Stewardship Reflection – September 5, 2021

SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 — TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

IS 35:4-7A; PS 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; JAS 2:1-5; MK 7:31-37

Today's readings offer us a message of hope — God is with us and wants to heal us. May this message come ablaze in our hearts so that we might live with unwavering faith.

The Gospel presents us with the story of the profound physical healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment. People brought him to Jesus and begged for his healing. Jesus took the man off by himself, touched his ears and his tongue, then proclaimed, “Be opened!” Immediately he was healed.

This story in our Gospel overwhelms us with comfort and peace because we have a compassionate God who sees our physical needs. Yet if we reflect further on this reading, we see that God uses this moment of physical healing as an opportunity to restore something much deeper—our souls.

Often, we are blind and deaf to God in our lives. We miss countless opportunities to see God working in our day-to-day moments—through our loved ones, our community, or even a stranger. We miss the quiet voice of Jesus in our hearts telling us to choose Him instead of sin, respond in love instead of anger, or care for someone else in a moment instead of ourselves.

These are how we need to be spiritually healed. And the scriptures remind us that God is with us and wants to heal us.

This week let us seek God to heal our souls and transform our hearts. Let us pray that our eyes and our ears might “be open" to His workings, words, and promptings in our lives.

— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants