11 February 2022
Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes
In the rite of Baptism, there is a prayer offered which has its explicit roots in the healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment which we hear in the Gospel today. The prayer asks that just as Christ made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak, so may He quickly give the newly baptized ears to hear His Word and the grace to profess their faith. This is certainly the goal of all healing, and in particular the healing and new life offered to us in the sacraments: to let God’s Word dwell ever more in us and be shared with others through us.
On this memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, an apparition in which Mary has particularly shown her motherly care and concern for her children suffering from bodily illnesses, one moment in this Gospel account of the healing stands out to me: Jesus groaned. (Mark 7:34) Our Lord heals the man, but not without taking a moment to grieve with him the years of suffering and frustration which have accompanied the man’s illness. Even before the opening of his ears and mouth, surely the man must have experienced an inner healing of his heart which had been so burdened for so long by his condition. That moment in which he experienced the compassion of Christ who felt what he suffered must have been part of the proclamation he made around the area of the Decapolis after Jesus had healed him.
As we consider the compassion of Our Lord and Our Lady towards the infirm, let us ask for the grace to experience their compassion towards us, that with hearts healed by such love, we may share their compassion with those around us, especially in visiting the sick in hospitals and in their homes.