From the Pastor’s Desk: September 9, 2018

     Our liturgy, this Sunday, leads us to contemplate upon the healing of a man born deaf. Jesus, who had already made the hearts of His followers burn with His preaching and their witness to miracles, are now encouraged- once again- to bring a friend who was deaf and mute to Jesus. The Lord put His finger into the man’s ears, touched his tongue with spit, looked up to heaven and cried out in Aramaic, “Be opened!” and the miracle was worked. The miracle, however, carries through much more than merely relieving pain or recovering health. It is meant to achieve that those whom Christ loves will overcome their deafness or stagnant immobility of the spirit, and ultimately be restored to a true communion of faith and love with God and others.

     The miracle we reflect upon is not just merely a physical condition, but spiritual as well. The kind of condition that makes us deaf and unable to hear the voice of God and to communicate it with others. All of us are spiritually born deaf. It is through the Sacrament of Baptism that Jesus heals us through the gift of faith - our ears are opened to hear the Word of God, and our tongues are loosened to speak about Christ to others. “You called to me,” St. Augustine said to God (in his Confessions). “You called to me; you cried aloud to me; you broke through my barrier of deafness. You shone upon me; your radiance enveloped me; you put my blindness to flight. You shed your fragrance about me; I drew breath and now I gasp for you. I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you. You touched me and I burned for your peace.”

     Our modern western world has become deaf to the words of Jesus caused by sin. We have become so used to it that we take it as norm, and we have become distant to Jesus and His call to us. We become deaf in our relationship with God and each other. We are deaf when we show prejudice or bias because of the status and wealth of other people. We are deaf when we do not hear the cry for help, and we prefer to put indifference between our neighbor and ourselves. The spouses are deaf, unable to hear the profound words of their marriage vows, and leading them into divorce. Parents are deaf, unable to understand certain behaviors of their children and betray their natural cries for attention and love. Children do not hear the voice of God and their parents, influenced by the society of loud music, games, and an overwhelming sense of disobedience and disrespect. We are deaf when we turn inward and close ourselves to the world because of selfishness, pride, anger, jealousy and our inability to forgive others. We are deaf when we refuse to recognize those who suffer in the world around us, because of injustice or poverty. We are deaf when we refuse to hear the cry of the unborn, of those whose lives are in danger because of their age, handicap, or illness, while others wish to end their lives out of misguided mercy. Unfortunately, our spiritual deafness is a widespread affliction in our day and age.

     Today we come again to hear the Word of God, who tells us once again: “Be opened.” As we reflect upon these words this week, let us invite Jesus into our lives, so He can stand together with us, touch our ears and mouth with His Divine hands to heal them. Let His tender touch, filled with profound compassion and love, restore our impediment to hear and to proclaim the truth of His Gospel with joy to others in all we say and do.

     On Tuesday, September 11th, we will observe the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The memory of the terrorist attacks has affected all of us in one way or another. In the face of unspeakably evil acts, words fail us, but our God does not. He inspires us to open our hearts to prayer, to lift up the Cross that helps us to deal with grief and anger; it honors the memory of the victims of terrorism and the courage to those who survived. Our prayer also moves us beyond the tragedy to a concern for peace with justice in our world; it gives us the hope that makes it possible to transform our hearts and world – even the hardest of hearts to be His loving disciples.

With prayers,
Fr. Andy