For 36 years of my priesthood, I had the responsibility and the privilege of teaching theology. For the most part, I taught students who really wanted to see Christ, who really wanted to understand their faith and serve the mission of the Church in some way. And when their blind spots were removed and their vision cleared up in the learning process, this was sweet indeed. It must have been like that for Bartimaeus. He wanted to see, but he couldn’t… until he met Jesus. But with just a few words and a healing touch, Jesus responds to this beggar’s faith by removing his blindness. In a real way, ever since Cardinal Medeiros laid his hands on my head in June of 1981, helping people deal with their blind spots -- their limited spiritual vision -- has been a big part of my entire priestly ministry. I have found that priests are often called to correct, expand, or heal the vision so many people seem to have of God, Jesus, and the Church. In preaching, counseling, celebrating the sacraments, and just embodying the presence and loving care of Jesus, priests can help people see a God who is full of mercy and compassion, and supremely worthy of our trust. At various challenging times in our lives, all of God’s People tend to make Bartimaeus’ words to Jesus our own: “Teacher, I want to see.”