predication.net

Right at the outset, let us remind ourselves: Sunday is to Christians what the Sabbath once was and is to the Jews. The meaning of Sunday and church attendance is an expression of reverence for the Most High, that God is not indifferent to man. Further, Sunday is for strengthening and developing excellence and rest, the release of tension necessary for the health of the body and soul. When one draws strength for work, it is not to the detriment of the work itself. One is aware that like the flowers in the garden need to be nurtured and tended, the good in man also needs to be developed and cultivated. This is a universal law that no one doubts. Even if one plants, sows, and hoes in the garden, there are still enough weeds. And this is also true of developing the good in man. It does not follow from the fact that even those people who go to church, and are not always exemplary, cultivating goodness and respect for the beautiful principles that are the foundation of a beautiful society is useless.
The command of the Pater obliges us, “On Sundays and on the commanded feast day, attend the entire Holy Mass.”

The Church enjoins that the faithful, if possible, should attend Holy Mass on Sundays and on the commanded feast. The sacrifice of the Mass is a renewal of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The Holy Mass is not only a reminder of this sacrifice and transfiguration at the Last Supper but also a call for the faithful to sacrifice for the good, to heroism in the midst of the difficulties that life heaps upon man. The sacrifice for good, even if no one knows about it or will know about it, is not in vain; it is not lost. The Eucharistic banquet is an invitation to the faithful to share their goods, respect one another, and form one family whose members do not destroy one another but bring joy and help one another. This is also how we are to understand participation in the Mass, which is to continue in concrete, everyday life, in honest work, in reconciliation with neighbors and relatives, and this is the most beautiful contribution to the beautification of life and is the most beautiful service to life.

What was given by Jesus for the Sabbath is also true for Sunday. Sunday is for man, and not man for Sunday. Sometimes it happens that if a man wants to avoid immense damage, he has to work on Sunday. This is especially true in harvesting in various disasters. Working in hotels, in transport, in some factories, if the work is round the clock, then one has to work even on Sundays.

However, the latest fashion is to ignore Sunday and the holiday. Such people do not realize that neglecting reverence for the Lord God, God’s laws, and the Senator does not benefit economic prosperity; on the contrary, sins and ignorance destroy it. Cultivating the beautiful principles of honesty, conscientiousness, truthfulness, and beautiful mental qualities are also the foundation of economic prosperity. They are the guarantee that people will not steal from one another, or lie to one another, lest the results of dabbling in human wickedness be destroyed. Trust is not only a religious and ethical concept, but also an economic one. For a business that is trusted to make good products also makes millions of dollars. Ignoring and trampling God’s laws and commandments is a manifestation of man’s shortsightedness, for respect for these laws protects even the one who mocks them.

A certain white colonizer mocked an African American chieftain for learning the catechism. “If it were not for this,” says the African American, “I should have eaten you long ago.” It is sometimes opined that in the interest of religion not to antagonize the powerful, it is necessary to be silent in regard to the wrongs, exploitation, and suffering from the innocent. But this is the greatest betrayal of religion, a betrayal of the will of God which protects all men, and it has suffered most from this betrayal in the past.

When St. Sebastian was accused of being a Christian, the Emperor Diocletian himself had him summoned and said to him:
“I valued you as a friend, and you repay me in this way? You betray me like this?”
Sebastian answered, “Great emperor, you have no more faithful servants than the Christians. We love our country and obey the emperor’s commands. However, we believe that the emperor is not God. God is higher than the emperor, and God’s laws protect all people, even the emperor.”
Emperor Diocletian did not understand these arguments because he thought he was the sovereign lord over the whole empire. He did not recognize a higher lord. Soon, on the basis of the same principles of violence that he himself used, he himself was assassinated.

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will strengthen you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

It is the time of the holiday season, so looked forward to and eagerly anticipated by our pupils and students. It is also the time of summer vacations. yes, the time of vacations, rest and relaxation. I’m sure many of you have already planned where and how you will spend this year’s vacation to make the most of it. And it is necessary. There’s no denying that. One needs rest and especially in today’s hectic world.
If by any chance you haven’t decided how to spend this year’s holiday, you still have the opportunity to choose from the many offers from travel agents who offer them to you through advertisements on the radio, television, or various banners and posters.

Listening well and carefully to the Gospel, you will not have missed the fact that there was also an offer of where to seek rest. For Jesus speaks to us in today’s Gospel in this way: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… and you will find rest for your souls!” (Mt 11:28-29).

Brothers and sisters, however, there is no rest like rest. Travel agencies offer us rest on holidays, whether it is somewhere by the sea, in the mountains, in a cottage, etc. A holiday takes us out of our problems and troubles for two or three weeks and then we are back in the hustle and bustle of work again. And again there are the same problems, again there are the same worries, again we have to struggle with them. A holiday will not solve these worries. Rest is only relative. Vacation only helps us in forgetting for a few days that one problem, that one worry. That is, not a solution, but just forgetting. But then is it real rest? I think you will all admit that such rest is really only relative.

But one longs for real rest. That is to say, if he has any worries and problems pressing on him, he wants to solve them and overcome them so that they do not press on him any more, and not just forget them. Only then can one attain real peace and rest when he gets rid of worries and problems permanently. What has been man’s greatest worry and the greatest problem that has prevented him from being truly content permanently and from being able to have true rest? What was probably the thing that most consumed, tormented, and gnawed him even today, causing him to be perpetually restless?

You may be thinking rightly at this moment – yes, it is sin!
Sin has disturbed the harmony between God and man, it has caused unrest in man himself. And by the fact that through man’s fault sin has come into the world, one can no longer speak of true rest, for man is always troubled with something, always has a kind of remorse, a restlessness in his soul. He could not and cannot find that true peace, true rest.

But here comes “Someone” who speaks to that afflicted, weary and suffering man in this way: Come to me, come with all your sins that torment you, afflict you, and cause you constant restlessness. Come to me with all your toils, with all your worries, with all your troubles and burdens, with me you will find true rest; only I will give you true peace!

Could that “somebody” have said that to you? Were they not empty words? Yes, he could have said that. For that “someone” was the Son of God Himself, and He came into this world to reconcile the righteousness of God by dying on the cross and to testify to God on behalf of man His original obedience. God no longer needs to be angry with man, but accepts him truly in friendly love. Peace in God is the prerequisite for peace in man himself. The removal of sin has removed all that corrupts the human being and created the possibility of harmony and true peace, and the resulting true rest in the heart of man.
Surely now we understand why Jesus can so boldly say that He will give and secure for us that true peace. For by removing the chief hindrance to peace, which was man’s sin, he has also removed the secondary ones which actually flow from that sin, either directly or indirectly.

But, brothers and sisters, some of you might now say this: Somehow it does not seem to me. Do these words of Jesus, that whoever comes to him will find peace and rest with him, really apply today? Is it not just the opposite? For if I follow Jesus, then I am the object of ridicule, scorn and contempt. Perhaps I am looked upon as a backward backward man. I am sorry and embarrassed. My colleague who is no longer following Jesus, he has already attained a higher status and salary, and I can’t attain that, my children didn’t get to go to school. And all because I am still following Jesus. But then where is his promised peace and rest?

Pride is an unfortunate and evil characteristic of man. It is even worse when a believer adopts it. It is not rare for a superficial believer to think it is enough to go to Mass or the sacraments, but their other life says otherwise.
More than one priest has wondered about the behavior of the “pious” who let those around them know they are the “best.” Even some dare to say that they have heaven assured. Yes, perhaps they attend Mass more than others and even approach the sacraments, but only to be noticed and seen for what they are by the world and those around them. And yet their private life, their interior life, is terrible. These find it very difficult to renounce the error of their ways. Pride makes them unhappy. And if someone were to reprimand them, it would be a living hell.

As we are, so will our towns and villages be. Therefore, the Lord Jesus also said in the Gospel: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!” (Mt. 11:21).

