Mark 8:23

And He brings him out of the town, that is, out of the neighbourhood of the wicked; and He puts spittle into his eyes, that he may see the will of God, by the breath of the Holy Ghost; and putting His hands upon him, He asked him if he could see, because by the works of the Lord His majesty is seen.

Or else, he sees men as trees, because he thinks all men higher than himself. But He put His hands again upon his eyes, that he might see all things clearly, that is, understand invisible things by visible, and with the eye of a pure mind contemplate, what the eye hath not seen, the glorious state of his own soul after the rust of sin. He sent him to his home, that is, to his heart; that he might see in himself things which he had not seen before; for a man despairing of salvation does not think that he can do at all what, when enlightened, he can easily accomplish.

And He says to him, If thou enter into the town, tell it not to any one, that is, relate continually to thy neighbours thy blindness, but never tell them of thy virtue.

Therefore, he recognizes himself as a human who seeks refuge in the baptism of Christ. And so, he put clay on you, that is, modesty, prudence, consideration of your weakness; and he said to you: Go to Siloam. What is Siloam? It is translated as 'sent', that is: Go to that fountain in which the cross of the Lord is proclaimed: go to that fountain in which Christ redeemed the errors of all.

You, who have been baptized, have come to the altar, and have begun to see things which you had not seen before. This happened when your eyes were opened by the fountain of the Lord and the preaching of His passion. You, who were blind in heart, have begun to see the light of the sacraments.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He spat indeed, and put His hand upon the blind man, because He wished to show that wonderful are the effects of the Divine word added to action; for the hand is the symbol of working, but the spittle, of the word proceeding out of the mouth. Again He asked him whether he could see any thing, which He had not done in the case of any whom He had healed, thus showing that by the weak faith of those who brought him, and of the blind man himself, his eyes could not altogether be opened. Wherefore there follows: And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees walking; because he was still under the influence of unfaithfulness, he said that he saw men obscurely.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat, in Marc.) From the commencement, however, of the return of his senses, He leads him to apprehend things by faith, and thus makes him see perfectly; wherefore it goes on, After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes, and he began to see, and afterwards he adds, And he was restored, and saw all things clearly; that is, being perfectly healed in his senses and his intellect. It goes on: And he sent him away to his house, saying, Go into thy home, and if thou enter into the town, tell it not to any one.

(ubi sup.) Taking occasion then from the precept, which He had commanded, saying, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod, our Saviour teaches them what was the meaning of the five and the seven loaves, concerning which He adds, And do ye not remember, when I brake the five loaves amongst five thousand, and how many baskets full of fragments ye took up? For if the leaven mentioned above means perverse traditions, of course the food, with which the people of God was nourished, means the true doctrine.

(in Marc. 2, 34) Knowing that the touch of the Lord could give sight to a blind man as well as cleanse a leper. It goes on, And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town.

(ubi sup.) Seeing indeed the shapes of bodies amongst the shadows, but unable to distinguish the outlines of the limbs, from the continued darkness of his sight; just as trees standing thick together are wont to appear to men who see them from afar, or by the dim light of the night, so that it cannot easily be known whether they be trees or men.

(ubi sup.) Or else, He leaves an example to His disciples that they should not seek for popular favour by the miracles which they did. 1Mystically, however, Bethsaida is interpreted 'the house of the valley,' that is, the world, which is the vale of tears. Again, they bring to the Lord a blind man, that is, one who neither sees what he has been, what he is, nor what he is to be. They ask Him to touch him, for what is being touched, but feeling compunction.?

(ubi sup.) For the Lord touches us, when He enlightens our minds with the breath of His Spirit, and He stirs us up that we may recognise our own infirmity, and be diligent in good actions. He takes the hand of the blind man, that He may strengthen him to the practice of good works.

