“Ephphatha!” [“Be opened!”] (9/8/24- 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

With this ancient Aramaic word, Jesus healed a deaf man who had a speech impediment (Mark 7: 31-37).   And like all healings in the Gospels, the physical cure of a deaf and mute man also has a deeper spiritual significance.  As summarized by Mary Healy:

“God designed human beings not only with physical senses but also with marvelous spiritual capacities to see, hear, and relate to him. These interior faculties were disabled by original sin, causing a severe communication block between God and humanity. Jesus’ healing of people who are deaf, blind, and lame is a sign of his restoration of humanity to the fullness of life and of communion with our Creator. Now by the grace of Christ we are able to hear God's voice in our hearts, sing his praises, and proclaim his mighty deeds”   (The Gospel of Mark, pp. 148-149).

So this miracle story invites us to bring to the Lord our own struggles regarding hearing His voice and speaking of His goodness.  This weekend, as we ask the Lord to help us hear His voice more clearly, we are preparing to celebrate a milestone in our parish:  the fifteenth anniversary of our Adoration Chapel!  Yes, people have been praying in our Adoration Chapel since Easter Sunday fifteen years ago!  Many of them have made a commitment to a Holy Hour once a month or once a week or even more often.  We will honor them with a special blessing at the 4 pm Mass next Saturday evening.  Ask any of them if their experience of Eucharistic Adoration has helped them to hear the voice of the Lord more clearly, and I’m sure they would say, “Yes.”

It has been said, however, that God’s first language is silence.  Our Adoration Chapel is physically quiet (most of the time).   This is so that God can speak in a unique and personal way to everyone there.  God can speak in many and varied ways to those who come regularly and truly open their hearts to God.  

Archbishop Fulton Sheen famously promoted the practice of a Holy Hour with the Blessed Sacrament.   When asked what one is supposed to do during this time, Sheen answered: 

“In a way, anything you want! There is no official, formalized way to spend a holy hour. You can pray the Liturgy of the Hours or the rosary; You can read Scripture or other spiritual works; you can prepare for teaching or preaching; you can thank God for the blessings in your life; you can bring the petitions of all those who have asked for your prayer; you can bring a pad of paper and a pencil, ready to write down the ideas and inspirations that come. You can even just sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament and do nothing at all, simply basking in His presence and undergoing a kind of “radiation therapy.” (from, The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration; ed. by Matthew Mecklo, 2022, Word on Fire, p. x).  

We are blessed with a beautiful Adoration Chapel which is available twenty-four hours a day.  I encourage everyone to spend some time there with Jesus on a regular basis.  He’s waiting there to touch your spiritual ears with the words, “Ephphatha! Be opened!”   
Next weekend there will be more information in the narthex about our Adoration Chapel and sign up sheets for those who choose to commit to a time to abide there with Jesus (cf. John 15: 1-9).