The Eyes Of The Blind Be Opened, The Ears Of The Deaf Be Cleared

09-08-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Aruldoss

Dear people of God,

Good morning! On September 8th, we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Mother Mary’s birthday is celebrated because of her Immaculate Conception and her surrender to the Will of God. We honor Mary because God has done great things for her (Luke 1:49), a) by choosing her as the mother of Jesus His Son, b) by filling her with His Holy Spirit twice, c) by making her the embodiment of all virtues (“full of grace”) like love, fidelity, humility, obedience, surrender to the will of God, and patience. We need to imitate her because our God has her as our mother.

Note: Though today is our Mary’s birthday, we take reading from the 23rd Sunday in ordinary time because it falls on Sunday. Our readings today offer us a message of hope — God is with us and wants to heal us. In our first reading, the prophet Isaiah is speaking to a weary people who have returned to their homeland after a period of exile. Isaiah proclaims a confident message from the Lord, “Here is your God…he comes to save you…Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared.” Above all, it is a message of hope from a loving Father who cares for all his children. He says to us today: “Courage do not be afraid!"

Today’s Gospel speaks about the healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment. People brought him to Jesus and begged for his healing. Jesus took the man off by himself, touched his ears and his tongue, then proclaimed, “Be opened!” Immediately he was healed. “Jesus went from one town to the other doing good.” Jesus’ blessings touched and transformed the poor and the rich, the good and the bad, the sinner and the righteous, the beautiful and the ugly. He did not discriminate or show favoritism. Instead, he identified with all classes of people. He healed many poor, blind, lame, deaf, and dumb people. Indeed: “He did all things well”. So let us emulate Jesus and Mother Mary by aiming to be good to all. We must make ourselves instruments to help others.

May God bestow His abundant blessings upon you all through the intercession of our Mother Mary especially on the day of her birthday! Have a Happy Sunday!

Yours in Jesus.