FRIDAY 12/19/2025— February 13, 2026
Papal Homily Excerpt
The Words of the Popes
Brothers and sisters, there is an interior deafness that we can ask Jesus to touch and heal today. It is interior deafness, which is worse than physical deafness, because it is the deafness of the heart. Taken up with haste, by so many things to say and do, we do not find time to stop and listen to those who speak to us. We run the risk of becoming impervious to everything and not making room for those who need to be heard. I am thinking about children, young people, the elderly, the many who do not really need words and sermons, but to be heard. Let us ask ourselves: how is my capacity to listen going? Do I let myself be touched by people’s lives? Do I know how to spend time with those who are close to me in order to listen? This regards all of us, but in a special way also priests. The priest must listen to people, not in a rushed way, but listen and see how he can help, but after having listened. (…) Starting a dialogue often happens not through words but silence, by not insisting, by patiently beginning anew to listen to others, hearing about their struggles and what they carry inside. The healing of the heart begins with listening. Listening. This is what restores the heart. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 5 September 2021)
SOURCE: Word of the Day (Vatican News)
Gospel Commentary
Today’s Gospel in Context
Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus, by healing a deaf and mute man, fulfilled Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy, “The eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped”(Isaiah 35:5). The Gospel invites us to become humble instruments of healing in Jesus’ hands by giving a voice to the needy and the marginalized in our society. It also challenges us to let our ears be opened to hear the word of God, and to let our tongues be loosened to convey the Good News of God’s love and salvation to others. Through this miracle story, Mark’s account also reminds us that no one can be a follower of the Lord without reaching out to the helpless (“preferential option for the poor”).
The miracle is described in seven ritual-like steps: (1) Jesus leads the man away from the crowd; (2) puts his fingers into the man’s ears; (3) spits on his own fingers; (4) touches the man’s tongue with the spittle; (5) looks up to Heaven; (6) sighs; (7) and speaks the healing command: “Ephphatha” (“be opened.”). And so it was done: the man’s hearing and speech were restored to him. Jesus carried out this elaborate ritual probably because the dumb man could not hear Jesus’ voice nor express his needs. Jesus applied a little saliva to the man’s tongue because people in those days believed that the spittle of holy men had curative properties. The miracle is about the opening of a person’s ears so that he will be able to hear the word of God, and the loosening of his tongue so that he will be able to profess his Faith in Jesus.
Life Message
1) Jesus desires to give us his healing touch in order to loosen our tongues so that he may speak to the spiritually hungry through us. Jesus invites us to give him our hearts so that, through us, he may touch the lives of people in our day.
2) We must allow Jesus to heal our spiritual deafness and muteness because otherwise we may find it hard to speak to God in prayer and harder still to hear Him speaking to us through the Bible and through the Church.
3) Let us imitate the mute man in the Gospel by seeking out Jesus, following him away from the crowd, spending more of our time in getting to know him intimately through studying the Holy Scriptures, and experiencing him personally in our lives through prayer. The growing awareness of the healing presence of Jesus in our lives will open our ears and loosen our tongues.
SOURCE: Fr. Tony’s Homilies
Together with God’s Word
Gospel Commentary
KEY VERSE: “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened” (Mark 7:34b).
READING: After leaving Phoenicia, Jesus went to the Gentile area of the Decapolis, a league of ten cities in eastern Palestine. There, a deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him for healing. The physical signs that Jesus used to heal the man, touch and spittle, were commonly used by faith healers in Jesus’ day. They were thought to be effective in and of themselves. With Jesus, the efficacy of his healing power flowed directly from his relationship with his Father. The deaf mute was healed so that he could hear and proclaim the message of redemption. Jesus imposed silence upon the crowd so that his power would not be misinterpreted as mere “wonderworking,” but the awestruck people could not restrain their praises of him. The miracle performed for the Gentile deaf-mute was another sign that Jesus came to bring salvation to all people.
REFLECTING: Lord Jesus, help me to be open to your healing power in the Sacraments of the Church.
PRAYING: In what ways am I deaf and mute to God’s message?
NOTE: The Ephphatha prayer is used in the rite of Baptism to open the ears to receive God’s word and the mouth so as to proclaim the faith.