10 February, 2023 | Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

 Gospel Mark 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre

and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,

into the district of the Decapolis.

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment

and begged him to lay his hand on him.

He took him off by himself away from the crowd.

He put his finger into the man's ears

and, spitting, touched his tongue;

then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,

"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")

And immediately the man's ears were opened,

his speech impediment was removed,

and he spoke plainly.

He ordered them not to tell anyone.

But the more he ordered them not to,

the more they proclaimed it.

They were exceedingly astonished and they said,

"He has done all things well.

He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Reflection:

Quite astonishing is the experience of someone who visits an ENT specialist. Victims live in a silent world and miss everything we take for granted. The beneficiary of Jesus’ healing in today’s Gospel must have jumped for joy. He did not have sufficient words to thank Jesus for restoring his two faculties. Jesus performed this miracle in a discrete manner. We love to hear the first words of a child, laughter and joy while teens perform on the stage. We also enjoy the rustling of branches and the calm, soft breeze. This is life. When we hear lovely classical singing during Mass, our hearts are uplifted. We wish it would never end. How grateful ought we to be to God who made us perfect! Yet the cares of this world often blot out our awareness of his immense bounty. 

Activity: 

Jesus had done all things well. He made the deaf hear and the mute speak.  Today, try to reach out to someone who is alone and ailing.

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