Third Sunday of Lent

God has created each human person with a physical body. The body must be cared for and treated with respect and dignity. It is the vehicle through which we encounter God’s presence, and so it is central in God’s plan for our salvation.

In many countries, such as Ethiopia, the physical wellbeing of individuals is in need of urgent attention. The Church responds to this challenge by providing care in a variety of ways. It sees the area of greatest need - child poverty, HIV/AIDS, sexual exploitation, violence and war - and seeks to apply healing and hope.

In our gospel, Jesus healed the blind man by treating his physical ailment, but he also touched the man’s spirit with the promise and reality of forgiveness. In their imitation of this healing Jesus, the Church’s aid agencies endeavour to treat both the physical and spiritual dimensions of an individual’s life. To be healed and healthy demands physical and spiritual wholeness. As Jesus healed the whole person, so aid agencies recognise that both our physical and our spiritual needs unite to make us who we are, and who we can be. It is the work of agencies such as SCIAF, in countries like Ethiopia, to address the full human person, and so to offer restoration, recovery and transformation.

Let us pray

Father, allow the healing power of the Spirit to touch our lives, and the lives of all who suffer physically, emotionally, psychologically or spiritually. May all who are troubled know true healing, and so be renewed and restored to fullness of life.

Amen.