WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - What a sight this must have been! In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9:27-31, Jesus was walking the streets of Capernaum while two blind men followed him shouting "Have mercy on us, son of David!" Stumbling along in a personal darkness, each of them had only one thing in mind - healing.

Our Lord had just raised a child from the dead, the daughter of Jairus one of the rulers of the synagogue. Even on the way to the house where the lifeless girl lay, Jesus garment was touched by a woman with an issue of blood who was made well.

It would seem that Jesus did not answer the two men right away. They had to keep following, but this was a time of miracles along the Sea of Galilee and the two sightless men wanted to be among the healed.

A lot is left to the imagination as to how the two men succeeded in navigating the streets, let alone following Jesus into a house. Perhaps someone was guiding them or maybe they simply were following the sounds of the crowds who followed the Lord and his disciples after these last two miracles. All the while they were crying aloud themselves, "Have mercy on us."

Finally they met him in the quiet of a house, where they had been invited inside. They approached him at a place and time when he was away from the clamor of the marketplace or amidst the excitement of the throngs that were still celebrating the resurrection of the young girl.

It was there that Jesus asked them a critical question. "Do you believe I am able to do this?"

What a question!

No longer were they dealing with another's situation but their own. Others had been healed, but what about them? I can only imagine how they felt. What if they said, "Yes" and remained in the dark? What if they said, "No" and lost the opportunity to see. Everything was riding on this one response. What to say?

Their answer was not just "Yes but "Yes, Lord." Their faith was not merely based on what they could conjure through positive thinking, it was a flat out belief that the one they was asking was truly the Son of David - as they called him - the longed for Messiah.

They not only believed in Him as God, they believed He could do Godly things. They couldn't see Him; they couldn't even see the miracles he'd performed; yet they believed.

OK, I'll say it - they had blind faith. (It's OK to groan at this point.)

This is not blind faith in the dictionary sense, which states that this means "faith without proof." Actually in the Biblical definition, all faith is blind as it is "the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1)

However, this is a faith not based on some thing but someone. It is not fixed upon the outcome but upon the one who "by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all we could ask or think." (Eph. 3:20)

It has now been about six months since I was ordained a Catholic priest. Having spent 30 years in ministry in the Protestant world, returning to ministry - particularly as a Catholic - has been a great blessing. Whether I'm saying Mass, hearing confessions, counseling, teaching Bible study or doing a number of other activities, I thank God for the privilege of serving Christ and His Church in Holy Orders.

One thing has not changed in those decades I had served in Christian ministry - the challenge of establishing individuals in a vital and living faith.

It seems, at least from where I stand, that there are a significant number of those in the Church who find it easy to simply go through the motions of belief. They are praying prayers and conforming to the liturgical expectations of worship. They can recite the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, name all the mysteries and even deliver the Apostles Creed flawlessly. Yet, it doesn't seem that they are forming and deepening an ongoing love affair with the God who loves them with an everlasting love.

Age does not seem to matter. Young or old, I see so many who seem to be simply going through the motions of devotion. They are like the blind, their spiritual vision dimmed, who do not know He is really there.

How I wish I could take off their blinders and let them see the God standing in front of them. How I want them to understand. actually, it's more than just understanding; I want them to know God; to enjoy a personal relationship with the Lord of the Universe.

This year we are celebrating the Year of Faith. While we could view it as a Year of adhering to the true teaching of the Church, it is much more than that. It is coming into communion with the Teacher.

At the introduction of the Pope's Apostolic Letter on the Year of Faith, "Porta Fidei," the Holy Father writes, Ever since the start of my ministry as Successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed ...