Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
Lectionary: 314
Lectionary: 314
Jesus is always
able to save those who approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.
The main point of what has been said is this:
we have such a high priest,
who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary
and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.
Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices;
thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer.
If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest,
since there are those who offer gifts according to the law.
They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary,
as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle.
For God says, “See that you make everything
according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry
as he is mediator of a better covenant,
enacted on better promises.
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.
The main point of what has been said is this:
we have such a high priest,
who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary
and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.
Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices;
thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer.
If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest,
since there are those who offer gifts according to the law.
They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary,
as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle.
For God says, “See that you make everything
according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry
as he is mediator of a better covenant,
enacted on better promises.
Responsorial PsalmPS 40:7-8A, 8B-9, 10, 17
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you,
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, “The LORD be glorified.”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you,
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, “The LORD be glorified.”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
AlleluiaSEE 2 TM 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 3:7-12
Jesus withdrew
toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
Meditation: All pressed upon Jesus
Is there anything
holding you back from giving yourself to God without fear or reservation? Jesus
offered freedom to everyone who sought him out. Wherever Jesus went the people
came to him because they had heard about all the wonderful deeds and miracles which
he performed. They were hungry for God and desired healing from their
afflictions. In faith they pressed upon Jesus to touch him. As
they did so power came from Jesus and they were healed. Do you seek to lay hold
of Jesus' presence in your life that he may touch and heal you?
Augustine of Hippo
remarked:
It is by faith that we
touch Jesus. And far better to touch him by faith than to touch or handle him
with the hands only and not by faith. It was no great thing to merely touch him
manually. Even his oppressors doubtless touched him when they apprehended him,
bound him, and crucified him, but by their ill-motivated touch they lost
precisely what they were laying hold of. O worldwide church! It is by touching
him faithfully that your “faith has made you whole.” (SERMONS, ON EASTER
148)
Why did Jesus perform
so many countless miracles and signs during his earthly ministry? Cyril of
Alexandria (376-444 AD ) wrote that these signs and miracles showed that Jesus
was truly God - the eternal Word who was made flesh for our salvation:
[Jesus] performed very
many wonderful miracles, rebuking demons, delivering from incurable diseases
whoever drew near to him, and displaying his own most divine power. He did
these works so that both the Jews, who had run together to him, and those from
the country of the Greeks might know that Christ was not some ordinary man of
those in our degree but, on the contrary, God. He honored these chosen
disciples with the dignity of the apostolate. He was the Word that was made man
but retained nevertheless his own glory. “For power went forth from him and
healed all.” Christ did not borrow strength from some other person, but being
himself God by nature, even though he had become flesh, he healed them all, by
the demonstration of power over the sick.(COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 25)
Why did the demons
tremble in the presence of Jesus (Mark 3:11)? They recognized that his power
and authority came from heaven and not from earth. But while they confessed
Christ and trembled in his presence, they did not respond in love.
When you read God's
word and consider all that Jesus said and did, how do you respond? With
indifference, hesitation, or skepticism, or with expectant faith and willing
obedience? Ask the Lord Jesus to draw you to himself with increasing faith,
fervent love, and eager readiness to do his will.
"Lord Jesus
Christ, you are the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Inflame my heart
with a burning love for you and with an expectant faith in your saving power.
Set me free from all that hinders me from drawing closer to you."
 Touching the Lord |
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January 22, 2015.
Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
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Mark 3:7-12
Jesus withdrew
toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from
Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people
came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and
from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat
ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had
cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to
touch him. And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down
before him and shout, "You are the Son of God." He warned them
sternly not to make him known.
Introductory
Prayer: Lord, this time of prayer
should be everything for me: the moment that I long for, the food that
sustains me, the comfort that strengthens me. I know that you are at work in
me even when I don’t feel you and don’t even seem able to perceive your
presence. I want to pray fervently and from the heart, not just with my
mind.
Petition: Lord, help me to touch you in this moment of prayer. Help me to touch you in the Eucharist so that your presence will transform me.
1. Was
Jesus Afraid? In yesterday’s
Gospel text, Jesus silenced the Pharisees in the synagogue. So incensed were
they against the Lord that they began to plot with the Herodians to kill him.
