September 6, 2015
Gospel: Mk 7:31-37
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way
of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis (1). And people brought to
him a deaf man who had a speech impediment (2) 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 (3) it. They were exceedingly
astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear
and the mute speak.”
The difficult words
(1)
The Decapolis is a region composed of ten
cities east of the Sea of Galilee. These cities were controlled by the Romans
and settled by people of Greek origin.
(2) A speech impediment is something that keeps a
person from being able to speak clearly or to pronounce words properly.
(3) To proclaim is to announce something
important.
This week’s spotlight
The Psalms
The Book of Psalms is a collection of prayers in the
Old Testament. The Jewish people have sung the psalms for ages. Knowing that
Jesus and Mary prayed these beautiful prayers, Christians too have always
prayed the psalms. They express all of the feelings of our hearts: praise, thanks, longing, repentance,
and even anger! When we pray the psalms, we can share these feelings with God.
The responsonal psalm at Mass is our response to the first reading.
"And also with you"
Several times during the Mass, the priest says, “The
Lord be with you," and we respond by saying, "And also with
you." This happens at the beginning of Mass, when the Gospel is read,
during the eucharistic prayer; and at the final blessing. With these words, the
priest expresses his wish that God's blessings come upon us, and we wish the
same for him. We offer to each other the grace, love, and fellowship that come
from God. The priest offers us many lessons and blessings throughout the Mass -
including the gift of the Eucharist. We pray for God's blessing upon him as
well. That is what love is all about - sharing our gifts with each other.
Reflection
Everything he does is admirable
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we meet a man who is deaf and
cannot speak. The man is suffering because he cannot talk to others or hear
what they are saying.
He feels cut off from everyone else! His friends bring
him to Jesus, who opens his ears and unties his tongue. What a beautiful gift
Jesus gives him! This man can finally hear and speak; he is no longer cut off
from others. Imagine his joy! He must have cried out loud and sung praise to
God at the top of his voice. His friends are so impressed by this miracle that
they cannot help telling everyone else about it. If you have ever attended a
baptism, you may have seen the priest touching the ears and mouth of the person
being baptized. In baptism, the Holy Spirit helps us to hear and to understand
God’s word. Do you really listen to God? Do you tell others how good God is?
Let's try harder to hear God’s word and to use our voices to praise his
goodness!
Discussion questions
1. Who did people bring to Jesus?
2. What did Jesus do to heal this man?
3. How did Jesus do this?
4. What did the man and his friends do after he was healed?
5. Who shared the news of the man's healing?
6. What did they announce?
Praying after Communion
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. May this
communion with the body and the blood of your Son Jesus open our ears so that
we can hear your word, and may the Holy Spirit untie our tongues so that we can
proclaim your wonders.
Crossword Puzzle
http://usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm