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Christ is Risen!

Throughout the Season of Pascha, the priest uses the Three-Branched Candlestick symbolizing the Light of the Resurrection. The theme of Light is echoed in all the hymns of the season along with brightness, radiance and splendor.

In the Orthodox Church, Jesus is the Light of the world, the “real light”, that came into the world and shines its countenance on all humanity. The healing of the blind man from the Gospel of John 9:1-10 brilliantly dramatized by John, proclaims the victory of Light over darkness. For Christ the Light gives physical Light to the eyes of the blind man. Christ also gives Spiritual Light to the soul of the healed man who thereafter becomes a true Son of Light.

In the Kontakion Hymn of the Blind Man it sings, “the eyes of my soul are blind! I come to You, O Christ, in repentance. I cry out to You as the man born blind. You are the Light above all brightness shining upon those in darkness.”

There are three kinds of sight: the first and obvious one is physical sight. The second is mental or intellectual sight. The third and most important is spiritual Light, the intuitive vision of the inner person by which we come to have personal knowledge of God.

Remember, spiritual sight is the best guide in the use and enjoyment of the other kinds of sight. For the power of spiritual sight is the power of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of spiritual sight are personal communion with God, true relationships with other human beings and the right use of things in the world.

Christ is Risen!

Healing Bartimaeus of Blindness