Pope Leo: We are Called to Live our Faith with Open Eyes

by Admin · March 17, 2026

Pope Leo XIV, Angelus, St Peter’s Square, Sunday, 15 March 2026 –

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent narrates the healing of a man blind from birth (cf. Jn 9:1–41). Through the symbolism of this account, John the Evangelist speaks to us of the mystery of salvation: while we were in darkness, while humanity walked in gloom (cf. Is 9:2), 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. Is 29:18; 35:5; Ps 146:8). Jesus himself confirmed the authenticity of his mission by showing that “the blind receive their sight” (Mt 11:5), and he presented himself with the words: “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). Certainly, all of us can say that we are “blind from birth,” for by ourselves we cannot see the mystery of life in all its depth. That is why God became flesh in Jesus, so that the clay of our humanity, shaped by the breath of his grace, might receive a new light, one capable of helping us to see ourselves, others and God in truth.

It is striking that, over the centuries, the opinion has spread and persists to this day that faith is a kind of “leap in the dark,” a renunciation of thought, such that having faith would mean believing “blindly.” However, the Gospel shows us that through contact with Christ, our eyes are opened. Indeed, the religious authorities ask the healed blind man with insistence: “Then how were your eyes opened?” (Jn 9:10); and again: “How did he open your eyes?” (v. 26).

Brothers and sisters, we too are healed by the love of Christ and are called to live our faith with “open eyes.” Faith is not a blind act, a forsaking of reason or a retreat into some sort of religious certainty that causes us to turn our gaze away from the world. On the contrary, faith helps us to see things “as Jesus himself sees them, with his own eyes: it is a participation in his way of seeing” (Lumen Fidei, 18). In this sense, faith is an invitation to “open our eyes,” as the Lord did, especially towards the suffering of others and the afflictions of the world.

Today, in a particular way, in the face of the many questions of the human heart, as well as the tragic situations of injustice, violence and suffering that mark our time, it is essential that our faith be alert, attentive and prophetic. It should likewise open our eyes to the darkness of the world, and bring to others the light of the Gospel through our 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 enable us to bear witness to him with simplicity and courage.