October 10, 2025
Friday of the Twenty-seventh
Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 465
Reading
I
Gird yourselves
and weep, O priests!
wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived
of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the elders,
all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God,
and cry to the LORD!
Alas, the day!
for near is the day of the LORD,
and it comes as ruin from the Almighty.
Blow the trumpet
in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming;
Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom,
a day of clouds and somberness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains,
a people numerous and mighty!
Their like has not been from of old,
nor will it be after them,
even to the years of distant generations.
Responsorial
Psalm
R.
(9) The Lord will judge the world with justice.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The prince of this world will now be cast out,
and when I am lifted up from the earth
I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When Jesus had
driven out a demon, some of the crowd said:
“By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
“When an unclean
spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101025.cfm
Commentary on Joel
1:13-15; 2:1-2
In today’s First Reading, the prophet calls for repentance
for many sins and gives a warning about “the day of the Lord” (or in some
translations, “the day of Yahweh”). The prophet excludes no one from the need
to repent and do penance. He begins with the priests and all those who serve in
the Temple. He calls on them to do night-long penance for they have failed in
their duties of liturgical service:
Grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the
house of your God.
A fast and a solemn assembly of the people is to be
proclaimed by the elders. Everyone in the country is to be called together in
the Temple. Similar exhortations to repentance and prayer recur in other parts
of the book. The interest that Joel displays in formal observance of the
liturgy contrasts markedly with the attitude of other prophets such as Amos,
Hosea, Micah, and Jeremiah, but Joel too insists on the need for inward
conversion.
In general, fasting was required on the Day of Atonement
(Yom Kippur) and also practised in times of calamity as a sign of penitence and
humility. The New Testament, both Matthew’s Gospel and Paul, speaks strongly
against outward signs that do not reflect a corresponding inward belief or
attitude (see Matt 6:1-8; 23:1-36).
The reason for the fast and the assembly is that:
…the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the
Almighty it comes.
The “day of the Lord” is the dominant theme of the Book of
Joel. Other prophets also use it, such as, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Obadiah,
Zephaniah and Malachi. Sometimes abbreviated as “that day” or “the day of
Yahweh”, the term often refers to the decisive intervention of God in history,
such as through the invasion of locusts in Joel. It can also refer to Christ’s
coming at the end of time.
Some translations also use the Hebrew word Shaddai in
referring to the “Almighty”. This is a play on the words shod (devastation)
and Shaddai (a name for God, i.e. “the Almighty”). The plague
of locusts at the beginning of the book heralds “the day of the Lord”, which is
a day of terror, even though, in the context of Joel (chaps 3-4), it brings the
ultimate triumph of Israel.
The last part of the reading is a sombre warning that “the
day of the Lord” is very near. “Blow the trumpet” is a warning of approaching
danger and the punishment of Israel for the coming day of wrath. The alarm is
to be raised on God’s holy mountain, that is, Mount Zion where the Temple was
situated. The trumpet, made of a ram’s or bull’s horn, was used to signal
approaching danger. Its sound could fill people with fear. It was also used to summon
Israel to religious gatherings. Hence it is to be the signal for the gathering
of all the elect on the last day.
The coming day is a “day of darkness and gloom”,
corresponding to the approach of locusts which darken the sky. The plague of
locusts mentioned in chapter 1 is a kind of parable for the coming “day of the
Lord”. Darkness is a common prophetic figure used of the day of the Lord and
generally a metaphor for distress and suffering.
As with the locusts, the day will come:
Like blackness spread upon the mountains, a great and
powerful army comes…
In some translations of this verse, the “blackness” spreads
‘like the dawn’. ‘Dawn’ usually suggests relief from gloom and the end of
darkness. Here, however, it is used ironically, describing the locust infestation
spreading across the land like the light of dawn, which first lights up the
eastern horizon and then spreads across the whole countryside.
But an infestation of locusts is as nothing compared to “the
day of the Lord”, whose like has never been seen before, and whose like will
never happen again.
Despite the somewhat apocalyptic language, the words of the
prophet are still applicable to our own situation. In our Church too, both
priests and people have often failed in their gospel responsibilities.
There is always a time for us to repent and do some
purifying penance. We are all, without a single exception, sinners. It is the
humble acknowledgment of this that sets us on the way to getting closer to God
and Jesus our Lord. It is understandable then, that this passage is also used
during the liturgy of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
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Commentary on Luke
11:15-26
As said by the prophet Jeremiah:
Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear. (Jer 5:21)
In today’s passage, Jesus frees a person from enslavement to
an evil power which had rendered him mute, so that he could not speak (in
Matthew’s version of this story, the man is also blind). As Christians, many of
us can suffer from the same evil influence when we refuse or are afraid to
acknowledge openly our Christian faith. We hide and we remain silent,
especially when the values we hold are attacked or ridiculed. Once liberated,
the man could speak and he did so, much to the amazement of the crowd. Let us,
too, pray for this gift of speech—to be able to say the right thing at the
right time.
