Ephphatha, be opened!
Gospel Reflection
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.”
My dear brothers and sisters, today is a time of celebration, not just because today, Fr. Christopher, Fr. Miguel (who is in Cabanatuan), and I, are celebrating our first year as priests - as pastors of the flock that God has entrusted to us in our different ministries, one way or the other - but also because today we are grateful for the gift of our holy brothers and sisters who have gone before us, whom we look up to for inspiration, who taught us many things through their life and in their works, and who has shared with us their path in their journey, kung baga, they have shown us an easier path, and today we will be blessing, we will be dedicating this beautiful reliquary that contains beautiful memories of these, our holy brothers and sisters. These relics would allow us to feel their closeness with us.
Today, my dear brothers and sisters, is Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time and we also celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, who appeared before St. Bernadette Soubirous on this day in 1858 for the first time. There were a total of 18 apparitions and the message: God loves us so much he does not want, not even one sinner to be left unsaved. For this, she urged us, she egged us to open ourselves for conversion: penance, penance, penance. Be converted and pray for others who have lost their way.
My dear brothers and sisters, our readings for today also shows us the goodness of God; how he loves us, especially the unloved, especially those who have lost sight, who are unable to hear and unable to speak.
In our Gospel reading we heard how Jesus healed a man who was unable to speak. It is wonderful to take note that it was the people who brought him to Jesus, and they were the ones who begged for Jesus to heal him. The care they showed for this man.
This man was unable to speak because in the first place, he was unable to hear, and so Jesus touched his ears first, to make him hear, to allow him to hear, to listen.
We are also deaf, most of us, especially when what we are going to hear is something that we do not like, that would make us uncomfortable. And so many people are comfortable with their being deaf, because they get what they want, and that is very convenient, as opposed to being able to hear and to know the real situation - to be able to know the stories of people who were victims of torture, whose families disappeared and have never seen for three or four decades, who lost a family member who tried to fight for what is right.
No, no, no.
Many do not want to hear that. They'd rather hear how he cooks pakbet or bagnet or whatever, or those juicy chismis around the corner, or how poor he is because they are destroying his reputation. They want to hear that. It is really uncomfortable to hear what truly is happening, because once you hear, you cannot help but to speak, to announce, to declare, to reveal these evils, not to destroy once reputation, but to encourage them to take the path of conversion and to truly be a follower of Christ, and to be a channel of God's peace, kaginhawan for God's children.
My dear brothers and sisters, as we prepare for the coming elections, let us not close our ears, let us not shut our mouth, rather we listen, we listen to the spirit, we listen to the stories of people who continue to suffer because of the self-serving ambitions of a few, and we allow ourselves to be instruments of God, to proclaim and to reveal what is hidden. Ephphatha, be opened.
My dear brothers and sisters, today we also commemorate the 30th World Day of the Sick, and so as as we continue with our Eucharistic celebration let us ask the father for the healing of the sick especially those who are suffering because of COVID-19 and for the protection of all health workers, especially those in the frontline in the fight against COVID-19. Amen.
Read Pope Francis' message for the 30th World Day of the Sick.
Photo Amaryllis Liampoti on Unsplash
Today, my dear brothers and sisters, is Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time and we also celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, who appeared before St. Bernadette Soubirous on this day in 1858 for the first time. There were a total of 18 apparitions and the message: God loves us so much he does not want, not even one sinner to be left unsaved. For this, she urged us, she egged us to open ourselves for conversion: penance, penance, penance. Be converted and pray for others who have lost their way.
My dear brothers and sisters, our readings for today also shows us the goodness of God; how he loves us, especially the unloved, especially those who have lost sight, who are unable to hear and unable to speak.
In our Gospel reading we heard how Jesus healed a man who was unable to speak. It is wonderful to take note that it was the people who brought him to Jesus, and they were the ones who begged for Jesus to heal him. The care they showed for this man.
This man was unable to speak because in the first place, he was unable to hear, and so Jesus touched his ears first, to make him hear, to allow him to hear, to listen.
We are also deaf, most of us, especially when what we are going to hear is something that we do not like, that would make us uncomfortable. And so many people are comfortable with their being deaf, because they get what they want, and that is very convenient, as opposed to being able to hear and to know the real situation - to be able to know the stories of people who were victims of torture, whose families disappeared and have never seen for three or four decades, who lost a family member who tried to fight for what is right.
No, no, no.
Many do not want to hear that. They'd rather hear how he cooks pakbet or bagnet or whatever, or those juicy chismis around the corner, or how poor he is because they are destroying his reputation. They want to hear that. It is really uncomfortable to hear what truly is happening, because once you hear, you cannot help but to speak, to announce, to declare, to reveal these evils, not to destroy once reputation, but to encourage them to take the path of conversion and to truly be a follower of Christ, and to be a channel of God's peace, kaginhawan for God's children.
My dear brothers and sisters, as we prepare for the coming elections, let us not close our ears, let us not shut our mouth, rather we listen, we listen to the spirit, we listen to the stories of people who continue to suffer because of the self-serving ambitions of a few, and we allow ourselves to be instruments of God, to proclaim and to reveal what is hidden. Ephphatha, be opened.
My dear brothers and sisters, today we also commemorate the 30th World Day of the Sick, and so as as we continue with our Eucharistic celebration let us ask the father for the healing of the sick especially those who are suffering because of COVID-19 and for the protection of all health workers, especially those in the frontline in the fight against COVID-19. Amen.
Read Pope Francis' message for the 30th World Day of the Sick.
Photo Amaryllis Liampoti on Unsplash
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