February 09, Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Apollonia
Daily readings: 1 Kings 11:29-32, 12:19, Mark 7:31-37.
Israelite Prophets are spokespersons and mouthpieces of God. Often, their lives are symbolic. We have an episode from Prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. The name Ahijah means “Brothers of the Lord” or “God is my brother”. He not only foretells the kingship of Jeroboam but also the division of the United Kingdom of Solomon into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. In today’s reading, he appears with a new garment and tears it into twelve pieces in the presence of Jeroboam as a sign of division.
Even at this disastrous moment, God spares one tribe for the sake of his servant David and Jerusalem, the city He has chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. That was also the cause of the rebellion of the ten northern tribes, out of anger and jealousy. God does not lose any opportunity to establish his fidelity. Solomon faltered and sinned about pagan worship. Jeroboam went a step above his father when he invented a new religion for God’s people for political reasons. Humans forget God’s wonders accomplished in their lives and then begin to play gods. It is in this context that God intervenes decisively!
Jesus is in the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon. He encounters a deaf and dumb person. The man's bound and unclean tongue catches his attention. Therefore, he conducts a brief ritual of cleansing. He puts his fingers into the ears of the man and touches the tongue with his spit. He then raises his eyes to the heavens and prays with a sigh, “Ephphatha,” which means “Be opened”.
According to Evangelist Mark, he immediately opened his ears, released his tongue, and spoke plainly. The Gospel acclamation rightly acclaims, “Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son” (Acts 16:14b). It is also the apt response to God’s exhortation in the responsorial Psalm according to Ps 81: “I am the Lord, your God; hear my voice”. The sins of Solomon and Jeroboam are their inability to hear and obey the voice of God.
Holy Mother Church honours the memory of St. Apollonia, a virgin martyr from Alexandria under the rule of Decius. Together with a few more virgins, she persevered in preserving her faith in Jesus during the time of severe persecution.
Call to Action for Catholic Living: The people in the region of Tyre and Sidon exclaimed, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak” (Mark 7:37). If he has blessed us with good ears and mouths, we should never tire of listening to God’s word and proclaiming it.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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