Reading 1
1 Cor 2:10b-16
Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
Among men, who knows what pertains to the man
except his spirit that is within?
Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God.
We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.
And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom,
but with words taught by the Spirit,
describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.
Now the natural man does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God,
for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it,
because it is judged spiritually.
The one who is spiritual, however, can judge everything
but is not subject to judgment by anyone.
For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
Gospel
Lk 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
Meditation: Luke 4:31-37
“He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” (Luke 4:36)
St. John Vianney (1786–1859), the patron saint of parish priests, lived such a holy life that he often attracted the unwanted attention of the devil. Stories abound telling how, night after night, demons harassed Vianney to try to exhaust him and prevent him from hearing confessions. At one point, Vianney noticed that “the assaults were more numerous if, on the following day, some big sinner was due to come.” On one such occasion, his bed was even set on fire!
Like the case of demonic possession we see in today’s Gospel, such physical attacks by the devil are extremely rare. But just because we don’t battle with Satan this way doesn’t mean he isn’t busy troubling us. He is real—and he really hates us. We have been given the promise of eternal life in heaven, something he lost when he rebelled against God. His primary goal now is to make us as miserable as he is!
That’s why Satan and his demons are always trying to oppress us, maybe through a spirit of laziness, lust, gluttony, pride, or any number of other ways. They also try to use the non-sinful elements of our emotions, like fear and anxiety, to wear us down and keep us from experiencing everything Jesus came to give us. That’s why we should never dismiss the spiritual aspects of the sins and temptations that beset us. As St. Peter said: “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
What can you do when you are feeling harassed by the devil? First of all, turn to God! Don’t just rely on your own strength. Ask the Lord to drive away whatever spirit is bothering you. Put your faith in the authority of the name of Jesus. It’s the ultimate weapon against the forces of hell. Let Jesus deal with these evil spirits, and you’ll find relief. Send the troublesome spirit to the cross, where Jesus can deal with it and set you free. You’ll be amazed at how confident you will be that with Christ you can do anything!
“Jesus, thank you for giving me your name as a defense against the evil one. To you be blessing and honor, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor and power and might forever!”
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