Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
At that time, Jesus left the region of Tyre and went back through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, passing through the Decapolis region. They brought to Him a deaf man who also had a speech impediment, and begged Him to lay His hands on him. He took him aside away from the crowd, put His fingers into his ears, and touched his tongue with saliva. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to him, “Effetá!” (which means: be opened). Immediately, his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone, but the more He insisted, the more they proclaimed it. Everyone was amazed and said, “He does everything well! He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Fruit: Contemplate in my life the goodness of Christ.

Guidelines for reflection:
The first followers of the Master, seeing His miracles, admire His goodness. They do not engage in any kind of reasoning, nor do they develop complicated arguments. They simply see Him act and conclude: He is a good person, who loves others. Let us contemplate the face of Christ, take an image, and make a serene contemplation.

1. An open heart to others
Today’s Gospel shows us the inhabitants of Galilee approaching Jesus. They are not important or influential people in society at the time; they were probably simple fishermen seeking healing for their friends: a deaf man and a speech-impaired man. During His public life, Jesus demonstrates many times how easy it is to reach Him. He does not require recommendation letters; just take a few steps, approach Him, and ask Him simply to solve a problem, to cure someone’s ailment, or to have mercy on someone in need. Jesus Christ teaches us the attitude we should have towards others. If He, the Son of God and the Messiah, lives so close to the needs of those around Him, we must do the same. This closeness and availability manifest in many ways throughout the day: a smile to someone who comes to talk to me, a gesture of affection towards my parents or children, a word of encouragement, yielding in an argument, speaking well of a colleague… Small acts of charity and kindness, but how many times, in our desire to live charity, we forget these details that are actually the foundations and pillars of this virtue!

2. A powerful heart
The evangelist Mark shows us another characteristic of Christ’s human and divine heart. Besides being close to people and their needs, it is a powerful heart. Many Jews understood this very well and would come to Him to ask for favors, cures, miracles. The friends of the deaf-mute approach Jesus and beg: “Lay your hands on this sick person, and he will be healed.” They know that, besides having a good heart, being “good,” He is powerful. And the Lord shows them they are right: He performs a physical act (puts His fingers in his ears and touches his tongue with saliva, while pronouncing a word), giving it a supernatural meaning: the finger of God comes to heal the needs of men. As God, He is Lord of nature and its laws; He has the power to do what seems impossible: to heal a deaf-mute. How easily we forget the words of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin: “For God, nothing is impossible.”

3. My attitude: approach with confidence to the Heart of Jesus
Within these lines, we find a profound lesson for our prayer life, the foundation of all Christian life: Christ is the friend who never fails, who always listens, cares, and loves, even to the point of being crucified for each of us. He is good, or rather, He is Infinite Goodness. Moreover, He is powerful. With His word, He heals the sick, and with His word, He can also heal us, who are also sick because of our selfishness and sin. He is capable of performing an evident miracle, such as healing a physical illness, and He is also capable of performing the miracle of our heart’s change: “I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may walk in My statutes, keep My ordinances, and obey them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God” (Ez 11:19-20). Let us approach with confidence the Heart of Christ, a good and powerful heart.

Act: I will smile and seek to be kind to everyone who comes to talk to me, as a gesture of my charity towards them.