Learning to See What Really Matters
Catholic Homily for November 17, 2025
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious
Luke 18:35–43
A blind man sits by the roadside, helpless and begging. He’s heard the rumors about Jesus, the healer from Nazareth. When he hears the noise of a crowd coming down the road, he realizes Jesus might be passing by – his one chance for healing.
He starts shouting: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” But the people around him are annoyed. They tell him to be quiet. Maybe they think he’s being disrespectful, or maybe they just don’t want their important moment near Jesus interrupted by a beggar’s noise. Whatever the reason, they try to silence him.
But the blind man doesn’t stop. In fact, he cries out even louder. He knows this might be his only chance. He’s willing to be embarrassed, to be rejected by the crowd, to look desperate – because his need is greater than his pride.
Jesus hears him and stops. He asks a question that seems obvious: “What do you want me to do for you?” But it’s not obvious at all. Jesus wants the man to say it himself, to name his deepest desire out loud. The blind man answers simply: “Lord, let me see again.”
Jesus responds: “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” The man’s sight is restored instantly. But notice what happens next – he doesn’t just go back to his old life. He follows Jesus and glorifies God.
From Need to Praise
This story teaches us something important about prayer and faith. Prayer often begins with need – we come to God asking for help, healing, or mercy. But real faith transforms need into praise.
The blind man came to Jesus desperate and helpless. He left healed and grateful, following Jesus with joy. His cry for mercy became a song of praise.
This is what happens when we truly encounter Jesus. Our problems don’t disappear, but our perspective changes. We move from focusing on what we lack to celebrating what God has given us. We move from being stuck in our troubles to following Jesus forward.
Persistence in Prayer
Notice that the blind man faced real opposition. The crowd told him to be quiet. They tried to silence him. But he kept crying out. His faith wasn’t discouraged by rejection or embarrassment – instead, it grew stronger.
This teaches us about the kind of faith Jesus is looking for. It’s not the faith of people who pray once and then give up if they don’t get immediate results. It’s the faith of people who keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking even when circumstances seem to work against them.
The voices around the blind man said, “Hush.” But Jesus says, “Come forward. Tell me what you need. Your faith has saved you.” When we face discouragement or opposition in our prayer life, we need to remember whose voice matters most – not the crowd’s, but the Lord’s.
Saint Elizabeth: Vision That Changes Everything
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary lived in the 13th century in a time and place where she had every privilege. She was born into nobility, married into royalty, and had access to wealth and power most people could never imagine. She could have spent her life enjoying luxury and status.
But Elizabeth had a spiritual vision that completely changed how she saw the world. She began to see Christ in the poor. When she looked at a beggar, she didn’t see someone beneath her – she saw Jesus himself. When she encountered someone hungry or sick or desperate, she recognized the face of her Lord.
This vision made her act differently. She opened her castle to beggars. She gave away her wealth to feed the hungry. She served the sick with her own hands. She lived simply while those around her lived in luxury. Her servants complained that she was giving away too much, but Elizabeth couldn’t stop. Love had changed her sight.
When people opposed her work – and many did, because they thought she was wasting resources on people who didn’t deserve help – she didn’t stop. Her love grew sharper, not duller. She became even more committed to serving the poor because she saw them not as a burden, but as Christ himself.
Two Kinds of Blindness
The blind man by the road needed healing so he could see with his eyes. But there’s another kind of blindness that’s even more common and more serious – spiritual blindness.
Many people can see perfectly well with their eyes but are blind to Christ’s presence. They don’t recognize God’s mercy in their daily lives. They don’t see how He’s working in their circumstances. They’re spiritually asleep, walking through life without truly seeing the One who made them and loves them.
There’s also another kind of blindness – the blindness of the heart. We can see a homeless person and not really see them. We can walk past someone who’s lonely, or sick, or struggling, and not truly recognize their need. We’re so caught up in our own lives that we become blind to the people around us who need help.
Jesus can heal both kinds of blindness. He can open our spiritual eyes so we see His face in every moment and every person. He can open our hearts so we recognize the needs of others and respond with love.
Three Works in Elizabeth’s Spirit Today
Pray like the beggar – Name your deepest need aloud to Jesus and keep asking. Don’t be shy about telling God what you really want. Don’t worry about whether your request sounds too big or too selfish. Be honest with Jesus about what you need, just as the blind man was honest about wanting to see. And if you don’t see immediate results, keep asking. Let your prayer grow louder, not quieter, as you trust more deeply.
See like a saint – Recognize Christ in one person you usually pass by and serve them concretely. This is Elizabeth’s great lesson. Look at the people around you – the cashier at the store, the homeless person on the street, the coworker everyone ignores, the elderly neighbor who never gets visitors. See them as Elizabeth saw them: as Christ himself. Then do something concrete to serve them. Don’t just feel compassion – act on it.
Turn sight into praise – After helping someone, give thanks to God and follow Him in the next duty. Don’t just do your good deed and move on with your day. Stop and thank God for the opportunity to serve. Recognize that this wasn’t just about helping a person – it was about encountering Jesus. Let that gratitude lead you to follow Him more closely in whatever comes next.
Mercy Opens Our Eyes
The blind man’s cry for mercy was answered with healing. But healing wasn’t just about his eyes – it was about his whole life being transformed. He went from sitting helpless by the road to following Jesus with joy and gratitude.
When we experience God’s mercy – when we truly feel His forgiveness, His care, and His love for us – it opens our eyes to see the world differently. We start to see others as God sees them. We begin to understand that everyone around us is equally loved by God and equally worthy of our compassion.
This is what happened to Elizabeth. When she experienced God’s mercy in her own life, she couldn’t help but share it with others. She didn’t just feel bad about poverty – she did something about it. She didn’t just believe in loving the poor – she gave her whole life to it.
A Prayer for Open Eyes
“Lord, let me see again.” This is our prayer too. Let us see You in every moment and every person. Open our eyes to Your mercy. Open our hearts to the needs of others. Open our hands to share what we have. Open our lives to follow You more closely.
Like the blind man by the road, may we cry out for healing even when others tell us to be quiet. Like Saint Elizabeth, may we recognize Christ in the poor and serve them with love. And like both of them, may we move from receiving God’s mercy to becoming channels of His mercy to others.
When our eyes are truly open, we can’t help but glorify God and follow Him. We can’t help but see that everything we have is a gift, and everything we do should be an act of love.
Let us Pray,
Jesus, open our eyes. Help us see You in every person we meet, especially those who are poor, forgotten, or struggling. Open our hearts to recognize their needs and respond with genuine compassion. Give us the courage of Saint Elizabeth to serve others even when it costs us something. When we experience Your mercy, transform us so completely that we can’t help but share it with everyone around us. Help us move from prayer to action, from receiving to giving, from following at a distance to walking closely beside You. Amen.
❤️ Thank You dear friend, hope this reflections touched you. 🙏 Please do not forget to share with your loved ones this november 17 homily.
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