Living our Best Life in his Light - 4th Sunday of Lent
While reflecting on today’s Gospel, I could not help but think of the life story of one of my sisters in our community before she joined us. She believed she was living her best life—surrounded by great friends, completed her degree, and had a boyfriend. However, her perspective began to shift when she attended a Catholic event. There, she and her friends engaged in a deep conversation with a priest, asking many questions about faith and Church teachings.
She didn’t like everything the priest said, as deep down, his words challenged her. She realised she was blind to the truth of her own spiritual hunger. The next day at Mass, they played the song, Open My Eyes, with lyrics that include: “Open my eyes, Lord, help me to see your face.... Open my eyes, Lord, help me to hear your voice.... Open my heart, Lord, help me to love like you.”
In that moment, she felt God speaking directly to her, loving her, inviting her to be healed and to have her eyes opened. As she prayed, she grappled with the reality of God’s invitation. The challenge was clear: God was inviting her to change her life and transform her heart, but she resisted. After all, she was living her best life!
During these moments of prayer, she experienced the profound realisation that she was seen by God. Her heart longed for more.
Change meant leaving behind the comfortable life she had built. Yet, she knew she had to respond to the invitation to open her eyes, heart, and ears. She carved out time for Jesus in her daily life, and gradually her spiritual blindness began to lift. During these moments of prayer, she experienced the profound realisation that she was seen by God. Her heart longed for more.
This led her to make significant changes, altering the direction of her life: she studied theology, joined a Catholic community, and ended her relationship. She developed a new zeal for her faith; it came alive, and God became real to her. She wanted to share her journey with others—her friends and family— as she was now truly living her best life!
Just like the story in today’s Gospel where the blind man receives his sight, we, too, need our eyes opened. Initially the blind man was in darkness— physically and spiritually. The people viewed him as an outcast, defined by his disability, and judged for the sin of either himself or his parents. However, Jesus saw him differently, just as he sees my sister, and each of us. He sees love, potential, worth, and an opportunity for his glory to be revealed.
The blind man’s encounter with Jesus, shows us how God desires to open our eyes, ears, and heart to the deeper truths, inviting us to be healed. He invites us into this experience to be loved, to love others, to move in compassion and share in his goodness, and ultimately—to live our best life!
The blind man’s encounter with Jesus, shows us how God desires to open our eyes, ears, and heart to the deeper truths, inviting us to be healed.
Let’s be open to God’s invitation to see, hear and love in a way that transforms us.
Therese Mills
This reflection was originally written for Compassio - the 2026 Lenten Program of the Diocese of Wollongong.