by Fr. Tommy Lane
The man in the Gospel who was healed by Jesus had his ears and mouth blessed by Jesus (Mark 7:31-37). Like that man in the Gospel today, we too met Jesus and had our ears and mouth blessed by Jesus when the priest baptized us. After the water was poured on our head and we were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, four actions followed symbolizing the transformation that had just taken place in us in baptism. We were anointed with the sacred oil of chrism on the crown of our head as Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at his baptism (Acts 10:38). We were clothed with the white garment, an outward sign of our Christian dignity. Our baptismal candle was lit from the Easter/Paschal Candle showing we had just been enlightened by Jesus. Fourthly, as Jesus did to the man in today’s Gospel, the priest blessed our ears and mouth and this is the prayer now (USA wording),
May the Lord Jesus,
who made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak,
grant that you
may soon receive his word with your ears
and profess the faith
with your lips,
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Our ears were blessed in baptism to receive the word of God. Our ears were blessed to allow God to communicate with us. Our ears were blessed because they are a doorway through which God enters us with his word. A door has a handle on the inside. You have to open the door to allow someone in. It is the same with allowing God in. We have to open the door to allow God in. God does not force his way into our lives because God has given us freedom. If we do not allow God into our lives, we will be deaf to God, and in some ways our society and culture seem deaf to God. What Jesus said to the ears and mouth of the man in today’s Gospel, he says to us, “Be opened.”
We open the door to allow God’s word in when we listen to God’s word during every Mass and when we read the Bible at home. We also open the door and allow God into our lives when we pray. If we do not pray to God every day, we will become deaf to God. When people ask me about how to pray, I say to pray the way that you are comfortable. Prayer is a conversation with God, a heart to heart conversation with God, opening your heart to God. Your ears were blessed by Jesus in baptism and prayer is opening your ears once again to hear God speak to you and you speak to God. There are various ways we can do this. I find it helpful to begin prayer by reading a passage from the Bible and reflecting on it leading me to prayer or reading part of a spiritual book and allowing it to lead me to prayer. Another possibility is the Rosary. While we pray the prayers, we are reflecting on the most important events, or mysteries as we call them, in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Every Hail Mary is a gift of a rose to Our Lady, our spiritual Mother. Some easy listening spiritual music in the background can help lead someone into prayer or concentrating on a picture of the Sacred Heart or a statue of Our Lady. There are so many ways to help us to pray. Prayer is a conversation with God, a heart to heart to God. When people ask me about how to pray, I say to pray the way that you are comfortable. But one thing is certain, if we do not pray to God every day, and open our ears to God every day, we will become deaf to God.
When we were baptized, not only were our ears blessed so that we would receive the word of God, but our mouth was also blessed. The prayer blessing our lips asked God to help us to profess our faith for God’s glory. We profess our faith here every Sunday as we pray the Creed after the homily. We profess our faith by witnessing to Jesus in various ways all week long. In a society that is becoming more deaf to God, it is more challenging to profess our faith in various public ways but never more necessary. That is why Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia in 2017 published a book entitled Strangers in a Strange Land. He wrote, “As Catholic Christians, we may have come to a point today where we feel like foreigners in our own country—“strangers in a strange land,”. . . (Ex 2:22)” (p7) In a world which with every passing year finds Catholicism more “strange,” to use the word of the archbishop, or is more deaf, professing our faith is never more needed. Sometimes people share with me their concern about a family member who seems to be deaf to God. I always say the same thing: love them as best you can; pray for them and you never know how or when in the future your prayers will be answered; witness to Jesus as best you can which hopefully will sometime help them to see the goodness in being a Catholic. In these ways you are planting a seed in their lives, and you never know when in the future it will germinate and grow into a beautiful plant bearing fruit. We always remain hopeful and full of trust in God no matter what the circumstances now. God is in charge.
The man in the Gospel who was healed by Jesus had his ears and mouth blessed by Jesus (Mark 7:31-37). Like that man in the Gospel today, we too met Jesus and had our ears and mouth blessed by Jesus when the priest baptized us. It is up to us to open our ears, to open the door of our hearts to God. In a world that finds Catholicism strange, professing our faith with our lips and lives is ever more important. I conclude with the blessing of our ears and mouth at baptism (USA wording)
May the Lord Jesus,
who made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak,
grant that you
may soon receive his word with your ears
and profess the faith
with your lips,
to the glory and praise of God the Father
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2021
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Twenty-Third Sunday of Year B
Eyes open to Jesus and ear unsealed to his Good News
Slow Down to Enjoy Life and Hear Jesus
Ephphatha: Christ raises us to a New Level 2012
Related Homilies: on Jesus as healer Jesus our Healer