The liturgy at this time includes the incident where Jesus heals the deaf and mute man, using his own saliva and the Aramaic word, ephphatha – ‘be opened!’
When Jesus’ original Aramaic words are used in the Gospels, the Evangelists wanted to emphasize the original power of Christ’s original utterance.
They are used deliberately to underscore the intimacy of the moment and the personal relationship of Jesus with the one with whom He is communicating.
When we are spiritually and emotionally paralyzed, unable to receive God’s love and cut off from the spiritual energies within our souls, we need to allow Christ to whisper into our depths – ephphatha!
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