But there were those present who accused Jesus of using the
demon’s power to drive out the evil spirit. At the same time, in spite of the
extraordinary signs that Jesus was initiating on almost a daily basis—including
the one they had just witnessed which caused such astonishment among the
people—his enemies asked him for a sign from God.
There is a clear gap between the leaders and the people
here. While the leaders keep asking Jesus for his credentials, the people are
shown as constantly praising and thanking God for all that is being done among
them through Jesus.
Jesus then shows the self-contradictions in his opponents’ charges.
A kingdom that is split by internal rivalries cannot survive. Why would evil
spirits attack each other and as such frustrate their goals? And, Jesus says to
his accusers:
Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do
your exorcists cast them out?….But if it is by the finger of God that I cast
out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
When people are liberated from the control of evil spirits,
that is a sure sign that the loving power of God is at work. Any other
interpretation does not make sense. And the ‘Kingdom of God’ is personified and
embodied in Jesus himself. It will also become present in his disciples who do
his work.
And Jesus goes on to give another image. A strong man
guarding his house and possessions remains undisturbed until someone stronger
comes and overthrows him. That is clearly what is happening. Jesus is the
stronger one and the evil spirits are being driven away by him. They are
helpless before him. This liberation of people and society from evil powers is
one of the most dramatic proofs that the all-powerful reign of God is present
in the person of Jesus. What further signs could be asked for?
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does
not gather with me scatters.
There can be no neutrality where Jesus is concerned. We have
to make our choice—for him or against. Not to choose is itself a choice—against
him. Compare this with the similar, but actually quite different saying we saw
earlier:
…for whoever is not against you is for you. (Luke
9:50)
This was in the context of the Apostle John complaining that
he saw a man cast out demons in Jesus’ name. In so far as that nameless person
was doing Jesus’ work and doing it in Jesus’ name, he was with Jesus. That
surely has implications for the many good things that non-Catholics and others
who are not Christians at all are doing.
And this saying about the non-acceptance of neutrality leads
to another warning. It is not enough to have been liberated from the power of
an evil (“unclean”) spirit. Otherwise this “unclean spirit” may say:
I will return to my house from which I came.
But:
When it returns, it finds it swept and put in order. Then
it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself…
The end result is that the evil spirits:
…enter and live there, and the last state of that person
is worse than the first.
No, instead, the emptiness left by the departure of the evil
spirit has to be actively filled with the Spirit of Jesus.
Was Jesus referring to some of the people around him? Was he
especially calling out his critics? These were people who by their meticulous
observance of the Law saw themselves as morally blameless, but in whose lives
the positive presence of the Spirit, as exemplified in Jesus himself, was
totally absent.
It is easy to use the sacrament of reconciliation to get the
forgiveness of our past sins and leave it at that, feeling comfortable with
having a ‘clean slate’. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but the devil loves
one!
The true reconciliation that the sacrament calls for, even demands,
is a new and stronger commitment to the living of our Christian life. The
sacrament is intended to be an experience of conversion and change. It is much
more concerned with the future than with the past. The past is gone and
there is nothing we can do about it. The present is in our hands and that is
where we meet God.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1276g/
Friday,
October 10, 2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Father,
your love for us surpasses all
our hopes and desires. Forgive our failings, keep us in your peace and lead us
in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Luke 11: 15-26
Jesus was driving out a devil, but some of the people said,
'It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that He drives devils out.'
Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they
were thinking, He said to them, 'Any kingdom which is divided against itself is
heading for ruin, and house collapses against house.
So, too, with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can
his kingdom last? - since you claim that it is through Beelzebul that I drive
devils out. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I drive devils out, through
whom do your own sons drive them out? They shall be your judges, then. But if
it is through the finger of God that I drive devils out, then the kingdom of
God has indeed caught you unawares. So long as a strong man fully armed guards
his own home, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than himself
attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied
on and shares out his spoil.
'Anyone who is not with me is
against me; and anyone who does not gather in with me throws away.
'When an unclean spirit goes out of someone it wanders through
waterless country looking for a place to rest, and not finding one it says,
"I will go back to the home I came from." But on arrival, finding it
swept and tidied, it then goes off and brings seven other spirits more wicked
than itself, and they go in and set up house there, and so that person ends up
worse off than before.'
