Gospel (Mk 7,31-37) - At that time, Jesus, having left the region of Tyre, passing through Sidon, came towards the Sea of Galilee in the full territory of the Decapolis. They brought him a deaf mute and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside, away from the crowd, put his fingers in his ears and touched his tongue with saliva; then looking towards the sky, he let out a sigh and said to him: "Effata", that is: "Open up!". And immediately his ears were opened, the knot of his tongue was untied, and he spoke correctly. And he commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he forbade it, the more they proclaimed it and, full of amazement, said: "He has done everything well: he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!".

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The Gospel passage tells us about the healing of a deaf and dumb man, which Jesus performed in the Decapolis region, a pagan land. Mark thus suggests that everyone has the right to hear the Gospel and encounter God's mercy. Jesus welcomes that deaf mute and takes him aside, away from the crowd. Then he raises his eyes to the sky and says to the deaf mute: «Effata!», That is, «Open up!». It's one word. Just one word of the Gospel is enough to change man, to transform life. Jesus, we could say, does not address the ear and the mouth but the whole person. It is to the deaf mute, not to his ear, that he says: "Open up!". And it is the whole man who heals by "opening up" to God and the world. The close link between deafness and mutism is well known. Healing requires that both organs be healed. We could say that this is also true in the field of Christian faith. First of all, there is a need for the ear (man) to "open" to listening to the Word of God. Then the tongue loosens to speak. The link between listening to the word and the ability to communicate is close. He who does not listen remains silent, even in faith. This miracle makes us reflect on the connection between our words and the Word of God. Often we do not pay enough attention to the weight that our words have. Yet, it is through words that we express ourselves much more than we think. It is therefore necessary first of all to listen to the "Word" of God so that it purifies and fertilizes our "words", our language, our very way of expressing ourselves.