Avoiding the soul’s blindness

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10: 46-52)

For those who have lost their sight, the suffering is far greater than for those who were already born blind. The former, in fact, know what they are missing in having lost the most important of the senses, while the latter are less cognizant having never experienced sight in the first place. It is analogous to the spiritual life: when a soul becomes blind by turning away from the Light of God, it longs for it  again and begins looking for a path to conversion. Surely, this conversion is more difficult, though not impossible with God's Grace for those who have never known His love. Jesus came to earth two thousand years ago for us and for our salvation, so let us strive to avoid our souls’ blindness caused by being sinful.