Newsletter – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B.

REFLECTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE – by Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart

People are amazed that Jesus can cure deafness. They are probably also amazed that Jesus would even be interested in giving any attention to a person who cannot hear. In his culture it was a popular belief that if you were deaf or blind or disabled in any way, it was because of a sin – your own sin or the sin of your parents. Anyone with such a condition was considered a social outcast, but Jesus is modelling a new type of behaviour. He reaches out to anyone and everyone – even the ones most people are afraid to touch or talk to.

What makes someone a social outcast in your school? (Please do not name any names, but discuss the traits or criteria that might be used to decide why a person might be given such a status.)

Who decides who the social outcasts are? Is there complete agreement, or do different people have different ideas of who is acceptable and who is not acceptable? Does everyone know their own status? Is everyone aware that they are cast as acceptable or not acceptable? If so, how do they know?

What would Jesus say about the social games that are played out by young people in their schools and in their circles of friends? What advice would Jesus give you? Are you willing to follow it? Why or why not?

Do you have any friends or relatives who are deaf? Do you know any sign language? If you yourself are deaf, what is it like not hearing in a world built for those who can hear?

© St Mary’s Press
Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart (1958-2011) gained her doctorate in education from Cardinal Stritch University and was associate director of early adolescent ministry in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Previously she served for six years as the director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Grand Island, Nebraska. She also established “Tomorrow’s Present”, a youth leadership ministry. She was a highly regarded speak and wrote many books on spirituality and youth ministry.