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 <title>Aquinas: John, Ch. 9</title>
 </head>
-<body style=text-align:justify><blockquote>
-<p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 60pt">9</span>
-<p align=center><B>LECTURE I</B>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><p>1 As he passed by, he saw a
-man blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned,
-this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was not
-that this man sinned, or his parent, but that the works of God might be made
-manifest in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day;
-night comes, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the
-light of the world." 6 As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of
-the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, 7 saying to him, "Go,
-wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came
-back seeing.<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"><b>[1]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE>
-
-<p>1293 After showing the
-enlightening power of his teaching by his own words [cf. 1 118], our Lord
-confirms this by his action, when he gives sight to one physically blind. In
-regard to this three things are presented: first, the man's infirmity;
-secondly, his healing (v 6); thirdly, a discussion among the Jews about this
-health (v 8). In regard to the first he does two things: first, the man's
-infirmity is mentioned; secondly, we see an inquiry about its cause (v 2).
-
-<p>1294 It should be noted in
-regard to the first that Jesus hid himself and left the temple, and while
-passing by he saw this blind man, as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his
-birth. Three things are considered here. First, he passed by to avoid the anger
-of the Jews: "Do not kindle the coals of a sinner lest you be burned in his
-flaming fire" (Sir 8:10). Secondly, he wanted to try and soften their hardness
-of heart by working a miracle: "If I had not done among them the works which no
-one else did, they would not have sin" (15:24). Thirdly, he went on his way in
-order to confirm his words by working a sign; for our Lord's works produce
-faith in the things that he says: "He confirmed the message by the sign that
-attended it" (Mk 16:20).
-
-<p>In
-the mystical sense, according to Augustine, this blind man is the human race.<a
-href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>
-Sin is a spiritual blindness: "Their wickedness blinded them" (Wis 2:21). The human race is blind from birth, because it contracted sin from his its
-origin, for the blindness occurs through sin in the first man, from whom all of
-us draw our origin. We read, "We were by nature," by natural origin, "children
-of wrath" (Eph 2:3).
-
-<p>1295 Then (v2), the cause of
-this man's infirmity is discussed: first, the disciples ask about its cause;
-secondly, Christ explains it.
-
-<p>1296 In regard to the first,
-three things are to be considered. The first is the reason for the disciples
-questioning Christ. According to Chrysostom, this was because Jesus, leaving
-the temple and seeing this blind man, looked at him intently, as though seeing
-in him an opportunity to manifest his power. And so the disciples seeing him
-look so intently at the blind man were impelled to question him.<a href="#_ftn3"
-name="_ftnref3">[3]</a>
-
-<p>Secondly,
-we see the seriousness of the disciples, because they say, <b>Rabbi</b>,
-calling him Teacher, to indicate that they are questioning him in order to
-learn. Thirdly, we see why they asked, <b>who sinned?</b> when they inquire
-into the reason for the man's blindness.
-
-<p>It
-must be said, according to Chrysostom, that because the Lord said to the
-paralytic, when he healed him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing
-worse befall you," the disciples thought that his infirmity was due to sin.<a
-href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a>
-They also thought that every human illness arose from sin, as Eliphaz said:
-"Think now, who that was innocent ever perished?" (Jb 4:7). Therefore, they
-asked whether he had been born blind on account of his own sin or that of his
-parents. It does not seem to have been on account of his own sin, because no
-one sins before he is born, since souls do not exist before their bodies, nor
-do they sin, as some mistakenly think: "Though they were not yet born and had
-done nothing, either good or bad … not because of works but because of his
-call, she was told 'The elder will served the younger'" (Rom 9:11). Nor does it
-seem that he suffered on account of a sin of his parents, for we read: "The
-fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be
-put to death for the fathers" (Deut 24:16).
-
-<p>Note
-that people are punished with two kinds of punishment. One is spiritual and
-concerns the soul; the other is bodily and concerns the body. A child is never
-punished on account of his father with a spiritual punishment, because the soul
-of a child is not from his father but from God: "All souls are mine," that is,
-by creation, "the soul of the father as well as the soul of the child is mine:
-the soul that sins shall be punished" [Ez 18:4]. Augustine also says this in
-one of his letters.<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a>
-But a child is punished on account of his father with a bodily punishment,
-since he is of his father as far as his body is concerned. This is expressly
-shown in Genesis (c 19) where when Sodom was destroyed the children of the
-inhabitants of Sodom were killed on account of the sins of their parents.
-Again, the Lord very often threatened to destroy the children of the Jews on
-account of the sins of their parents.
-
-<p>1297 To understand why one
-person is punished on account of the sins of another, we must realize that a
-punishment has two aspects: it is an injury and a remedy. Sometimes a part of
-the body is cut off to save the entire body. And a punishment of this kind
-causes an injury insofar as a part is cut off, but it is a remedy insofar as it
-saves the body itself. Still, a doctor never cuts off a superior member to save
-one which is inferior, but the other way around. Now in human matters, the soul
-is superior to the body, and the body is superior to external possessions. And
-so it never happens that someone is punished in his soul for the sake of his
-body, but rather he is punished in his body as a curing remedy for his soul.
-Therefore, God sometimes imposes physical punishments, or difficulties in
-external concerns, as a beneficial remedy for the soul. And then punishments of
-this kind are not given just as injuries, but as healing remedies. Thus, the
-killing of the children of Sodom was for the good of their souls: not because
-they deserved it, but so they would not be punished more severely for
-increasing their sins in a life spent in imitating their parents. And in this
-way some are often punished for the sins of their parents.<a href="#_ftn6"
-name="_ftnref6">[6]</a>
-
-<p>1298 Then when he says, <b>Jesus
-answered</b>, our Lord reveals the reason for the man's infirmity: first, he
-excludes the reason they assumed; secondly, he mentions the real reason; and
-thirdly, he explains it.
-
-<p>1299 He excludes the reason
-they assumed when he says, <b>it was not that this man sinned, or his parents</b>:
-for the disciples had assumed that this was the reason for his infirmity, as
-was said. But a contrary statement is found in Romans [3:23]: "All have sinned
-and are in need of God's glory." And again we read that sin has passed into all
-men from Adam. I answer to this that both the blind man and his parents did
-contract original sin and even added other actual sins during their live, for
-we read: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
-in us" (1 Jn 1:8). But when the Lord says, <b>it was not that this man sinned,
-or his parents</b>, he means that his blindness did not come as a result of
-their sins.
-
-<p>1300 He mentions the real
-reason when he says, <b>but that the works of God might be made manifest in him</b>,
-for through the works of God we are led to a knowledge of him: "his invisible
-nature has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made" (Rom
-1:20); "The very works which my Father has given me to perform…they bear
-witness to me" (5:36). But the knowledge of God is man's greatest good, since
-his happiness consists in this: "This is eternal life, that they know thee the
-only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent" (17:3); "Let him who
-glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me" (Jer 9:24). If,
-therefore, an infirmity occurs in order that God's works be manifested, and God
-is made known through this manifestation, it is clear that such bodily
-infirmities occur for a good purpose.
-
-<p>1301 It might seem that the
-manifestation of God's works is not a sufficient reason for such an infirmity,
-especially since neither he nor his parents sinned. Therefore, some say that
-the words <b>but that </b>do not indicate the reason but merely the sequence of
-events. The sense then being: the man was blind, and the works of God were
-manifested in his cure. But this does not seem to be reasonable; and so it is
-better to say that the reason is being given. For evil is twofold: the evil of
-fault and the evil of punishment. Now God does not cause the evil of fault, but
-permits it; yet he would not permit it unless he intended some good from it. So
-Augustine says in his <i>Enchiridion</i>: "God is so good that he would never
-permit any evil to occur, unless he was so powerful as to draw some good from
-every evil."<a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a>
-Therefore, he allows certain sins to be committed because he intends some good;
-in this way, he allows the rage of tyrants so that martyrs may be crowned. Much
-more, therefore, should it be said that the evil of punishment, which he causes
-- as Amos (3:6) says: "Does evil befall a city, unless the Lord has done it?" -
-is never applied except for the good he intends. And among these goods the best
-is that the works of God be manifested, and from them that God be known.
-Therefore, it is not unfitting if he sends afflictions or allows sins to be
+<body style="text-align:justify">
+<blockquote>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span style=
+"font-size: 60pt">9</span></p>
+<p align="center"><b>LECTURE I</b></p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. 2 And his
+disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
+that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this
+man sinned, or his parent, but that the works of God might be made
+manifest in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me, while
+it is day; night comes, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in
+the world, I am the light of the world." 6 As he said this, he spat
+on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's
+eyes with the clay, 7 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of
+Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back
+seeing.<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" id=
+"_ftnref1"><b>[1]</b></a></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>1293 After showing the enlightening power of his teaching by his
+own words [cf. 1 118], our Lord confirms this by his action, when
+he gives sight to one physically blind. In regard to this three
+things are presented: first, the man's infirmity; secondly, his
+healing (v 6); thirdly, a discussion among the Jews about this
+health (v 8). In regard to the first he does two things: first, the
+man's infirmity is mentioned; secondly, we see an inquiry about its
+cause (v 2).</p>
+<p>1294 It should be noted in regard to the first that Jesus hid
+himself and left the temple, and while passing by he saw this blind
+man, as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. Three
+things are considered here. First, he passed by to avoid the anger
+of the Jews: "Do not kindle the coals of a sinner lest you be
+burned in his flaming fire" (Sir 8:10). Secondly, he wanted to try
+and soften their hardness of heart by working a miracle: "If I had
+not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not
+have sin" (15:24). Thirdly, he went on his way in order to confirm
+his words by working a sign; for our Lord's works produce faith in
+the things that he says: "He confirmed the message by the sign that
+attended it" (Mk 16:20).</p>
+<p>In the mystical sense, according to Augustine, this blind man is
+the human race.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" id=
+"_ftnref2">[2]</a> Sin is a spiritual blindness: "Their wickedness
+blinded them" (Wis 2:21). The human race is blind from birth,
+because it contracted sin from his its origin, for the blindness
+occurs through sin in the first man, from whom all of us draw our
+origin. We read, "We were by nature," by natural origin, "children
+of wrath" (Eph 2:3).</p>
+<p>1295 Then (v2), the cause of this man's infirmity is discussed:
+first, the disciples ask about its cause; secondly, Christ explains
+it.</p>
+<p>1296 In regard to the first, three things are to be considered.
+The first is the reason for the disciples questioning Christ.
+According to Chrysostom, this was because Jesus, leaving the temple
+and seeing this blind man, looked at him intently, as though seeing
+in him an opportunity to manifest his power. And so the disciples
+seeing him look so intently at the blind man were impelled to
+question him.<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" id=
+"_ftnref3">[3]</a></p>
+<p>Secondly, we see the seriousness of the disciples, because they
+say, <b>Rabbi</b>, calling him Teacher, to indicate that they are
+questioning him in order to learn. Thirdly, we see why they asked,
+<b>who sinned?</b> when they inquire into the reason for the man's
+blindness.</p>
+<p>It must be said, according to Chrysostom, that because the Lord
+said to the paralytic, when he healed him, "See, you are well! Sin
+no more, that nothing worse befall you," the disciples thought that
+his infirmity was due to sin.<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" id=
+"_ftnref4">[4]</a> They also thought that every human illness arose
+from sin, as Eliphaz said: "Think now, who that was innocent ever
+perished?" (Jb 4:7). Therefore, they asked whether he had been born
+blind on account of his own sin or that of his parents. It does not
+seem to have been on account of his own sin, because no one sins
+before he is born, since souls do not exist before their bodies,
+nor do they sin, as some mistakenly think: "Though they were not
+yet born and had done nothing, either good or bad &hellip; not
+because of works but because of his call, she was told 'The elder
+will served the younger'" (Rom 9:11). Nor does it seem that he
+suffered on account of a sin of his parents, for we read: "The
+fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the
+children be put to death for the fathers" (Deut 24:16).</p>
+<p>Note that people are punished with two kinds of punishment. One
+is spiritual and concerns the soul; the other is bodily and
+concerns the body. A child is never punished on account of his
+father with a spiritual punishment, because the soul of a child is
+not from his father but from God: "All souls are mine," that is, by
+creation, "the soul of the father as well as the soul of the child
+is mine: the soul that sins shall be punished" [Ez 18:4]. Augustine
+also says this in one of his letters.<a href="#_ftn5" name=
+"_ftnref5" id="_ftnref5">[5]</a> But a child is punished on account
+of his father with a bodily punishment, since he is of his father
+as far as his body is concerned. This is expressly shown in Genesis
+(c 19) where when Sodom was destroyed the children of the
+inhabitants of Sodom were killed on account of the sins of their
+parents. Again, the Lord very often threatened to destroy the
+children of the Jews on account of the sins of their parents.</p>
+<p>1297 To understand why one person is punished on account of the
+sins of another, we must realize that a punishment has two aspects:
+it is an injury and a remedy. Sometimes a part of the body is cut
+off to save the entire body. And a punishment of this kind causes
+an injury insofar as a part is cut off, but it is a remedy insofar
+as it saves the body itself. Still, a doctor never cuts off a
+superior member to save one which is inferior, but the other way
+around. Now in human matters, the soul is superior to the body, and
+the body is superior to external possessions. And so it never
+happens that someone is punished in his soul for the sake of his
+body, but rather he is punished in his body as a curing remedy for
+his soul. Therefore, God sometimes imposes physical punishments, or
+difficulties in external concerns, as a beneficial remedy for the
+soul. And then punishments of this kind are not given just as
+injuries, but as healing remedies. Thus, the killing of the
+children of Sodom was for the good of their souls: not because they
+deserved it, but so they would not be punished more severely for
+increasing their sins in a life spent in imitating their parents.
+And in this way some are often punished for the sins of their
+parents.<a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" id="_ftnref6">[6]</a></p>
+<p>1298 Then when he says, <b>Jesus answered</b>, our Lord reveals
+the reason for the man's infirmity: first, he excludes the reason
+they assumed; secondly, he mentions the real reason; and thirdly,
+he explains it.</p>
+<p>1299 He excludes the reason they assumed when he says, <b>it was
+not that this man sinned, or his parents</b>: for the disciples had
+assumed that this was the reason for his infirmity, as was said.
+But a contrary statement is found in Romans [3:23]: "All have
+sinned and are in need of God's glory." And again we read that sin
+has passed into all men from Adam. I answer to this that both the
+blind man and his parents did contract original sin and even added
+other actual sins during their live, for we read: "If we say we
+have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 Jn
+1:8). But when the Lord says, <b>it was not that this man sinned,
+or his parents</b>, he means that his blindness did not come as a
+result of their sins.</p>
+<p>1300 He mentions the real reason when he says, <b>but that the
+works of God might be made manifest in him</b>, for through the
+works of God we are led to a knowledge of him: "his invisible
+nature has been clearly perceived in the things that have been
+made" (Rom 1:20); "The very works which my Father has given me to
+perform&hellip;they bear witness to me" (5:36). But the knowledge
+of God is man's greatest good, since his happiness consists in
+this: "This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God,
+and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent" (17:3); "Let him who glories
+glory in this, that he understands and knows me" (Jer 9:24). If,
+therefore, an infirmity occurs in order that God's works be
+manifested, and God is made known through this manifestation, it is
+clear that such bodily infirmities occur for a good purpose.</p>
+<p>1301 It might seem that the manifestation of God's works is not
+a sufficient reason for such an infirmity, especially since neither
+he nor his parents sinned. Therefore, some say that the words
+<b>but that</b> do not indicate the reason but merely the sequence
+of events. The sense then being: the man was blind, and the works
+of God were manifested in his cure. But this does not seem to be
+reasonable; and so it is better to say that the reason is being
+given. For evil is twofold: the evil of fault and the evil of
+punishment. Now God does not cause the evil of fault, but permits
+it; yet he would not permit it unless he intended some good from
+it. So Augustine says in his <i>Enchiridion</i>: "God is so good
+that he would never permit any evil to occur, unless he was so
+powerful as to draw some good from every evil."<a href="#_ftn7"
+name="_ftnref7" id="_ftnref7">[7]</a> Therefore, he allows certain
+sins to be committed because he intends some good; in this way, he
+allows the rage of tyrants so that martyrs may be crowned. Much
+more, therefore, should it be said that the evil of punishment,
+which he causes - as Amos (3:6) says: "Does evil befall a city,
+unless the Lord has done it?" - is never applied except for the
+good he intends. And among these goods the best is that the works
+of God be manifested, and from them that God be known. Therefore,
+it is not unfitting if he sends afflictions or allows sins to be
 committed in order that some good come from them.<a href="#_ftn8"
-name="_ftnref8">[8]</a>
-
-<p>1302 It should be noted, as
-Gregory says in <i>I Morals</i>, that God sends afflictions to men in five
-ways.<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a>
-Sometimes they are the beginning of damnation, according to Jeremiah: "Strike
-them with a double punishment." A sinner is struck with this kind of punishment
-in this life so that without interruption or end he might be punished in the
-other life. For example, Herod, who killed James, was punished in this life and
-also in hell (Acts 12:23). Sometimes afflictions are sent as a correction, as
-we read: "Your discipline will teach me" [Ps 17:36]. And sometimes a person is
-afflicted not to correct past wrongs, but to preserve him from future ones, as
-we read of Paul: "And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations,
-a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep
-me from being too elated" (2 Cor 12:7). Again, sometimes it is done to
-encourage virtue: as when a person's past sins are not being corrected, nor
-future ones hindered, but he is led to a stronger love by knowing the power of
-the one who unexpectedly delivered him from some difficulty: "Virtue is made
-perfect in infirmity" [2 Cor 12:9]; "Patience has a perfect work" [Jas 1:4].
