MEDITATION TIPS (Episode 295)
Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 15, 2026

"As Jesus was passing by, he saw a man born blind." (John 9:1)

　The encounter between Jesus and this blind man was initially accidental. However, having been given light by Jesus, the man realized that he was meant to meet Jesus, and finally, "He knelt down and said, 'Lord, I believe!'" (9:38)

　At a previous church, I met a woman named Ms. Kurita who was completely blind. In her twenties, during her youth, she contracted SMON disease, a rare disease that left her paralyzed from the waist down, and eventually she lost her sight. She was deeply depressed for a time, but her mother was a remarkable woman who continued to encourage her. Later, she encountered the Catholic Church and was eventually baptized. Her mother's favorite saying was, "Whether you live a day complaining or a day filled with gratitude and joy, it's still the same day. So which will you choose?"

　I eventually met her and visited her every month. We always held hands, prayed for her, and talked, as she was completely blind. She often said, "Certainly, this illness is difficult. But if I were healthy, I would have been out having fun and would never have encountered God. It is because of this illness that I can pray to God every day. So I am grateful to God for this illness." She lived alone, but she was always cheerful, and her bright personality brought her many friends. She received visits and help from her friends every day, and in turn, she gave her friends much more encouragement and comfort than she had received herself. To me, she seemed to be enjoying happiness every day. At the age of 60, despite being completely blind and bedridden, she quietly returned her life to God in gratitude and joy.

　There is a 1931 American film starring Charles Chaplin called "City Lights." It depicts the encounter between a shabby man named Charlie and a poor, blind flower girl, and it is a film I will never forget. The man struggles alone to help the girl. Thanks to that, she regained her sight through surgery and is now living happily, having opened a flower shop. Meanwhile, the man who helped her was mistaken for a thief and ended up in prison. She believes the man who helped her when she was blind was a kind, wealthy gentleman, and every day she searches for him among the wealthy customers who visit her flower shop.

　Meanwhile, the man, released from prison and back to his shabby life, one day happens to spot her in front of the flower shop and gazes intently at her, now healthy. Still believing the wealthy gentleman had saved her, she laughs with the shop assistant at the sight of the shabby man and pays him no attention. However, feeling sorry for him as he continues to stare, she takes his hand to give him a flower and some change as she leaves the shop, and at that moment, she remembers the feeling of the hand of the man who once saved her. And finally, she says, "Was it you?" and the film ends.

　Whenever I recall my meeting with Ms. Kurita, this film always comes to mind. Our meeting, too, began by chance. However, ”Lord, I believe” (9:38), that we were meant to meet, as we talked together, prayed together, and created wonderful memories.

 　　　　　(Contributed by Father Yutaka Akabae)