Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

0:00 If we try to put ourselves in the place 0:03 of the man in today’s Gospel, 0:06 I think we can begin to appreciate his predicament. 0:10 The man was deaf. 0:12 To try to imagine what that means, 0:16 to be cut off entirely from the whole world of sound. 0:20 In a moment of danger, 0:22 a human voice could not warn him. 0:25 In a time of sorrow, a human voice could not console him. 0:30 The laughter of children, 0:31 the conversations of friends, 0:34 the joy of music, 0:35 these are not a reality for him. 0:39 As a consequence of his deafness 0:42 he could not speak plainly, 0:44 for he could not hear himself. 0:46 He lived in a world almost completely cut off 0:50 from the people with whom he lived. 0:53 We can understand, then, 0:55 the joy of his enthusiasm when Jesus cured him. 1:00 What a great day that was for him. 1:03 Do you think that he ever forgot as long as he lived? 1:07 Even the bystanders were so impressed 1:10 that the gospel says, 1:13 their amazement knew no bounds. 1:16 It is only natural 1:18 that we should take for granted 1:20 our ability to hear and our ability to speak. 1:24 It is natural, but it is not right. 1:27 These are great powers for which we must be grateful, 1:31 and the best way to be grateful for 1:34 is the power that God intended. 1:38 The power to speak is one of the faculties, 1:42 which separates us from animals. 1:44 Our speech and our hearing 1:47 are meant for something even higher than human communication. 1:52 They are also our means of communicating with God.