-And finally, sometimes afflictions are sent to manifest the divine glory; thus
-we read here, <b>that the works of God might be made manifest in him</b>.
-
-<p>1303 Next he explains the
-true reason. And because he had mentioned God's works, first he states the
-opportunity for manifesting God's works; secondly, the reason for this
-opportunity or need, <b>night comes</b>; and thirdly, he explains this (v 5).
-
-<p>1304 He says, therefore, this
-man was born blind <b>that the works of God might be made manifest in him</b>.
-And it was necessary that they be manifested, for <b>we must work the works of
-him who sent me</b>, that is, the works entrusted to me by my Father: "I have
-come to do the will of him who sent me" (6:38). And below he says: "Father, I
-have accomplished the work you gave me to do" (17:4). Or, these words can refer
-to Christ insofar as he is God; and then they indicate the equality of his
-power with that of the Father. Then the meaning is, <b>we must work the works
-of him who sent me</b>, that is, the works which I have from the Father. For
-everything that the Son does, even according to his divine nature, he has from
-his Father: "The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees
-the Father doing" (5:19).
-
-<p>1305 I say we must work <b>while
-it is day</b>. Our natural day is produced by the presence of the sun to the
-earth. But the Sun of Justice or Righteousness is Christ, our God: "But for you
-who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise" (Mal 4:2). Therefore, as
-long as this Sun is present to us, the works of God can be done in us, for us,
-and by us. At one time this Sun was physically present to us; and then it was
-day: "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in
-it" (Ps 118:24). Therefore, it was fitting to do the works of God. He is also
-present us by grace; and then it is the day of grace, when it is fitting to do
-the works of God, <b>while it is day</b>; "The night is far gone, the day is at
-hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light"
-(Rom 13:12); "Those who sleep, sleep at night" (1 Thess 5:7).
-
-<p>1306 If the presence of the
-sun produces day, and its absence night, then, since the sun is always present
-to itself, it is always day for the sun; and so for the sun, it is always the
-time for acting and illuminating. But with regard to ourselves, to whom it is
-sometimes present and at other times absent, it is not always acting and
-illuminating. In the same way for Christ, the Sun of Justice, it is always day
-and the time for acting; but not with respect to us, because we are not always
-able to receive his grace due to some obstacle on our part.
-
-<p>1307 He mentions why this is
-our opportunity when he says, <b>night comes, when no one can work</b>. Just as
-there are two kinds of day, so there are two kinds of night. One is by the
-physical departure of the Sun of Justice, which is what the Apostles
-experienced when they were demoralized at the time of the passion, when Christ
-was physically taken from them: "you will all fall away because of me this
-night" (Mt 26:31). Then it was not the time for acting, but for suffering.
-
-<p>But
-it is better to say that even when Christ was physically absent because of his
-ascension, it was still day for the Apostles insofar as the Sun of Justice
-shone on them, and it was a time for working. And so night in this passage
-refers to that night which comes from the spiritual separation from the Sun of
-Justice, that is, by the separation from grace. This night is of two kinds. One
-is by the loss of actual grace through mortal sin: "Those who sleep, sleep at
-night" (1 Thess 5:7). When this night comes, no one can perform works that
-merit eternal life. The other night is total, when one is deprived not only of
-actual grace by mortal sin, but even of the ability of obtaining grace because
-of an eternal damnation in hell. Here there is a vast night for those to whom
-it will be said: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire" (Mt
-24:41). During this night no one can work, because it is not the time for
-meriting, but for receiving according to one's merits. Therefore, while you are
-living, do now what you will want to have done then: "Whatever your hand finds
-to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought of knowledge or
-wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going" (Eccl 9:10).
-
-<p>1308 He gives the reason for
-what he has just said, saying, <b>as long as I am in the world, I am the light
-of the world</b>. This is like saying: If you want to know what is that day and
-what is that night of which I speak, I say that <b>I am the light of the world</b>,
-for my presence makes day, and my absence night; "I am the light of the world"
-(8:12). <b>As long as I am in the world</b> by my bodily presence - "I came
-forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the
-world and going to the Father" (16:28) - <b>I am the light of the world</b>.
-And thus this day lasted until the ascension of Christ. Or again, <b>as long as
-I am in</b> <b>the world </b>spiritually by grace - "I am with you until the
-consummation of the world" [Mt 28:20] - <b>I am the light of the world</b>. And
-this day will last until the consummation of the world.
-
-<p>1309 Next, when the
-Evangelist says, <b>as he said this, he spat on the ground</b>, he describes
-the healing of the blind man. Here five things were done by Christ. First, he
-moistens the earth, <b>he spat on the ground</b>. Secondly, he made the clay,
-as we read, he <b>made clay of the spittle</b>. Thirdly, Christ smeared the
-man's eyes <b>and anointed the man's eyes</b>. Fourthly, he commands the man to
-wash, with <b>go, wash in the pool of Siloam</b>. And fifthly, the man's sight
-is restored, <b>and he came back seeing</b>. Each of these has both a literal
-and a mystical explanation.
-
-<p>1310 The literal meaning is
-explained by Chrysostom in this way.<a href="#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10">[10]</a>
+name="_ftnref8" id="_ftnref8">[8]</a></p>
+<p>1302 It should be noted, as Gregory says in <i>I Morals</i>,
+that God sends afflictions to men in five ways.<a href="#_ftn9"
+name="_ftnref9" id="_ftnref9">[9]</a> Sometimes they are the
+beginning of damnation, according to Jeremiah: "Strike them with a
+double punishment." A sinner is struck with this kind of punishment
+in this life so that without interruption or end he might be
+punished in the other life. For example, Herod, who killed James,
+was punished in this life and also in hell (Acts 12:23). Sometimes
+afflictions are sent as a correction, as we read: "Your discipline
+will teach me" [Ps 17:36]. And sometimes a person is afflicted not
+to correct past wrongs, but to preserve him from future ones, as we
+read of Paul: "And to keep me from being too elated by the
+abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a
+messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated"
+(2 Cor 12:7). Again, sometimes it is done to encourage virtue: as
+when a person's past sins are not being corrected, nor future ones
+hindered, but he is led to a stronger love by knowing the power of
+the one who unexpectedly delivered him from some difficulty:
+"Virtue is made perfect in infirmity" [2 Cor 12:9]; "Patience has a
+perfect work" [Jas 1:4]. And finally, sometimes afflictions are
+sent to manifest the divine glory; thus we read here, <b>that the
+works of God might be made manifest in him</b>.</p>
+<p>1303 Next he explains the true reason. And because he had
+mentioned God's works, first he states the opportunity for
+manifesting God's works; secondly, the reason for this opportunity
+or need, <b>night comes</b>; and thirdly, he explains this (v
+5).</p>
+<p>1304 He says, therefore, this man was born blind <b>that the
+works of God might be made manifest in him</b>. And it was
+necessary that they be manifested, for <b>we must work the works of
+him who sent me</b>, that is, the works entrusted to me by my
+Father: "I have come to do the will of him who sent me" (6:38). And
+below he says: "Father, I have accomplished the work you gave me to
+do" (17:4). Or, these words can refer to Christ insofar as he is
+God; and then they indicate the equality of his power with that of
+the Father. Then the meaning is, <b>we must work the works of him
+who sent me</b>, that is, the works which I have from the Father.
+For everything that the Son does, even according to his divine
+nature, he has from his Father: "The Son can do nothing of his own
+accord, but only what he sees the Father doing" (5:19).</p>
+<p>1305 I say we must work <b>while it is day</b>. Our natural day
+is produced by the presence of the sun to the earth. But the Sun of
+Justice or Righteousness is Christ, our God: "But for you who fear
+my name the sun of righteousness shall rise" (Mal 4:2). Therefore,
+as long as this Sun is present to us, the works of God can be done
+in us, for us, and by us. At one time this Sun was physically
+present to us; and then it was day: "This is the day which the Lord
+has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps 118:24). Therefore,
+it was fitting to do the works of God. He is also present us by
+grace; and then it is the day of grace, when it is fitting to do
+the works of God, <b>while it is day</b>; "The night is far gone,
+the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and
+put on the armor of light" (Rom 13:12); "Those who sleep, sleep at
+night" (1 Thess 5:7).</p>
+<p>1306 If the presence of the sun produces day, and its absence
+night, then, since the sun is always present to itself, it is
+always day for the sun; and so for the sun, it is always the time
+for acting and illuminating. But with regard to ourselves, to whom
+it is sometimes present and at other times absent, it is not always
+acting and illuminating. In the same way for Christ, the Sun of
+Justice, it is always day and the time for acting; but not with
+respect to us, because we are not always able to receive his grace
+due to some obstacle on our part.</p>
+<p>1307 He mentions why this is our opportunity when he says,
+<b>night comes, when no one can work</b>. Just as there are two
+kinds of day, so there are two kinds of night. One is by the
+physical departure of the Sun of Justice, which is what the
+Apostles experienced when they were demoralized at the time of the
+passion, when Christ was physically taken from them: "you will all
+fall away because of me this night" (Mt 26:31). Then it was not the
+time for acting, but for suffering.</p>
+<p>But it is better to say that even when Christ was physically
+absent because of his ascension, it was still day for the Apostles
+insofar as the Sun of Justice shone on them, and it was a time for
+working. And so night in this passage refers to that night which
+comes from the spiritual separation from the Sun of Justice, that
+is, by the separation from grace. This night is of two kinds. One
+is by the loss of actual grace through mortal sin: "Those who
+sleep, sleep at night" (1 Thess 5:7). When this night comes, no one
+can perform works that merit eternal life. The other night is
+total, when one is deprived not only of actual grace by mortal sin,
+but even of the ability of obtaining grace because of an eternal
+damnation in hell. Here there is a vast night for those to whom it
+will be said: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire"
+(Mt 24:41). During this night no one can work, because it is not
+the time for meriting, but for receiving according to one's merits.
+Therefore, while you are living, do now what you will want to have
+done then: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;
+for there is no work or thought of knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to
+which you are going" (Eccl 9:10).</p>
+<p>1308 He gives the reason for what he has just said, saying,
+<b>as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world</b>.
+This is like saying: If you want to know what is that day and what
+is that night of which I speak, I say that <b>I am the light of the
+world</b>, for my presence makes day, and my absence night; "I am
+the light of the world" (8:12). <b>As long as I am in the world</b>
+by my bodily presence - "I came forth from the Father and have come
+into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the
+Father" (16:28) - <b>I am the light of the world</b>. And thus this
+day lasted until the ascension of Christ. Or again, <b>as long as I
+am in</b> <b>the world</b> spiritually by grace - "I am with you
+until the consummation of the world" [Mt 28:20] - <b>I am the light
+of the world</b>. And this day will last until the consummation of
+the world.</p>
+<p>1309 Next, when the Evangelist says, <b>as he said this, he spat
+on the ground</b>, he describes the healing of the blind man. Here
+five things were done by Christ. First, he moistens the earth,
+<b>he spat on the ground</b>. Secondly, he made the clay, as we
+read, he <b>made clay of the spittle</b>. Thirdly, Christ smeared
+the man's eyes <b>and anointed the man's eyes</b>. Fourthly, he
+commands the man to wash, with <b>go, wash in the pool of
+Siloam</b>. And fifthly, the man's sight is restored, <b>and he
+came back seeing</b>. Each of these has both a literal and a
+mystical explanation.</p>
+<p>1310 The literal meaning is explained by Chrysostom in this
+way.<a href="#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" id="_ftnref10">[10]</a>
 Christ restored the man's sight by spittle in order to show that he
-accomplished this by a power coming from himself, and that the miracle should
-not be attributed to anything else: "Power came forth from him" (Lk 6:19).
-Although our Lord could have performed all his miracles by his mere word,
-because "he commanded and they were created" (Ps 148:5), he frequently used his
-body in them to show that as an instrument of his divinity it held a definite
-healing power. He made clay from his spittle to show that he who had formed the
-entire first man can reshape the deficient members of a man. Thus, just as he
-formed the first man from clay, so he made clay to re-form the eyes of the one
-born blind.
-
-<p>He
-rubbed the clay on the eyes of the one born blind to show, by healing what is
-most important in bodies, that he was the creator of bodies. For man is more
-excellent than all other bodily substances; and among his members, the head is
-the more excellent; and among the organs of the head, the eye is more excellent
-than the others: "The eye is the lamp of the body" (Mt 6:22). Therefore, by
-repairing the eye, which is more excellent than the other bodily members, he
-showed that he was the creator of the entire man and of all corporeal nature.
-He said, <b>go, wash in the pool of Siloam</b>, so that it would not seem that
-the clay he rubbed on the eyes had the power to heal them. Thus, as long as he
-had the clay on his eyes, the man did not see, but saw only after he washed.
-
-<p>He
-sent him some distance to wash, to the pool of Siloam, first, to overcome the
-obstinacy of the Jews. For he had to cross the city, and so all would see the
-blind man going with the clay on his eyes, and then returning with his sight
-restored. Secondly, he did this to acclaim the obedience and faith of the blind
-man; for perhaps he had frequently had clay put on his face, and had often
-washed in the pool of Siloam, and yet had not seen. So he could have said: "Clay
-usually makes me worse, and I have often washed in the pool but was never
-helped," as we read of Naaman in 2 Kings (5:10). Yet he did not argue, but
-simply obeyed. Thus it follows, <b>so he went and washed</b>. The reason why he
-sent him to the pool of Siloam was because the Jewish people were signified by
-that water: "Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that flow
-gently" (Is 8:6) Therefore, he sent him to Siloam to show that he still loved
-the Jewish people.
-
-<p>The
-effect follows, because <b>he came back seeing</b>. This was predicted in
-Isaiah (35:5): "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened."
-
-<p>1311 Augustine gives the
-mystical and allegorical explanation. He says that the spittle, which is saliva
-that descends from the head, signifies the Word of God, who proceeds from the
-Father, the head of all things: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High"
-(Sir 24:3). Therefore, the Lord made clay from spittle and the earth when the
-Word was made flesh. <a href="#_ftn11"
-name="_ftnref11">[11]</a> 
-He anointed the eyes of the blind man, that is, of the human race. And the eyes
-are the eyes of the heart, anointed by faith in the incarnation of Christ. But
-the blind man did not yet see, because the anointing produced a catechumen, who
-has faith but has not yet been baptized. So he sends him to the pool of Siloam
-to wash and receive his sight, i.e., to be baptized, and in baptism to receive
-full enlightenment. Thus, according to Dionysius, baptism is an enlightenment:
-"I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your
-uncleanness" (Ezek 36:25).<a href="#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12">[12]</a>
-And so this Gospel is appropriately read in Lent, on Holy Saturday, when those
-about to be baptized are examined. Nor is it without reason that the Evangelist
-adds the meaning of the pool, saying, <b>which means Sent</b>, because whoever
-is baptized must be baptized in Christ, who was sent by the Father: "As many of
-you as were baptized in Christ have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27). For if Christ
-had not been sent, none of us would have been freed from sin.
-
-<p>According
-to Gregory, however, the spittle signifies the savor of intimate contemplation,
-which flows from the head into the mouth, because due to the love of our
-Creator we have been touched even in this life with the savor of revelation.<a
-href="#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13">[13]</a>
-Thus the Lord mixed spittle with earth and restored sight to the man born with
-his contemplation, and heals our understanding from its original blindness.
-
-<p align=center><B>LECTURE 2</B>
-
-<BLOCKQUOTE><p>8 The neighbors and those
-who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit
-and beg?" 9 Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He
-said, "I am the man." 10 They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11
-He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes an said to
-me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight." 12
-They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." 13 They brought to
-the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day
-when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 The Pharisees again asked him
-how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes,
-and I washed, and I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from
-God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is
-a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them. 17 So they again said
-to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?"
-He said, "He is a prophet." 18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind
-and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had
-received his sight, 19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born
-blind? How then does he now see?" 20 His parents answered, "We know that this
-is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees we do not know,
-nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for
-himself." 22 His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews
-had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to
-be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age, ask
-him."<a href="#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14"><b>[14]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE>
-
-<p>1312 After the description of
-the miraculous healing of the blind man, the Evangelist tells of the miracle
-being examined. First, the miracle is examined by the people; secondly, by the
-Pharisees (v 13); and thirdly, on account of his confession the blind man is
-instructed and commended by Christ (v 35). In regard to the first, the
-Evangelist mentions three things: first, we see an inquiry about the person who
-received his sight; secondly, about the restoration itself (v 10); and thirdly
-about the one who restored his sight (v 1). In regard to the first he does
-three things: first, we have a question about the one who received his sight;
-secondly, the different opinions about this are given; thirdly, the question is
-settled.
