate the sacrament of Baptism.

The dialogue between the man born blind and the Pharisees shows us who the people are who are really blind. It is the Pharisees, who think that Jesus is a sinner because he infringed the law of the Sabbath, and the ones who refused to acknowledge that he is a prophet and the Savior of the world. It is their pride and arrogance that made them blind to the truth. The blind man was completely healed, not only physically, but spiritually because he acknowledged that Jesus is the prophet, the Son of Man. His willingness to encounter him personally led him to discover that Jesus is his Lord and God...and he believed and worshiped Him.

Indeed, our faith in Jesus would lead us (the Catechumens and us) to a personal encounter with Him and truly acknowledge that Jesus is our Lord and God by worshiping Him.

Today's gospel account therefor inspires, convicts and challenges us first to accept that all of us are blind and in need of healing. We are blind to accept the Truth by always favoring and believing the lies that Satan and the world tell us. We are blind by our sins by our refusal to accept and acknowledge them due to our pride, arrogance and stubbornness.

Second, once we have humbly accepted that we are spiritually blind, let us ask Jesus to heal of our blindness. He would only be able to heal us if we obediently follow his command by reminiscing the Sacrament of Baptism and by confessing sins and allowing the sacrament of forgiveness to burn our sins of pride and arrogance. Finally, we have to reflect the deeper meaning of "believe" in John most especially when we profess the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. It is not only an assent, but it implies that we have to come to Him, to listen to Him, to follow Him and to abide in Him.

P.S. Please answer the Parish survey and remember that it’s our responsibility to help our parishes (STR and OLV) reach our CDA target. Be generous as God has been so gracious and generous to us.