“God’s Medicine Restores Our Spiritual Sight”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
March 14 – 15, 2026
Gospel: John 9:1-41
This past week, I’ve been going around the diocese hearing confessions, and they’ve been a lot of fun. I like driving and listening to music. It’s very relaxing. Sometimes I have to stop people during their confessions because they go on and on with all sorts of details I don’t need. “Father, it was a dark and stormy night. Ships were ablaze on the horizon. Doors were slammed, and there were gunshots.” I don’t need the whole great American novel. I just need to know what you did, okay? If I have questions, I’ll ask them. One person launched into a political diatribe. I don’t talk about politics. But I will tell you, especially during this war we are engaged in, that on my last trip overseas, I was the chaplain to the theatre commander. Technically, I didn’t have the appropriate security clearance to hear the theatre-level briefings that I did, but the commander told me to stay. Where we were, CNN, Fox, and Sky News were broadcasting on television. I can safely say that everything you hear on the news should be prefaced with “Once upon a time.” What you hear on the news contains only a kernel of truth. Commentators are not read into any of this, so rash judgments are made. My advice to you is to follow my example, watch Animal Planet. YouTube videos of dogs are also good. They always crack me up, because dogs have so much to say! So let it go. We are not privy to what is really going on. It will make your lives a lot easier.
About once a year, I have to go see the ophthalmologist. It’s rather fun because they have this machine you stick your head in, and it’s like Star Wars with all these flashing lights. Also, when you leave, you get a gift. They give you these funky glasses that look like those you wear to watch 3D movies. That’s because your pupils have been dilated so that the doctor can see all of the eye. If you don’t wear those glasses, your whole outlook on life will change when you leave the office. Instead of thinking, “Oh, what a beautiful day; the sunshine is wonderful,” you’ll come outside and get blinded by the sunlight. So, put on the glasses. I had a problem with that one time after an appointment with the ophthalmologist. My appointment was early in the afternoon, and a little later, I had to drive to Charlotte. I was driving west, and it was very unpleasant. I made sure to drive the exact speed limit and not one mile over. If I got pulled over by law enforcement with my pupils dilated like saucers, I would not enjoy the experience. If I said, “I was at the eye doctor,” I doubt the officer would believe me. Law enforcement officers can be very skeptical of people’s excuses. But why the change? It was the same beautiful sunlight as when I walked into the doctor’s office, but it changed when I walked out. Why? Because the organ receiving the sunlight had changed.
God’s love and His call for us to be holy can be painful for a soul that has been damaged by sin or steeped in it. The organ that receives God’s love has changed. God hasn’t changed. God is immutable. I see people from time to time, and they ask me if I’m a Catholic priest. Yes. They’ll say, “I used to be Catholic.” Sometimes I let that slide, but other times I’ll say, “I still am. What happened to you?” I don’t need that crap. The way they say it could be interpreted as an insult. I could have retired by now with a wife and grandkids, having a good time. I bet none of them are still working at 72. Obviously, I didn’t get the memo.
What has changed is the soul that would receive God’s grace, and you see the reaction. God’s love has not changed. What has changed is the organ, the soul. That is why we ask God to restore us so that we can receive His gifts not as punishment but for conversion. He helps us clear our vision by our repeated use of the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Confession, wiping away all our sins. The closer we draw to God, the better our spiritual vision becomes, and we are able to realize why people hurt us. People do stupid stuff; I’ll give you that. But with our improved vision, we realize that they are all children of God. Believe it or not, God loves them as much as He loves you. That hurts because I thought I was His favorite. What did our Lord say to do for people who are offensive or who do bad things to us? Pray for them. Nobody is beyond the mercy of God, and no sin is too reprehensible.
Saint John Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests. He was walking one day when a lady approached him. He said, “My child, how are you?” She said, “Curé, you know that my husband fell off a bridge and died recently. I heard that you could read souls. My husband is in hell, right?” Saint Vianney said he didn’t know. The lady became a bit irate and said, “What do you mean you don’t know. He did this, and he did that!” After summing up the litany of her husband’s misdeeds, Saint Vianney said to the woman, “There was a long time from when he left the top of the bridge to when he hit the water. There was enough time to say, I’m sorry.” It was perhaps an act of imperfect contrition that would keep that man out of hell. So, we have no idea.
Like the sunlight, God’s love does not change. His love is immutable. It is the organ that receives His gifts that has changed. It has been damaged by our sins and by the sins of others. I will give you a great example, and you may have seen it. Never come up behind me when I don’t know you are there; you will not get a good reaction. That was caused by the sins of others. We all have our sufferings, but God gives us the medicine so we can regain our spiritual sight.
Father’s Reflections:
I told some priests how drugs can be your best friend in the spiritual life. When I was working in Hospice, I was visiting with this one patient in Room 4. He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He survived, became Catholic, and then became a priest. He left the priesthood and got married. Now he was in hospice. I asked him if he would like to receive Last Rites. He said, “No.” Okay, I didn’t take it personally. So, I left the room, got a cup of coffee, and waited until the drug cart came by. About 10 minutes later, I went back into his room and asked, “Would you like to receive Last Rites now?” I’ll take that as a “Yes.” Sometimes, morphine and fentanyl can be your best friends in hospice. It’s how you can use them to your advantage. I don’t like taking ‘no’ for an answer; I just wait until patients pass out.
How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________
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