-
-<p>1313 The question is asked by
-the people. He says, <b>the neighbors and those who had seen him before as a
-beggar said: Is not this the man who used to sit and beg? </b>Here two things
-are to be considered. One is that due to the greatness of the miracle, it was
-considered incredible. So we read below: "Never since the world began has it
-been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind" (9:32). This
-fulfills for them what is said in Habakkuk (1:5), "I am doing a work in your
-days that you would not believe if told." Secondly, we should note the
-wonderful compassion of God, because our Lord performs miracles not only for
-the powerful, but also for outcasts, since he healed, with great pity, those
-who begged. This shows that he who came for our salvation rejected no one
-because of their poverty: "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world
-to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?" (Jas 2:5). Thus they explicitly
-say, <b>Is not this the man who used to sit and beg? </b>This is like saying:
-He is an outcast and does not deserve to be cured. But Baruch says the
-opposite: "The giants who were born there…God did not choose them" (3:26).
-
-<p>1314 The opinions of the
-people are presented when he says, <b>Some said</b>: It is he, the beggar,
-because they had often seen him begging, and later hurrying through the town
-when he went to the pool with the clay on his eyes. Thus they could not deny
-that it was he. But others were on the contrary opinion, so they said, <b>No,
-but it is like him</b>. The reason for this, as Augustine says, is that the
-man's appearance changed when he regained his sight, for nothing is so
-characteristic as the expression a person gets from his eyes: "A sensible man
-is known by his face" (Sir 19:29).<a href="#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15">[15]</a>
-
-<p>1315 The question is settled
-by the blind man because <b>he said</b>, the blind man, <b>I am the man</b>,
-the one who used to beg. His voice was grateful. For since he could not be
-ungrateful for such a great favor and was unable to show any other sign of
-gratitude than to constantly declare that he had been cured by Christ, he said,
-<b>I am the man</b>, the one who was blind and begged; and now I see: "Praise
-God and give thanks to him…for what he has done for you" (Tob 12:6).
-
-<p>1316 Then (v 10), we see the
-investigation of the act, which was the restoration of the man's sight. First,
-we have the question asked by the Jews; secondly, the answer of the blind man
-(v 11).
-
-<p>1317 They continue: If you
-are the blind man who used to beg, then tell us, <b>how were your eyes opened? </b>This
-question came from their vain curiosity because neither the one who was cured
-nor we ourselves know how it was done: "Do not meddle in what is beyond your
-tasks" (Sir 3:23).
-
-<p>1318 The blind man's answer
-was remarkable; he says, <b>the man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes</b>…In
-his answer he first points out the person who gave him his sight, saying <b>the
-man called Jesus</b>. He was right in calling him a man; he knew that he was a
-man, and he was a true man: "Born in the likeness of man" (Phil 2:7). For
-although he had not seen Jesus, because he had left while still blind to go to
-Siloam, he knew him from his voice and from the conversations of others about
-him.
-
-<p>Secondly,
-he tells what was done, saying, <b>he made clay and anointed my eyes</b>. Here
-he shows that he is truthful, not asserting what is not certain. For our Lord
-had made clay from spittle, but he did not know this; yet through his sense of
-touch he recognized the clay which was made and placed over his eyes. So he did
-not say, "He made clay from spittle," but only, he <b>made clay and anointed my
-eyes</b>: "That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
-have looked upon and touched with our hands…we proclaim also to you" (1 Jn
-1:1).
-
-<p>Thirdly,
-he mentions the command, saying, <b>and he said to me, Go to Siloam and wash</b>.
-This was also necessary for us, for if we wish to be cleansed from our
-blindness of heart, it is necessary that we be spiritually washed; "Wash
-yourselves; make yourselves clean" (Is 1:16).
-
-<p>Fourthly,
-he shows his obedience, saying, <b>so I went and washed</b>. He is saying in
-effect: Because I heard this command and desired to see, I obeyed. And it is no
-wonder, because we read: "For the commandment," that is, when obeyed, "is a
-lamp and the teaching a light" (Prov 6:23).
-
-<p>Fifthly,
-he mentions the good effect, saying, <b>and I received my sight</b>. It was
-fitting that he be enlightened after obeying, because as it says in Acts
-(5:32): "It is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."
-Notice the perseverance of the blind man. As Augustine says: "Look at him! He
-became a preacher of grace. See him! He preaches and testifies to the Jews.
-This blind man testified, and the hearts of the wicked were vexed, because they
-did not have the light in their hearts which he had in his face."<a
-href="#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16">[16]</a>
-
-<p>1319 Next, we have the
-inquiry about the person who restored his sight (v 12). First, there is the
-question asked by the Jews, <b>Where is he? </b>They asked this maliciously, as
-they were thinking of killing him; for they had already formed a conspiracy
-against Christ: "But now you seek to kill me" (8:40).
-
-<p>Secondly,
-we have the answer of the blind man, <b>I do not know</b>. As Augustine says,
-from these words it is clear that what was accomplished in him physically
-represents what is accomplished spiritually at different stages.<a
-href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17">[17]</a>
-For at first, the blind man is anointed, and then sees after his washing. The
-anointing represents the beginning of his physical health, and the washing
-leads to complete health. In particular, an anointing produces a catechumen;
-and the washing, that is, baptism, perfects and enlightens him. Thus we have a
-representation of the difference in faith found at different stages. For when
-he says, <b>I do not know</b>, this represents the imperfect faith of
-catechumens: "You worship what you do not know" (4:22). This can also signify
-our faith: "For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect" (1
-Cor 13:9).
-
-<p>1320 Then when he says, <b>they
-brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind</b>, we see his
-examination by the Pharisees. First, they question the man born blind;
-secondly, his parents (v 18). He does three things with the first. First, we
-see the person to be examined; secondly, he mentions the intention of the
-examiners; and thirdly we have the interrogation itself.
-
-<p>1321 The one to be examined,
-the blind man, is led to the Pharisees by the people. <b>They brought</b>, that
-is, the crowd, <b>to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind</b>.
-They did this because the crowd was trying to find out from him where Jesus
-was, so that if they found him they could bring him to the Pharisees and accuse
-him of breaking the Sabbath. So because they did not have Christ they took the
-blind man, so that by questioning him more roughly they might force him by fear
-to make up something false about Christ: "I will go to the great, and will
-speak to them; for they know the way of the Lord, the law of their God. But
-they all alike had broken the yoke, they had burst the bonds" (Jer 5:5).
-
-<p>1322 The Evangelist shows
-that their intention was perverse, saying, <b>it was a Sabbath day when Jesus
-made the clay</b>. He says this to show their evil intention and the reason why
-they sought Jesus, that is, to find a charge against him and detract from his
-miracle by his supposed violation of the law. Nevertheless, it should be said
-that "The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Mt 12:8).
-
-<p>1323 His examination is
-conducted by the Pharisees, since it is said, <b>The Pharisees again asked him</b>.
-First, they question him about what was done; secondly, about the person who
-did it (v 16).
-
-<p>1324 The Evangelist does two
-things about the first: first, he presents their interrogation; secondly, the
-blind man's answer. They ask him about the sign he received, <b>the Pharisees
-again asked him</b>, not in order to learn, but to find a reason to accuse him
-of lying. The blind man answers them, not contradicting what he said before,
-nor deviating from the truth. <b>He</b>, that is, the blind man, <b>said to
-them, He put clay on my eyes</b>. We must, first, admire the perseverance of
-this blind man, for although it may not seem such a great thing to have spoken
-the truth when he, without danger, was questioned by the crowd, he showed
-remarkable perseverance when in greater danger before the Pharisees he neither
-denied what he had said before nor changed his account: "I will also speak of
-thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame" (Ps 119:46).
-Secondly, we should admire his skill, for it is good practice to first relate
-an event in detail and with all its circumstances, and then if it has to be
-repeated, to speak more concisely. So here, he does not repeat the name of the
-one who spoke to him, nor that he was told to go and wash. But without
-hesitation he relays only the essential, and says, <b>He put clay on my eyes</b>.
-
-<p>1325 Next (v 16), an inquiry
-is made about the one who restored the man's sight. First, the different
-opinions of the Pharisees concerning Christ are given; secondly, the opinion of
-the blind man is sought (v 17). In regard to the first he does three things:
-first, he presents the opinion of those who were blaspheming Christ; then, the
-opinion of those who were commending him; thirdly, he concludes with the fact
-that they were arguing and disagreeing among themselves.
-
-<p>1326 We should note,
-concerning the first, that those who act maliciously against someone keep
-silent if they see anything good in his work, and they reveal the evil, if any
-is seen, even turning what is good into evil, according to "Beware of a
-scoundrel, for he devises evil, lest he give you a lasting blemish" (Sir
-11:33). This is what they are doing here: for they do not mention what seemed
-good, that is, the restoration of the blind man's sight, but stress what they
-can against Christ, that is, his breaking of the Sabbath. Thus <b>some of the
-Pharisees said</b>, that is, those who were malicious and corrupt, <b>this man
-is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath</b>. But Christ did keep the
-Sabbath, for when the Lord forbade work on the Sabbath he had in mind servile
-work, which is a sin: "Every one who does sinful works on the Sabbath breaks
-the Sabbath. So Christ, who was without sin, rather than they, kept the
-Sabbath.
-
-<p>1327 The opinion of those
-commending him is presented when he reports them as saying, <b>How can a man
-who is a sinner do such signs? </b>These others had some faith due to the signs
-that Christ worked, but were still weak and imperfect; it was out of fear of
-the Pharisees and the elders that they asked with hesitation, <b>How can a man
-who</b> <b>is a sinner do such signs? </b>We read below that "Many even of the
-authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess
-it" (12:42). They should have shown how our Lord had not broken the Sabbath,
-and have appropriately replied in defense of Jesus.
-
-<p>1328 The difference of
-opinion among them is mentioned when he says, <b>there was a division among
-them</b>; and this division was also found in the people. This was a sign of
-their destruction: "Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt" (Hos
-10:2); "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste" (Mt 12:25).
-
-<p>1329 Next (v 17), they ask
-the blind man for his opinion. And first we have the question the Pharisees
-asked; secondly, the blind man's answer.
-
-<p>They
-question him, saying, <b>what do you say about him? </b>According to
-Chrysostom, this question was not asked by those who were blaspheming Christ,
-but by those favorably disposed.<a href="#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18">[18]</a>
-This is clear from the way they questioned him; for they call his attention to
-the gift he received, saying, <b>since he has opened your eyes</b>. If the
-others had been doing the questioning, they would not have said this, but would
-rather recall that Christ broke the Sabbath. But these remind him of the
-benefit that he received to make him grateful and lead him to testify to
-Christ.
-
-<p class=MsoBodyTextIndent2>But according to
-Augustine, this question was asked by Christ's enemies, who wanted to deprecate
-this man who constantly professed the truth; or they were trying to get him to
-change his opinion out of fear; or at least were attempting to exclude him from
-the synagogue.<a href="#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19">[19]</a>
-
-<p>The
-answer of the blind man remained the same, <b>he said, He is a prophet</b>.
-Although up to this time, as though unanointed in heart, he did not yet profess
-that Christ was the Son of God, he firmly expressed what he thought and did not
-lie. For our Lord said of himself: "A prophet is not without honor except in
-his own country" (Mt 13:57); "The Lord your God will raise up for you a
-prophet…him shall you heed" (Dt 18:15).
-
-<p>1330 Next (v 18), we see his
-parents questioned. First, we have the reason why they were questioned;
-secondly, the question itself (v 19); thirdly their answer (v 20); and
-fourthly, the reason for this answer (v 22).
-
-<p>1331 The reason for this
-second questioning was the unbelief of the Pharisees. He says, <b>the Jews</b>,
-that is, the Pharisees, <b>did not believe that he had been blind and had
-received his sight, until they called the parents of the man</b>. They did this
-in an attempt to nullify the miracle of Christ and to preserve their own glory:
-"How can you believe, who receive glory from one another?" (Jn 5:44).
-
-<p>1332 The Pharisees now
-question his parents. Here they ask about three things. First, about their son,
-saying <b>Is this your son? </b>Secondly, about his blindness; and so they add,
-<b>who you say was born blind</b>. They did not say, "who at one time was
-blind," but <b>who you say</b>, implying that they made this up. What father
-would lie in such a way about his son? Yet they were trying to make him say he
-did.
-
-<p>Thirdly,
-they ask how he had obtained his sight,<b> How then does he now see? </b>This
-was like saying: Either it is false that he now sees, or that he was once
-blind; but obviously the truth is that he sees; therefore it was false to say
-that he had been blind: "The powerful man will test you through much talking,
-and while he smiles he will be examining you" (Sir 13:11).
-
-<p>1333 Then, the answer of his
-parents is given (v 20). The Pharisees had asked about three things; they
-answer firmly about two and in regard to the third they refer them to their
-son. First, they admit the first, namely, that he is their son; so they say, <b>we
-know that this is our son</b>. They also admit the second when they add, <b>and
-that he was born blind</b>. This shows that the truth always conquers what is
-false, as we read in the apocryphal 3 Esdras (3:13): "Truth conquers all." Yet
-as to the third question, how their son sees, they <b>answer, but how he now
-sees we do not know</b>.
-
-<p>They
-reply, secondly, about the person who gave him his sight, <b>now do we know who
-opened his eyes</b>. They answer this way because the question was directed
-against the one who gave sight to their son, and so they refer this to their
-son, saying, <b>Ask him, he is of age</b>. This was like saying: He was born
-blind, not mute; thus he can speak for himself in this matter. The testimony
-about this miracle was from several sources so as to make it more believable:
-the parents told what they knew, and their blind son confirmed that he had been
-cured.
-
-<p>1334 The reason for their
-answer is given when he says, <b>his parents said this because they feared the
-Jews</b>; for they were still imperfect and did not dare do what our Lord says:
-"Do not fear those who kill the body" (Mt 10:28). The reason for their fear was
-<b>that the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be
-Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue</b>. "I have said all this to you
-to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues" (Jn
-16:11). As Augustine says, it was no longer an evil to be cast out of the
-synagogue, for the ones they rejected Christ welcomed.<a href="#_ftn20"
-name="_ftnref20">[20]</a>
-
-<p align=center><B>LECTURE 3</B>
-
-<BLOCKQUOTE><p>24 So for the second time
-they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give God the praise;
-we know that this man is a sinner." 25 he answered, "Whether he is a sinner, I
-do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, I now see." 26 They
-said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 27 He answered
-them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to
-hear it again? Do you too want to become his disciples?" 28 And they reviled
-him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know
-that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he
-comes from." 30 The man answered, "Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where
-he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen
-to sinners, but if any one is a worshipper of God and does his will, God
-listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that any one
-opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could
-do nothing." 34 They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you
-teach us?" And they cast him out.<a href="#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21"><b>[21]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE>
-
-<p>1335 After the questioning of
-the blind man and his parents, an attempt is made to make him deny the truth
-and affirm what is false. First, they attempt to make him deny the truth;
-secondly, they revile him (v 28); and thirdly, they condemn him (v 34). The
-Evangelist does two things about the first. First, he shows how they tried to
-get the man born blind to deny the truth; secondly, how they continued to
-question him in order to malign him (v 26). In regard to the first he does two
-things: first, he shows their malice; and secondly, the steadfastness of the
-man born blind (v 25). The malice of the Pharisees is shown by their attempt to
-have him deny the truth, while the steadfastness of the blind man appears by
-his resolute profession of the truth.
-
-<p>1336 In regard to the first
-he says, <b>for the second time they called the man who had been blind</b>, for
-his parents had referred them to the blind man, <b>and said to him: Give God
-the praise</b>. They say one thing but mean another. For they wish to force him
-to say that his sight was not restored by Christ, or if they are unable to do
-this, to force him to admit that he was cured by him through sorcery. They do
-not say this openly, but implicitly, with an appearance of devotion. They attempt
-this by saying, <b>Give God the praise</b>. As if to say: Your sight has been
-given to you. But only God can do this. Therefore, you should not attribute
-this to anyone but God, and not to this man, that is, Christ, because if you do
-this you are indicating that you have not received the gift of your healing
-from God, for the reason that God does not perform miracles through sinners.
-Thus they add, <b>we know that this man is a sinner</b>. But, as Augustine
-says, if he had done this, he would not be giving glory to God but rather,
-being ungrateful, would be blaspheming.<a href="#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22"
-title="">[22]</a>
-But in truth, the Pharisees were lying when they said, <b>we know that this man
-is a sinner</b>; for above (8:46), they could not convict him of sin, and he
-said: "which of you convicts me of sin?" And no wonder, because "He committed
-no sin; no guile was found on his lips" (1 Pet 2:22).
-
-<p>1337 Here we see the
-steadfastness of the blind man. For amazed at the hardness of the Pharisees,
-and impatient with what they were saying, he says, in all truth, <b>Whether he
-is a sinner, I do not know.</b>
-
-<p>Yet
-because he had said before that "He is a prophet," is he not now saying, <b>Whether
-he is a sinner I do not know</b>, out of fear, as if he were doubtful? Not at
-all! Rather, he is angry and mocking the Pharisees. He is saying in effect: You
-say that he is a sinner; but I do not know that he is a sinner, and I am amazed
-that you say this, because he accomplished a work which does not seem to be the
-work of a sinner, because <b>though I was blind, now I see</b>, by his
-kindness. According to Augustine, he said this in order not to be maligned nor
-to conceal the truth. For perhaps if he had said, "I know that he is a just
-man," which was true, they would have maligned him.<a href="#_ftn23"
-name="_ftnref23">[23]</a>
-But according to Chrysostom, he said this to give them a more impressive
-testimony to the miracle, and to make his answer believable by calling
-attention to the gift itself he received.<a href="#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24"
-title="">[24]</a>
-
-<p>1338 They again question the
-man born blind in order to malign him. First, we have the cunning interrogation
-of the Pharisees; and secondly, the contemptuous reply of the blind man (v 27).
-
-<p>1339 He says, with respect to
-the first, <b>They said to him: What did he do to you? </b>The blind man had
-said that he had received his sight from Christ, which the Pharisees had not
-asked about. It was their intention to malign Christ, so they now ask rather
-how he did it. So they did not ask "How is it that you see?" but <b>How did he
-open your eyes? </b>It was like saying: "He did this by some trick or sorcery,
-didn't he?" "Those who seek my hurt speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all
-the day long" (Ps 38:12).
-
-<p>1340 Now the man's answer is
-given. The man born blind, because he really had received his sight, answers
-them further, not timidly, but with boldness. He first belittles the repeated
-questioning of the Pharisees, saying, <b>I have told you already and you would
-not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? </b>This was like saying: I told
-you once. Why do you want to hear it again? That's foolish! It looks like you
-are not paying attention to what I am saying. So, I have nothing further to say
-to you because your questioning is useless, and you want to cavil rather than
-learn. "He who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man; and at the end
-he will say: 'What is it'" (Sir 22:8).
-
-<p>Secondly,
-he mocks the presumptuous intention of the Pharisees, saying, <b>Do you too
-want to become his disciples? </b>When someone carefully investigates a matter,
-he does so either with a good intention, to accept it, or with an evil
-intention, to condemn it. Now because the Pharisees were carefully
-investigating this, and because the man born blind did not dare impute an evil
-intention to them, he takes the alternative, saying, <b>Do you too want to
-become his disciples? </b>He means by this: If you are not investigating this
-maliciously, you therefore wish to join him: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin
-or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do
-evil" (Jer 13:23). As Augustine says: The one who had received his sight gladly
-desired to give them light.<a href="#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25">[25]</a>
-Thus, he significantly says, <b>you too</b>, implying that he himself was a
-disciple. He is saying in effect: <b>Do you want to become his disciples </b>as
-I am? I already see, and do not envy your coming to the light. And as
-Chrysostom says, from the steadfastness of the blind man we can see how strong
-truth really is, for when it convinces the lowly, it makes them noble and
-strong. And we can see how weak is a lie, which even if it is maintained by the
-powerful, shows and makes them weak.<a href="#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26">[26]</a>
-
-<p>1341 Next, the Pharisees
-revile the man born blind. First, we see them revile him; then, secondly, the
-defense of the blind man (v 30). He does two things concerning the first:
-first, he presents the revilement of the Pharisees; secondly, the reason behind
-it (v 28b).
-
-<p>1342 With respect to the
-first he says, <b>and they reviled him, saying, You are his disciple</b>. This
-is, indeed, scornful, if you consider their vicious hearts. But if you consider
-their words, it is the greatest blessing. May we and our children be treated
-with such scorn! "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples" (Jn
-8:31). Still, the Evangelist stated that they reviled him by saying this
-because what they said came from their evil hearts: "Like the glaze covering an
-earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart" (Prov 26:23). We read about
-this revilement in the Psalm 109 (v 28): "let them curse, but do thou bless";
-and in Matthew (5:11): "Blessed are you when men revile you."
-
-<p>1343 He next adds the reason
-for their reviling when he says,<b> we are disciples of Moses</b>.<b> </b>They
-were thinking of how they were ridiculed by the man born blind when he asked if
-they wanted to become Christ's disciples; for they took pride in being
-disciples of Moses, whom they thought was greater. First, they set forth their
-own situation, saying, <b>we are disciples of Moses</b>. But this pride of
-theirs is false, because they neither followed Moses nor fulfilled his
-commands: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me" (Jn 5:46); this was
-like saying: You do not follow the servant [Moses], and later go against his
-Lord.
-
-<p>Secondly,
-they praise the dignity of Moses when they say, <b>we know that God has spoken
-to Moses</b>. Here they are telling the truth, for as we read: "The Lord used
-to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Ex 33:11); and
-"If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a
-vision, I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses; he is
-entrusted with all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth" (Num 12:6). Thus
-God spoke to Moses in a more excellent way than to the other prophets. And it
-is about this that they are speaking. However, it is clear that since God spoke
-his Word to Moses, the dignity of Moses came from the Word of God. And so the
-Word of God is of greater dignity than Moses: "Yet Jesus has been counted
-worthy of as much more glory than Moses as the builder of a house has more
-honor than the house" (Heb 3:3).
-
-<p>Thirdly,
-they hint at the dignity of Christ in a veiled manner when they say, <b>as for
-this man</b>, Christ, <b>we do not know where he comes from</b>. This is true,
-but not the way they understood it: for they did not know the Father, and
-Christ was from the Father: "you know neither me nor my Father" (8:19). But
-their statement is false as they understood it, for when they said, we do <b>not
-know where he comes from</b>, they meant he had no authority and was
-unverified, so that is was not clear whether or not he came from God. They seem
-to be applying to him the words of Jeremiah: "I did not send you prophets, yet
-they ran" (23:21).
-
-<p>1344 Now, the blind man's
-argument against the Pharisees is presented. First, he is amazed at their
-harness of heart; secondly, he refutes their false opinion (v 31).
-
-<p>1345 Concerning the first, we
-must recall that we are not amazed at what happens frequently, and in the usual
-way; but we are amazed at what is unusual and great, whether this be good or
-evil. We are struck by unusual and great good: "you are wonderful, my Lord, and
-your countenance is full of grace," as we read in Esther [15:17]. We are also amazed
-at great evil: "Be appalled, O heavens, at this…for my people have committed
-two evils" (Jer 2:12). In line with this, the blind man says in answer, <b>Why
-this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from</b>. He is saying in
-effect: It would not be remarkable if you regarded someone insignificant and
-like me as having no authority. But it is extremely amazing that you can see an
-explicit and evident sign of divine power in Christ and say that you do not
-know where he comes from, especially because he did open my eyes.
-
-<p>1346 The man born blind
-refutes their false opinion by saying, <b>we know that God does not listen to
-sinners</b>. He is reasoning this way: Whomever God hears is from God; but God
-heard Christ; therefore, Christ is from God. He first states his main premise;
-then the minor premise (v 32); and thirdly, he draws his conclusion (v 33). He
-does two things abut the first: first, he mentions those whom God does not
-hear; secondly, those he does hear (v 31b).
-
-<p>1347 God does not hear
-sinners. In regard to this he says, <b>we know that God does not hear sinners</b>.
-He is saying: Both you and I agree that sinners are not heard by God. Thus a
-Psalm says, "They cried to the Lord and he did not hear them"; and again, "Then
-they will call upon me, but I will not answer" (Prov 1:28). But there are
-statements which contradict this: "If they sin against thee - for there is no
-man who does not sin - but later repent with all their heart, then hear thou
-from heaven and forgive thy people" [2 Chron 6:36-39]; and in Luke (18:14) we
-read that the tax collector "went down to his house justified."
-
-<p>Because
-of this Augustine says that this blind man is speaking as one who has not been
-anointed, as one who does not yet have complete knowledge. For God does hear
-sinners, otherwise it would have been futile for the tax collector to have
-prayed: "God, be merciful to me a sinner." Accordingly, if we wish to save the
-statement of the blind man we must say that God does not hear those sinners who
-persist in their sinning; but he does hear those sinners who are sorry for
-their sins, and who should be regarded more as repentant than as sinners. <a href="#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27">[27]</a>
-
-<p>1348 Yet there is a
-difficulty here. It is clear that miracles are not accomplished by us due to
-our own power, but through prayer. But sinners often perform miracles: "Lord,
-Lord, did we not prophesy in your name…and do many might works in your name?"
-(Mt 7:22); and yet God did not know them. Thus, what the blind man said does
-not seems to be true, namely, <b>we know that God does not listen to sinners</b>.
-
-<p>There
-are two answers to this. The first is general. Prayer has two characteristics,
-that is, it can obtain [what it asks for] and it can merit. Thus, sometimes it
-obtains what it asks, and does not merit; at other times, it merits and does
-not obtain. And so nothing prevents the prayer of a sinner from obtaining what
-it asks although it does not merit. This is the way that God hears sinners; not
-as a matter of merit, but they obtain what they ask from the divine power,
-which they acknowledge. The other answer is special and applies to this
-particular case, when the miracle that was done makes known the person of
-Christ.
-
-<p>&nbsp;
-
-<p>1349 It should be mentioned
-that every miracle is a sort of testimony. Sometimes, a miracle is accomplished
-as a testimony to the truth that is being preached; at other times, it is a
-testimony to the person performing it. We must also realize that no true
-miracle happens except by the divine power, and that God is never a witness to
-a lie. I say, therefore, that whenever a miracle is performed in testimony to a
-doctrine that is being preached, that doctrine must be true, even if the person
-who is preaching it is not good. And when it is performed in testimony to the
-person, it is also necessary that the person be good. Now it is evident that
-the miracles of Christ were performed in testimony to his person: "The works
-which the Father has granted me to accomplish…bear me witness that the Father
-has sent me" (5:36). It was with this meaning that the blind man said that <b>God
-does not listen to sinners</b>, that is, so that they could perform miracles as
-a testimony to their supposed holiness. <a
-href="#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28">[28]</a>
-
-<p>1350 Then when he says, <b>but
-if any one is a worshiper of God</b>…he shows that God hears the just through
-merit. We must realize that the performing of miracles is attributed to faith:
-"If you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be
-done" (Mt 21:21). The reason for this is that miracles are accomplished by the
-omnipotence of God, on which faith relies. Therefore, whoever wishes to obtain
-something from God has to have faith: "Let him ask in faith" (Jas 1:6).
-However, if he wishes to obtain it through merit, he must do God's will. And
-these two conditions are mentioned here. As to the first, he says, <b>If any
-one is a worshipper of God</b> by sacrifices and offerings: "They will worship
-him with sacrifice and burnt offering" (Is 19:21). These belong to the worship
-of <i>latria</i>, which attests to one's faith. As to the second he says, <b>and
-does his will</b> by obeying his commandments, <b>God listens to him</b>.
-
-<p>1351 Here he takes the minor
-premise of his argument. He is saying: Because of what Christ did, which no man
-has ever done, it is obvious that he did this by the action of God, and that he
-has been heard by God: "If I had not done among them the works which no one
-else did, they would not have sin" (Jn 15:24).
-
-<p>1352 Next, he draws his
-conclusion. He is saying, in effect: From the kind of works that Christ does,
-it is obvious that he is from God. For <b>if this man were not from God, he
-could do nothing</b>, that is, freely, often and truly, because "apart from me
-you can do nothing" (15:5).
-
-<p>1353 Here the Pharisees
-condemn the blind man. In this condemnation they fall into three defects or
-sins, namely, untruth, pride, and injustice. They fall into untruth in reviling
-the blind man, <b>saying, you were born in utter sin</b>. Here it should be
-noted that the Jews were of the opinion that all infirmities and temporal
-adversities beset us on account of our previous sins. This was the opinion
-given by Eliphaz: "Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where
-were the upright cut off? As I have seen those who plow iniquity and sow
-trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish" (Job 4:7). The reason
-for this opinion is that in the Old Law temporal goods were promised to the
-good, and temporal punishment to the evil: "If you are willing and obedient,
-you shall eat the good of the land" (Is 1:19). Therefore, seeing that this man
-had been born blind, they believed that this happened on account of his sins, and
-so they say, <b>you were born in utter sin</b>. But they were wrong, because
-the Lord said: "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents."
-
-<p>They
-say <b>in utter sin </b>to show that he is defiled by sins not only in his
-soul, insofar as all of us are born sinners, but even as regards the traces of
-sin which appear in his body, as blindness. Or according to Chrysostom, <b>in
-utter sin</b> means that he was in sin all his life, from his earliest years.<a
-href="#_ftn29" name="_ftnref29">[29]</a>
-
-<p>They
-are guilty of pride by rejecting what the man born blind was teaching, when
-they say, <b>Would you teach us? </b>This was like saying: You are not worthy.
-This makes their pride clear: for no person, no matter however wise, ought to
-reject being taught by any inferior. Thus the Apostle teaches (1 Cor 14:30)
-that if something is revealed to one who is inferior, those who are greater
-should keep silent and listen. In Daniel we read that all the people, and the
-elders, listened to the judgment of a young boy, Daniel, whose spirit has been
-raised up by God.
-
-<p>They
-are guilty of injustice by unjustly casting him out. Thus we read, <b>and they
-cast him out</b>, that is, because he spoke the truth. However, in this man
-born blind there is already fulfilled what our Lord had said: "Blessed are you
-when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your
-name as evil, on account of the Son of man!" (Lk 6:22).
-
-<p align=center><B>LECTURE 4</B>
-
-<BLOCKQUOTE><p>35 Jesus heard that they
-had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of
-God?" 36 He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" 37 Jesus
-said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." 38 He said,
-"Lord, I believe"; and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "For judgment I came
-into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may
-become blind." 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this, and they said to
-him, "Are we also blind?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would
-have no guilt; but now that you say, 'we see', your guilt remains."<a
-href="#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30"><b>[30]</b></a></BLOCKQUOTE>
-
-<p>1354 After the Evangelist
-showed how the Jews cast out the man born blind because he persisted in the
-truth, he here shows how Jesus received him and taught him. First, we see
-Christ teaching him; secondly, the devotion of the man born blind (v 38);
-thirdly, the approval of his devotion (v 39). He does three things about the
-first. First, he shows the eagerness of Christ to teach him; secondly, we see
-the desire of the man born blind to believe (v 36); and thirdly, the teaching
-of the faith is given to perfect him (v 37).
-
-<p>1355 Christ's eagerness to
-teach is described in three ways. First, by his attentive consideration to what
-was done to the man born blind. For just as a trainer carefully considers what
-his athlete undergoes for his sake, so Christ attentively considered what the
-man born blind underwent for the sake of the truth and because of his
-assertions. And so he says that <b>Jesus heard</b>, attentively considered,
-that the Pharisees <b>had cast him out</b>, of the temple: "Give heed to me, O
-Lord, and to the voices of my adversaries" [Jer 18:19].
-
-<p>Secondly,
-we see Christ's eagerness from his efforts in searching for him, for the
-Evangelist says, <b>and having found him</b>; for we are said to find what we
-diligently seek: "She seeks diligently, until she finds it" (Lk 15:8). It is
-clear from this that Christ was looking for him alone, because he found more
-faith in him alone that in all the others. And we can see from this that God
-loves one just person more than ten thousand sinners: "I will make men more
-rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir" (Is 13:12). And in
-Genesis we read that God was willing to spare Sodom for the sake of ten just
-men.
-
-<p>Thirdly,
-our Lord's eagerness is seen from the seriousness of his question; he said, <b>Do
-you believe in the Son of God?</b> The blind man was an image of those to be
-baptized. Thus the custom arose in the Church of questioning those to be
-baptized about their faith: "Baptism…now saves you, not as a removal of dirt
-from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clean conscience" (1 Pet 3:21). When
-asked about his faith he does not say, "Do you believe in Christ?" but <b>Do
-you believe in the Son of God?</b> He does this, as Hilary says, because it
-would develop that some would profess Christ, and yet deny that he was the Son
-of God and God, as Arius erred.<a href="#_ftn31" name="_ftnref31">[31]</a>
-These words clearly exclude this error: for if Christ were not God, we would
-not have to believe in him, since God alone is the object of faith, which rests
-on the first truth. Thus he significantly says, <b>in the Son </b>(<i>in Filium</i>);
-for I am certainly able to believe some creature, such as Peter and Paul (<i>credere
-Petro et Paulo</i>), yet I do not believe in Peter (<i>credere in Petrum</i>),
-but in God (<i>in Deum</i>) alone as the object of faith [cf. no. 901]. Thus it
-is clear that the Son of God is not a creature: "You believe in God, believe
-also in me" (Jn 14:1).
