Pod Apostle presents Father Michael O'Connor. This homily is based on the Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. September 9, 2018.

 

Reading 1IS 35:4-7A

Thus says the LORD:Say to those whose hearts are frightened:Be strong, fear not!Here is your God,he comes with vindication;with divine recompensehe comes to save you.Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,the ears of the deaf be cleared;then will the lame leap like a stag,then the tongue of the mute will sing.Streams will burst forth in the desert,and rivers in the steppe.The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water.

Responsorial PsalmPS 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10

R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!or:R. Alleluia.The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,secures justice for the oppressed,gives food to the hungry.The LORD sets captives free.R. Praise the Lord, my soul!or:R. Alleluia.The LORD gives sight to the blind;the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.The LORD loves the just;the LORD protects strangers.R. Praise the Lord, my soul!or:R. Alleluia.The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,but the way of the wicked he thwarts.The LORD shall reign forever;your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.R. Praise the Lord, my soul!or:R. Alleluia.

Reading 2JAS 2:1-5

My brothers and sisters, show no partialityas you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.For if a man with gold rings and fine clothescomes into your assembly,and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothesand say, “Sit here, please, ”while you say to the poor one, “Stand there, ” or “Sit at my feet, ”have you not made distinctions among yourselvesand become judges with evil designs?Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.Did not God choose those who are poor in the worldto be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdomthat he promised to those who love him?AlleluiaCF. MT 4:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdomand cured every disease among the people.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMK 7:31-37

Again Jesus left the district of Tyreand 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 impedimentand 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 earsand, 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.”