We know that the Lord Jesus often stayed in these towns and performed many of His miracles there. These cities were inhabited by Jews who were overly confident of their salvation. They thought they were Abraham’s seed, God had given them the Law through Moses, and therefore they did not accept the doctrine of repentance. John the Baptist dedicated the words to them: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2). And elsewhere, John says: “O generation of vipers, who has shown you how to escape the wrath to come? Bring forth, therefore, fruit worthy of repentance! Do not presume that you can say: For I say to you: God can raise children to Abraham even from these stones. The ax is already laid to the roots of the trees! And every tree that does not bear good fruit will cut down and throw into the fire” (Matt. 3:1-10).
God, Himself, comes in the person of the Lord Jesus and proves His mission by miracles. But even this did not move their hearts, which remained hardened. That is why Jesus calls to them: “Woe!”

We must realize, and it is self-evident and logical, that the greater the grace of God, the greater the responsibility of those who reject it. Naturally, therefore, they must also expect more severe punishment. This was true then, and it is true today.
Let us ask: Who today is concerned about the salvation of his soul? Who today fears the judgment of the Lord Jesus? In practice, we should take exceptionally that we must not be indifferent to what will follow our death and must not be indifferent to how we use the gifts we receive from the Lord Jesus.
We say that the Lord God is good. Yes, He offers us His gifts today, but He is also waiting for our response. This means, however, that we fulfill the duties He expects of us in humility and love. Remember that God is all-knowing and will not tolerate mere tinsel or superficiality. Therefore, we must not squander the graces offered and bestowed upon us by such a way of life. Otherwise, let us rightly expect even more severe punishment, and Jesus’ punishment: “Woe!”

We see much sin, evil, and scandal in our surroundings too. Some of it is public and some secret, but it is a profound lesson for us to repent for ourselves voluntarily, our dear ones, for unbelievers, and hardened sinners. There are many possibilities and ways. But, unfortunately, in the pursuit of good, even believers often commit follies, and suddenly even the interest is gone.

When someone close to us fails to fulfill their religious duties, be it a daughter, a husband, or a son… let us try to make sure that we, at least, do not cast the Lord Jesus out of our family. Let us pray, give thanks, and forgive them as well. We do not have to tell them. Let us do it in silence and be sure that God will be in our hearts as if on an island.

On May 13, 1981, gunshots rang out in the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The shots were aimed at the Holy Father! Shots were fired at John Paul II, driving through the square in an open car through the crowds of pilgrims; he was a blessing. Evil men wanted to kill the Pope, the successor of St. Peter. For long hours at the Gemelli Hospital, doctors struggled for the life of the wounded Pope. They saved him. After this act, many people thought that the Holy Father would be more vigilant and careful and would stop meeting crowds of the faithful. They said he would shut himself up in the Vatican and run the Church from there. Nothing of the sort has happened. The Pope has enhanced protection, a car with bulletproof glass, but the Holy Father has not left the meeting with the faithful. He continued to come among the faithful and speak to them about Jesus Christ. Indeed, his life was constantly in danger with all the security measures.
What did the Holy Father want to tell us? First, the proclamation of the truth about God is a more serious matter than his own life, and this is what the Gospel tells us: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Mt 10:28).

Where did the Holy Father draw this courage from? People who live near the Pope say that the Holy Father spent much time kneeling before the tabernacle. Then, he often encounters the Lord Jesus in prayer in the Eucharist and Our Lady in the Rosary.

Have you ever wondered what the first words of the Lord Jesus were to the people after His Resurrection?
“Peace be with you!” (Lk 24:36). Jesus said it twice, indeed emphasizing it as an achievement, the victory of his Resurrection, the triumph over fear, and the endowment of human hearts with peace. He overcame death in himself, but he died and rose again for us, as we confess in I Believe in God.

Kierkegaard, one of the foremost contemporary philosophers, said: “Man only truly ceases to be afraid when he has overcome his greatest fear, and that is the fear of death.” (Bib. Eccl. 5/87, p. 281).

This should not be very difficult for us Christians, for Christ said that as He rose from the dead, so shall we rise. Therefore, we take the words of the Gospel, “Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul” (Mt. 10:28) as a strength. Death on earth is only one episode in life; therefore, the fear of it cannot influence our actions.
But let us notice the words more: “Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28) – that is, fear God, the Lord of life here on earth, but also the eternal, just God who rewards the good and punishes the bad, as we confess in one of the central truths of our faith. Some people see such a God as more of a “scarecrow” to the man who harms him and wishes him dead, but the opposite is true.

God wants to endow man with freedom. Such a philosopher was, for example, the German philosopher Nietzsche, who promised man’s freedom by teaching the death of God. Many systems have already tried to realize this, but thanks to God, people have already had the opportunity to see what liberation it leads to. Just think of Nazism. Man, freed from God, fell into true freedom – bondage to various addictions and enslavement and stripped of all values to the limits of possibility. Fear and difficulties in everyday life often cripple man’s freedom and independence. Let us learn to overcome and conquer them.

St. Paul writes: It is not to fear but to freedom that God created us.
In this struggle for freedom and inner independence, God Himself is our help. How many times in the pages of the Gospels did He give us courage! “But you also have all the hairs of your head numbered. Do not be afraid, therefore, for you are more valuable than many sparrows” (Mt 10:30).

Difficulties. How many we have on our journey through life! They stand in our way daily, at school, at work, and in the family. But we need to realize again and again that God does not want us to be afraid. On the contrary, God wants us to be men of courage and persevere in life’s journey: the way, the truth, and the life. This is what He has appointed us to do and promised to help us: belief, I have overcome! We must be made stronger by the power that faith gives us. We must be strong in faith. We need this strength today, perhaps more than ever. We must be more robust in the hope that brings joy in life and does not give consent to grieve the Holy Spirit. We need to be stronger in the power of grace, which is more powerful than death.

I would now like to introduce you to a boy, Jack the seventh-grader. Jack is a tall, hard-working boy, but he is shy. Because of this timidity, he has had many problems. During a recess in the locker room, before gym class, a rosary fell out of Jack’s pocket. The boys, though not mean, began to make fun of Jack. They called him “parson.” It was to the credit of Jack’s timidity. They mocked him more and more. But it didn’t last long. They all quieted down at once when Jack, in a low but firm voice, said to them:
“Now, if you’d like to know, I carry not only a rosary but also a chain and a locket. Besides, I go to the May devotion every day, and I don’t miss a single rosary during the winter. In addition, I pray at home in the morning and in the evening, and I take my cap off before church. What else would you like to know?”
All the boys hung their heads. Jack prevailed. This incident aroused the attention of the whole school. From that time on, the boys respected Jack, even though he was small-tempered, and shy, but besides that, he didn’t tell his classmates that every time he went to school, he would stop for a moment at the church.

This is the story a priest friend told me.
In Jack the words spoken by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel are fulfilled, “Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). What the Lord Jesus says in the Gospel does not need much explanation. There is not and cannot be anything more serious in a person’s life than God! We can lose everything but God. Everything can be renounced, but not God. If Jesus is your greatest treasure, you will surely be a good person and a Christian.

Let us learn today the courage to confess Jesus, even in events and incidents like Jack had. For there will surely be times in the future when evil men will demand that you deny or renounce God. It would be a terrible thing if the words of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel applied to any of us: “But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 10:33).

The best school of courage is that we belong to Jesus. It is also the frequent encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, Holy Mass, Holy Communion, adoration, prayer before the tabernacle… Have you noticed that this school was aptly recognized both by the aforementioned Jack and by the Holy Father John Paul II?
Let us try, and from today onwards, may the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist be not only a guest for us, but also a great friend.

At the same time, he warns them that they will be as among wolves. And therefore, they are to be as careful as serpents and as simple as doves. How to explain that they are to go among men, yet we hear: Beware of men. I don’t know how it’s in the original (I’m not that educated, nor do I have access to the original Greek Matthew written in Aramaic), but I think it’s meant to say, as it is in the Czech translation, But beware of men-. The apostles are to beware of people – be prepared for trouble. It is also in the context of the above: Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves.