(ubi sup.) Or else, putting spittle into the eyes of the blind man, he lays His hands upon him that he may see, because He has wiped away the blindness of the human race both by invisible gifts, and by the Sacrament of His assumed humanity; for the spittle, proceeding from the Head, points out the grace of the Holy Ghost. But though by one word He could cure the man wholly and all at once, still He cures him by degrees, that He may show the greatness of the blindness of man, which can hardly, and only as it were step by step, be restored to light; and He exhibits to us His grace, by which He furthers each step towards perfection. Again, whoever is weighed down by a blindness of such long continuance, that he is unable to distinguish between good and evil, sees as it were men like trees walking, because he sees the deeds of the multitude without the light of discretion.

And taking the blind man's hand, he led him out of the village. He took the blind man's hand to strengthen him for the performance of good work which he had not known due to the prolonged darkness of his heart. He led him out of the village to separate him from ordinary life, so that, freed from distractions, he might more freely seek with a diligent heart the will of his creator, by which he might merit to be enlightened. For whoever desires to see the light of eternity must always follow, not the examples of the crowds, but the guidance of his redeemer.

And spitting on his eyes, and laying his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. And looking up, he said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking." Then again he laid his hands on his eyes, and he began to see and was restored so that he saw everything clearly. Therefore, the Lord healed this man gradually and not immediately at once, though he could have healed him with a single word if he wished, to show the magnitude of human blindness, which usually comes to the light of divine vision gradually and through certain stages of progress, or to give us frequent indications of His grace, through which each of our increments towards perfection are aided so that they can progress and not fall short. It has often been said that the spittle of the Lord's mouth signifies the grace of His spirit. Concerning the touch of His hands, which insinuate the power of His assistance, there is no doubt. For spittle proceeds internally from the head of the Lord; the hands, however, are members placed on the exterior of the body. Thus, the Lord, spitting on the eyes of the blind man, lays His hands on him so that he may see, because He cleansed the blindness of the human race both through the invisible gifts of divine compassion and through the outwardly manifested sacraments of assumed humanity. At first, the one who was being healed saw men as trees walking, that is, indeed seeing the form of bodies among the shadows but unable to discern any features of the limbs with his vision still dim, just as densely grown trees appear to those looking from afar or certainly in dim light, so that it is not easy to distinguish whether it is a tree or a man. Because undoubtedly, the first entrance into virtue for everyone is to observe the life and morals of other men, so that whatever good he sees anywhere, he may imitate, and whatever evil, he may avoid and detest. But whoever is so foolish and depressed by the darkness of a long time that he still cannot distinguish between good and evil, faith and perfidy, sincere works of piety and the simulation of justice, sees men walking like trees, because he sees the actions of the multitude without the light of discretion. And what remains for such people, except that divine favor, which granted him the care of observing man, may also confer upon him the gift of discerning which way of life among men is to be followed, whose teaching should be heeded? Hence, it is aptly said that with the second laying on of His hands, the Lord restored clear sight to him. For he indeed sees everything clearly who was once blind, when one who deserved to be inwardly illuminated has clearly learned how to believe, how to live, and what rewards for the faith of truth and the practice of justice are to be hoped for in the future.

For Bethsaida appears to have been infected with much infidelity, wherefore the Lord reproaches it, (Matt. 11:21) Woe to thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. He then takes out of the town the blind man, who had been brought to Him, for the faith of those who brought him was not true faith. It goes on; And when he had spit in his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

But the reason why he did not see at once perfectly, but in part, was, that he had not perfect faith; for healing is bestowed in proportion to faith.

These precepts He gave him, because they were unfaithful, as has been said, lest perchance he should receive hurt in his soul from them, and they by their unbelief should ran into a more grievous crime.

Or else, after He has healed him He sends him to his home; for the home of every one of us is heaven, and the mansions which are there.

(non occ.) After the feeding of the multitude, the Evangelist proceeds to the giving sight to the blind, saying, And they come to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man to him, and besought him to touch him.