Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Clear Eyes
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Paul says he has put his life in the service of the gospel, and by doing so, he has only done what he was supposed to do. He has given the gospel to people free of charge. It had come to him as a grace, and he gives it to others as a grace, a freely given gift.
Gospel. The gospel of today has everything to do with seeing: blind people cannot show the way to others, wounded eyes distort what they see in others and cannot see their own defects. We should have a bit of “sympathetic” blindness to the faults of others. And let us look first into our own hearts; this is perhaps the way to love others a bit more.
Opening Prayer
and yet you are patient and tolerant with us.
We are but slow-learning students
of our one Teacher, Jesus Christ.
He saw people’s faults,
but he had come not to condemn
but to forgive and save.
Give us clear eyes to look
into our own hearts and consciences,
but dim them with the shades of love
when we see the faults of those around us.
First Reading
I can’t boast about preaching the gospel—it’s a duty I am compelled to fulfill. Woe to me if I don’t preach it!
If I preach voluntarily, I will be rewarded, but I have been entrusted with this task against my will.
So, how can I deserve a reward? I will preach the gospel freely without claiming the rights that come with it.
Feeling free in Christ, I have become everyone’s servant to win as many as possible.
To the weak, I became weak to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that I might save some of them.
This I do for the sake of the gospel, to share in it.
Have you learned anything from a race? Many run, but only one wins the prize. Run in a way that you may win.
Everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we receive an imperishable one.
So I do not run aimlessly;
I box to win, and I discipline my body to keep it under control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
For a sun and a shield is the LORD God;
grace and glory he bestows;
The LORD withholds no good thing
from those who walk in sincerity.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus told his disciples a parable:
“Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a pit.
A disciple is not above the teacher; but when fully trained, he will be like the teacher.
How can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me remove this speck from your eye,’ when you can’t remove the log from your own? You hypocrite! First, remove the log from your own eye, and then you’ll see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That Jesus may show the road to follow to the honest seekers of truth and goodness, that false leaders may not mislead them, we pray:
– That Jesus may show the road to follow to those who easily condemn and are reluctant to forgive and accept people, we pray:
– That Jesus may show us the road to follow, that we may learn to see the evil that is in us and no longer condemn others for the evils we too are inclined to commit, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ, let his light shine
in our darkness;
he opened the eyes of the blind.
Give us your Son here in this eucharist,
that he may open our eyes
to your forgiving love and to your goodness
present in people around us.
Grant this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
you let all of us here share,
with our faults and irritating habits,
in the meal of brotherhood and unity
of Jesus Christ your Son.
Help us to accept one another also in everyday life
and to cover each other’s shortcomings
with the mantle of love.
May we overcome evil with good
and bring your peace on this earth,
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Eyes that do not look for the evil in others are like the eyes of God. He is not a policeman out to catch us when we do wrong. He forgives; He heals. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Luke 6:39-42
Clear Eyes and Compassionate Hearts
Was Jesus humorous? Imagine Jesus making the comparison of someone with a beam in his eyes removing a splinter in another’s eyes! That would be a good theme for cartoon artists. The image reveals how easily we become experts in others’ weaknesses while remaining strangers to our own.
Fr Armellini explains that Jesus is not opposed to fraternal correction; rather, he demands conversion before correction. Only disciples allowing Jesus to heal their vision can accompany others. The goal is not to ignore the splinter, but to approach it with clarity, humility, and the tenderness learned through confronting our own brokenness.
Fr Ron Rolheiser reminds us that we often project our darkness onto others. The faults that provoke our reactions may reveal wounds, fears, or tendencies we have not accepted within ourselves. Condemning another can become a way of avoiding the truth about our own hearts. Self-knowledge is not self-absorption; it is the beginning of compassion.
Removing the plank requires honest prayer, examination of conscience, feedback, and willingness to repent. It requires receiving God’s mercy, because we can face our failures only when we know they do not cancel our belatedness. Having been forgiven, we become gentler healers.
Today, before criticizing someone, let us pause and ask: What might this reaction reveal about me? Have I listened before judging? Am I trying to heal or to feel superior? May Christ open our eyes, free us from hypocrisy, and form us into faithful guides. When we see ourselves truthfully and others mercifully, our vision becomes clear enough to serve rather than condemn.