THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

13 August 2023

[Image]

The Sunday

Sermon

Click the button on the right to be told about updates. Your address will be kept strictly private.

Dear Friends,

In today's Gospel reading (Saint Mark 7:31-37), Jesus cures a deaf and mute man. "And immediately his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke right." The auricular means of communication were opened for this man that was formerly unable to hear others speak or to speak for others to hear him. It seems appropriate for us to consider the underappreciated gifts of speaking and hearing that God has given us, as well as the use that we make of these gifts.

Our thoughts and desires are mostly communicated to others through the gifts of speaking and hearing. This ability makes just about everything we do more accessible. The designing and building of everything is highly dependent upon the ability of the designer, architect, engineer, contractor, and laborers to understand each other. Our education greatly depends on our ability to speak, hear, and understand.

Above all this, God gave us these gifts so that we can raise intelligent voices to Him in praise and worship. We reside at the head of this physical world, which depends upon us to give God the proper honor and glory on behalf of all His material creations.

To hear and speak correctly, we need to appreciate that these are precious gifts from God and that we have corresponding duties that accompany these gifts. We are to bless — not curse. These gifts are just one of the many talents that God has entrusted to us, and we will have to give an account of our use of these talents on Judgment Day. Sadly, many of us will have to reveal that we have done far worse than burying our talent or leaving it idle. Many will have to account for employing this good gift from God in doing evil and thus insulting God and abusing His goodness.

Using these gifts to lie or deliberately mislead others into evil is sinful. We should be careful not to curse or blaspheme. We must always speak with respect and reverence God's Holy Name, the Blessed Mother of God, and all the Saints and Angels of Heaven. We should guard our tongues and ears in the sacred spaces of the Catholic Churches so that we do not even bring worldly things and ideas where only spiritual and sacred ideas belong.

It is much easier to practice silence than to control our speech. It is not what goes into our mouths and passes through us into the gutter that defiles us. The evil words that come forth from our hearts and escape our lips make us unclean.

However, we must also pay attention to what we open our ears to hear. Much of our entertainment is no longer an innocent distraction or diversion. We are under constant assault from this world's demonically inspired fashions and styles. Every sin or evil that can be imagined and some that are beyond imagination are enticingly arranged and presented to our ears to be considered and adopted. Very often, when we welcome popular music's rhythm and rhyme, demonic lyrics settle into our hearts and souls. What may be repulsive and disgusting to us in the beginning gradually becomes enticing and pleasing through constant exposure and repetition. Even if we do not immediately act out these demonic ideas or allow them to ever escape from our lips, they have nonetheless begun the internal corruption of our souls.

The inner sanctuary of our souls that is made as the Temple of the Holy Ghost is gradually transformed into Hell by simply taking pleasure in the many demonic enticements of this world. It is from such corrupted hearts that the defilement of the whole person takes place.

In the spiritual life, we must place a virtual door upon our lips to always consider and open before speaking. In the same way, we should guard our ears and other senses to prevent evil ideas from ever entering our hearts in the first place. Our lives here on earth are too short to waste time and energy listening to temptations. This will only cause us to expend even more time and energy to suppress them and not allow them to completely corrupt us or those around us. We must strive to see and hear God as He speaks to us clearly through His creation and seek to block out the allurements of the devils and the world. Then, we, too, may begin speaking correctly.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!