Now Jesus has retreated from the synagogues to the lakeshore and the open
fields. Was Christ afraid? Was he running from his enemies? Hardly. The Lord
was simply aware that his hour had not yet come. When it does approach, he
will embrace it by marching resolutely to Jerusalem and his passion and
death. The ones who really are afraid are the demons. They recognize that God
is manifesting his power through Christ, and they tremble before him. The Son
of God has come to win back what Satan’s lies have stolen. Does Christ’s
power accompanying me in my life give me the courage I need to confront any
situation as his witness?
2. To
Touch the Lord: In this vivid
Gospel scene, the crowds of stricken humanity clamor around Jesus. Jews and
gentiles journey from the far away regions of Idumea to the south, and Tyre
and Sidon to the north, to catch a glimpse of the Master, to hear him speak
words that no one has ever spoken before—to touch him and be healed of their
infirmities. Oh, that we too had lived during the time of Christ in order to
touch him and be cured of our sadness and selfishness, our heartache and
egotism, our loneliness and lies, and even our physical ailments! Did Christ
love those people who surrounded him by the lakeshore more than he loves us?
No. He enables us to touch him more easily than they – every time we receive
him in the Eucharist. Then why are we not yet healed? The disciples once
cried out to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” And he replied, “If you had faith
the size of a mustard seed….”
3. The
Person of Christ: Irresistible: How
can we grow in our faith in Christ? How can we, too, experience the irresistible
attraction of his person like the crowds in Mark’s Gospel did? Nothing fills
our life as much as contemplating the figure of Christ and perceiving the
irresistible power of attraction he exercises through the centuries. Draw
close to him, and in the depths of your souls contemplate him in all of the
beauty of his human and divine stature. Along with the Eucharist, it is
through prayer that we can come to touch Christ. Prayer is the most solemn
moment for confessing our love; it is the raison d’être of our life, the
ideal of our apostolate, the nourishment of our whole existence.
Conversation with
Christ: Thank you, Lord, for
letting me catch a glimpse of who you are through this meditation. Help me to
respond to the attraction of your person with my whole life and to hold
nothing back from you.
Resolution: I will visit Christ in the Eucharist or make a
spiritual communion to thank him for his love and to contemplate him in the
beauty of his divine and human stature.
By Father Walter
Schu, LC
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22,
MARK 3:7-12
(Hebrews 7:25--8:6; Psalm 40)
KEY VERSE: "He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him" (v 10).
TO KNOW: After his confrontation with the religious leaders in the synagogue, Jesus withdrew to the area around the Sea of Galilee. There he would concentrate on the formation of his disciples. As Jesus taught and healed people, he attracted large crowds from many regions: Jerusalem in the south, Tyre and Sidon in the north, Idumea to the east, and even beyond the Jordan River to the west. Jesus was creating a new people of God made up of all peoples. When he encountered some individuals possessed by "unclean spirits" (v 11), they identified him as the "Son of God" (v 11). Ancient people believed that they could gain mastery over a spirit by naming it, and the demons made the effort to ward off God's power. Jesus silenced the demonic attempt to thwart God's plan. By naming the enemy, Jesus had power over them.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, help me to reach out for your healing touch.
TO SERVE: Have I named the evil spirits that are present in my life?
(Hebrews 7:25--8:6; Psalm 40)
KEY VERSE: "He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him" (v 10).
TO KNOW: After his confrontation with the religious leaders in the synagogue, Jesus withdrew to the area around the Sea of Galilee. There he would concentrate on the formation of his disciples. As Jesus taught and healed people, he attracted large crowds from many regions: Jerusalem in the south, Tyre and Sidon in the north, Idumea to the east, and even beyond the Jordan River to the west. Jesus was creating a new people of God made up of all peoples. When he encountered some individuals possessed by "unclean spirits" (v 11), they identified him as the "Son of God" (v 11). Ancient people believed that they could gain mastery over a spirit by naming it, and the demons made the effort to ward off God's power. Jesus silenced the demonic attempt to thwart God's plan. By naming the enemy, Jesus had power over them.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, help me to reach out for your healing touch.
TO SERVE: Have I named the evil spirits that are present in my life?
DAY OF PENANCE AND PRAYER FOR VIOLATIONS OF
HUMAN LIFE THROUGH ACTS OF ABORTION
On January 22, our nation will recall that day in 1973, when the Supreme Court of the United States handed down the infamous decision, Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Since that time nearly 57 million babies have been lost, and countless women and men have suffered from the devastation of abortion. The US Bishops have designated that day as a day of prayer and penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.
