Homilies - Fr. Daniel Scheidt - St. Vincent de Paul · St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Homily - March 15th, 2026 - Fourth Sunday of Lent - 7am

March 25, 2026·24 min·2 clips

Jesus heals a man born blind with clay and saliva, sparking a debate about sin and God's works.

1. Fr. Daniel Scheidt's Fourth Sunday of Lent homily at St. Vincent de Paul's 7am Mass in Fort Wayne is built on John 9:1-41, Jesus healing a man born blind. 2. Fr. Scheidt is the sole homilist; Bishop Rhodes of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend is referenced as initiating the annual confession initiative. 3. The organizing thesis is that the Gospel story of the man born blind maps onto every person's gradual journey from spiritual blindness to worship: seeing Jesus first as 'a man,' then 'a prophet,' then 'Son of Man,' then God himself. 4. Fr. Scheidt opens by noting that with all scientific instrumentation, humans can perceive only 5% of material reality; the remaining 95% is what scientists call dark matter and dark energy. 5. He extends the darkness metaphor morally: 'every lie darkens reality, every theft darkens reality, every cheating, every infidelity, all of the furtive attempts we make to hide—sons and daughters of Adam and Eve that we are—all of it introduces more darkness into the world.' 6. Saint Paul's second reading claim—'you who were once darkness have become light'—is interpreted as more than enlightenment; those immersed in Christ 'become light,' not merely 'enlightened.' 7. The homily names this Sunday by its Latin liturgical title based on the verb 'rejoice,' explaining that to invest in joy and delight in what is good is to introduce new light from God into the world. 8. Fr. Scheidt addresses war through the lens of physical blindness: 'to somebody with a bomb, everything looks like a target; to somebody with a camera, everything looks like a video, and war becomes the playing and viewing of a video game.' 9. He recommends the Letter of James, Chapter 4, as the church's deepest illumination of war's origin: 'What causes wars and fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?' 10. Fr. Scheidt recounts the diocesan 'Light Is On For You' confession initiative, held at Bishop Rhodes's request, where people who have been away from the sacrament for 5, 10, 20, and 30 years simply arrive. 11. He describes witnessing, face-to-face or through the confessional screen, 'evil transformed into good, sinners being transformed into saints in the making.' 12. He names the spiritual mechanism: the sins that Satan used as weapons 'to persuade people they are nothing more than the sum total of their sins' are transformed by the sacrament into faith, hope, and 'divine love itself.' 13. Fr. Scheidt traces the blind man's progressive recognition: Jesus as 'a man,' then 'a prophet,' then acknowledgment that Jesus is from God, then 'I do believe, Lord' with worship. 14. He names the Pharisees' logic as a study in motivated denial: they witness a miracle and dismiss it because it was performed on the Sabbath, then call the man's parents, then expel him—a refusal to change despite evidence. 15. Fr. Scheidt announces a Lenten evening of confessions at the parish on the coming Wednesday at 6:30pm, with priests from around the area. 16. He encourages those who haven't been to confession in years, quoting Jesus's guarantee: 'there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 who didn't.' 17. The homily closes with mention of a vacant lot adjacent to the parish and the church's 25th anniversary; the main church was built on June 10, 2001. 18. Fr. Scheidt's preaching style at the 7am Mass is quieter and more meditative than a later Mass might be; he moves from astrophysics to moral theology to pastoral invitation in a single uninterrupted arc. 19. Those interested in Catholic homilies that connect physical science, scripture, sacramental theology, and parish life will find this episode substantive. 20. Listeners seeking secular, interview-format, or non-religious content should skip this episode.

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A sermon on sight that moves from John 9 to James 4 and the life of the parish.

This sermon starts with the man born blind and then opens into a broader meditation on spiritual sight, human conflict, and grace. It links John 9 with James 4, then settles into parish life through confession, baptism, Holy Communion, and the everyday discipline of learning how…

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You want a sermon that links the man born blind to war, conflict, and the slow work of seeing.

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