Though we are not apostles (though in some sense we should be), we too are sent among men. And to varying degrees. We are given parents, siblings, and classmates – we are to regard these as God-given gifts. We are to take them as they are, even love them, and be grateful to God for them. To handle the eventual tensions of which the Lord Jesus speaks to us. They are partly our neighbors, our co-workers. Therefore, in part, we can also choose those (by moving, by changing jobs – if we can do so).

What kind of people are we to protect? Perhaps not so much. Those who will hand you over to the courts will scourge you in their synagogues and, for my sake, will drag you before rulers and kings to bear witness to them and the Gentiles. Before those, we have the opportunity to bear witness. It is a Christian virtue, a gift of the Holy Spirit – power. If this is lacking in us Christians, some people terrorize the neighborhood – even the whole parish when no one stands up to them. I have noticed this in the well-publicized case in our parish. Many have said: Leave it alone! Do you know what it is? She will take revenge; she is aggressive, she has connections…

So who are we to protect or fear? Those who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What are they like? Who are the ones who are close to our opportunity to sin! In this regard, the ancient ascetic writers had a motto: In fuga salus (in-flight is salvation). What should this mean? Someone has to avoid friends whom he cannot resist and who will pull him towards gambling, alcohol, dogs, and a life of debauchery. Someone can’t resist some tongues and starts gossiping with them; someone can’t control himself on the playground… We are also sent. We are not tested beyond our strength. It is up to us to be careful and wise whether we keep the counsel of the Lord Jesus.

The meaning of what we heard in today’s Gospel is probably this for us too: The Lord sends us to proclaim his truth. The words that we don’t need anything special are also true for us.

This applies to everyone, not just priests. We are obliged to pass on the faith we have received. It would not help us if we wanted to argue like Amos in the Old Testament, he is a shepherd, and not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet. Answering the call of God; living and preaching the Gospel was not always without hesitation. Some argued or ran away from the burden of the mission. And the response of those to whom the prophets were sent? It was a mockery, a misunderstanding. This is how the apostles tried with the message of Jesus, this is how priests, Christian parents and lay people try. One of you objects: Wouldn’t it be better if God himself revealed himself directly to everyone, if he did not send as his messengers people with faults and shortcomings? After all, they only overshadow his message.

A great burden in the life of a prophet, priest and apostle is the awareness of one’s own imperfection and the constant fear that people will reject God’s message because of human shortcomings and mistakes. Even a priest is only human, he will fall due to human weakness, but what is the response of those to whom he only wanted good? Believers laugh at him, throw logs under his feet, spread his mistakes, but there is also a small percentage of good, faithful ones who stand up for him and help him to rise with prayer. God’s answer to this fear of falling is always the same: “Go and proclaim: The kingdom of heaven is at hand…” (Mt 10:7).

God wants to save the people, but he wants to save them together as one community. God offers us cooperation in the work of salvation, cooperation with his grace and cooperation between us. The great joy of redemption is that we are redeemed together. And he sends us all to proclaim his message to the world. All believers are sent by Christ to preach the Gospel, each in his own way.

A special feature of the mission is community. The Lord sends his two by two and sends them into homes to bring peace there. Family apostolate is the first-class path of the Church. The Lord sends you, parents, two at a time to your families to spread his peace, greeting and blessing: “Peace to this house!” Say this first for your house and for your family. This is how you should greet your new apartment, your new house, your household today after St. mass and every day. And spread this gift of peace to your neighbors and familiar families. They don’t expect big gifts from you when you visit. The most beautiful gift during a visit are kind words imbued with peace that the world cannot give.

Not only the great preachers were responsible for spreading the faith, but all those who believed and lived according to it. The success of a preacher does not lie in how beautifully he delivers his sermon, but in what you take away, what you let enter your heart.

Abraham Sancta Clára writes in one of his books about a woman who served her husband as a confessional mirror. Instead of questioning his conscience, he listened to the woman and she immediately calculated all his sins and shortcomings.

I don’t mention it to make anyone do it that way, but there is something about it. Our faults are best seen by those who oppose us. It has certainly happened that you have heard from a person who is against religion, with what he justifies it. Usually by not living up to what we profess.
Can anyone discern from our behavior that our religion is a religion of love and forgiveness, when we hold the grudges of generations, when we are able to turn our backs on misery without giving advice, help, a good word, consolation, or opening a purse? How is the world supposed to believe that Christianity preaches love for enemies, when many times we do not even have love for those closest to us? How is an unbeliever supposed to know the greatness and majesty and power of our God when we have so little respect for him? When do they hear us say his name? Isn’t it most often in anger and irritation?

In the book Lust for Life, the author compares the humanity of today’s world to a group of tourists on the way to the mountains. After a certain time of ascent, three groups of people will begin to appear. The first ones regret that they went on this walk at all. They say it’s not worth the effort, the risk. They are coming back. The second group has no regrets. On the contrary, they are happy that the weather is nice, that nature is illuminated by the sun. But after a while they also ask themselves a question. Why go even higher? Why bother with those endings? Here is a nice lawn, a nice view, let’s lie down, unpack our supplies and enjoy all the beauty of the surroundings and nature. The third group – real alpinists! They are people who are not deterred by obstacles, fatigue, heat, thirst. They are passionate, they want to conquer the top, they want to overcome themselves.

Saint Susanna was the sister of Pope Caius, who was pope from 283-296. Modest tradition says of her that she was very beautiful and sensible. When she became a Christian, she had no fear during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian to fulfill her duty as a Christian, and even to help other Christians. For this she was beheaded in Rome in 295. She was not in a monastery, yet she knew her place, and what it meant to give even her life for Christ in silence.

Peter said to Christ: “Behold, we have left everything and followed you” (Mt 19:27).
When Peter asked this question, he was just a beginner in the school of Jesus. Peter had seen and heard during Jesus’ school what he could not see and hear elsewhere or with anyone. However, he had a different idea of the Messiah than what was actually in Jesus’ plan. Jesus did not come into the world as the leaders of the nation imagined and as the teachers of the nation taught. The nation at that time was under the domination of the Romans, whom the nation hated. Therefore, over time, the false notion arose that the Messiah would come as a deliverer from the yoke of Rome. Jesus, however, came with a greater gift. He came into the world to redeem and save the world, that is, to take away the consequences for the first sin, and to open to believers-and to those who will believe in Him-heaven and give them a state of blessedness. In this spirit we understand also the words of the Lord Jesus, which explain the greatness of the sacrifice of the man who decides to follow Christ completely. For it is no small thing to renounce brothers, sisters, field, house, parents… Jesus makes a promise to those who can renounce themselves for his name’s sake that they will gain eternal life.

Even though for many the words of Jesus have become stale and no longer say what they contain, because man is free and can be swept away by the deceit of the world, yet there are enough today who have believed these words of Jesus and have been able to fulfill them to the letter.

Among such are the Poor Clares. Their founder is St. Clare. She came from Assisi and was born in 1194. Her parents had a plan for her. She was very beautiful. But at that time, Francis, also a native of Assisi, began to lead a special kind of life in Assisi and its surroundings. Clare believed the purity of the words of the Gospel about poverty and total fidelity to Jesus. On Palm Sunday in 1212, she renounced the world with several other girls. Francis cut off their hair as a sign that they wanted to belong to Christ alone. They received a kind of veil and here begins the spiritual branch of St. Francis. A few years later, Clare is followed by her sister Agnes. In 1215, Pope Innocent III called this spiritual family the Poor Clares. At least one incident from the life of St. Clare. When Assisi was threatened with destruction by the Saracens, Clare took the monstrance from the monastery and went out to meet the army. The lightning that came out of the monstrance in clear weather at the time turned the army back, and so Clare saved the city. She died on 11 August 1253. The work of her sisters was not in idleness. Contemplative prayer, conscious sacrifice, renunciation of modern times, comforts, pleasures, and the taking of vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and total surrender to God – all this is not a thing insignificant with God.

