SCHOLASTICA, Virgin, Religious
Not much is known about St Scholastica, the sister of the great St. Benedict, in whose shadow she lived. Dedicating her virginity to God, she first lived a life of prayer at home, then stayed near her brother at Subiaco, then Monte Cassino, until Benedict put her in charge of a community of women.
We know from history how Benedictine monasteries of men and women not only radiated peace, but were in many regions the civilizers and the main witnesses to Christ’s presence in the world.
Reading 1 Gn 3:1-8
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?” The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’” The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
Gospel Mk 7:31-37
Then he left the region of Tyre, went through Sidon back to Galilee Lake and over to the district of the Ten Towns. Some people brought a man who could neither hear nor speak and asked Jesus to lay a healing hand on him. He took the man off by himself, put his fingers in the man’s ears and some spit on the man’s tongue. Then Jesus looked up in prayer, groaned mightily, and commanded, “Ephphatha!—Open up!” And it happened. The man’s hearing was clear and his speech plain—just like that.
Jesus urged them to keep it quiet, but they talked it up all the more, beside themselves with excitement. “He’s done it all and done it well. He gives hearing to the deaf, speech to the speechless.”
Prayer
God our Father,
we thank you for saints
like St. Scholastica;
they remind us that a life
of prayer and community
bears witness to your presence in this world.
Make us too see clearly
that it is ultimately you who count
and you who are the meaning of our lives
and that the bond that unites us
with people anywhere
is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reflection:
10 February 2023
Mark 7: 31-37
“Ephphatha!”
Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St Scholastica, the sister of the great St. Benedict, in whose shadow she lived. Dedicating her life to God, she first lived a life of prayer at home, then stayed near her brother at Subiaco, then Monte Cassino until Benedict put her in charge of a community of women.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is presented as a physician who heals the deaf and mute person.
This deaf and mute man is a figure of humanity in general, precisely because being deaf by not listening to the sounds, not listening to the words, he does not learn to make sounds and words, and the person becomes dumb. It is the condition of humanity that is deaf to the Word of God; it is their inability to understand, comprehend, to accept the Word. Humanity is unable to communicate the voice of God.
“Ephphatha!” that word that Jesus said imperatively: “Open up.” We have a closed man, and Jesus gives him the order: “Open up.”
He orders this man, closed on himself, to open up. His ears open, and the knot of the tongue is untied. It is an almost ridiculous image that this man had his tongue knotted. Jesus’ word lets it go. This rite has been retained in the celebration of the complete rite of adult baptism. After the other symbolic gestures of the anointing, of the robe and the light, the priest touches the ears and the mouth of the baptised, saying: ‘The Lord Jesus who made the deaf hear and the dumb speak grant you to hear his Word soon, and to profess your faith to the praise and glory of God the Father.’
Listen and profess. Listen to the Word and profess the faith. This is the itinerary. This deaf-mute man becomes the prototype of the catechumen, the one who attends the catechism in preparation to receive baptism, to be open to listen to the Word and be open to announce his faith. We want the Lord to continue to whisper this command into our ears, “Ephphatha”, that we become open to his Word and profess our faith through our words and deeds.