February 14, 2025
Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk,
and Methodius, Bishop
Lectionary: 333
Reading 1
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in
the garden
at the breezy time of the day,
the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1a) Blessed are those whose sins
are forgiven.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021425.cfm
Saints Cyril, Monk,
and Methodius, Bishop
Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine Greek brothers from a
noble family in Thessalonika, a district in north-eastern Greece. Methodius was
born about 815 AD, and Cyril (known through most of his life as Constantine)
the younger, was born about 827 AD. Though belonging to a senatorial family,
they set aside all secular honours and became priests. They were living as
monks in a monastery on the Bosphorous, when the Khazars sent a request to
Constantinople asking for a Christian teacher . (At the height of their empire,
the Khazars controlled much of what is today southern Russia, western
Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan and large portions of the Caucasus.)
Constantine was chosen, but his brother went with him. They
learned the Khazar language and made many converts. Soon afterwards, there was
also a request from the Moravians for a preacher of the Gospel (Moravia is
today in the east of the Czech Republic). German missionaries had been working
there, but because they did not know the local language, met with little
success. The Moravians wanted someone who could teach them, and conduct their
liturgy in the Slavonic language.
Because of their knowledge of the language, Constantine and
Methodius were chosen. They went to Moravia in 863 AD and worked there for four
and a half years. However, to do their work more effectively, Constantine
devised an alphabet, based on the Greek alphabet, but with extra letters to
accommodate sounds in the Slavonic language. With the help of his brother, he
then translated the Gospels and the needed liturgical books into the Slavonic
language which now could also be read using the new alphabet (the alphabet is
called ‘Cyrillic’ after its creator).
In spite of their success, they were not trusted by the
German church. This happened, first, because they had come from Constantinople
where the church was very divided by schism and, second, because they
celebrated the liturgy in the Slavonic language rather than Latin. Because of
this, they were called to Rome by Pope Nicholas I, who, however, died before
their arrival. They were received kindly by his successor, Pope Adrian II.
Having been convinced of their doctrinal orthodoxy, the pope approved of their
missionary work, sanctioned the use of Slavonic in the liturgy and ordained
Methodius and Constantine bishops. They had arrived in Rome in 868 AD where Constantine
entered a monastery, taking the name Cyril, by which he is now remembered.
However, he died only a few weeks later on 4 February, 869 and is buried in the
Church of San Clemente (now taken care of by Irish Dominicans).
At the request of the Moravian princes and a Slav prince,
the people established the Archdiocese of Moravia and Pannonia, and made it
independent of the German church. Methodius was its first archbishop. But two
years later in 870 AD, Methodius was called to a synod in Ratisbon. There, he
was deposed and put in prison.
Three years later he was released on the orders of Pope John
VIII and reinstated. However, he was again called to Rome on the allegations of
a German priest, Wiching, who questioned his orthodoxy and his use of the Slavonic
language instead of Latin. After an enquiry, the use of Slavonic was approved
with the proviso that the Gospel had first to be read in Latin before being
read in Slavonic. Wiching then became a suffragan bishop under Methodius, but
continued to oppose him. One of the last things Methodius did was to go to
Constantinople where, with the help of some priests, he completed the
translation of the Bible, with the exception of the Books of Maccabees. Worn
out by his labours and struggles, Methodius died on 6 April, 885.
Formerly the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius was
celebrated in Bohemia and Moravia on 9 March, but Pope Pius IX changed the date
to 5 July. Pope Leo XIII, by his Encyclical Grande Munus of 30
September, 1880, extended the feast to the universal Church. On 1 October,
1999, Saints Cyril and Methodius were named Patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul
II together with Saints Benedict, Bridget of Sweden, Catherine of Siena and
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).
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Commentary on
Genesis 3:1-8
Today, a passage full of meaning as we hear about the Fall
of the Man and the Woman.
Everything that God had made was very good, including the
Man and the Woman. Here, they are not given here the names “Adam” and “Eve”
which we find elsewhere. They are not, strictly speaking, specific individuals;
they are ‘Everyman’ and ‘Everywoman’, i.e. you and me. They lived in perfect
innocence and happiness, totally without shame or embarrassment in their
pristine nakedness.
But now sin enters the picture. The source of evil is in the
guise of a snake. It is described here as “more crafty than another wild animal
that the Lord God had made”. Probably few people really like snakes. They are
perceived as slimy and sinuous and slither along the ground; they have those
beady eyes and those poisonous tongues. Of course, in reality, many snakes are
quite harmless and most have no interest in attacking humans.
Notice how the temptation works. The Tempter approaches the
Woman. Is it because she is seen to be more vulnerable, more fickle, less
reliable (solely a male view!)? It begins with an innocuous question which can
easily be dealt with: “Is it true that God said you could not eat from any of
the trees in the garden?”