Reflection
Today's Gospel speaks about a
long discussion around the expulsion of a mute demon which Jesus had performed
before the people.
•
Luke 11: 14-16: Three diverse reactions in the
face of that expulsion. Jesus was casting out devils. Before this very visible
fact, in front of everyone, there were three different reactions. People were
surprised, astonished and applauded. Others said: "it is in the name of Beelzebul
that He casts out devils." The Gospel of Mark tells us that it was a
question of the Scribes who had gone to Jerusalem to control the activity of
Jesus (Mk 3: 22). Others still asked for a sign from heaven because they were
not convinced by a sign as evident as the expulsion done in front of all the
people.
•
Luke 11: 17-19: Jesus shows the incoherence of
the enemies. Jesus uses two arguments to confront the accusation of casting out
the devil in the name of Beelzebul. In the first place, if the devil casts out
the devil himself, he divides himself and will not survive. In the second
place, Jesus gives them back their argument: If I cast out the demons in name
of Beelzebul, your disciples cast them out in whose name? With these words,
they were also casting out demons in the name of Beelzebul.
•
Luke 11: 20-23: Jesus is the strongest man who
has come, a sign of the arrival of the Kingdom. Here Jesus leads us to the
central point of his argument: "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his
own home, his goods are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than himself
attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied
on and shares his spoil." According to the opinion of the people of that
time, Satan dominated the world through the demons. He was a strong and
well-armed man who guarded his house. The great novelty was the fact that Jesus
succeeded to cast out the demons. This was a sign that He was and is the
strongest man who has come. With the coming of Jesus, the kingdom of Beelzebul
was declining: "But if it is through the finger of God that I drive devils
out, then the kingdom of God has indeed caught you unawares." When the
magicians of Pharaoh saw that Moses did things that they were not capable of
doing, they were more honest than the Scribes before Jesus and they said:
"Here is the finger of God!" (Ex 8: 16-19).
•
Luke 11: 24-26: The second fall is worse than
the first one. At the time of Luke in the 80's, a time of persecution, many
Christians returned back and abandoned the community. They went back to live as
before. To warn them and all of us, Luke keeps these words of Jesus about the
second fall which is worse than the first one.
•
The expulsion of the demons. The first impact
caused by the action of Jesus among the people is the expulsion of the demons:
"He gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him!" (Mk 1:
27). One of the principal causes of the discussion of Jesus with the Scribes
was the expulsion of the devils. They slandered against Him saying: "He is
possessed by Beelzebul!" "It is in the name of Beelzebul, head of
demons that He casts out devils!" The first power that the Apostles
received when they were sent out on mission was the power to drive out demons.
"He gave them authority over unclean spirits" (Mk 6: 7). The first
sign which accompanies the announcement of the Resurrection is the expulsion of
demons. "The signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they
will cast out devils!" (Mk 16: 17). The expulsion of devils was what
struck people more (Mc 1: 27). This reached the center of the Good News of the
Kingdom. By means of the expulsion Jesus restored or recovered persons to
themselves. He restored their judgment and their conscience (Mk 5: 15).
Especially in the Gospel of Mark, from beginning until the end, with words
which are almost the same, constantly repeats the same image: "And Jesus
cast out devils!" (Mk 1: 26, 34, 39; 3: 11-12, 22, 30; 5: 1-20; 6: 7, 13;
7: 25-29; 9: 25-27, 38; 16: 17). It seems to be a refrain which is always repeated.
Today, instead of always using the same words, we will use different words to
transmit the same image and we will say: "Jesus overcame the power of
evil, Satan, who causes so much fear to people, He dominated him, seized him,
conquered him, cast him out, eliminated him, exterminated him, destroyed him
and killed him!" By this the Gospel wants to tell us: "It is
forbidden to the Christian to fear Satan!" By his Resurrection and by his
liberating action, Jesus drives away from us the fear of Satan, He gives
freedom to the heart, firmness in our actions and causes hope to emerge in the
horizon! We should walk along the path of Jesus savoring the victory over the
power of evil!
Personal Questions
•
To drive out the power of evil. Which is today
the power of evil which standardizes people and robs from them the critical
conscience?
•
Can you say that you are completely free? In the
case of a negative response, some part of you is under the power of other
forces. What do you do in order to cast out this power which dominates you?
Concluding Prayer
Full of splendor and majesty his work, his saving
justice stands firm forever. He gives us a memorial of his great deeds;
Yahweh is mercy and tenderness. (Ps 111: 3-4)
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