TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME SEPTEMBER 5, 2021
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Again 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.”
In the midst of last week’s gospel readings of intercessory prayers and faith, patience and trust in the Lord, we are again reminded that God comes to save us.
Daily I have covered my family, PAPA, my relationships and my spiritual life with prayer. However, when my prayers were not answered I became frightened with the “what if’s” and so I tried to force my ideas and plans and found myself frustrated and crying. In my quest for doing things my way and praying God would agree, I lost a most needed treasure which was trust, humility and obedience.
Did not St Monica pray for years for St Augustine? Did not the expert fisherman Peter trust the Lord and obey him catching a full net of fish? Did not the friends of the deaf and mute man trust the Lord and did not the Lord take pity on him?
In confession my eyes and ears were opened. I should have prayed for trust, humility and obedience instead of my “wish list”.
The wise counsel of the priest who is in the persona of Christ, and the great mercy of forgiveness of God gave me the fortitude to not despair.
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