On January 22, our nation will recall that day in 1973, when the Supreme Court of the United States handed down the infamous decision, Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Since that time nearly 57 million babies have been lost, and countless women and men have suffered from the devastation of abortion. The US Bishops have designated that day as a day of prayer and penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.
Thursday 22 January 2015
St Vincent Pallotti.
Hebrews 7:25 – 8:6. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will—Ps 39(40):7-10, 17. Mark 3:7-12.
Hebrews 7:25 – 8:6. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will—Ps 39(40):7-10, 17. Mark 3:7-12.
He warned them strongly not
to make him known.
Jesus, the hidden Messiah,
confounds our ordinary expectations. It is he who chooses to reveal himself. We
cannot summon him to appear like a genie from a bottle, a being able to work
great signs and marvels but really a slave, bound by our whims. Jesus is not
that kind of wonder-worker and he admonishes the unclean spirits who acclaim
him as the Son of God, lest his miracles be misunderstood.
Son of God he is, but the
God revealed in him gives himself to us freely. Can we say the same of our
response to his gift, or do we want it to be on our terms?
We pray that we may find
the Word of God in the words of men and women.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
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Trust in Jesus
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When all else fails, I recommend taking up the prayer Jesus taught
us through St. Faustina and making it the constant refrain of your heart and
mind throughout every season of your spiritual journey: “Jesus, I trust in you.”
January
22
St. Vincent
(d. 304)
St. Vincent
(d. 304)
When Jesus deliberately began his “journey” to death, Luke says
that he “set his face” to go to Jerusalem. It is this quality of rocklike
courage that distinguishes the martyrs.
Most of
what we know about this saint comes from the poet Prudentius. His Actshave
been rather freely colored by the imagination of their compiler. But St.
Augustine, in one of his sermons on St. Vincent, speaks of having the Acts of
his martyrdom before him. We are at least sure of his name, his being a deacon,
the place of his death and burial.
According
to the story we have (and as with some of the other early martyrs the unusual
devotion he inspired must have had a basis in a very heroic life), Vincent was
ordained deacon by his friend St. Valerius of Zaragossa in Spain. The Roman
emperors had published their edicts against the clergy in 303, and the
following year against the laity. Vincent and his bishop were imprisoned in
Valencia. Hunger and torture failed to break them. Like the youths in the fiery
furnace (Book of Daniel, chapter three), they seemed to thrive on suffering.
Valerius
was sent into exile, and Dacian, the Roman governor, now turned the full
force of his fury on Vincent. Tortures that sound very modern were tried. But
their main effect was the progressive disintegration of Dacian himself. He had
the torturers beaten because they failed.
Finally
he suggested a compromise: Would Vincent at least give up the sacred books to
be burned according to the emperor’s edict? He would not. Torture on the
gridiron continued, the prisoner remaining courageous, the torturer losing
control of himself. Vincent was thrown into a filthy prison cell—and converted
the jailer. Dacian wept with rage, but strangely enough, ordered the prisoner
to be given some rest.
Friends
among the faithful came to visit him, but he was to have no earthly rest. When
they finally settled him on a comfortable bed, he went to his eternal rest.
Comment:
The martyrs are heroic examples of what God’s power can do. It is humanly impossible, we realize, for someone to go through tortures such as Vincent had and remain faithful. But it is equally true that by human power alone no one can remain faithful even without torture or suffering. God does not come to our rescue at isolated, “special” moments. God is supporting the super-cruisers as well as children’s toy boats.
The martyrs are heroic examples of what God’s power can do. It is humanly impossible, we realize, for someone to go through tortures such as Vincent had and remain faithful. But it is equally true that by human power alone no one can remain faithful even without torture or suffering. God does not come to our rescue at isolated, “special” moments. God is supporting the super-cruisers as well as children’s toy boats.
Quote:
“Wherever it was that Christians were put to death, their executions did not bear the semblance of a triumph. Exteriorly they did not differ in the least from the executions of common criminals. But the moral grandeur of a martyr is essentially the same, whether he preserved his constancy in the arena before thousands of raving spectators or whether he perfected his martyrdom forsaken by all upon a pitiless flayer’s field” (The Roman Catacombs, Hertling-Kirschbaum).