The Woman replies:
Oh no! We can eat of any tree in the garden with just one
exception. We may not touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil on pain
of death.
“Oh come, come,” says the Tempter. “You will not die. On the
contrary you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” What the Tempter said
was true, but only partially so. They would not die physically if they ate the
fruit, but their relationship with God would die, and they would eventually
lose their immortality of life in the Garden.
And then they would indeed be able to distinguish good from
evil because now, filled with guilt and shame, they would know what evil really
was, and how they had lost the original goodness with which they had been
blessed.
However, the Woman hears what she wants to hear. She takes a
closer look at the forbidden tree and finds its fruit extremely attractive, in
addition to the desirability of getting that knowledge (incidentally, the fruit
is not specified…no mention of apples!).
We might notice here that real temptation always comes under
the guise of some good. No one chooses something which is totally evil or bad.
Whether we beat up someone, have sex, or steal, or put down another person –
there is always some apparent good attracting us. “Revenge”, for instance, “is
sweet.” But it is also very wrong. “Sex is fantastic”, but it can be highly
degrading of both parties.
The Woman clearly understood that it was wrong to pick the
fruit, but she was persuaded by the good things the Tempter had pointed out to
her. They outweighed the commandment of God. The Woman then made her decision,
picked some of the fruit and ate it. She also offered some to Man and he,
equally aware of what God had said, ate some.
In this patriarchal account, there is an implication that
the Man’s guilt is somehow, somewhat less. He might never have been tempted if
it had not been for the Woman. It is the seduction of Woman that is Man’s
downfall. However, because the Man is the original source of life, it is he,
more than the Woman, who passes on the fruits of his sin to his descendants.
Then, what the Tempter had said became true: their eyes were
opened, and they realised they were naked. In other words, they became aware of
the wrong they had done and were filled with guilt and shame. So they hastily
tried to hide their shame by covering their sexual organs with fig leaves sewn
together.
Perhaps this is also a way of explaining the origin of our
sensitivity about the intimate parts of our body. It is something which is very
much a feature of the Old Testament, and has been picked up by both Christians
and certainly Muslims, who, in some cultures, keep women covered from head to
toe. But we also know that, in some warmer climates, there are people who go
around without any clothes and are perfectly comfortable about it.
But the shame of the Man and the Woman went further. As God
came walking in the garden in the cool of the evening (what a lovely image!),
the Man and Woman did not dare to face him…they hid. Yes, their eyes had been
opened but not in the way they expected. The “cool of the evening” is literally
“the wind of the day”. On most days in Palestine a cooling breeze blows from
the sea shortly before sunset.
Yes, the ways of the Tempter are very subtle indeed and we
get caught again and again. This subject has been treated with both humour and
insight by C. S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters.
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Commentary on Mark
7:31-37
Jesus is still in gentile territory. He has now moved east
from the Mediterranean coast to the interior, on the east side of the Sea of
Galilee, in the area of the Decapolis (Greek for “Ten Towns”).
A deaf and mute man is brought to Jesus for healing. He
takes the man aside, puts his fingers in the man’s ears, touches his tongue
with spittle, looks up to heaven and prays, “Be opened”. Immediately the man’s
ears are opened, his tongue loosed and he is able to speak plainly. As often happens
in the Gospel, the people who witnessed the miracle are told not to say
anything about it to anyone:
…but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they
proclaimed it.
The people “were astounded beyond measure” and they said:
He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to
hear and the mute to speak.
As is common in the Gospels, and especially in Mark, what we
have here is much more than a miracle story, i.e. the healing of a physical
ailment. We are approaching a climactic part of this Gospel, and this passage
leads into it. What Jesus does to this man is something that is meant to happen
to every one of his followers, including his immediate disciples.
We all need to have our ears opened so that we can hear, and
understand in its fullness, the message of Jesus. In addition to that, once we
have heard and understood, the natural consequence is that we go out and speak
openly to the world about what we have heard and understood. Both hearing and
speaking are inseparable for the Christian disciple.
And so, in the older form of the baptismal rite, the
celebrant touched the ears of the one being baptised and put saliva on the lips
(saliva was then still believed to have healing powers). This rite symbolises
the grace of the sacrament by which the newly baptised (in speaking about an
adult) hears and accepts the Word of God, and undertakes the responsibility of
proclaiming it in word and action.
And, as in today’s story, when we have truly experienced the
power of that message and the love of God in our own lives, we cannot but do
what that man did – broadcast it far and wide.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/
Friday, February 14,
2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Father, watch over your family and keep us safe in your
care, for all our hope is in you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Gospel Reading -
Mark 7: 31-37
Returning from the territory of Tyre, Jesus went by way of
Sidon towards the Lake of Galilee, right through the Decapolis territory. And
they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked
him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside to be by themselves, away from
the crowd, put his fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue with
spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened.' And
his ears were opened, and at once the impediment of his tongue was loosened and
he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more
he insisted, the more widely they proclaimed it. Their admiration
was unbounded, and they said, 'Everything he does is good,
he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.'
