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Jesus said to them: “I have come into this world so that a sentence may fall upon it, that those who are blind should see, and those who see should become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty. It is because you protest, ‘We can see clearly,’ that you cannot be rid of your guilt.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Ephphetha

Fr. David Friel · September 14, 2012

I vividly remember the first Baptism I ever performed. I had been ordained a transitional deacon just a week or two earlier, and I was scheduled to baptize one child that day. It was at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Doylestown, the parish where I was raised, and the baby’s name was going to be “DYLAN.” Fortunately for me, I realized about three minutes before the Baptism began that DYLAN . . . was a girl!

I remember that Baptism so vividly because, to be honest, it was only the second Baptism I ever attended, other than my own. I’m the youngest of four children, my only niece so far was born just last year, and I didn’t grow up with any younger cousins. So, since I was really the youngest in the family, I never had any occasion to go to a Baptism.

One of the prayers in the Baptismal ritual that has struck me ever since that day is an option right at the end of the ceremony. The prayer says this: “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.” As the priest (or deacon) prays that prayer, he touches his thumb to the baby’s lips and ears. (I remember that vividly, too, because DYLAN tried to bite my thumb!) What a beautiful prayer this is, symbolically asking that the senses of the child might be open to receive the Gospel message.

Obviously, this prayer has its roots in the healing story of Mark, chapter 7, which we heard on Sunday. In fact, the prayer is even called the Ephphetha prayer, after the Hebrew word Jesus uttered to command the senses of the deaf-mute man to “be opened.” Is this an amazing miracle? Certainly. But the story is about much more than just the physical healing of one deaf-mute man. It is a story that concerns every one of us. But, “We’re not deaf and mute,” we might protest. Or are we?

For sure, there are times when we wish we were deaf. Every time I hear the song, Call Me Maybe, I wish I was deaf! But, are there times we actually are—really, truly—deaf?

We may be basically good, church-going people, but it’s probably true of all of us that we can sometimes be deaf to the needs of those around us.
• Are we as husbands and fathers sometimes deaf to our wives and children and their need for our strength & compassion?
• Are we as wives and mothers sometimes deaf to our husbands and children and their need for affirmation & affection?
• Are we as children sometimes deaf to the simple requests of our parents and teachers?
• Can all of us turn a deaf ear to the in-laws & crazy cousins & chatty neighbors who bother and frustrate us, rather than extending a listening ear?
• Perhaps we like to be deaf to the poor around us—the homeless folks we drive by, the immigrants we see on TV, and the aging parents we choose not to visit.

In addition to our deafness, I suspect there are ways we all allow ourselves to become mute.
• It can be as simple as the famous scene in the cafeteria, in this first week of school: do we extend an invitation to the loner to sit at our table?
• Are we quick to give compliments, or do we hold back our praise?
• We’ve learned so much this past year about the scandal and destruction that comes from being silent about abuse, rather than doing the right thing and speaking up.
• Do we have the courage to take a public stand against injustices like abortion and euthanasia and same-sex partnerships?
• Maybe someone in our family struggles with addiction, but we just can’t get up the gumption to confront them, and instead we become a mute enabler.

Our Blessed Lord wants us to know that to be physically deaf or physically mute is not some arch-evil. I’ve known several people who are deaf or mute or blind, and I know they would testify that they live very happy and fulfilling lives. The far greater tragedy is when we allow our hearts to be deaf and our consciences to be muted.

As the minister prayed over us on the day of our own Baptism: May the Lord Jesus touch our ears to receive His Word and our mouths to proclaim His faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 4th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 4th Sunday of Easter (11 May 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. I don’t know a more gorgeous ENTRANCE CHANT than the one given there: Misericórdia Dómini Plena Est Terra.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 4th Sunday of Easter
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 4th Sunday of Easter (11 May 2025). Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. The English adaptation matches the authentic version (Misericórdia Dómini), which is in a somber yet gorgeous mode. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • “Repertoire for Weddings”
    Not everyone thinks about sacred music 24/7 like we do. When couples are getting married, they often request “suggestions” or “guidance” or a “template” for their musical selections. I created this music list with repertoire suggestions for Catholic weddings. Please feel free to download it if you believe it might give you some ideas or inspiration.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“What matters is to prefer God to all else; to be ready to sacrifice all, rather than commit one sin.”

— Cardinal Merry Del Val (shortly before his death)

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