Jesus of the deaf: A christological anaysis of mark 7: 31-37 Bodoraya Ser Allan G.1 1Prof. Ser Allan G. Bodoraya,Assistant Professor, Institute of Religion, University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila, Philippines. <sgbodoraya@ust.edu.ph Online published on 2 March, 2021. Abstract Ministers and supporters of the Deaf community have made numerous efforts to welcome the Deaf in the Catholic Church. One of these endeavors is to guide them in their formation in the Catholic faith. This faith hopefully would bring them to their full inclusion in the Church. This sense of inclusivity motivates the Church in integrally forming the Deaf to become active and responsible members of their respective ecclesial communities. The Catholic faith centers on the knowledge about Christ. However, there are still problems on how to impart this Christian faith to them. The language barrier, profound theological terms, and negative perception about the capacity of the Deaf to understand are only a few issues that the Church should address. In this article, the author aims to tackle those issues and seek some light on how ministers, educators, and catechists become more open to the concerns of the Deaf, particularly in matters regarding their faith in Christ. With this, the author intends to present: (1) Deaf identity as an essential foundation to understanding Deaf worldview; (2) a survey of different Christological doctrines, terminologies, and reflections vis-à-vis Deaf identity and culture; (3) and a Christological analysis of the story about Christ's healing a deaf person in Mark 7: 31 37. The Markan healing account is a resource in which one can gauge a general view on the relationship between deafness and the Christian faith. Top Keywords Deaf, Deafness, Faith, Christology, Catechesis, Gospel of Mark. Top |