Be Opened! September 10

“My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.” James 2:1

“Be opened!” Mark 7: 34

Piety

Let us pray: Lord, when our hearts are frightened, we can not be strong for you. We fear the worst. Open our blind eyes. Clear our deaf ears. Help us to walk the earth for your aims despite the obstacles to your friendship that we put in the way to cripple our efforts. Help us to sing your praises from the mountaintops. When we do, your love will grant life where there is death and darkness, fear and weakness, like streams bursting forth in the desert. Amen.

Study
23 rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Sunday, September 10, 2006
http://www.usccb.org/nab/091006.shtml

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

As my hearing fails, I realize how wonderful it has been to hear what others say. My hearing aids are wonderful gifts of God that have come through the smarts God has given the human race. I say my thanks to God that I can hear the sounds that others make. We all have deafness and need the help of God that we can understand what he is asking of us in the here and now of our lives.

God is always speaking to us through each other. Every time we reach out to a need of the human race, we are touching the God who accepts whatever we would do to answer a need as done to him. God comes in many disguises. But we all know God choose those who are in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised. The design of God is counterintuitive. What is hard to realize is that what we do for the needy reaches God. What we do for the rich all too often already has its reward in the acclaim or the pay one receives for work done for hire. So Paul challenges us to show no partiality as we adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

We know our God is near when the eyes of the blind are opened, and the ears of the deaf are cleared. The beauty of the Lord will shine trough creation and we will hear the divine melody of God's love for us sung through the glory of creation.

Action

Through whom is God speaking to you? Who is God speaking to through you?