In today’s Gospel there is a deaf and dumb man brought to Jesus.  Our Lord puts His finger into the man’s ears and touches his tongue with spittle.  Immediately the man is able to hear and to speak.

This same touch of our divine Master’s hand continues to transform our lives today.  Our brothers and sisters are the people who bring us into the presence of Christ so that His power can operate on us.  The sacraments are extensions of Christ’s hands reaching out to touch and heal us.   Scripture is the extension of His words of encouragement to us.

By the touch of His hand Jesus opens our eyes to the needs of others.  He opens our ears to the cries of frustration from people victimized by inflation, to the cries of loneliness from teenagers hooked on drugs, or to the cries of hurt from people we have injured.  He has loosed our tongue so that we can speak boldly in defense of the unborn and the handicapped, of honesty in government and business, and chastity in entertainment.

By the touch of His hand Jesus opens our eyes, unstops our ears and loosens our tongues.  He changes our hearts so that we can be more sensitive to the needs of others.   Under His transforming power we become His instruments to accomplish the works described in today’s Responsorial Psalm: to secure justice for the oppressed, give food to the hungry and set captives free.

Jesus not only touches us with His hands but also uses our hands to touch others, to sustain the fatherless and the widow, protect the stranger and raise up those that are bowed down.

During Mass, thank God for making the prophetic version of Isaiah a reality in us.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell