Several times in the gospel, we read that Mary pondered God’s work in the events of her life and the life of her son Jesus. The season of Lent also calls us to consider God’s work in our lives, identifying and transforming those attitudes and actions that distance us from God and from others. In their November pastoral, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops urged us to “open wide our hearts” and rid ourselves and eventually our society of racism and prejudice. Similar concerns were raised last week when the House anti-bigotry resolution was passed. Next Wednesday, March 21, the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will ask the world to consider “Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies.” as Christians, we are called to address both l personal and social sin, which retired Bishop Ricardo Ramirez called “collective blindness.” Like the blind Bartimaeus, lets us pray that we may see and, seeing, change our hearts and our ways.