-
-<p>1356 Next he mentions the
-desire of the man born blind to believe. We have to recall that this man had
-not yet physically seen Christ: for he had not seen him when Christ anointed
-his eyes and sent him to the pool of Siloam, and when he wanted to go back to
-him he was detained by the Pharisees and the Jews. However, although he had not
-physically seen Jesus, he believed that the one who opened his eyes was the Son
-of God. And so he breaks out in words of desire and intense longing, and says, <b>And
-who is he, sir</b>, namely, the Son of God, who opened my eyes, <b>that I may
-believe in him? </b>It is clear from this that he knew something about Jesus,
-and did not know other things about him. For if he had not known him, he would
-not have argued so firmly on his behalf; and if he had not been ignorant of
-other things, he certainly would not have said, <b>Who is he, sir? </b>"My soul
-yearns for you in the night," that is, the night of ignorance (Is 26:9).
-
-<p>1357 Because, as we read in
-Wisdom (6:16), "She," that is, Wisdom, "goes about seeking those worthy of
-her," Christ reveals himself to the man born blind, who desired her, when he
-says, <b>You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you</b>. Here Christ is
-giving him a teaching of faith. First, he mentions the gift he received, saying
-<b>you have seen him</b>, that is, you, who did not see before, have now seen
-him. He is saying in effect that the man born blind received the ability to see
-from him: "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see" (Lk 10:23); "Lord, now
-let your servant depart in peace…for my eyes have seen your salvation" [Lk
-2:29]. Secondly, the teaching itself is given when he says, <b>It is he who
-speaks to you</b>: "In these last days he has spoken to us by a Son" (Heb 1:2).
-
-<p>These
-words refute the error of Nestorius, who said that in Christ the <i>suppositum </i>[or
-person] of the Son of God is different from the <i>suppositum</i> of the Son of
-man. They refute it because the one who spoke these words was born from Mary
-and was the son of man, and the very same one is the Son of God, as our Lord
-says. Therefore, there are two <i>supposita</i> [persons] in Christ, although
-the natures [the divine and the human] are not the same.<a href="#_ftn32"
-name="_ftnref32">[32]</a>
-
-<p>1358 Then when the Evangelist
-says, <b>he said, Lord, I believe</b>, we see the devout faith of the man born
-blind. And first, he professes with his lips the faith in his heart, saying, <b>Lord,
-I believe</b>: "Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he
-confesses with his lips and so is saved" (Rom 10:10). Secondly, he shows it in
-his conduct, <b>and he worshipped him</b>. This shows that he believes in the
-divine nature of Christ, because those whose consciences have been cleansed
-know Christ not only as the son of man, which was externally obvious, but as
-the Son of God, who had taken flesh: for adoration is due to God alone: "You
-will adore the Lord, your God" [Dt 6:13].
-
-<p>1359 Next (v 39), the
-devotion of the man born blind is commended: first, his devotion is commended;
-secondly, we see the grumbling of the Jews (v 40); and then they are answered
-(v 41).
-
-<p>1360 The man born blind is
-commended for his faith. We read,<b> for judgment I came into this world</b>.
-But on the other hand, we also read: "God sent the Son into the world, not to
-judge the world" [Jn 3:17]. My answer is this: In the second statement [3:17]
-he is speaking of the judgment of condemnation, about which we read: "Those who
-have done evil [will rise] to the resurrection of judgment" (Jn 5:29), that is,
-to a judgment of condemnation. And God did not send his Son for this purpose at
-his first coming; he was sent to save us. But here in the present statement
-[9:39], he is speaking of the judgment of distinction, about which we read:
-"Vindicate me, O Lord, and distinguish my cause" [Ps 43:1]. For Jesus came to
-distinguish the good from the evil. The words which follow show this: <b>that
-those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.</b>
-
-<p>According
-to Augustine, those who think they see do not see, and those who do not think
-they see, see. Now, we are said to be blind, spiritually, insofar as we sin:
-"Their wickedness blinded them" (Wis 2:21).<a href="#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33"
-title="">[33]</a>
-Thus, the one who does not recognize his own sins regards himself as seeing;
-while one who recognizes himself as a sinner regards himself as not seeing. The
-first is characteristic of the proud; the second, of the humble. So the meaning
-is this: I have come to distinguish the humble from the proud, so that the
-humble, <b>who do not see</b>, that is, who regard themselves as sinners, <b>may
-see</b>, having been illuminated by faith, <b>and that those who see</b>, that
-is, the proud, <b>may become blind</b>, that is, may remain in the darkness.
-
-<p>1361 Chrysostom understands
-this passage in terms of the judgment of condemnation, so that the statement, <b>for
-judgment I came into this world</b> is not understood in a causal sense, but it
-indicates the sequence of events.<a href="#_ftn34" name="_ftnref34">[34]</a>
-It is like saying: After my coming into the world, there follows for some the
-judgment of condemnation increases in them. In Luke (2:23) we find something
-similar: "This child is set for the falling and rising of many in Israel," not because Christ is the cause of their fall, but because this follows his
-coming. He adds, <b>that those who do not see</b>, that is, the Gentiles, who
-lacked the light of divine knowledge, <b>may see</b>, i.e., be admitted to the
-knowledge of God: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light"
-(Is 9:2); <b>and that those who see</b>, the Jews, who did have a knowledge of
-God - "In Judah God is known" (Ps 76:1) - <b>may become blind</b>, fall away
-from the knowledge of God. The Apostle explicitly mentions this: "The Gentiles
-who did not pursue righteousness have attained it" (Rom 9:30).
-
-<p>1362 Now we see the grumbling
-of the Jews. They had understood our Lord's words in a bodily sense because
-they had seen the man born blind physically restored to sight, and had thought
-that our Lord was concerned only with the light in his eyes rather than in his
-mind. And so they believed that he was warning and threatening them with
-physical blindness when he said <b>may become blind</b>. Therefore, the
-Evangelist says, <b>some of the Pharisees near him heard this</b>, the above
-words. He says who were <b>near him</b>, to show their vacillation: for
-sometimes they were with him because of some miracles which they saw, and then
-would leave when the truth was made known to them: "They believe for a while,
-and in time of tribulation fall away" (Lk 8:13). <b>And they said to him, Are
-we also blind</b>, i.e., physically? Yet they were spiritually blind: "Let them
-alone; they are blind guides" (Mt 15:14).
-
-<p>1363 Next, we see the Jews
-silenced. According to Augustine, this shows the meaning of the previous
-passage, that is, that our Lord was referring to spiritual blindness.<a
-href="#_ftn35" name="_ftnref35">[35]</a>
-He says, <b>If you were blind, you would have no guilt</b>, because you would
-be running to the remedy. For sin is taken away by grace, which is given only
-to the humble: "God gives grace to the humble" (Jas 4:6). <b>But now that you
-say, We see</b>, i.e., proudly thinking that you do see, you do not recognize
-that you are sinners, <b>your guilt remains</b>, i.e., is not taken away: "God
-opposes the proud" (Jas 4:6).
-
-<p>Chrysostom understands this
-passage as referring to physical blindness.<a href="#_ftn36" name="_ftnref36"
-title="">[36]</a>
-The meaning is then: <b>If you were blind</b>,<b> </b>physically, you would
-have no guilt, because since blindness is a physical defect, it does not have
-the nature of sin. <b>But now that you say, We see</b>, your sin is clear,
-because while seeing the miracles that I do, you do not believe me: "Blind the
-heart of this people" [Is 6:10].
-
-<p>Here
-is another explanation. <b>If you were blind</b>,<b> </b>i.e.,<b> </b>ignorant
-of the judgments of God and of the sacraments of the law; <b>you would have no
-guilt</b>, i.e., so much. As if to say: If you were sinning out of ignorance,
-your sin would not be so serious. <b>But now that you say, We see</b>, i.e.,
-arrogate to yourselves an understanding of the law and a knowledge of God, and
-still sin, then <b>your guilt remains</b>, i.e., becomes greater: "That servant
-who knew is master's will, but did not make ready or act according to his will,
-shall receive a severe beating" (Lk 12:47). 
-<BR><BR><BR>
-<hr align=left size=1 width="33%">
-
-<div id=ftn1>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a>
-<span>St. Thomas refers to Jn 9:3 in the <i>Summa Theologiae</i>:
-I-II, q. 87, a. 7, obj. 1; III, q. 40, a. 4, ad 1; Jn 9:4: <i>ST</i> III, q.
-35, a. 8, obj. 3; q. 83, a. 2, ad 4; Jn 5: <i>ST</i> III, q. 46, a. 9, obj. 4;
-q. 83, a. 2, ad 4; Jn 9:6: <i>ST</i> III, q. 44, a. 3, ad 2. 
-
+accomplished this by a power coming from himself, and that the
+miracle should not be attributed to anything else: "Power came
+forth from him" (Lk 6:19). Although our Lord could have performed
+all his miracles by his mere word, because "he commanded and they
+were created" (Ps 148:5), he frequently used his body in them to
+show that as an instrument of his divinity it held a definite
+healing power. He made clay from his spittle to show that he who
+had formed the entire first man can reshape the deficient members
+of a man. Thus, just as he formed the first man from clay, so he
+made clay to re-form the eyes of the one born blind.</p>
+<p>He rubbed the clay on the eyes of the one born blind to show, by
+healing what is most important in bodies, that he was the creator
+of bodies. For man is more excellent than all other bodily
+substances; and among his members, the head is the more excellent;
+and among the organs of the head, the eye is more excellent than
+the others: "The eye is the lamp of the body" (Mt 6:22). Therefore,
+by repairing the eye, which is more excellent than the other bodily
+members, he showed that he was the creator of the entire man and of
+all corporeal nature. He said, <b>go, wash in the pool of
+Siloam</b>, so that it would not seem that the clay he rubbed on
+the eyes had the power to heal them. Thus, as long as he had the
+clay on his eyes, the man did not see, but saw only after he
+washed.</p>
+<p>He sent him some distance to wash, to the pool of Siloam, first,
+to overcome the obstinacy of the Jews. For he had to cross the
+city, and so all would see the blind man going with the clay on his
+eyes, and then returning with his sight restored. Secondly, he did
+this to acclaim the obedience and faith of the blind man; for
+perhaps he had frequently had clay put on his face, and had often
+washed in the pool of Siloam, and yet had not seen. So he could
+have said: "Clay usually makes me worse, and I have often washed in
+the pool but was never helped," as we read of Naaman in 2 Kings
+(5:10). Yet he did not argue, but simply obeyed. Thus it follows,
+<b>so he went and washed</b>. The reason why he sent him to the
+pool of Siloam was because the Jewish people were signified by that
+water: "Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that
+flow gently" (Is 8:6) Therefore, he sent him to Siloam to show that
+he still loved the Jewish people.</p>
+<p>The effect follows, because <b>he came back seeing</b>. This was
+predicted in Isaiah (35:5): "Then the eyes of the blind shall be
+opened."</p>
+<p>1311 Augustine gives the mystical and allegorical explanation.
+He says that the spittle, which is saliva that descends from the
+head, signifies the Word of God, who proceeds from the Father, the
+head of all things: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High"
+(Sir 24:3). Therefore, the Lord made clay from spittle and the
+earth when the Word was made flesh. <a href="#_ftn11" name=
+"_ftnref11" id="_ftnref11">[11]</a> He anointed the eyes of the
+blind man, that is, of the human race. And the eyes are the eyes of
+the heart, anointed by faith in the incarnation of Christ. But the
+blind man did not yet see, because the anointing produced a
+catechumen, who has faith but has not yet been baptized. So he
+sends him to the pool of Siloam to wash and receive his sight,
+i.e., to be baptized, and in baptism to receive full enlightenment.
+Thus, according to Dionysius, baptism is an enlightenment: "I will
+sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your
+uncleanness" (Ezek 36:25).<a href="#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" id=
+"_ftnref12">[12]</a> And so this Gospel is appropriately read in
+Lent, on Holy Saturday, when those about to be baptized are
+examined. Nor is it without reason that the Evangelist adds the
+meaning of the pool, saying, <b>which means Sent</b>, because
+whoever is baptized must be baptized in Christ, who was sent by the
+Father: "As many of you as were baptized in Christ have put on
+Christ" (Gal 3:27). For if Christ had not been sent, none of us
+would have been freed from sin.</p>
+<p>According to Gregory, however, the spittle signifies the savor
+of intimate contemplation, which flows from the head into the
+mouth, because due to the love of our Creator we have been touched
+even in this life with the savor of revelation.<a href="#_ftn13"
+name="_ftnref13" id="_ftnref13">[13]</a> Thus the Lord mixed
+spittle with earth and restored sight to the man born with his
+contemplation, and heals our understanding from its original
+blindness.</p>
+<p align="center"><b>LECTURE 2</b></p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar,
+said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some said,
+"It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am
+the man." 10 They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11
+He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
+an said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went and washed and
+received my sight." 12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I
+do not know." 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had
+formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made
+the clay and opened his eyes. 15 The Pharisees again asked him how
+he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my
+eyes, and I washed, and I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said,
+"This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But
+others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There
+was a division among them. 17 So they again said to the blind man,
+"What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He
+said, "He is a prophet." 18 The Jews did not believe that he had
+been blind and had received his sight, until they called the
+parents of the man who had received his sight, 19 and asked them,
+"Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now
+see?" 20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and
+that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees we do not know, nor
+do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will
+speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they feared
+the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should
+confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23
+Therefore his parents said, "He is of age, ask him."<a href=
+"#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" id="_ftnref14"><b>[14]</b></a></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>1312 After the description of the miraculous healing of the
+blind man, the Evangelist tells of the miracle being examined.
+First, the miracle is examined by the people; secondly, by the
+Pharisees (v 13); and thirdly, on account of his confession the
+blind man is instructed and commended by Christ (v 35). In regard
+to the first, the Evangelist mentions three things: first, we see
+an inquiry about the person who received his sight; secondly, about
+the restoration itself (v 10); and thirdly about the one who
+restored his sight (v 1). In regard to the first he does three
+things: first, we have a question about the one who received his
+sight; secondly, the different opinions about this are given;
+thirdly, the question is settled.</p>
+<p>1313 The question is asked by the people. He says, <b>the
+neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said: Is
+not this the man who used to sit and beg?</b> Here two things are
+to be considered. One is that due to the greatness of the miracle,
+it was considered incredible. So we read below: "Never since the
+world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man
+born blind" (9:32). This fulfills for them what is said in Habakkuk
+(1:5), "I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe
+if told." Secondly, we should note the wonderful compassion of God,
+because our Lord performs miracles not only for the powerful, but
+also for outcasts, since he healed, with great pity, those who
+begged. This shows that he who came for our salvation rejected no
+one because of their poverty: "Has not God chosen those who are
+poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?"
