LOSS: GRIEF AND HARD TIMES
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LORD! THAT I MAY SEE
By Mary Olivia Patiño
“Where are we going?” His voice clear despite the weight of years, I look up to see who is speaking. An elderly gentleman sits in a wheelchair, pushed laboriously by an elderly woman, bent in age. Thoughts of my abuelita (may she rest in peace) flicker briefly. My grandmother also had a stoop to her back, most probably from years of hard labor on the farm.
While I do not hear a response, I know where he is going. He is going to see the ophthalmologist. I know because I myself sit in the waiting area. My friends drove me for the eye exam and we chat while waiting for my turn. All three of us had walked in; each of us sees pretty well. However, I am having difficulty with my eye a few days before surgery. So, here we are.
"Where are we going?”
I look up again. Once more, they pass before me. This time, a younger woman pushes his chair while the elderly woman (maybe she was his wife) walks at his side. No answer that I can hear. As I watch him go for his exam, I wonder: how often do we hear and see with our hearts at what is happening before us? Do we see?
In Luke’s Gospel (Lk 18:35-43), we hear about a blind man, and his encounter with Jesus. A blind man is sitting along the road to Jericho, begging. How long he must have waited for his sight to be restored! How long he must have lived at the mercy of others. How long he must have waited for His Redeemer.
Crowds are talking, others murmuring, as they pass the blind man. At hearing them, the blind man wants to know what is happening. When they tell him that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, the blind man calls out to Jesus: “Son of David, have pity on me!” Twice, he calls out to Jesus.
Jesus sees the blind man, hears him clearly, and takes pity. He responds with a question: “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, please let me see.” Of course, Jesus already knew the blind man wanted to see. But He knew that we have to ask for what we want or need. Above all, we need to have faith. “Have sight. Your faith has saved you.”
In reading Luke’s Gospel, we too encounter Jesus as he approaches Jericho. We, too, hear and see what is happening. We, too, are waiting for God’s mercy.
I am reminded how often we ask questions about life; about where we are, or where we are going; or for mercy. When one’s sight is limited, as with the elderly man in the waiting room at the beginning of this reflection, we can understand the question. He had one eye completely shut and the other was clouded. When our sight or faith is dimmed, we can understand too.
Jesus, let me see! Let me hear and see when others are suffering. Let me see my own failings. Amen.
Mary Olivia Patiño is a writer and poet. She enjoys photography and integrates it into creative design, and in her published books. For several years, she facilitated a faith-based writing group which she formed in collaboration with parishioners.
A lay person, she reflects on her past ministry and day-to-day experiences where she encounters God's presence, She is an Oblate of the Order of St. Benedict with the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica. She is a graduate of the Oblate School of Theology and of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.
