Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Matthew 9: 27-31
December 5, 2025 | Friday

Today’s Gospel

As Jesus moved on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, “Son of David, help us!” When he was about to enter the house, the blind men caught up with him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do what you want?” They answered, “Yes, sir!”

Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “As you have believed, so let it be.” And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus gave them a stern warning, “Be careful that no one knows about this.” But as soon as they went away, they spread the news about him through the whole area.

Today’s Reflection

The first reading speaks of a prophetic promise of justice and restoration symbolized, among other things, by the restoration of hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind. The Lord himself shall enable the subjugated Israelites to restore their nation if they take to heart his words.

The Gospel passage illustrates the fulfillment of this prophecy, underscoring how the two blind men’s active engagements significantly contributed to the restoration of their sight. Worth noting among their engagements is that the blind men cried out loudly for Jesus’ mercy (Mt 9:27, Gk. eleēson hēmas)—a cry that reveals their helplessness and need for divine intervention.

While we are not physically blind, most suffer from spiritual blindness. This blindness manifests in various forms of sinfulness, negative tendencies, and our inability to see the Lord’s presence in all aspects of our lives, especially in desolating situations. Saint Augustine teaches that the first step in healing our spiritual blindness is to realize that we can only do so much without the Lord. Without the Lord, we shall end up tired and restless, regardless of our great efforts to find meaning in life. Like the blind men, we too should cry for mercy to the Lord who knows us through and through. In the words of Saint Augustine, he is “more inward to [us] than [our] most inward part; and higher than [our] highest.” (Confessions III.6.11)

Moreover, despite being warned to keep the healing private, the healed men could not contain their joy and shared the good news throughout that area. Once we return to the Lord and are liberated from our negative tendencies, we tend to recognize the Lord in all aspects of our lives. We shall then exude happiness—a happiness that we could not keep to ourselves.

/Vulnerasti, 2025