Fr Antonio Pineda
he actions of Jesus, touching ears and mouth may be repeated in baptism. The priest says these words to the baby: “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.”
So as Christians, we should ask ourselves questions regarding our power of speech and hearing. Are my ears open to God’s word, reading it, listening to it, pondering it in the heart? Do I listen to what others say? Do I hear the pleas of those in need? Do I heed the opinions or advice of others?
Then we reflect on the words that come out of our mouths. Are my words worthy of a baptised Catholic? A poisoned tongue spits out cynicism, anger, deceit, hurt, character assassination, destructiveness, and so on. Am I guilty of the sort of double standard described by James in this Sunday’s second reading? Does the same tongue that receives the Body of Christ in the Eucharist attack the members of His mystical body?
The words of the true Christian bring love, peace, happiness, affirmation, consolation, forgiveness, good advice, laughter, etc. Do we choose to use speech for blasphemy, profanity or obscenity, or do we use it to give thanks, praise and prayer?
We tend to take our ears and mouth for granted, but they are powerful organs. With them, we can hurt or we can help. The choice is ours.