Reflection From

Fr. John

Meditation from Father John

March 22, 2026

“Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40) This past Sunday we heard about the blind man who was blind from his birth. We heard how Jesus opened his eyes and healed him of his blindness. He healed him not only of his physical blindness but brought him from unbelief to belief in Jesus as the Messiah.

Similarly, this week, we read again from the Gospel of John. We hear about another miraculous healing. This time it is not the healing of a blind man but the raising of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. Lazarus, whose name means “God helps” was one of Jesus’ closest friends along with Martha and Mary. Jesus would often go to their home in Bethany for rest during his public ministry.

The raising of Lazarus marks one of Jesus’ most significant and most profound miracles. It is Jesus’ last miracle in the Gospel of John before His Passion. It serves as a link between the Book of Signs in the Gospel of John and the Book of Glory. Within John’s Gospel, the Book of Signs consists of the first 12 chapters. It includes all of Jesus’ miracles and public ministry. Chapters 13-20 within the Gospel of John are known as the book of Glory. Within the book of Glory, St. John presents Jesus's final hours, Crucifixion, and His Resurrection as His supreme glorification rather than his defeat. At the conclusion of the Book of Signs, St. John describes the raising of Lazarus and uses it as the climax of Jesus’ healing ministry. It demonstrates God’s power over death and prefigures Jesus’ own Resurrection.

We too, like Lazarus, are in need of Jesus’ healing and transformative power. We are in need of His healing touch. Like Lazarus, we are entombed in our own fear, selfishness and doubt. Similar to the healing of the man born blind from birth, the situation with Lazarus seemed beyond hope. He had been in the tomb for four days, from a human perspective he was beyond all hope. Jesus, however, stood before the tomb and cried out, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43) St. John then mentions, “The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” (John 11:44)

Like Lazarus, our souls and our hearts are bound through our sinfulness and unbelief. Wherever we experience loss, despair, loneliness or disbelief, we are in need of Jesus’ healing words to call us forth from our self centered tombs. Through our prayers and in our hearts, may we reach out to Christ and ask Him to heal us from our sinfulness and doubt. Jesus comes to heal and renew us and transform our minds whenever we pray to Him and especially through the grace of the Sacraments. One particularly powerful avenue of God’s grace is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, removes the sin and the weight that burdens our souls. Through the Prayer of Absolution by the priest, Jesus breathes new life into our soul and transforms our suffering into joy.

This week in the Gospel, Jesus replies to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” ( John 11:25-26) Through the reception of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation, may we turn to Christ, who is the source of all life and allow His healing power to unbind us and transform our hearts.

Father John

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