If we are to make sense out of human existence, we need to see clearly, not with the help of glasses, but with the aid of the spiritual vision which comes from faith. St Paul writes, "The Spirit we have received is not the world's spirit but God's spirit, helping us to recognise the gifts he has given us."

The Israelites of old could have thought that it was by chance that a strong east wind dried up the water of the sea for their successful passage in the exodus, but they believed instead that it was the work of God. Roman soldiers looked up at the corpse of a Jew upon a cross as one more sign of their supremacy, but Mary despite her tears saw clearly that her child was God's Son and that His crucifixion revealed God's supremacy over sin and death. An unbeliever at Mass sees only ordinary bread and wine, but in faith we perceive that we are in contact with divinity.

The Spirit we have received helps us to recognize God's gifts. In sorrow and joy, in success and failure, we should see God's loving hand at work. Nothing is either too great or too small in our lives to escape the guidance and direction of God's providence. In faith we are called to see everything in the light of the truth and we pray as in today's responsorial psalm: