5th FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 7:31-37) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
FIRST READING - 1 Kgs 11:29-32, 12:19
"Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David."
A reading from the First Book of Kings
29 At that time Jeroboam left Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road. The prophet was wearing a new cloak,[a] and when the two were alone in the open country, 30 Ahijah took off his new cloak, tore it into twelve pieces, 31 and said to Jeroboam: “Take ten pieces for yourself. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I am about to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and will give you ten of the tribes. 32 He shall have one tribe for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
19 And so Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mk 7:31-37
"He makes the deaf hear and [the] mute speak."
✠From the Gospel according to Mark
31 Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. 32 And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; 34 then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) 35 And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. 36 [a]He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. 37 They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and [the] mute speak.”
5th FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 7:31-37)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
Today's Word of God speaks of Jesus healing a man who was both deaf and mute.
When Jesus came to the Decapolis region, where He had cast out demons and allowed them to enter pigs (Mark 5:1-20), the villagers saw Jesus coming to their village and brought to Him a man who was both deaf and mute; this could refer to both physical and spiritual illness.
Jesus took the deaf man away from the crowd, because when being among the crowd, it is impossible to hear the word of God, impossible to open one's mouth to praise God; for the demons are lurking among the crowd, drawing people away from God.
But by the power and strength of God, He recognizes the evil that entices humanity; Therefore, He leads the deaf and mute man out of the devil’s temptation.
Jesus laid His hands on the deaf man’s head with the power and strength of God to heal his ailments both in body and soul.
He put His fingers in the deaf man’s ears; the fingers were a sign that the Holy Spirit would open his ears so that he could hear the voice of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit would cast out the demons that were covering his ears.
Next, Jesus spat and applied saliva to the deaf man’s tongue, demonstrating that the Word of God would be placed on his tongue.
Once the Word of God is put in, the power of God will cast out the demons that bind the man’s tongue, and with the Spirit of God working on his lips, he will be able to sing praises and give thanks to God. And when he hears the voice of God and continuously proclaims Thanksgiving to God, then the demons will have to leave this man.
Today, God uses the House of the Father in Bao Loc; God bestows His Holy Spirit upon Chu Thien Thuong and the priests to lay hands on the heads of the sick, casting out demons from those who come seeking God's mercy.
Today, God reveals that the deaf man is not the only one who is deaf and mute, but many people in the world are also deaf and mute.
God desires that everyone, upon waking each day, we should come before His Holy Presence and implore Him: “open my mouth and tongue, open my ears, cast out demons from my ears and from my mouth and tongue, so that I may know how to proclaim thanksgiving and praise to God, who is always loving.
Thanks be to God. Amen
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