Even today we witness that the spiritual strength and graces that these communities impart are the riches of the Church.
Just as we can appreciate material concern, we should not neglect spiritual concern. Parents work manually so that the family lacks nothing materially, but good believing parents also work spiritually. They pray for their children. And so it is with the mission of the priest and all those who selflessly give themselves to God as a sacrifice – a sacrifice for the sins of the world. We realize that such a life is at least as necessary today as an active life, if not more so.

Parents often marvel at their children. Children know every car; they know how to adjust the radio and TV better than adults. They typically say to their mother, “Mom, you have to do it this way. And the child knows better. Children learn quickly and faster than adults because their senses are keen, clear, lively, and open. That is why it is a cruel misfortune for a child to be deaf or dumb. Today, much is being done for such children to enable them to provide for their existence. In the old days, it was not like that.

The deaf and dumb, of whom the Gospel tells, were one of the most miserable people. Therefore, the Lord will have mercy on him.

Jesus takes the sick man aside from the crowd. He touches his ears and tongue with his fingers. Unlike a doctor touching an ill place to find out the cause of the illness, Jesus is making a touch here that doesn’t examine anything, only suggesting that closed ears and a dumb tongue are the cause’s misery. Therefore, he says to him: “Effeta,” which means, “Open!” At that moment, his ears were opened, and he loosed his fettered tongue and spoke rightly” (Mk 34-35). And he became an average, healthy person who could already listen to others and knew how to compare and amuse himself with others.

Indeed, you have been somewhere where there has been a great noise, a rumbling. When a helicopter flies low, we don’t hear the clock ticking. If we don’t listen to it, it’s not necessarily a hearing fault. It may be something that is deafening us.
If we can’t hear God, we can’t recognize His voice in our conscience; let’s consider why. Perhaps the cause is the din and clamor in which we live. So we need to remove it. Every day, at least for a little while. Indeed, the pace of life today does not allow for long meditations. But everyone can afford a moment of inner silence. It is already a question of will.

But we have become accustomed to the noise. We can no longer bear silence and solitude. Even moments of relaxation we cannot imagine other than with radio, television, or picture magazines. We have to hear, see and read everything. And that is how we fill every moment of the day. Without it, we can no longer eat, wait for the bus, or go for a walk. There must always be something or someone to entertain and distract us. Just not to be left alone with ourselves, alone with God, because that is unpleasant. These are usually the remorseful things we fear, the things we run away from, the things that make us deaf. I hope you understand me well. I am neither against radio nor against television or some laptops, computers, magazines…

I want to warn you that if you do not stay in silence for a minute during the day, you will never hear God’s voice. And yet you’re hearing, even the inner one, may be perfectly fine, so you don’t need any miraculous healing: just courage and a little will. Don’t be afraid of it! God is not punitive justice. God is the first of all-merciful love. It is worth hearing his voice!

However, the deaf is typically also dumb. He cannot speak. Even the deaf in the Gospel was probably brought in by relatives who pleaded for him. Do we have a loved one who is deaf to every good word and hopelessly mute, so there is no presumption that he would maintain for healing? Let us then pray for him. Christ still has the power to heal and is just as willing today. Let us then ask Him for the gift of hearing for all who lack it.

Parents, you know how bad it is when your children are deaf to your warnings. And how many Christians are deaf! And am I not a little one of them? Why? Do I listen and perceive attentively when God speaks to me? The voice of conscience is the voice of God. The words of Scripture, are the words of God. Enlightenment, inspiration, encouragement to do good, but also the reproaches of our loved ones, the sad looks of our children, the tears of our mothers, …in all these things God can speak to us. Can we hear him?

And how about the motherless? You know, when we think of the amount of evil that is done with the tongue, I would almost say that sometimes we should ask for muteness as a gift. I mean, just do the math. How many invectives and wrath have been aroused by slander, by gossip! How many tears have flowed because of slander and insults! How many sleepless nights, black coffees and cigarettes! How much indignation has arisen from unpleasant talk! And the useless and empty words, the frivolous promises, the speeches with which we get on the nerves of the whole world – the surroundings, the provocative speeches! All this is an abuse of the precious gift of speech.