Lent celebrates Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to strengthen his life witness. At the end of his sojourn he is tempted by the devil. Louse de Marillac is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to strengthen her life witness. She is tempted by the devil that is two competing monarchies, The Church and The State. They competed in the 1600s of France as they compete in our time and place. It is a competition between members of the ruling class; sacred vs. secular. Secular means “belonging to the state,” as opposed to the church. ‘Men of God’ refuse a separation of Church and State. All members of the ruling class refuse communion, constantly separating us from each other. The class of rulers compete among themselves for domination while the people they dominate live in squalor. Like people of our time, Louise was intent upon changing the people’s condition. She began a life of service to people who were made poor by the competing monarchies. She worked with others to create a new religious order, the Daughters of Charity. All previous religious orders as ruled by the Church monarchy could only be cloistered. In practical terms, people could pray like Jesus, confined as a contemplative withdrawn from the world. They could not however act like Jesus, free as a social revolutionary in the world. The State monarchy too crushed political reformers intent on changing social conditions. Louise envisioned a community that was faithful to Jesus as both a personal contemplative and a social healer. She was guided on her sojourn by a priest, Vincent de Paul. Vincent had been a two-faced ruler enjoying the status of both monarchies. Then, he converted and immersed himself in the lives of the poor. With Vincent’s connections Louise and her women companions were able to operate a non-cloistered social service community in direct contact with the poorest of people. They served in, and also founded, hospitals, prisons, and schools. Like the man born blind in today’s Gospel whom Jesus heals, Louise came under intense scrutiny by the authorities who questioned her social service work. Also like the man born blind, Louise affirmed she and her sisters could now see Christ, “I felt a great attraction for the holy humanity of Jesus and I desired to honor and imitate him insofar as I was able in the person of the poor and of all my neighbors.”
Prayer: Dear Jesus, May we see the divinity and the humanity of all people.
Question: How do I serve holy humanity?
March 15, 2026 Gospel John 9:1-41 Fourth Sunday in Lent