Reflection
In today’s Gospel, Jesus cures a deaf-mute. This episode is
not known very much. In the episode of the Canaanite woman, Jesus goes beyond
the frontiers of the national territory and accepts a foreign woman who did not
belong to the people and with whom it was forbidden to speak. In today’s Gospel
we notice this same opening.
• Mark 7: 31. The region of the Decapolis. “At
that time, returning from the territory of Tyre, Jesus went to Sidon toward the
Lake of Galilee, right through the Decapolis territory.” Decapolis literally
means: Ten cities. This was a region of ten cities in the southeast part of
Galilee, and its population was pagan.
• Mark 7: 31-35. To
open the ears and to loosen the tongue. A deaf-mute man was brought before
Jesus. People wanted Jesus to place his hands on him. But Jesus goes far beyond
this request. He leads the man aside from the crowd, put his finger into the
man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle,
looking up to Heaven, he sighed deeply and said: “Éffata!”, that is, “Be opened!” At that
same moment, his ears were opened, and at once the impediment of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly.
Jesus wants the people to open the ears and to loosen the tongue!
• Mark 7:
36-37: Jesus wants no publicity. “And he ordered them not to
tell anyone about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they
proclaimed it. Their admiration was unbounded,
and they said: “Everything he does is good, he makes the deaf hear and
the dumb speak.” He prohibits that the
cure be diffused,
but in fact that does not happen. Those who have experienced what Jesus has
done, go and tell others, whether Jesus wants it or not! The persons who were
present at the cure began to proclaim what they have seen and summarize the
Good News as follows: “Everything he does is good; he makes the deaf hear and
the dumb speak!” This affirmation of the people makes us remember creation, when
it was said: God saw that everything was good!” (Gn 1: 31) And this also recalls
the prophecy of Isaiah, where he says that in the future the deaf will hear and
the dumb will speak (Is 29: 28; 35: 5. cf. Mt 11: 5).
• The recommendation not to tell anybody. Sometimes,
the attention which Mark’s Gospel attributes to the prohibition of Jesus to
diffuse the cure is exaggerated, as if Jesus had some secret that he wants to
keep. In most cases in which Jesus works a miracle, he does not ask for
silence. Rather, once he
even asked for
publicity (Mk 5: 19). Sometimes, he
orders not to diffuse the cure (Mk 1: 44; 5: 43; 7: 36; 8: 26) but obtains the
contrary result. The more he prohibits it, the more the Good News is diffused
(Mk 1: 28, 45; 3: 7-8; 7: 36-37). It serves nothing to prohibit! The interior
force of the Good News is so great that it diffuses by itself.
• Growing openness in the Gospel of Mark. Throughout
the pages of Mark’s Gospel, there is a growing openness toward the other
populations. Thus, Mark leads the readers to open themselves toward the reality
of the world around and to overcome the preconceptions which prevent the
peaceful living together among the different populations. When he passed through the Decapolis, a pagan region, Jesus
responded to the request of the people of the place and cured a deaf-mute man.
He is not afraid to be contaminated with the impurity of a pagan, because in
curing him, he touches his ears and
his tongue. In
what regards the authority, two Jews and the disciples themselves have
difficulty to hear and to understand that a pagan who was deaf and dumb can now
hear and speak thanks to Jesus who touched him. It recalls the song of the
servant “The Lord God has opened the ears, and I listen to him” (Is 50: 4-5).
In driving the merchants out of the Temple, Jesus criticizes the unjust trade
and affirms that the temple should be a house of prayer for all peoples (Mk 11:
17). In the parable of the wicked tenants, Mark refers to the fact that the
message will be taken away from the chosen people, the Jews, and will be given
to others, the pagans (Mk 12: 1-12). After the death of Jesus, Mark presents
the profession of faith of a pagan at the foot of the Cross. In quoting the
Roman centurion and how he recognizes the Son of God in Jesus, he is saying
that the pagan is more faithful than the disciples and more faithful than the
Jews (Mk 15: 39). The openness for the pagans appears very clearly in the final
order given by Jesus to the disciples, after his Resurrection:
“Go out to the
whole world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation” (Mk 16: 15).
Personal Questions
• Jesus shows a great openness toward persons
of another race, another religion and of other customs. We Christians, today,
do we have the same openness? Do I have this openness?
• Definition of the Good News: “Everything Jesus
does is good!” Am I good News for others?
Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song
to Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!
Sing to Yahweh,
bless his name! (Ps 96: 1-2)
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