“Wherever it was that Christians were put to death, their executions did not bear the semblance of a triumph. Exteriorly they did not differ in the least from the executions of common criminals. But the moral grandeur of a martyr is essentially the same, whether he preserved his constancy in the arena before thousands of raving spectators or whether he perfected his martyrdom forsaken by all upon a pitiless flayer’s field” (The Roman Catacombs, Hertling-Kirschbaum).
LECTIO DIVINA:
MARK 3,7-12
Lectio:
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father of heaven and earth,
hear our prayers,
and show us the way to your peace in the world.
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.
Father of heaven and earth,
hear our prayers,
and show us the way to your peace in the world.
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.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 3,7-12
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea and Transjordan and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him.
And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him.
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, 'You are the Son of God!' But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea and Transjordan and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him.
And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him.
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, 'You are the Son of God!' But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
3) Reflection
• The conclusion reached at the end of this fifth conflict (Ml 2, to 3, 6), is that the Good News as it was announced by Jesus, said exactly the contrary of the teaching of the religious authority of the time. This is why, that at the end of the last conflict, it is foreseen that Jesus will not have an easy life and will be put to death. Death is already appearing in the horizon. They decide to make him die (Mk 3, 6). Without a sincere conversion it is not possible for persons to attain a correct understanding of the Good News.
• A summary of the evangelizing action of Jesus. The verses of today’s Gospel (Mk 3, 7-12) are a summary of the activity of Jesus and they stress an enormous contrast. Earlier, in Mk 2, 1 to 3,6, it was spoken only of conflicts, including the conflict of the life and death between Jesus and the civil and religious authority of Galilee (Mk 3, 1-6). And here, in the summary, we have the contrary: an immense popular movement, greater than the movement of John the Baptist, because people come not only from Galilee, but also from Judaea, from Jerusalem, from Idumaea, from Transjordan, and even from the pagan region of Tyre and Sidon to encounter Jesus! (Mk 3, 7-12). All want to see him and to touch him. The people are so numerous, that Jesus himself is concerned. There is the danger of being crushed by the multitude. This is why he asks the disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd would not crush him. And from the boat he spoke to the crowds. There were especially the excluded and the marginalized who came to him with their ailments: the sick and those possessed. Those who were not accepted to live in the society of the time were accepted by Jesus. Here is the contrast: on the one side the religious and civil leaders decided to put Jesus to death (Mk 3, 6); on the other side, an immense popular movement seeking salvation in Jesus. Who will win?
• The unclean spirits and Jesus. Mark insists very much on the expulsion of the unclean spirits. The first miracle of Jesus is the expulsion of the unclean spirits (Mk 1, 25). The first impact caused by Jesus is due to the expulsion of the devil (Mk 1, 27). One of the principal causes of the clash of Jesus with the Scribes is the expulsion of the unclean spirits. (Mk 3, 22). The first power which the Apostles received when they were sent out on mission was the power to expel the demons (Mk 16, 17). What does it mean in Mark’s Gospel to drive out or expel the evil spirits?
• At the time of Mark the fear of the devil was increasing. Some religions instead of liberating the people, increased fear and anguish. One of the objectives of the Good News of Jesus is precisely to help people to liberate themselves from this fear. The coming of the Kingdom means the coming of a stronger power. Jesus is “the stronger man” who has come to conquer and overcome Satan, the power of evil, and to take way from him, to rob humanity imprisoned by fear (Mk 3, 27). This is why Mark insists very much on the victory of Jesus over the power of evil, over the devil, over Satan, sin and death. From the beginning to the end, with almost similar words, he repeats the same message: “And Jesus drove out, expelled the impure spirits!” (Mk 1, 26.27.34.39; 3, 11-12.15.22.30: 5, 1-20; 6, 7.13; 7, 25-29; 9,25-27.38; 16, 9.17). It seems almost a refrain which is repeated! Today, instead of using always the same words, we prefer to use diverse words. We would say: “The power of evil, Satan, which causes so much fear to people, Jesus overcomes him, dominates him, conquers him, threw him off the throne, drove him out or expelled him, eliminated him, annihilated him, knocked him down, destroyed him and killed him!” What Mark wants to tell us is the following: “Christians are forbidden to be afraid of Satan!” After Jesus rose from the dead, it is a mania and a lack of faith to call in cause Satan, at every moment, as if he still had any power on us. To insist on the danger of the devil in order that people may return to Church, means to ignore the Good News of the Kingdom. It is a lack of faith in the Resurrection of Jesus!
