(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 03.15. 2026).- At noon on Sunday, March 15, Pope Leo XIV delivered the traditional Sunday address preceding the Angelus from the window of the papal apartment. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists filled part of St. Peter’s Square. The Holy Father focused on an explanation of the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. At the end, after the Angelus, the Pope made a renewed appeal for peace, especially in the Middle East.
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The Gospel reading for this Fourth Sunday of Lent recounts the healing of a man blind from birth (cf. John 9:1-41). Through the symbolism of this episode, the evangelist John speaks to us of the mystery of salvation: while we were in darkness, while humanity walked in darkness (cf. Isaiah 9:1), God sent His Son as the light of the world, to open the eyes of the blind and illuminate our lives.
The prophets had announced that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind (cf. Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; Psalm 146:8). Jesus Himself affirms His mission by showing that «the blind see» (Matthew 11:4); and He presents Himself saying, «I am the light of the world» (John 8:12). Indeed, we can say that we are all «born blind,» because on our own we cannot see the full mystery of life. That is why God became flesh in Jesus, so that the clay of our humanity, moulded with the breath of His grace, could receive a new light, which makes us capable of finally seeing God, others, and ourselves in truth.
It is striking that for centuries the opinion has been widespread, and is still present today, that faith is a kind of «leap in the dark,» a renunciation of thinking, so that having faith would mean believing «blindly.» The Gospel, on the other hand, tells us that in contact with Christ, eyes are opened, to the point that religious authorities insistently ask the healed blind man: «How were your eyes opened?» (John 9:10); and also: «How did He open your eyes?» (v. 26).
Brothers and sisters, we too, healed by the love of Christ, are called to live a Christianity «with open eyes.» Faith is not a blind act, a renunciation of reason, a disposition of a certain religious conviction that leads us to turn our gaze away from the world. On the contrary, faith helps us to see «from Jesus’ point of view, with His eyes: it is a participation in His way of seeing» (Encyclical Letter Lumen Fidei, 18) and, for this reason, asks us to «open our eyes,» as He did, especially to the sufferings of others and the wounds of the world.
Today, in particular, faced with the many questions of the human heart and the dramatic situations of injustice, violence, and suffering that mark our world, we need an awakened, attentive, and prophetic faith that opens our eyes to the darkness of the world and brings the light of the Gospel there, through a commitment to peace, justice, and solidarity.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to intercede for us, so that the light of Christ may open the eyes of our hearts and we may bear witness to Him with simplicity and courage.
