Language is one of the most amazing of all of God’s gifts. It’s what makes us unique to all of God’s creations. We possess language. Sure, animals can communicate, in various ways, but nothing like our use of language.Think about it. Language began as sounds and gestures and then became symbols made to represent objects and ideas connected to those sounds and gestures. And all of these things came together as words that we use to communicate with one another. It is astounding at the many different ways that words exist.
         We have the spoken word in many languages, with a variety of meanings, not to mention accents and dialects. We have the written word filling untold volumes of books, magazines, letters, emails, notes, stories, newspaper articles, ads, and a host of other ways that words are displayed, all around us, for our eyes to see and read.
         Words can be sung, or rapped, or recited, or proclaimed, or rhymed, or chanted, or yelled, or whispered, or mouthed without sound, or cried, or even echoed. There are pictures that mean words, like hieroglyphics. There are words for Deaf people in sign language. Blind people can even feel words through Braille.
         Words are very powerful. They can lift us up or tear us down. They can make us angry or bring us great joy. They can increase our knowledge or deceive us. They can be words of truth or painful lies. Words can bring us peace or incite us to violence. Words can be things of beauty and light or they can reflect ugliness and darkness.
         Words can be used to bless or to curse.
         But what Jesus tells us about words is most important. In Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 7 verses 24-27 Jesus says, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
         We’ve all heard that talk is cheap and so we learn from Jesus that just saying the right words, or even repeating the words we’ve heard however powerful, is not enough. We have to put those words into practice in our lives.
         Some of the words that describe how Jesus lived are the most powerful words of all – words like: compassionate, merciful, forgiving, kind, just, thoughtful, loving, trustworthy, self-sacrificing, humble, and even obedient
         We can all say those words but can we put them into action in our lives and the lives of others? As we have seen every month, at God’s Special Children’s Mass, even those who have difficulty speaking, or who cannot speak at all, are still able to be the living embodiment of those same words we use to describe Jesus.
         St. Francis of Assisi understood about the power of words. St. Francis said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”. At God’s Special Children’s Mass the Gospel is constantly being preached – and not just by the priest or deacon or in a homily. The Gospel message shines through from God’s Special Children themselves as well as their friends and family. So there’s only one word left to say about that…                         

"Aaaamen!"

God bless you,

Father Mike Mitchell