I’m beginning a mission at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Plainville, Ct today and I’ll be preaching at all the Masses over the weekend. We will have a mission service each evening at 7 o’clock from tomorrow evening till Wednesday. I’ll be preaching at the morning Masses at 8 o’clock  too. Confessions after each service.

John’s gospel for Sunday about the blind man receiving his sight is a wonderful gospel with which to begin a mission: a dramatic story, involving Jesus and his disciples, the blind beggar, his parents, the neighbors, the Pharisees, and of course ourselves.

I like especially the way John’s Gospel links the disciples with Jesus.

“We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.

Night is coming when no one can work.

While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  John 9

We receive light from Jesus, but also from his disciples who share his mission to be light  for the world. So besides Peter and James and John and the others, we have a mission too. I’m going to speak about that at the mission tomorrow night.

We also are there in the blind man, who can do nothing for himself. Like him, we wait for God, like beggars with empty hands and no eyes.

We are there too in the blind man’s parents who don’t want to get involved in all of this, even if he is their son. We don’t like involvement.

We’re there in the curious neighbors, like a Greek chorus chiming in as the events unfold.

Then, there are the Pharisees, blind in a different way but convinced they see. We can find ourselves in them too.

I’ll be posting blogs during the mission for those who can’t make it, or would like to follow it from a distance. I’ve done this before and it seems to work.

A mission is like the spit and clay Jesus used to heal. Doesn’t look like much, but it can bring some to see again. Please God, this one will do it also.