+(Jas 2:5). Thus they explicitly say, <b>Is not this the man who
+used to sit and beg?</b> This is like saying: He is an outcast and
+does not deserve to be cured. But Baruch says the opposite: "The
+giants who were born there&hellip;God did not choose them"
+(3:26).</p>
+<p>1314 The opinions of the people are presented when he says,
+<b>Some said</b>: It is he, the beggar, because they had often seen
+him begging, and later hurrying through the town when he went to
+the pool with the clay on his eyes. Thus they could not deny that
+it was he. But others were on the contrary opinion, so they said,
+<b>No, but it is like him</b>. The reason for this, as Augustine
+says, is that the man's appearance changed when he regained his
+sight, for nothing is so characteristic as the expression a person
+gets from his eyes: "A sensible man is known by his face" (Sir
+19:29).<a href="#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" id=
+"_ftnref15">[15]</a></p>
+<p>1315 The question is settled by the blind man because <b>he
+said</b>, the blind man, <b>I am the man</b>, the one who used to
+beg. His voice was grateful. For since he could not be ungrateful
+for such a great favor and was unable to show any other sign of
+gratitude than to constantly declare that he had been cured by
+Christ, he said, <b>I am the man</b>, the one who was blind and
+begged; and now I see: "Praise God and give thanks to
+him&hellip;for what he has done for you" (Tob 12:6).</p>
+<p>1316 Then (v 10), we see the investigation of the act, which was
+the restoration of the man's sight. First, we have the question
+asked by the Jews; secondly, the answer of the blind man (v
+11).</p>
+<p>1317 They continue: If you are the blind man who used to beg,
+then tell us, <b>how were your eyes opened?</b> This question came
+from their vain curiosity because neither the one who was cured nor
+we ourselves know how it was done: "Do not meddle in what is beyond
+your tasks" (Sir 3:23).</p>
+<p>1318 The blind man's answer was remarkable; he says, <b>the man
+called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes</b>&hellip;In his
+answer he first points out the person who gave him his sight,
+saying <b>the man called Jesus</b>. He was right in calling him a
+man; he knew that he was a man, and he was a true man: "Born in the
+likeness of man" (Phil 2:7). For although he had not seen Jesus,
+because he had left while still blind to go to Siloam, he knew him
+from his voice and from the conversations of others about him.</p>
+<p>Secondly, he tells what was done, saying, <b>he made clay and
+anointed my eyes</b>. Here he shows that he is truthful, not
+asserting what is not certain. For our Lord had made clay from
+spittle, but he did not know this; yet through his sense of touch
+he recognized the clay which was made and placed over his eyes. So
+he did not say, "He made clay from spittle," but only, he <b>made
+clay and anointed my eyes</b>: "That which we have heard, which we
+have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with
+our hands&hellip;we proclaim also to you" (1 Jn 1:1).</p>
+<p>Thirdly, he mentions the command, saying, <b>and he said to me,
+Go to Siloam and wash</b>. This was also necessary for us, for if
+we wish to be cleansed from our blindness of heart, it is necessary
+that we be spiritually washed; "Wash yourselves; make yourselves
+clean" (Is 1:16).</p>
+<p>Fourthly, he shows his obedience, saying, <b>so I went and
+washed</b>. He is saying in effect: Because I heard this command
+and desired to see, I obeyed. And it is no wonder, because we read:
+"For the commandment," that is, when obeyed, "is a lamp and the
+teaching a light" (Prov 6:23).</p>
+<p>Fifthly, he mentions the good effect, saying, <b>and I received
+my sight</b>. It was fitting that he be enlightened after obeying,
+because as it says in Acts (5:32): "It is the Holy Spirit whom God
+has given to those who obey him." Notice the perseverance of the
+blind man. As Augustine says: "Look at him! He became a preacher of
+grace. See him! He preaches and testifies to the Jews. This blind
+man testified, and the hearts of the wicked were vexed, because
+they did not have the light in their hearts which he had in his
+face."<a href="#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" id=
+"_ftnref16">[16]</a></p>
+<p>1319 Next, we have the inquiry about the person who restored his
+sight (v 12). First, there is the question asked by the Jews,
+<b>Where is he?</b> They asked this maliciously, as they were
+thinking of killing him; for they had already formed a conspiracy
+against Christ: "But now you seek to kill me" (8:40).</p>
+<p>Secondly, we have the answer of the blind man, <b>I do not
+know</b>. As Augustine says, from these words it is clear that what
+was accomplished in him physically represents what is accomplished
+spiritually at different stages.<a href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17"
+id="_ftnref17">[17]</a> For at first, the blind man is anointed,
+and then sees after his washing. The anointing represents the
+beginning of his physical health, and the washing leads to complete
+health. In particular, an anointing produces a catechumen; and the
+washing, that is, baptism, perfects and enlightens him. Thus we
+have a representation of the difference in faith found at different
+stages. For when he says, <b>I do not know</b>, this represents the
+imperfect faith of catechumens: "You worship what you do not know"
+(4:22). This can also signify our faith: "For our knowledge is
+imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect" (1 Cor 13:9).</p>
+<p>1320 Then when he says, <b>they brought to the Pharisees the man
+who had formerly been blind</b>, we see his examination by the
+Pharisees. First, they question the man born blind; secondly, his
+parents (v 18). He does three things with the first. First, we see
+the person to be examined; secondly, he mentions the intention of
+the examiners; and thirdly we have the interrogation itself.</p>
+<p>1321 The one to be examined, the blind man, is led to the
+Pharisees by the people. <b>They brought</b>, that is, the crowd,
+<b>to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind</b>. They
+did this because the crowd was trying to find out from him where
+Jesus was, so that if they found him they could bring him to the
+Pharisees and accuse him of breaking the Sabbath. So because they
+did not have Christ they took the blind man, so that by questioning
+him more roughly they might force him by fear to make up something
+false about Christ: "I will go to the great, and will speak to
+them; for they know the way of the Lord, the law of their God. But
+they all alike had broken the yoke, they had burst the bonds" (Jer
+5:5).</p>
+<p>1322 The Evangelist shows that their intention was perverse,
+saying, <b>it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay</b>. He
+says this to show their evil intention and the reason why they
+sought Jesus, that is, to find a charge against him and detract
+from his miracle by his supposed violation of the law.
+Nevertheless, it should be said that "The Son of man is Lord of the
+Sabbath" (Mt 12:8).</p>
+<p>1323 His examination is conducted by the Pharisees, since it is
+said, <b>The Pharisees again asked him</b>. First, they question
+him about what was done; secondly, about the person who did it (v
+16).</p>
+<p>1324 The Evangelist does two things about the first: first, he
+presents their interrogation; secondly, the blind man's answer.
+They ask him about the sign he received, <b>the Pharisees again
+asked him</b>, not in order to learn, but to find a reason to
+accuse him of lying. The blind man answers them, not contradicting
+what he said before, nor deviating from the truth. <b>He</b>, that
+is, the blind man, <b>said to them, He put clay on my eyes</b>. We
+must, first, admire the perseverance of this blind man, for
+although it may not seem such a great thing to have spoken the
+truth when he, without danger, was questioned by the crowd, he
+showed remarkable perseverance when in greater danger before the
+Pharisees he neither denied what he had said before nor changed his
+account: "I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings, and
+shall not be put to shame" (Ps 119:46). Secondly, we should admire
+his skill, for it is good practice to first relate an event in
+detail and with all its circumstances, and then if it has to be
+repeated, to speak more concisely. So here, he does not repeat the
+name of the one who spoke to him, nor that he was told to go and
+wash. But without hesitation he relays only the essential, and
+says, <b>He put clay on my eyes</b>.</p>
+<p>1325 Next (v 16), an inquiry is made about the one who restored
+the man's sight. First, the different opinions of the Pharisees
+concerning Christ are given; secondly, the opinion of the blind man
+is sought (v 17). In regard to the first he does three things:
+first, he presents the opinion of those who were blaspheming
+Christ; then, the opinion of those who were commending him;
+thirdly, he concludes with the fact that they were arguing and
+disagreeing among themselves.</p>
+<p>1326 We should note, concerning the first, that those who act
+maliciously against someone keep silent if they see anything good
+in his work, and they reveal the evil, if any is seen, even turning
+what is good into evil, according to "Beware of a scoundrel, for he
+devises evil, lest he give you a lasting blemish" (Sir 11:33). This
+is what they are doing here: for they do not mention what seemed
+good, that is, the restoration of the blind man's sight, but stress
+what they can against Christ, that is, his breaking of the Sabbath.
+Thus <b>some of the Pharisees said</b>, that is, those who were
+malicious and corrupt, <b>this man is not from God, for he does not
+keep the Sabbath</b>. But Christ did keep the Sabbath, for when the
+Lord forbade work on the Sabbath he had in mind servile work, which
+is a sin: "Every one who does sinful works on the Sabbath breaks
+the Sabbath. So Christ, who was without sin, rather than they, kept
+the Sabbath.</p>
+<p>1327 The opinion of those commending him is presented when he
+reports them as saying, <b>How can a man who is a sinner do such
+signs?</b> These others had some faith due to the signs that Christ
+worked, but were still weak and imperfect; it was out of fear of
+the Pharisees and the elders that they asked with hesitation,
+<b>How can a man who</b> <b>is a sinner do such signs?</b> We read
+below that "Many even of the authorities believed in him, but for
+fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it" (12:42). They should
+have shown how our Lord had not broken the Sabbath, and have
+appropriately replied in defense of Jesus.</p>
+<p>1328 The difference of opinion among them is mentioned when he
+says, <b>there was a division among them</b>; and this division was
+also found in the people. This was a sign of their destruction:
+"Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt" (Hos 10:2);
+"Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste" (Mt
+12:25).</p>
+<p>1329 Next (v 17), they ask the blind man for his opinion. And
+first we have the question the Pharisees asked; secondly, the blind
+man's answer.</p>
+<p>They question him, saying, <b>what do you say about him?</b>
+According to Chrysostom, this question was not asked by those who
+were blaspheming Christ, but by those favorably disposed.<a href=
+"#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" id="_ftnref18">[18]</a> This is clear
+from the way they questioned him; for they call his attention to
+the gift he received, saying, <b>since he has opened your eyes</b>.
+If the others had been doing the questioning, they would not have
+said this, but would rather recall that Christ broke the Sabbath.
+But these remind him of the benefit that he received to make him
+grateful and lead him to testify to Christ.</p>
+<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2">But according to Augustine, this
+question was asked by Christ's enemies, who wanted to deprecate
+this man who constantly professed the truth; or they were trying to
+get him to change his opinion out of fear; or at least were
+attempting to exclude him from the synagogue.<a href="#_ftn19"
+name="_ftnref19" id="_ftnref19">[19]</a></p>
+<p>The answer of the blind man remained the same, <b>he said, He is
+a prophet</b>. Although up to this time, as though unanointed in
+heart, he did not yet profess that Christ was the Son of God, he
+firmly expressed what he thought and did not lie. For our Lord said
+of himself: "A prophet is not without honor except in his own
+country" (Mt 13:57); "The Lord your God will raise up for you a
+prophet&hellip;him shall you heed" (Dt 18:15).</p>
+<p>1330 Next (v 18), we see his parents questioned. First, we have
+the reason why they were questioned; secondly, the question itself
+(v 19); thirdly their answer (v 20); and fourthly, the reason for
+this answer (v 22).</p>
+<p>1331 The reason for this second questioning was the unbelief of
+the Pharisees. He says, <b>the Jews</b>, that is, the Pharisees,
+<b>did not believe that he had been blind and had received his
+sight, until they called the parents of the man</b>. They did this
+in an attempt to nullify the miracle of Christ and to preserve
+their own glory: "How can you believe, who receive glory from one
+another?" (Jn 5:44).</p>
+<p>1332 The Pharisees now question his parents. Here they ask about
+three things. First, about their son, saying <b>Is this your
+son?</b> Secondly, about his blindness; and so they add, <b>who you
+say was born blind</b>. They did not say, "who at one time was
+blind," but <b>who you say</b>, implying that they made this up.
+What father would lie in such a way about his son? Yet they were
+trying to make him say he did.</p>
+<p>Thirdly, they ask how he had obtained his sight, <b>How then
+does he now see?</b> This was like saying: Either it is false that
+he now sees, or that he was once blind; but obviously the truth is
+that he sees; therefore it was false to say that he had been blind:
+"The powerful man will test you through much talking, and while he
+smiles he will be examining you" (Sir 13:11).</p>
+<p>1333 Then, the answer of his parents is given (v 20). The
+Pharisees had asked about three things; they answer firmly about
+two and in regard to the third they refer them to their son. First,
+they admit the first, namely, that he is their son; so they say,
+<b>we know that this is our son</b>. They also admit the second
+when they add, <b>and that he was born blind</b>. This shows that
+the truth always conquers what is false, as we read in the
+apocryphal 3 Esdras (3:13): "Truth conquers all." Yet as to the
+third question, how their son sees, they <b>answer, but how he now
+sees we do not know</b>.</p>
+<p>They reply, secondly, about the person who gave him his sight,
+<b>now do we know who opened his eyes</b>. They answer this way
+because the question was directed against the one who gave sight to
+their son, and so they refer this to their son, saying, <b>Ask him,
+he is of age</b>. This was like saying: He was born blind, not
+mute; thus he can speak for himself in this matter. The testimony
+about this miracle was from several sources so as to make it more
+believable: the parents told what they knew, and their blind son
+confirmed that he had been cured.</p>
+<p>1334 The reason for their answer is given when he says, <b>his
+parents said this because they feared the Jews</b>; for they were
+still imperfect and did not dare do what our Lord says: "Do not
+fear those who kill the body" (Mt 10:28). The reason for their fear
+was <b>that the Jews had already agreed that if any one should
+confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the
+synagogue</b>. "I have said all this to you to keep you from
+falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues" (Jn 16:11).
+As Augustine says, it was no longer an evil to be cast out of the
+synagogue, for the ones they rejected Christ welcomed.<a href=
+"#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" id="_ftnref20">[20]</a></p>
+<p align="center"><b>LECTURE 3</b></p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>24 So for the second time they called the man who had been
+blind, and said to him, "Give God the praise; we know that this man
+is a sinner." 25 he answered, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not
+know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, I now see." 26
+They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your
+eyes?" 27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would
+not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to
+become his disciples?" 28 And they reviled him, saying, "You are
+his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God
+has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he
+comes from." 30 The man answered, "Why, this is a marvel! You do
+not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know
+that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshipper
+of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the
+world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man
+born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
+34 They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you
+teach us?" And they cast him out.<a href="#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21"
+id="_ftnref21"><b>[21]</b></a></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>1335 After the questioning of the blind man and his parents, an
+attempt is made to make him deny the truth and affirm what is
+false. First, they attempt to make him deny the truth; secondly,
+they revile him (v 28); and thirdly, they condemn him (v 34). The
+Evangelist does two things about the first. First, he shows how
+they tried to get the man born blind to deny the truth; secondly,
+how they continued to question him in order to malign him (v 26).
+In regard to the first he does two things: first, he shows their
+malice; and secondly, the steadfastness of the man born blind (v
+25). The malice of the Pharisees is shown by their attempt to have
+him deny the truth, while the steadfastness of the blind man
+appears by his resolute profession of the truth.</p>
+<p>1336 In regard to the first he says, <b>for the second time they
+called the man who had been blind</b>, for his parents had referred
+them to the blind man, <b>and said to him: Give God the praise</b>.
+They say one thing but mean another. For they wish to force him to
+say that his sight was not restored by Christ, or if they are
+unable to do this, to force him to admit that he was cured by him
+through sorcery. They do not say this openly, but implicitly, with
+an appearance of devotion. They attempt this by saying, <b>Give God
+the praise</b>. As if to say: Your sight has been given to you. But
+only God can do this. Therefore, you should not attribute this to
+anyone but God, and not to this man, that is, Christ, because if
+you do this you are indicating that you have not received the gift
+of your healing from God, for the reason that God does not perform
+miracles through sinners. Thus they add, <b>we know that this man
+is a sinner</b>. But, as Augustine says, if he had done this, he
+would not be giving glory to God but rather, being ungrateful,
+would be blaspheming.<a href="#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" title=""
+id="_ftnref22">[22]</a> But in truth, the Pharisees were lying when
+they said, <b>we know that this man is a sinner</b>; for above
+(8:46), they could not convict him of sin, and he said: "which of
+you convicts me of sin?" And no wonder, because "He committed no
+sin; no guile was found on his lips" (1 Pet 2:22).</p>
+<p>1337 Here we see the steadfastness of the blind man. For amazed
+at the hardness of the Pharisees, and impatient with what they were
+saying, he says, in all truth, <b>Whether he is a sinner, I do not
+know.</b></p>
+<p>Yet because he had said before that "He is a prophet," is he not
+now saying, <b>Whether he is a sinner I do not know</b>, out of
+fear, as if he were doubtful? Not at all! Rather, he is angry and
+mocking the Pharisees. He is saying in effect: You say that he is a
+sinner; but I do not know that he is a sinner, and I am amazed that
+you say this, because he accomplished a work which does not seem to
+be the work of a sinner, because <b>though I was blind, now I
+see</b>, by his kindness. According to Augustine, he said this in
+order not to be maligned nor to conceal the truth. For perhaps if
+he had said, "I know that he is a just man," which was true, they
+would have maligned him.<a href="#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" id=
+"_ftnref23">[23]</a> But according to Chrysostom, he said this to
+give them a more impressive testimony to the miracle, and to make
+his answer believable by calling attention to the gift itself he
+received.<a href="#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" title="" id=
+"_ftnref24">[24]</a></p>
+<p>1338 They again question the man born blind in order to malign
+him. First, we have the cunning interrogation of the Pharisees; and
+secondly, the contemptuous reply of the blind man (v 27).</p>
+<p>1339 He says, with respect to the first, <b>They said to him:
+What did he do to you?</b> The blind man had said that he had
+received his sight from Christ, which the Pharisees had not asked
+about. It was their intention to malign Christ, so they now ask
+rather how he did it. So they did not ask "How is it that you see?"
