(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: https://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Mass-Blog-for-the-4th-Sunday-of-Lent-2026.mp3)
“Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.” (1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a)
Judging by the psalm following this Sunday’s first reading, little David carried that rush with him as he grew to be an inspirational writer:
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. (Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6)
David was God’s chosen leader for Israel and was to sire a long line of descendants leading to God’s very own Son in the flesh, born to a virgin married to Joseph of the House of David. Jesus would lead ALL believers to his Father’s house. But judging by the psalm preceding Number 23, there was a time David wasn’t feeling the Lord’s presence, and in fact, Jesus would quote his royal ancestor’s loneliness from the cross:
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Psalm 22)
Isolation and darkness can kill one’s faith, and even our very selves, if we let them. Lent encourages us to walk Christ’s path to feel not only the Son of David’s loneliness, but the Son of God’s awakening, as well. Paul helps us get there:
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Ephesians 5:8-14)
Like Jesus often did, here Paul was giving new life to an Old Testament teaching from Isaiah, rousing a new generation to his Master’s light:
“Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust! For your dew is a dew of light, and you cause the land of shades to give birth.” (Isaiah 26:19)
Our shady land gave birth to “the light of the world,” as Jesus refers to himself in Sunday’s gospel reading before restoring vision to a man blind from birth:
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” Jesus said. And when he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent. So he went and washed, and came back able to see. (John 9:1-41)
Just as not even God’s Old Testament prophet Samuel could see God’s wisdom in choosing little David as His king, many were blind to the nature of Jesus’s kingship. Still are. But divine light penetrates to the heart, and we’re judged by what GOD sees. We’re called to abandon the blindness of this world and share in our Father’s vision of us. As Jesus explains,
“I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”
–Tom Andel
We are all on the journey from spiritual blindness toward true vision in the light of Christ. Each of us travels that road from a different starting point, and at a different pace. Some may be just beginning to see the first glimmer of light, while others have walked further along the path. At times that darkness causes us to stumble, reminding us that we were never meant to walk alone. Christ—and the community of believers—helps illuminate the way.
That’s a big part of the Knights’ role, as you know, George, because you and our brother Knights contribute mightily to feeding and empowering those seeking a way out of their darkness. Our patron Blessed Michael McGivney devoted his life to helping orphans and widows. As a priest he also promoted charity, unity, and fraternity among young men, lighting the way so they could follow his example.
When the word light is used in Holy Scripture, my mental image goes to the light of the Holy Spirit. This is the brightest possible light as it comes directly from God in the unity of the Holy Trinity.
The most amazing aspect of this supernatural light is that we all possess it and have access to it, yet most of us can’t locate the switch to turn it on. Many have had this ability, just look at the saints – thousands upon thousands have used the light of the Holy Spirit to guide the way for themselves, and countless others.
I’m not certain how they have been able to do this, but I’m pretty sure it starts with a level of faith that is extraordinary. Not impossible, just unusual.
How do we locate the switch to help light the world?
Thomas, after reciting his beatitudes Jesus said “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14-16) Our light is always on, it’s just that sometimes we’re afraid to let it shine, so we hide it. Letting it shine exposes us to the world, too. In John’s gospel, when Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus tells him “I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe because of the works themselves.” THEN Jesus tells his disciples (us included) “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:11-12) In this day of modern miracles, physicians are curing people who would have died without their care. Others are simply offering their light to people in darkness. That’s equally miraculous and luminous.