Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 10, 2023
Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks only one phrase, “Ephphatha!” or “Be opened!” What marvelous simplicity—be opened.
Our daughter turned two years old yesterday, and I found myself more reflective in the weeks leading up to her birthday. Motherhood is a most beautiful and rewarding journey, albeit unpredictable and challenging at times. It invites our hearts to love another human being so unconditionally that we become a whole new version of ourselves.
Reflecting on the blessing of experiencing the world through my daughter’s eyes, she has encouraged my husband and me to slow down and reconnect with the beauty of nature, the joys of each season, and the foundations of our faith. What a gift!
If we let them, children bring us back to the simplicity of life. We amble leisurely, following in their small strides as they wave to ducks, crunch in leaves, and stop to smell flowers. They take their time appreciating God’s creation, and we, as parents, have the opportunity to slow down to experience the world through their eyes.
When we teach our children about God, we return to the basics and foundation of loving Jesus. We focus on words—“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”— meticulously pronouncing them for our children to repeat and, in turn, allowing their meaning to really resonate in our hearts once again. We are open to the uncomplicated core of our faith and are all the better for it.
Like the man in the gospel, once we allow ourselves to trust and follow Jesus, we can “be opened” to a whole new perspective. And as parents, we can experience the world through the eyes of his tiniest disciples, our children.
Prayer
Lord Jesus: The people begged you to heal the deaf man with a speech impediment. At your touch and your word, he heard and he spoke plainly. In your compassion, Lord Jesus, help me to hear your word and to speak it with conviction. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Scholastica was the twin sister of the great St. Benedict of Nursia, whose monastic community not only created Western monasticism as we know it but served as the bedrock of the new Western Christendom that rose after the fall of the Roman Empire. Benedict and Scholastica are two deeply inspiring saints and siblings.
Benedict and Scholastica were born around the year 480 AD, just four years after the final sack of Rome in 476 by Odoacer. They were born in Nursia, a town in the beautiful Umbria region of Italy (where Assisi is also located). Scholastica consecrated herself to God as a young girl. When her brother Benedict moved to Monte Cassino to lead the monastery there, Scholastica moved to the same region of Italy and founded a convent for women about five miles away. We know that St. Benedict was head of both monks and nuns, so it seems that Scholastica was abbess of her community, but took spiritual and practical direction from her brother. Their Benedictine orders are still thriving all over the world today.
Once a year, Benedict and Scholastica would visit one another. Since Scholastica was not allowed to enter her brother’s monastery, they would meet at a nearby house. The two siblings spent their time in prayer and conversation.
The years passed, Scholastica and Benedict grew older, and one year (543), it became clear to Scholastica that the next visit would be their last. After passing the whole day together, Benedict and Scholastica sat down to dinner. Scholastica begged her brother to stay with her throughout the evening and until the next day, so they could continue their discussions of God, of love, of heaven.
Benedict was unwilling to break his famous rule, which has gone on to shape the history of monasticism, in order to stay a night away from his monastery. Scholastica saw that she would not be able to convince him to stay. So she placed her head upon his hands, which were folded at the table, and implored God to move his heart that she might spend more time with her beloved brother.
Suddenly, a great storm arose with violent lightning and thunder, and Benedict could not leave. “What have you done, sister?!” he exclaimed.
“I asked you a favor, and you refused it,” she said. “I asked it of God, and God has granted it. Go off, now, leave me and return to your monastery, if you can.”
They spent the night talking, and Benedict returned to his monastery the next morning. Three days later Scholastica died. Scholastica's biographer, St. Gregory the Great, Benedictine monk and later Pope, recorded this story in his Life of Benedict and noted of Scholastica's prayer: "she who had the greater love had the greater power."
Benedict had a vision that Scholastica had died, and he retrieved her body and buried it in a tomb that he prepared himself.
Scholastica is a patron saint of religious sisters and of those seeking protection against violent storms. The bodies of Benedict and Scholastica were moved from Monte Cassino to Le Mans, France, in the seventh century. Scholastica remains a patron of that city, which was home to Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Relics from St. Scholastica rest in the reliquary chapel on campus, and her story and image (pictured here today) are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
St. Scholastica, twin sister to St. Benedict and patron saint of Benedictine sisters—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Sts. Scholastica and Benedict is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.