+but <b>How did he open your eyes?</b> It was like saying: "He did
+this by some trick or sorcery, didn't he?" "Those who seek my hurt
+speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all the day long" (Ps
+38:12).</p>
+<p>1340 Now the man's answer is given. The man born blind, because
+he really had received his sight, answers them further, not
+timidly, but with boldness. He first belittles the repeated
+questioning of the Pharisees, saying, <b>I have told you already
+and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again?</b>
+This was like saying: I told you once. Why do you want to hear it
+again? That's foolish! It looks like you are not paying attention
+to what I am saying. So, I have nothing further to say to you
+because your questioning is useless, and you want to cavil rather
+than learn. "He who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy
+man; and at the end he will say: 'What is it'" (Sir 22:8).</p>
+<p>Secondly, he mocks the presumptuous intention of the Pharisees,
+saying, <b>Do you too want to become his disciples?</b> When
+someone carefully investigates a matter, he does so either with a
+good intention, to accept it, or with an evil intention, to condemn
+it. Now because the Pharisees were carefully investigating this,
+and because the man born blind did not dare impute an evil
+intention to them, he takes the alternative, saying, <b>Do you too
+want to become his disciples?</b> He means by this: If you are not
+investigating this maliciously, you therefore wish to join him:
+"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then
+also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil" (Jer 13:23). As
+Augustine says: The one who had received his sight gladly desired
+to give them light.<a href="#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" id=
+"_ftnref25">[25]</a> Thus, he significantly says, <b>you too</b>,
+implying that he himself was a disciple. He is saying in effect:
+<b>Do you want to become his disciples</b> as I am? I already see,
+and do not envy your coming to the light. And as Chrysostom says,
+from the steadfastness of the blind man we can see how strong truth
+really is, for when it convinces the lowly, it makes them noble and
+strong. And we can see how weak is a lie, which even if it is
+maintained by the powerful, shows and makes them weak.<a href=
+"#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" id="_ftnref26">[26]</a></p>
+<p>1341 Next, the Pharisees revile the man born blind. First, we
+see them revile him; then, secondly, the defense of the blind man
+(v 30). He does two things concerning the first: first, he presents
+the revilement of the Pharisees; secondly, the reason behind it (v
+28b).</p>
+<p>1342 With respect to the first he says, <b>and they reviled him,
+saying, You are his disciple</b>. This is, indeed, scornful, if you
+consider their vicious hearts. But if you consider their words, it
+is the greatest blessing. May we and our children be treated with
+such scorn! "If you continue in my word, you are truly my
+disciples" (Jn 8:31). Still, the Evangelist stated that they
+reviled him by saying this because what they said came from their
+evil hearts: "Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth
+lips with an evil heart" (Prov 26:23). We read about this
+revilement in the Psalm 109 (v 28): "let them curse, but do thou
+bless"; and in Matthew (5:11): "Blessed are you when men revile
+you."</p>
+<p>1343 He next adds the reason for their reviling when he says,
+<b>we are disciples of Moses</b>. They were thinking of how they
+were ridiculed by the man born blind when he asked if they wanted
+to become Christ's disciples; for they took pride in being
+disciples of Moses, whom they thought was greater. First, they set
+forth their own situation, saying, <b>we are disciples of
+Moses</b>. But this pride of theirs is false, because they neither
+followed Moses nor fulfilled his commands: "If you believed Moses,
+you would believe me" (Jn 5:46); this was like saying: You do not
+follow the servant [Moses], and later go against his Lord.</p>
+<p>Secondly, they praise the dignity of Moses when they say, <b>we
+know that God has spoken to Moses</b>. Here they are telling the
+truth, for as we read: "The Lord used to speak to Moses face to
+face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Ex 33:11); and "If there is a
+prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a
+vision, I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses;
+he is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth"
+(Num 12:6). Thus God spoke to Moses in a more excellent way than to
+the other prophets. And it is about this that they are speaking.
+However, it is clear that since God spoke his Word to Moses, the
+dignity of Moses came from the Word of God. And so the Word of God
+is of greater dignity than Moses: "Yet Jesus has been counted
+worthy of as much more glory than Moses as the builder of a house
+has more honor than the house" (Heb 3:3).</p>
+<p>Thirdly, they hint at the dignity of Christ in a veiled manner
+when they say, <b>as for this man</b>, Christ, <b>we do not know
+where he comes from</b>. This is true, but not the way they
+understood it: for they did not know the Father, and Christ was
+from the Father: "you know neither me nor my Father" (8:19). But
+their statement is false as they understood it, for when they said,
+we do <b>not know where he comes from</b>, they meant he had no
+authority and was unverified, so that is was not clear whether or
+not he came from God. They seem to be applying to him the words of
+Jeremiah: "I did not send you prophets, yet they ran" (23:21).</p>
+<p>1344 Now, the blind man's argument against the Pharisees is
+presented. First, he is amazed at their harness of heart; secondly,
+he refutes their false opinion (v 31).</p>
+<p>1345 Concerning the first, we must recall that we are not amazed
+at what happens frequently, and in the usual way; but we are amazed
+at what is unusual and great, whether this be good or evil. We are
+struck by unusual and great good: "you are wonderful, my Lord, and
+your countenance is full of grace," as we read in Esther [15:17].
+We are also amazed at great evil: "Be appalled, O heavens, at
+this&hellip;for my people have committed two evils" (Jer 2:12). In
+line with this, the blind man says in answer, <b>Why this is a
+marvel! You do not know where he comes from</b>. He is saying in
+effect: It would not be remarkable if you regarded someone
+insignificant and like me as having no authority. But it is
+extremely amazing that you can see an explicit and evident sign of
+divine power in Christ and say that you do not know where he comes
+from, especially because he did open my eyes.</p>
+<p>1346 The man born blind refutes their false opinion by saying,
+<b>we know that God does not listen to sinners</b>. He is reasoning
+this way: Whomever God hears is from God; but God heard Christ;
+therefore, Christ is from God. He first states his main premise;
+then the minor premise (v 32); and thirdly, he draws his conclusion
+(v 33). He does two things abut the first: first, he mentions those
+whom God does not hear; secondly, those he does hear (v 31b).</p>
+<p>1347 God does not hear sinners. In regard to this he says, <b>we
+know that God does not hear sinners</b>. He is saying: Both you and
+I agree that sinners are not heard by God. Thus a Psalm says, "They
+cried to the Lord and he did not hear them"; and again, "Then they
+will call upon me, but I will not answer" (Prov 1:28). But there
+are statements which contradict this: "If they sin against thee -
+for there is no man who does not sin - but later repent with all
+their heart, then hear thou from heaven and forgive thy people" [2
+Chron 6:36-39]; and in Luke (18:14) we read that the tax collector
+"went down to his house justified."</p>
+<p>Because of this Augustine says that this blind man is speaking
+as one who has not been anointed, as one who does not yet have
+complete knowledge. For God does hear sinners, otherwise it would
+have been futile for the tax collector to have prayed: "God, be
+merciful to me a sinner." Accordingly, if we wish to save the
+statement of the blind man we must say that God does not hear those
+sinners who persist in their sinning; but he does hear those
+sinners who are sorry for their sins, and who should be regarded
+more as repentant than as sinners. <a href="#_ftn27" name=
+"_ftnref27" id="_ftnref27">[27]</a></p>
+<p>1348 Yet there is a difficulty here. It is clear that miracles
+are not accomplished by us due to our own power, but through
+prayer. But sinners often perform miracles: "Lord, Lord, did we not
+prophesy in your name&hellip;and do many might works in your name?"
+(Mt 7:22); and yet God did not know them. Thus, what the blind man
+said does not seems to be true, namely, <b>we know that God does
+not listen to sinners</b>.</p>
+<p>There are two answers to this. The first is general. Prayer has
+two characteristics, that is, it can obtain [what it asks for] and
+it can merit. Thus, sometimes it obtains what it asks, and does not
+merit; at other times, it merits and does not obtain. And so
+nothing prevents the prayer of a sinner from obtaining what it asks
+although it does not merit. This is the way that God hears sinners;
+not as a matter of merit, but they obtain what they ask from the
+divine power, which they acknowledge. The other answer is special
+and applies to this particular case, when the miracle that was done
+makes known the person of Christ.</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>1349 It should be mentioned that every miracle is a sort of
+testimony. Sometimes, a miracle is accomplished as a testimony to
+the truth that is being preached; at other times, it is a testimony
+to the person performing it. We must also realize that no true
+miracle happens except by the divine power, and that God is never a
+witness to a lie. I say, therefore, that whenever a miracle is
+performed in testimony to a doctrine that is being preached, that
+doctrine must be true, even if the person who is preaching it is
+not good. And when it is performed in testimony to the person, it
+is also necessary that the person be good. Now it is evident that
+the miracles of Christ were performed in testimony to his person:
+"The works which the Father has granted me to
+accomplish&hellip;bear me witness that the Father has sent me"
+(5:36). It was with this meaning that the blind man said that
+<b>God does not listen to sinners</b>, that is, so that they could
+perform miracles as a testimony to their supposed holiness.
+<a href="#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28" id="_ftnref28">[28]</a></p>
+<p>1350 Then when he says, <b>but if any one is a worshiper of
+God</b>&hellip;he shows that God hears the just through merit. We
+must realize that the performing of miracles is attributed to
+faith: "If you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the
+sea,' it will be done" (Mt 21:21). The reason for this is that
+miracles are accomplished by the omnipotence of God, on which faith
+relies. Therefore, whoever wishes to obtain something from God has
+to have faith: "Let him ask in faith" (Jas 1:6). However, if he
+wishes to obtain it through merit, he must do God's will. And these
+two conditions are mentioned here. As to the first, he says, <b>If
+any one is a worshipper of God</b> by sacrifices and offerings:
+"They will worship him with sacrifice and burnt offering" (Is
+19:21). These belong to the worship of <i>latria</i>, which attests
+to one's faith. As to the second he says, <b>and does his will</b>
+by obeying his commandments, <b>God listens to him</b>.</p>
+<p>1351 Here he takes the minor premise of his argument. He is
+saying: Because of what Christ did, which no man has ever done, it
+is obvious that he did this by the action of God, and that he has
+been heard by God: "If I had not done among them the works which no
+one else did, they would not have sin" (Jn 15:24).</p>
+<p>1352 Next, he draws his conclusion. He is saying, in effect:
+From the kind of works that Christ does, it is obvious that he is
+from God. For <b>if this man were not from God, he could do
+nothing</b>, that is, freely, often and truly, because "apart from
+me you can do nothing" (15:5).</p>
+<p>1353 Here the Pharisees condemn the blind man. In this
+condemnation they fall into three defects or sins, namely, untruth,
+pride, and injustice. They fall into untruth in reviling the blind
+man, <b>saying, you were born in utter sin</b>. Here it should be
+noted that the Jews were of the opinion that all infirmities and
+temporal adversities beset us on account of our previous sins. This
+was the opinion given by Eliphaz: "Think now, who that was innocent
+ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen
+those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the
+breath of God they perish" (Job 4:7). The reason for this opinion
+is that in the Old Law temporal goods were promised to the good,
+and temporal punishment to the evil: "If you are willing and
+obedient, you shall eat the good of the land" (Is 1:19). Therefore,
+seeing that this man had been born blind, they believed that this
+happened on account of his sins, and so they say, <b>you were born
+in utter sin</b>. But they were wrong, because the Lord said: "It
+was not that this man sinned, or his parents."</p>
+<p>They say <b>in utter sin</b> to show that he is defiled by sins
+not only in his soul, insofar as all of us are born sinners, but
+even as regards the traces of sin which appear in his body, as
+blindness. Or according to Chrysostom, <b>in utter sin</b> means
+that he was in sin all his life, from his earliest years.<a href=
+"#_ftn29" name="_ftnref29" id="_ftnref29">[29]</a></p>
+<p>They are guilty of pride by rejecting what the man born blind
+was teaching, when they say, <b>Would you teach us?</b> This was
+like saying: You are not worthy. This makes their pride clear: for
+no person, no matter however wise, ought to reject being taught by
+any inferior. Thus the Apostle teaches (1 Cor 14:30) that if
+something is revealed to one who is inferior, those who are greater
+should keep silent and listen. In Daniel we read that all the
+people, and the elders, listened to the judgment of a young boy,
+Daniel, whose spirit has been raised up by God.</p>
+<p>They are guilty of injustice by unjustly casting him out. Thus
+we read, <b>and they cast him out</b>, that is, because he spoke
+the truth. However, in this man born blind there is already
+fulfilled what our Lord had said: "Blessed are you when men hate
+you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your
+name as evil, on account of the Son of man!" (Lk 6:22).</p>
+<p align="center"><b>LECTURE 4</b></p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him
+he said, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" 36 He answered, "And
+who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" 37 Jesus said to him,
+"You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." 38 He said,
+"Lord, I believe"; and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "For
+judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see,
+and that those who see may become blind." 40 Some of the Pharisees
+near him heard this, and they said to him, "Are we also blind?" 41
+Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt;
+but now that you say, 'we see', your guilt remains."<a href=
+"#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30" id="_ftnref30"><b>[30]</b></a></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>1354 After the Evangelist showed how the Jews cast out the man
+born blind because he persisted in the truth, he here shows how
+Jesus received him and taught him. First, we see Christ teaching
+him; secondly, the devotion of the man born blind (v 38); thirdly,
+the approval of his devotion (v 39). He does three things about the
+first. First, he shows the eagerness of Christ to teach him;
+secondly, we see the desire of the man born blind to believe (v
+36); and thirdly, the teaching of the faith is given to perfect him
+(v 37).</p>
+<p>1355 Christ's eagerness to teach is described in three ways.
+First, by his attentive consideration to what was done to the man
+born blind. For just as a trainer carefully considers what his
+athlete undergoes for his sake, so Christ attentively considered
+what the man born blind underwent for the sake of the truth and
+because of his assertions. And so he says that <b>Jesus heard</b>,
+attentively considered, that the Pharisees <b>had cast him out</b>,
+of the temple: "Give heed to me, O Lord, and to the voices of my
+adversaries" [Jer 18:19].</p>
+<p>Secondly, we see Christ's eagerness from his efforts in
+searching for him, for the Evangelist says, <b>and having found
+him</b>; for we are said to find what we diligently seek: "She
+seeks diligently, until she finds it" (Lk 15:8). It is clear from
+this that Christ was looking for him alone, because he found more
+faith in him alone that in all the others. And we can see from this
+that God loves one just person more than ten thousand sinners: "I
+will make men more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold
+of Ophir" (Is 13:12). And in Genesis we read that God was willing
+to spare Sodom for the sake of ten just men.</p>
+<p>Thirdly, our Lord's eagerness is seen from the seriousness of
+his question; he said, <b>Do you believe in the Son of God?</b> The
+blind man was an image of those to be baptized. Thus the custom
+arose in the Church of questioning those to be baptized about their
+faith: "Baptism&hellip;now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from
+the body, but as an appeal to God for a clean conscience" (1 Pet
+3:21). When asked about his faith he does not say, "Do you believe
+in Christ?" but <b>Do you believe in the Son of God?</b> He does
+this, as Hilary says, because it would develop that some would
+profess Christ, and yet deny that he was the Son of God and God, as
+Arius erred.<a href="#_ftn31" name="_ftnref31" id=
+"_ftnref31">[31]</a> These words clearly exclude this error: for if
+Christ were not God, we would not have to believe in him, since God
+alone is the object of faith, which rests on the first truth. Thus
+he significantly says, <b>in the Son</b> (<i>in Filium</i>); for I
+am certainly able to believe some creature, such as Peter and Paul
+(<i>credere Petro et Paulo</i>), yet I do not believe in Peter
+(<i>credere in Petrum</i>), but in God (<i>in Deum</i>) alone as
+the object of faith [cf. no. 901]. Thus it is clear that the Son of
+God is not a creature: "You believe in God, believe also in me" (Jn
+14:1).</p>
+<p>1356 Next he mentions the desire of the man born blind to
+believe. We have to recall that this man had not yet physically
+seen Christ: for he had not seen him when Christ anointed his eyes
+and sent him to the pool of Siloam, and when he wanted to go back
+to him he was detained by the Pharisees and the Jews. However,
+although he had not physically seen Jesus, he believed that the one
+who opened his eyes was the Son of God. And so he breaks out in
+words of desire and intense longing, and says, <b>And who is he,
+sir</b>, namely, the Son of God, who opened my eyes, <b>that I may
+believe in him?</b> It is clear from this that he knew something
+about Jesus, and did not know other things about him. For if he had
+not known him, he would not have argued so firmly on his behalf;
+and if he had not been ignorant of other things, he certainly would
+not have said, <b>Who is he, sir?</b> "My soul yearns for you in
+the night," that is, the night of ignorance (Is 26:9).</p>
+<p>1357 Because, as we read in Wisdom (6:16), "She," that is,
+Wisdom, "goes about seeking those worthy of her," Christ reveals
+himself to the man born blind, who desired her, when he says,
+<b>You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you</b>. Here
+Christ is giving him a teaching of faith. First, he mentions the
+gift he received, saying <b>you have seen him</b>, that is, you,
+who did not see before, have now seen him. He is saying in effect
+that the man born blind received the ability to see from him:
+"Blessed are the eyes which see what you see" (Lk 10:23); "Lord,
+now let your servant depart in peace&hellip;for my eyes have seen
+your salvation" [Lk 2:29]. Secondly, the teaching itself is given
+when he says, <b>It is he who speaks to you</b>: "In these last
+days he has spoken to us by a Son" (Heb 1:2).</p>
+<p>These words refute the error of Nestorius, who said that in
+Christ the <i>suppositum</i> [or person] of the Son of God is
+different from the <i>suppositum</i> of the Son of man. They refute
+it because the one who spoke these words was born from Mary and was
+the son of man, and the very same one is the Son of God, as our
+Lord says. Therefore, there are two <i>supposita</i> [persons] in
+Christ, although the natures [the divine and the human] are not the
+same.<a href="#_ftn32" name="_ftnref32" id="_ftnref32">[32]</a></p>
+<p>1358 Then when the Evangelist says, <b>he said, Lord, I
+believe</b>, we see the devout faith of the man born blind. And
+first, he professes with his lips the faith in his heart, saying,
+<b>Lord, I believe</b>: "Man believes with his heart and so is
+justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved" (Rom
+10:10). Secondly, he shows it in his conduct, <b>and he worshipped
+him</b>. This shows that he believes in the divine nature of
+Christ, because those whose consciences have been cleansed know
+Christ not only as the son of man, which was externally obvious,
+but as the Son of God, who had taken flesh: for adoration is due to
+God alone: "You will adore the Lord, your God" [Dt 6:13].</p>
+<p>1359 Next (v 39), the devotion of the man born blind is
+commended: first, his devotion is commended; secondly, we see the
+grumbling of the Jews (v 40); and then they are answered (v
+41).</p>
+<p>1360 The man born blind is commended for his faith. We read,
+<b>for judgment I came into this world</b>. But on the other hand,
+we also read: "God sent the Son into the world, not to judge the
+world" [Jn 3:17]. My answer is this: In the second statement [3:17]
+he is speaking of the judgment of condemnation, about which we
+read: "Those who have done evil [will rise] to the resurrection of
+judgment" (Jn 5:29), that is, to a judgment of condemnation. And
+God did not send his Son for this purpose at his first coming; he
+was sent to save us. But here in the present statement [9:39], he
+is speaking of the judgment of distinction, about which we read:
+"Vindicate me, O Lord, and distinguish my cause" [Ps 43:1]. For
+Jesus came to distinguish the good from the evil. The words which
+follow show this: <b>that those who do not see may see, and that
+those who see may become blind.</b></p>
+<p>According to Augustine, those who think they see do not see, and
+those who do not think they see, see. Now, we are said to be blind,
+spiritually, insofar as we sin: "Their wickedness blinded them"
+(Wis 2:21).<a href="#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33" title="" id=
+"_ftnref33">[33]</a> Thus, the one who does not recognize his own
+sins regards himself as seeing; while one who recognizes himself as
+a sinner regards himself as not seeing. The first is characteristic
+of the proud; the second, of the humble. So the meaning is this: I
+have come to distinguish the humble from the proud, so that the
+humble, <b>who do not see</b>, that is, who regard themselves as
+sinners, <b>may see</b>, having been illuminated by faith, <b>and
+that those who see</b>, that is, the proud, <b>may become
+blind</b>, that is, may remain in the darkness.</p>
+<p>1361 Chrysostom understands this passage in terms of the
+judgment of condemnation, so that the statement, <b>for judgment I
+came into this world</b> is not understood in a causal sense, but
+it indicates the sequence of events.<a href="#_ftn34" name=
+"_ftnref34" id="_ftnref34">[34]</a> It is like saying: After my
+coming into the world, there follows for some the judgment of
+condemnation increases in them. In Luke (2:23) we find something
+similar: "This child is set for the falling and rising of many in
+Israel," not because Christ is the cause of their fall, but because
+this follows his coming. He adds, <b>that those who do not see</b>,
+that is, the Gentiles, who lacked the light of divine knowledge,
+<b>may see</b>, i.e., be admitted to the knowledge of God: "The
+people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Is 9:2);
+<b>and that those who see</b>, the Jews, who did have a knowledge
+of God - "In Judah God is known" (Ps 76:1) - <b>may become
+blind</b>, fall away from the knowledge of God. The Apostle
+explicitly mentions this: "The Gentiles who did not pursue
+righteousness have attained it" (Rom 9:30).</p>
+<p>1362 Now we see the grumbling of the Jews. They had understood
+our Lord's words in a bodily sense because they had seen the man
+born blind physically restored to sight, and had thought that our
+Lord was concerned only with the light in his eyes rather than in
+his mind. And so they believed that he was warning and threatening
+them with physical blindness when he said <b>may become blind</b>.
