Tell the Whole World

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and 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 impediment
and 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 ears
and, 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.”


“He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.”

The Gospel passage for this Sunday recalls Jesus’ encounter with and healing of a deaf man. Strange methods aside (putting His fingers in the man’s ear and grabbing the guy’s tongue), Jesus brings a great physical healing to this man. 

What I find interesting about this encounter is Jesus’ command to the man to not say anything about Him. There are many other instances of Jesus asking those He has healed to keep the miracles on the down low. We don’t know exactly why Jesus commands this. It could be that He was not ready to reveal Himself or for other reasons. But, even after His request for silence, the former deaf man could not contain his excitement from this encounter and tells all he can about Jesus - for understandable reasons.

Are we like this man? Do we speak about the healing Jesus has done in our lives? We may or may not have received great physical healing like the deaf man, but what about the interior healing He has given to us? By our Baptism, He has freed us from original sin and given us true life. Each time we go to confession, we are healed and brought back into communion with Jesus and His Church. Do we give witness to the life He has restored us to?

More and more, our world is looking towards everything but God for “healing.” Whether it be science, entertainment, sports, food, drink, relationships, etc; we seek things to “heal” us from whatever struggle or pain that we bear. The things listed previously are not inherently bad and can provide joy, but they are not God. Yet we can fall into the trap of speaking about them as though they are our gods. The Lord desires eternal, intimate relationship with each of us, not as a collective whole but personally. That is the truth of what Heaven is. But while we are still here on Earth, we have the opportunity to live in this world but not belong to it. We can proclaim like the deaf man the truth and reality of WHO we are made for. Our calling as faithful Christians to speak of our relationship with the Lord that others may hear and come to believe. The world would look very different if the Apostles merely kept their relationships and experiences with Jesus to themselves. But they didn’t. They went out and proclaimed Jesus Christ to all nations. Can we do the same?

This upcoming Sunday is also the feast day of St. Mother Teresa. She is my favorite saint, and I could speak for days about her. I’d like to share one reflection about her today though in relation to today’s Gospel. Whenever people asked her about her works of charity, she never spoke about herself or the work in and of itself. She always spoke about Jesus. Her life was not about purely acts of charity but about the relationship she had with Jesus Christ.

About the Author: Huy Tran is a seminarian for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Huy was raised Catholic all his life but didn’t encounter Jesus in his heart until his sophomore year of college at LSU. Falling in love with Jesus through Christ the King at LSU, he desired to share Jesus’ love through small group Bible studies and the service ministry at CTK. At the end of his time at LSU, he perceived that the Lord had invited him to discern the priesthood. Graduating from LSU in spring ‘19, Huy has spent the last two years at St. Joseph Abbey in Covington studying philosophy and will be entering Notre Dame Seminary in fall ‘21 to begin his theological studies. Huy asks that everyone reading this prays for him and his discernment of the priesthood, one (or more) Hail Mary will do :). Huy enjoys watching LSU and Saints football, going to the Chimes, and just spending time with his friends. And he loves praying.

Learn More About Red Stick Catholics

The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at njones@diobr.org.