“Look At Me!”

How many times through the years have I heard a young mother or father say to one of their small children, in a stern voice, “Look at me!”  The reason they have spoken in a stern voice is because this is the third or fourth time, they have told their child to do something, or to stop doing something.  Obviously, the child has not heard…or he or she has not listened…or obeyed.  I myself can remember my mother using the same expression when talking to me. 

I know that you may not believe this, but as a small child, I was the worst of all my siblings when it came to sitting still and being quiet at Mass!  I had a lot of energy, and I wiggled constantly, usually disrupting my brothers and sisters with what I whispered or did.  Often, I was sent to my room for an hour on Sunday after lunch as punishment for my behavior in Church.  I thank the Lord that in His good time, he opened my ears, and my eyes, and my heart.  He gave me the gift to stop wiggling.  

Ironically, and some parents have confirmed this as true, sitting with small children in the front rows of the church actually helps to keep children more focused.  When they can see what is happening, and especially when they can see the altar and the tabernacle, they seem to hear more and take in more.  

Jesus said to the poor deaf and mute man today, “Ephphatha”.  The word means “be opened.”  It is a great prayer to pray in the original language of Hebrew, asking God to open our ears, eyes, minds and hearts to the Truth which Jesus is and which Jesus speaks.  Faith is a gift from God, but it also requires obedience.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to this “obedience of faith,” in saying that each person must choose to believe and practice the faith they believe, even though the first seed of faith always comes directly from God.  

We all constantly need a greater opening of our ears, eyes, minds and hearts to Jesus and His Word.  That deaf and mute man is every one of us.  How blessed was he that the first words he ever heard were the words of the Son of God!   Maybe this is why the healed man disobeyed Jesus in the end of the gospel passage; He ordered them not to tell anyone what He had done, but the more He ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it!  

When a person finally meets Jesus; when they finally hear him through the ears of their hearts and see him through the eyes of their hearts, their joy knows no bounds and they bring the Good News to the world!  Let’s all pray to hear and see these things. 

Fr. Brett Brannen

Pastor