Soul Food for Sundays

Reflection for the Second Sunday of the Season of Creation, 8th September 2024

Reflections 8th September 2024
Mark 7:31-37

The Author: Paddy Cully C.S.Sp.
calendar_today Date: August 14, 2024 - 3 minutes read

Catholic Sunday Mass Readings for September 8 2024, Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Sunday Homily

Ephphata (Be opened).

The man who can’t hear and can’t speak hears and speaks in today’s Gospel.

As we begin our second week of the Season of Creation, we too seek to hear and speak of the Creation of God who has made us in God’s own image and likeness and shared with us the entire beauty of Creation of which we are a part. This year the theme of the Season is: To Hope and Act in Creation.

We have been celebrating the Season of Creation for 35 years now. This wonderful event is one of the great ecumenical events of the year, bringing together Christian churches throughout the world in this time of prayer and action for all Christians. The Eastern Orthodox Church Patriarch Demetrios of Constantinople declared 1^st September the Feast of Creation and the celebration was extended to the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on 4^th October, with the participation of the World Council of Churches, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans, other denominations and many Christian organisations throughout the world.

To hear and to speak are the fruits of the healing in the Gospel today. It is a sign of what the Lord wishes us to do in living in, and as a part of, Creation. To listen and hear what Creation is saying to us: its growth and development, its ‘pain’ in its destruction. Likewise, to listen and hear the Word of God in our lives, both written and in other aspects of our life.

We can celebrate the concrete gains that occur as we also perceive the faults. In 2023 in Ireland greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 6.8%. While falling short of the target, it is a good signpost for the future. Public transport has also notably improved with the addition of new routes and timetables in the Dublin area and elsewhere. There are so many community and individual initiatives. In the Catholic tradition the aim is to make natural habitats of 30% of church grounds. Smaller projects are seen in so many places. Small and large initiatives complement each other.

Let us continue to hope and act in Creation …

A short refrain capture the spirit of this movement:

Ephphata – Be Opened

Ephphata, ephphata, be opened says the Lord.

Ephphata, ephphata be healed.

Ephphata, ephphata Jesus says to me.

I can hear, I can speak, I can sing.

[‘Ephphata’ is a word in Aramaic, Jesus’ native language; it means ‘be opened’. The melody is available from the Soul Food section on www.spiritan.ie with this reflection. The refrain can be used in different settings- Responsorial Psalm, prayerful chant etc – as appropriate.]

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