Blinded From My Own Beauty: Fourth Sunday of Lent
Call To Action's 2023 Lenten Calendar is a collaboration between the Anti-Racism Team (ART) and Indigenous Solidarity Collective. This calendar provides more than 40 days of prayer and study to guide our discernment of racial justice and lead us into solidarity with Indigenous communities. For each Sunday and holy day during Lent, we'll publish a reflection from an ART or Indigenous Solidarity Collective member. Following the reflection, we’ll feature a call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada as well as discussion questions for your own meditation.
Fourth Sunday of Lent: March 19, 2023
“His disciples asked him, ‘Master, if he was born blind because of sin, was it his sin or his parents?’”
When I prepare to write a reflection, I follow a process of praying and understanding what the connection to my experience is. As I reflected on this Gospel passage about the man born blind, I was reminded of when I was blind to my own internalized oppression.
I'm an immigrant from Mexico who came to the United States when I was 16 years old. When I joined CTA's Anti-Racism Team in 2007, I began the process of recognizing the effect that racism had on me.
The team helped me to see the blindness I inherited from the colonization of my people and the social norms that were created here, in both Mexico and the United States. What colonization did to us was racism. We were made to believe we were not worthy and less than others, so we were mistrustful of others.
It was hard and painful work, but with the help of my fellow team members, I “rubbed spit and clay over my eyes and I was led to the Pool of Siloam." I'm now able to see my own beauty, the beauty of my people and culture.
I'm so grateful to CTA and the ART members who were willing to work together to recognize the blindness caused by racism. This blindness even impacted progressive Catholics.
I know there is still more to be done; I have more blindness that needs to be worked on. But, this is one of the beauties of Lent.
One Lent at a time!
—Reflection by Martha Sanchez, of Indigenous mestiza ancestry. Martha is a retired organizer of low-income brown folk in South Texas. She’s currently a member of CTA’s Immigration and Borders Working Group.
Lord, remove from my eyes any barriers to your grace,
that might oppress and offend my sisters and brothers.
Fill my spirit, Lord,
so that I might give services of
justice and peace,
Amen.
Discussion Questions
What is your blind spot when it comes to privilege?
What are you doing with the privilege you inherited?
Suggestions for Almsgiving
As part of your Lenten practice, please consider donating to one or more of the following organizations:
About the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Between 2007 and 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada recorded the testimonies of more than 6,000 First Nations people across Canada either directly or indirectly affected by the residential school system. In June 2015, the commission released a final report with 94 calls to action directed at the Canadian government. The final 52 calls to action focus on reconciliatory policy implementation for the dismantling of systemic racism against Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Call to Action 70
Education for Museums and Archives
70. We call upon the federal government to provide funding to the Canadian Association of Archivists to undertake, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, a national review of archival policies and best practices to:
i. Determine the level of compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Principles, as related to Aboriginal peoples’ inalienable right to know the truth about what happened and why, with regard to human rights violations committed against them in the residential schools.
ii. Produce a report with recommendations for full implementation of these international mechanisms as a reconciliation framework for Canadian archives.
