When we look at the miracles of Jesus, such as the cure of the deaf man in today’s Gospel, it is interesting to note that these miracles always have more than just a physical significance. Eyes are opened in order to see more deeply and spiritually; ears are opened in order to hear more compassionately; and tongues are loosened in order to praise God more freely, and to speak words of reconciliation and love to one another. What Jesus is doing in these miracles is changing the eyes, ears and tongues, so that what a person is now hearing, speaking and seeing, is not bitterness, hurt and pettiness, but rather ,compassion ,gratitude and praise. Although Jesus tried to constrain the cured man–he, and those around him, proclaimed what had happened everywhere they went.
So let us pray today for the gift of hearing, to hear the voice of God calling to us in everything that will happen. Let us pray for the gift of speech–that is, to be so filled with the liberating experience of knowing Jesus that we simply cannot refrain from sharing that experience with all those around us.