March, 16 , 2026

Beloved of God,

This past Sunday, the Rev. Margot Critchfield gave us a beautiful sermon about the kind of
healing Jesus brings that goes deeper than we usually expect. Not just the healing of physical
sight, but the healing of shame. The healing of that quiet voice inside that tells us something
must be wrong with us… that somehow we are to blame for our struggles, our wounds, or our
past.

And right in the middle of that story, Jesus says something extraordinary:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” In other words, the man’s suffering was not punishment. It was not proof that he had failed. It was not evidence that God had turned away from him. Instead, it became the place where God’s grace could be revealed.

That’s a powerful word for us as we find ourselves halfway through Lent.
Lent has a way of bringing us face to face with the parts of our lives we would rather not look at
too closely. Regrets. Old habits. Things we wish we had done differently. Things we carry that
no one else even knows about.

And sometimes, without even realizing it, we start asking the same question the disciples asked
in the Gospel:
Who sinned?
Whose fault is this?
Why am I like this?
But Lent is not meant to trap us in guilt. Lent is meant to bring us into the light.

This is why the Church gives us the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation — what we
sometimes call confession. Not because God needs to hear what we’ve done, but because we
need to hear the words of grace spoken out loud.
To hear, clearly and directly:
You are forgiven.
You are loved.
You are not defined by your past.

If you have ever thought about making a confession, Lent is the perfect time to do it. And if you
would like to talk about it, you can always call me. I’m happy to meet with you, answer
questions, or simply have a conversation about what the sacrament is and how it works.

As we move into the second half of Lent, we’re also beginning to look ahead to Holy Week,
which is the heart of the Christian year. Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter
Vigil, Easter Day — these are the services where we walk the whole story of our faith together.
Our Holy Week schedule is now available on the website and in the bulletin, and I hope you’ll
take a moment this week to look it over and make a plan to be part of it. These liturgies are not just things we attend. They are things that shape us. They help us see more clearly who Jesus is
— and who we are in his light.

Halfway through Lent, the question isn’t whether we’ve done it perfectly.
The question is whether we’re willing, like the man in the Gospel, to keep opening our eyes.

I hope you have a good week, and I’ll see you soon at St. Mary’s.

Faithfully,