+Therefore, the Evangelist says, <b>some of the Pharisees near him
+heard this</b>, the above words. He says who were <b>near him</b>,
+to show their vacillation: for sometimes they were with him because
+of some miracles which they saw, and then would leave when the
+truth was made known to them: "They believe for a while, and in
+time of tribulation fall away" (Lk 8:13). <b>And they said to him,
+Are we also blind</b>, i.e., physically? Yet they were spiritually
+blind: "Let them alone; they are blind guides" (Mt 15:14).</p>
+<p>1363 Next, we see the Jews silenced. According to Augustine,
+this shows the meaning of the previous passage, that is, that our
+Lord was referring to spiritual blindness.<a href="#_ftn35" name=
+"_ftnref35" id="_ftnref35">[35]</a> He says, <b>If you were blind,
+you would have no guilt</b>, because you would be running to the
+remedy. For sin is taken away by grace, which is given only to the
+humble: "God gives grace to the humble" (Jas 4:6). <b>But now that
+you say, We see</b>, i.e., proudly thinking that you do see, you do
+not recognize that you are sinners, <b>your guilt remains</b>,
+i.e., is not taken away: "God opposes the proud" (Jas 4:6).</p>
+<p>Chrysostom understands this passage as referring to physical
+blindness.<a href="#_ftn36" name="_ftnref36" title="" id=
+"_ftnref36">[36]</a> The meaning is then: <b>If you were blind</b>,
+physically, you would have no guilt, because since blindness is a
+physical defect, it does not have the nature of sin. <b>But now
+that you say, We see</b>, your sin is clear, because while seeing
+the miracles that I do, you do not believe me: "Blind the heart of
+this people" [Is 6:10].</p>
+<p>Here is another explanation. <b>If you were blind</b>, i.e.,
+ignorant of the judgments of God and of the sacraments of the law;
+<b>you would have no guilt</b>, i.e., so much. As if to say: If you
+were sinning out of ignorance, your sin would not be so serious.
+<b>But now that you say, We see</b>, i.e., arrogate to yourselves
+an understanding of the law and a knowledge of God, and still sin,
+then <b>your guilt remains</b>, i.e., becomes greater: "That
+servant who knew is master's will, but did not make ready or act
+according to his will, shall receive a severe beating" (Lk
+12:47).<br />
+<br />
+<br /></p>
+<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
+<div id="ftn1">
+<p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" id="_ftn1">[1]</a> <span>St.
+Thomas refers to Jn 9:3 in the <i>Summa Theologiae</i>: I-II, q.
+87, a. 7, obj. 1; III, q. 40, a. 4, ad 1; Jn 9:4: <i>ST</i> III, q.
+35, a. 8, obj. 3; q. 83, a. 2, ad 4; Jn 5: <i>ST</i> III, q. 46, a.
+9, obj. 4; q. 83, a. 2, ad 4; Jn 9:6: <i>ST</i> III, q. 44, a. 3,
+ad 2.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn2>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">
-[2]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>., 44, ch. 1, col. 1713; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:1-7.
-
+<div id="ftn2">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" id="_ftn2">[2]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 1, col. 1713; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:1-7.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn3>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> <i>In
-Ioannem hom</i>., 56, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 305; cf.
-<i>Catena Aurea, </i>8:1-7.
-
+<div id="ftn3">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" id="_ftn3">[3]</a> <i>In
+Ioannem hom</i>., 56, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 305; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 8:1-7.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn4>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">
-[4]</a> Ibid;
-cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>8:1-7.
-
+<div id="ftn4">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" id="_ftn4">[4]</a> Ibid;
+cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 8:1-7.</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ftn5">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" id="_ftn5">[5]</a>
+Augustine, <i>Epistola XLIV</i>, ch. V no. 12, PL 33, col.
+179.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn5>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a>
-Augustine, <i>Epistola XLIV</i>, ch. V no. 12, PL 33,
-col. 179.
-
+<div id="ftn6">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" id="_ftn6">[6]</a>
+summa-punishment as a corrective.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn6>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">
-[6]</a>
-summa-punishment as a corrective. 
-
+<div id="ftn7">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" id="_ftn7">[7]</a> cf.
+Augustine, <i>Epistola CLV</i>, ch. I, no. 3; PL 33, col.
+668</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn7>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">
-[7]</a> cf.
-Augustine, <i>Epistola CLV</i>, ch. I, no. 3; PL 33, col. 668 
-
+<div id="ftn8">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" id="_ftn8">[8]</a>
+Summa-evil of fault and evil of punishment</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn8>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">
-[8]</a>
-Summa-evil of fault and evil of punishment
-
+<div id="ftn9">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" id="_ftn9">[9]</a>
+<i>Moralia</i>, Praefatio, ch. 5 no. 12; PL 75, col. 523A, B; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea,</i> 9:1-7.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn9>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">
-[9]</a> <i>Moralia</i>, Praefatio, ch. 5 no. 12; PL 75, col. 523A, B; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:1-7.
-
+<div id="ftn10">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" id="_ftn10">[10]</a>
+<i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 57, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 311; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:1-7.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn10>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10">
-[10]</a> <i>In
-Ioannem hom</i>., 57, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 311; cf.
-<i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:1-7.
-
+<div id="ftn11">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" id="_ftn11">[11]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 2, col. 1714; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:1-7.</span></p>
+</div>
+<div id="ftn12">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" id="_ftn12">[12]</a>
+Dionysius.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn11>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11">
-[11]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>., 44, ch. 2, col. 1714; cf. <i>Catena
-Aurea, </i>9:1-7.
-
+<div id="ftn13">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" id="_ftn13">[13]</a>
+<i>Moralia</i>, Lib. 8, ch. 30, no. 49; PL 75. col. 832 C; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea,</i> 9:1-7.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn12>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12">
-[12]</a>
-Dionysius.
-
-</div>
-
-<div id=ftn13>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13">
-[13]</a> <i>Moralia</i>,
-Lib. 8, ch. 30, no. 49; PL 75. col. 832 C; cf.
-<i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:1-7.
-
+<div id="ftn14">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" id="_ftn14">[14]</a>
+<span>St. Thomas refers to Jn 9:16 in the <i>Summa Theologiae</i>:
+I-II, q. 107, a. 2, obj. 3; III, q. 40, a. 4, ad
+1.</span></span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn14>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14">[14]</a>
-<span>St. Thomas refers to Jn 9:16 in the <i>Summa
-Theologiae</i>: I-II, q. 107, a. 2, obj. 3; III, q. 40, a. 4, ad 1.
-
+<div id="ftn15">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" id=
+"_ftn15">[15]</a><i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 8, col. 1716; cf.
+<i>Catena Aurea,</i> 9:8-17.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn15>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15">
-[15]</a><i>
-Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 8, col. 1716; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:8-17.
-
+<div id="ftn16">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" id="_ftn16">[16]</a>
+Ibid., 8; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 9:8-17.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn16>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16">
-[16]</a> Ibid.,
-8; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:8-17.
-
+<div id="ftn17">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" id="_ftn17">[17]</a>
+See <i>Tract in Io</i>, 44, ch. 8, col. 1716-17.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn17>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17">
-[17]</a> See <i>Tract
-in Io</i>, 44, ch. 8, col. 1716-17.
-
+<div id="ftn18">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" id=
+"_ftn18">[18]</a><i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 58, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 58;
+cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i> 9:8-17.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn18>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18">
-[18]</a><i>In
-Ioannem hom</i>., 58, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 58;
-cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:8-17. 
-
+<div id="ftn19">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" id="_ftn19">[19]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 9, col. 1717; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:8-17.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn19>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19">
-[19]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>., 44, ch. 9, col. 1717; cf. <i>Catena
-Aurea, </i>9:8-17.
-
+<div id="ftn20">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" id="_ftn20">[20]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, 10, col. 1717; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i>
+9:18-23.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn20>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20">
-[20]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>., 44, 10, col. 1717; cf. <i>Catena
-Aurea, </i>9:18-23.
-
+<div id="ftn21">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" id="_ftn21">[21]</a>
+<span>St. Thomas refers to Jn 9:31 in the <i>Summa Theologiae</i>:
+II-II, q. 83, a. 16, obj. 1; q. 178, a. 2, obj. 1; III, q. 64, a.
+1, obj. 2; Jn 9:32: <i>ST</i> III, q. 43, a. 4. </span></span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn21>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21">[21]</a>
-<span>St. Thomas refers to Jn 9:31 in the <i>Summa
-Theologiae</i>: II-II, q. 83, a. 16, obj. 1; q. 178, a. 2, obj. 1; III, q. 64,
-a. 1, obj. 2; Jn 9:32: <i>ST </i>III, q. 43, a. 4.<i> </i>
-
+<div id="ftn22">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22" id="_ftn22">[22]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 11, col. 1718; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:24-34.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn22>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22">[22]</a>
-<i>Tract. in Io</i>.,
-44, ch. 11, col. 1718; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:24-34.
-
+<div id="ftn23">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" id="_ftn23">[23]</a>
+Augustine-this is not in <i>Tract in Io</i>. (so far as I could
+tell)</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn23>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23">
-[23]</a> Augustine-this is not in <i>Tract in Io</i>. (so far as I
-could tell)
-
+<div id="ftn24">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" id="_ftn24">[24]</a>
+<i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 58, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 317; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:24-34.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn24>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24">
-[24]</a> <i>In
-Ioannem hom</i>., 58, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 317; cf.
-<i>Catena Aurea,</i> 9:24-34.
-
+<div id="ftn25">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" id="_ftn25">[25]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>, 44, ch. 11, col. 1718.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn25>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25">
-[25]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>, 44, ch. 11, col. 1718.
-
+<div id="ftn26">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26" id="_ftn26">[26]</a>
+<i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 58, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 318; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea</i>, <span style='color:#339966'>9:24-34.</span></span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn26>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26">
-[26]</a> <i>In
-Ioannem hom</i>., 58, ch. 2; PG 59, col. 318; cf.
-<i>Catena Aurea</i>, <span style='color:#339966'>9:24-34.
-
+<div id="ftn27">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27" id="_ftn27">[27]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 13, col. 1718; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:24-34.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn27>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27">
-[27]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>., 44, ch. 13, col. 1718; cf. <i>Catena
-Aurea, </i>9:24-34.
-
+<div id="ftn28">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28" id="_ftn28">[28]</a>
+Summa-sc 138-139 way in which God hears the prayers of sinners;
+miracles can testify to a doctrine or to a person.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn28>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28">
-[28]</a>
-Summa-sc 138-139 way in which God hears the prayers of sinners; miracles can
-testify to a doctrine or to a person. 
-
+<div id="ftn29">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29" id="_ftn29">[29]</a>
+<i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 58, ch. 3; PG 59, col., 319; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:24-34.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn29>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29">[29]</a>
-<i>In Ioannem hom</i>.,
-58, ch. 3; PG 59, col., 319; cf. <i>Catena
-Aurea,</i> 9:24-34.
-
+<div id="ftn30">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref30" name="_ftn30" id="_ftn30">[30]</a>
+<span>St. Thomas <span>refers to Jn 9:39 in the <i>Summa
+Theologiae</i>: III, q. 51, a. 2, obj. 2; Jn 9:41: <i>ST</i> II-II,
+q. 15, a. 1, obj. 1.</span></span></span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn30>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref30" name="_ftn30">[30]</a>
-  <span>St. Thomas<span> refers to
-Jn 9:39 in the <i>Summa Theologiae</i>: III, q. 51, a. 2, obj. 2; Jn 9:41: <i>ST</i>
-II-II, q. 15, a. 1, obj. 1. 
-
+<div id="ftn31">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref31" name="_ftn31" id="_ftn31">[31]</a>
+<i>De Trinitate</i>, 6 ch. 48; PL 10, col. 196B; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:35-41.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn31>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref31" name="_ftn31">[31]</a> <i>De Trinitate</i>, 6 ch. 48; PL 10, col. 196B; cf. <i>Catena Aurea, </i>9:35-41.
-
+<div id="ftn32">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32" id="_ftn32">[32]</a>
+Ought this to be concluding that there are two persons in
+Christ?</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn32>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32">
-[32]</a> Ought
-this to be concluding that there are two persons in Christ?
-
+<div id="ftn33">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref33" name="_ftn33" id="_ftn33">[33]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, 16, col. 1719; cf. <i>Catena Aurea,</i>
+9:35-41.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn33>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref33" name="_ftn33">
-[33]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>., 44, 16, col. 1719; cf. <i>Catena
-Aurea, </i>9:35-41.
-
+<div id="ftn34">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref34" name="_ftn34" id="_ftn34">[34]</a>
+<i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 59, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 323; cf.
+<i>Catena</i> <i><span style=
+'color:#339966'>Aurea</span><span style='color:#339966'>,
+9:35-41.</span></i></span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn34>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref34" name="_ftn34">
-[34]</a> <i>In
-Ioannem hom</i>., 59, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 323; cf.
-<i>Catena </i><i><span style='color:#339966'>Aurea</i><span style='color:#339966'>, 9:35-41.
-
+<div id="ftn35">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35" id="_ftn35">[35]</a>
+<i>Tract. in Io</i>., 44, ch. 17, col. 1719; cf. <i>Catena
+Aurea,</i> 9:35-41.</span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn35>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35">
-[35]</a> <i>Tract.
-in Io</i>., 44, ch. 17, col. 1719; cf. <i>Catena
-Aurea, </i>9:35-41.
-
+<div id="ftn36">
+<p><span><a href="#_ftnref36" name="_ftn36" id="_ftn36">[36]</a>
+<i>In Ioannem hom</i>., 59, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 323; cf.
+<i>Catena</i> <i><span style=
+'color:#339966'>Aurea</span><span style='color:#339966'>,
+9:35-41.</span></i></span></p>
 </div>
-
-<div id=ftn36>
-
-<p><a href="#_ftnref36" name="_ftn36">
-[36]</a><i> In
-Ioannem hom</i>., 59, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 323;
-cf. <i>Catena </i><i><span style='color:#339966'>Aurea</i><span style='color:#339966'>, 9:35-41. 
-
-</body></html>
+</blockquote>
+</body>
+</html>