Dear Family of St. Luke’s,

Recently, I heard the story of a man standing in front of a store asking for assistance. At his feet was a basket and next to it was a sign which read, "Blind, please help." People came, and people went. Somehow, they all looked past him. He was blind, but they were blind to him. Finally a young woman did stop. She noticed that there was nothing in the blind man’s basket. No one was paying attention. "Sir, would you mind if I would change your sign?" After he agreed, she wrote, "this is the first day of spring, and I cannot see it!’ When she returned, she oticed the basket was full.

What had made the difference? Somehow the new message had reached where the old one had failed. People could accept a blind man as a part of the scenery, another piece of reality in a needy world. Everyone seemed to want their help. Every cause was meritorious. Where did it begin? Where did it end? But the new sign touched a place that the old one had not. As they walked they felt the sun on their faces. As they walked, they smelled the fragrance of the air, were refreshed by the gentle breeze. But most of all, they saw the blue of the sky, the green of the trees and the grass, the variety of colors of the flowers planted in the islands of the avenues they walked. What people saw was the frame for what they felt and smelled. Folks began to ask themselves what the day would be like, what would life be like without sight, their sight. All of a sudden, they were able to identify with the blind man. He was no longer a part of their inevitable panorama, he was flesh and blood. He was human, one of them. Yes, he was them, but lacking the grace of sight! They were thankful! They were moved! They were called to respond! Passion had replaced complacency.

That is what Jesus did for us on the Cross. Where words might fail, His intimate act of love made us realize how much we were loved, how much we were accepted, how much we were valued. Jesus saw us and made us see ourselves through the intimate eyes of God. In this Resurrection season, help us to see ourselves and each other through those same personal eyes. Let us proclaim, "It is the first day of spring, and only by the grace of God can we see it."

Blessedness, Fr. Pete