Friday, September 4, 2015

There are many ways to be deaf (Fr. James Martin)

  Every day, if we go to Mass, or if we read the Gospels, we are able to hear Jesus's Word.  What a privilege that is.  But do we long to hear with the same energy as the deaf man did for his hearing?  And once we hear the Word, do we act on it?

  And are we open, and opened, to the Word of God?  Are we open to hearing Jesus's teachings about love and forgiveness and mercy?  Or do we simply listen to these teachings but not act on them?  Do we listen and listen and listen and listen, year after year and year, and yet remain hardened, bitter, closed, angry, unforgiving, vengeful and selfish? Because there are many ways to be deaf, and there are many things that Jesus wants us to open -- our ears, of course, but our hearts most of all. 

--Fr. James Martin, posted on Facebook, September 9, 2012
(For more of Fr. Martin's reflections on Jesus, 

Image source:  Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Jésus guérissant le sourd-muet (1635), Louvre, Paris

No comments:

Post a Comment