Unclean Spirits Prowl

 

^{Luke 11: 15-26} 

^{Whoever is With Me}

¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²² but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. ²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Today's Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted in 1571 by pope Pius V as Our Lady of Victories after a huge Rosary campaign resulted in a victory for Christian forces over he Turks in the Battle of Lepanto.  Three years later he changed the feast  to Our Lady of the Rosary and today with so much turmoil in our world  it remains a strong and much needed weapon against the powers of darkness. As the unclean spirits continue "to prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls" the rosary remains a solid and effective defense weapon.  May we renew our efforts to pray the Rosary daily and encourage others to do the same  

Bro. Rene       

Ask And It Given Will Be Given

^{Luke: 11: 5-13}

^{Pray With Trust And Audacity}

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶ a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹ “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

It seems like we are always asking God for something, that our needs are endless or that we are never satisfied.  Should we be ashamed of this? Evidently  not.  Jesus is clear.  ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE.  The WHEN is what bothers us and makes us wonder if he hears our prayers or will ever answer them.  Jesus assures us that we need to trust and just keep asking.  God is "in charge" and in "HIS TIME" or for OUR GOOD he will EVENTUALLY answer our prayers.  May we grow in trust and audacity, as we ponder God's loving, Fatherly care for us, remembering that FATHER KNOWS BEST!.

Bro. Rene

 

Luke's Lord's Prayer

  

Luke 11: 1-4

Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer

11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
³ Give us each day our daily bread.
⁴ Forgive us our sins,
    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.

 Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer is direct and succinct.  Fr. Robert Barron sums it up crisply. Between the two writers, we have much food for prayer today.  Let us come back often to this slice of Daily Bread.

Bro. Rene

 Can you see how this prayer rightly orders us? We must put God’s holy name first; we must strive to do his will in all things and at all times; we must be strengthened by spiritual food or we will fall; we must be agents of forgiveness; we must be able to withstand the dark powers.

Bishop Robert Barron

The Better Part

  

Luke 10: 38-42

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

We all have things to do, too many things.  We want to serve, we want to please; we have  Martha genes keeping us busier than we ought to be.  In this Gospel passage, we see how Jesus appreciates Martha's contribution to the evening meal, but praises Mary for her attentiveness to his presence and the feeding of her soul. The meal will be over and done, but a relationship with Jesus is on-going and lasting. Choosing to nourish it is "the better part" and a call to us to set it as a top priority. St. Francis of Assisi, whom we  honor today, dit it. Let us spend some extra time along with him and  Mary at the feet of Jesus and see for ourselves why they made the better choice.

Bro. Rene

Do Likewise

Luke 10" 25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

This striking and perhaps most well-known of Jesus' parables clearly states that no sacrifice is too much to help our neighbor or even a stranger in need. The Good Samaritan (Jesus himself) is the model par excellence for us to follow. No expense, no time limit is too much for the sake of another.  What a world this would be if we all lived with this ideal in mind.  We are selfish, we set limits, we are not Good Samaritans, for the most part, but we can learn, we can change.  May our prayer and reflection on this parable help us to "go and do likewise."

Bro. Rene

 

Keep It Simple

 

Luke 17 5-10

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

 

Don't we often feel inadequate when we look at all we have to do or WANT to do.  The days speed by, we allow distractions to divert us from our daily goals, needs, or obligations and we wonder how God can put up with us.  Jesus indicates here that we don't have to be mountain movers, but like the servants, simply do our duty as unworthy servants.  Yes, Lord, increase my faith, and help me do the best I can with a humble and simple sense of duty, trust and love,

Bro. Rene

Let us not boast, Lord God, about our accomplishments in your service. What good we have done has been due to your help, grace, and inspiration. Let us be aware of your assistance through fidelity, honesty, courage, and faith. If we are at peace both with ourselves and with others, it is due mainly to your help in keeping us from bitterness, hate, or jealousy. Let our kindness to others reflect your kindness to us. Amen.

 Rev. Herbert Yost, C.S.C.

What Is Childlikeness?

 

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

¹⁸ He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

²¹ At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

²² “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³ Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

We celebrate the Memorial of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, patron of the missions and of Central Catholic High School, Lawrence Massachusetts, (along with many other schools and churches) and Doctor of the Church.  Why is this Carmelite nun who died at the age of 24, after only nine years in the Carmelite convent in :Lisieux,  France so popular and so loved? Happily, her autobiography, STORY OF A SOUL, reveals a spirituality that is simple, "doable" and accessible to us all: the Way of Spiritual Childhood.  As Jesus said in verse 21, God has revealed the key to holiness to "little children", or in another translation, "the childlike". The life of St. Therese illustrates that living life with the innocence, spontaneity, acceptance, and simplicity of a little child, we can draw closer to God and his ways, because we have no agenda except HIS! Nothing stands between us; he fills the open space we provide for him to shape and mold us as one of his children.  St. Therese, pray for us to be able to become children of God.

Bro. Rene