• The conclusion reached at the end of this fifth conflict (Ml 2, to 3, 6), is that the Good News as it was announced by Jesus, said exactly the contrary of the teaching of the religious authority of the time. This is why, that at the end of the last conflict, it is foreseen that Jesus will not have an easy life and will be put to death. Death is already appearing in the horizon. They decide to make him die (Mk 3, 6). Without a sincere conversion it is not possible for persons to attain a correct understanding of the Good News.
• A summary of the evangelizing action of Jesus. The verses of today’s Gospel (Mk 3, 7-12) are a summary of the activity of Jesus and they stress an enormous contrast. Earlier, in Mk 2, 1 to 3,6, it was spoken only of conflicts, including the conflict of the life and death between Jesus and the civil and religious authority of Galilee (Mk 3, 1-6). And here, in the summary, we have the contrary: an immense popular movement, greater than the movement of John the Baptist, because people come not only from Galilee, but also from Judaea, from Jerusalem, from Idumaea, from Transjordan, and even from the pagan region of Tyre and Sidon to encounter Jesus! (Mk 3, 7-12). All want to see him and to touch him. The people are so numerous, that Jesus himself is concerned. There is the danger of being crushed by the multitude. This is why he asks the disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd would not crush him. And from the boat he spoke to the crowds. There were especially the excluded and the marginalized who came to him with their ailments: the sick and those possessed. Those who were not accepted to live in the society of the time were accepted by Jesus. Here is the contrast: on the one side the religious and civil leaders decided to put Jesus to death (Mk 3, 6); on the other side, an immense popular movement seeking salvation in Jesus. Who will win?
• The unclean spirits and Jesus. Mark insists very much on the expulsion of the unclean spirits. The first miracle of Jesus is the expulsion of the unclean spirits (Mk 1, 25). The first impact caused by Jesus is due to the expulsion of the devil (Mk 1, 27). One of the principal causes of the clash of Jesus with the Scribes is the expulsion of the unclean spirits. (Mk 3, 22). The first power which the Apostles received when they were sent out on mission was the power to expel the demons (Mk 16, 17). What does it mean in Mark’s Gospel to drive out or expel the evil spirits?
• At the time of Mark the fear of the devil was increasing. Some religions instead of liberating the people, increased fear and anguish. One of the objectives of the Good News of Jesus is precisely to help people to liberate themselves from this fear. The coming of the Kingdom means the coming of a stronger power. Jesus is “the stronger man” who has come to conquer and overcome Satan, the power of evil, and to take way from him, to rob humanity imprisoned by fear (Mk 3, 27). This is why Mark insists very much on the victory of Jesus over the power of evil, over the devil, over Satan, sin and death. From the beginning to the end, with almost similar words, he repeats the same message: “And Jesus drove out, expelled the impure spirits!” (Mk 1, 26.27.34.39; 3, 11-12.15.22.30: 5, 1-20; 6, 7.13; 7, 25-29; 9,25-27.38; 16, 9.17). It seems almost a refrain which is repeated! Today, instead of using always the same words, we prefer to use diverse words. We would say: “The power of evil, Satan, which causes so much fear to people, Jesus overcomes him, dominates him, conquers him, threw him off the throne, drove him out or expelled him, eliminated him, annihilated him, knocked him down, destroyed him and killed him!” What Mark wants to tell us is the following: “Christians are forbidden to be afraid of Satan!” After Jesus rose from the dead, it is a mania and a lack of faith to call in cause Satan, at every moment, as if he still had any power on us. To insist on the danger of the devil in order that people may return to Church, means to ignore the Good News of the Kingdom. It is a lack of faith in the Resurrection of Jesus!
4) Personal questions
• How do you live your faith in the Resurrection of Jesus? Does it help in some way to help you overcome fear?
• To drive away or expel the devil! What do you do in order to neutralize this power in your life?
• How do you live your faith in the Resurrection of Jesus? Does it help in some way to help you overcome fear?
• To drive away or expel the devil! What do you do in order to neutralize this power in your life?
5) Concluding prayer
Joy and happiness in you to all who seek you!
Let them ceaselessly cry, 'Great is Yahweh'
who love your saving power. (Ps 40)
Joy and happiness in you to all who seek you!
Let them ceaselessly cry, 'Great is Yahweh'
who love your saving power. (Ps 40)
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