Hebrews 11:32-40 / Mark 5:1-20

We begin the fourth week of Ordinary Time.

Today the evangelist Mark tells us about the exorcism of a possessed man by Jesus.

The man lived in the territory of the Gerasenes and dwelled among the tombs. He was very agitated and no one could bound him with shackles and chains.

According to the possessed man himself, he was possessed by many unclean spirits, called "Legion". The man knew that Jesus was "the Son of the Most High God". And so he ran up and prostrated himself before Jesus.

According to the will of the possessed man, when he was exorcised by Jesus, the many unclean spirits entered a herd of two thousand swine. The man came to his right mind, and the swine rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned.

Jesus was asked to leave that district because the people were seized with fear.

The man who had been exorcised pleaded to remain with Jesus, but the man was told to go home and anounce to everyone all that the Lord, in His pity, had done for him.

Evil exists. The devil exists. But he is not stronger than God. Unclean spirits want to separate us from God and destroy us. Let us accept Jesus' help and let Him exorcise all evil that wants to harm us physically, emotionally and psychologically. Let us strengthen ourselves in prayer and fasting.

Today the author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells us about great biblical characters from the First Testament and the tribulations they courageously went through in order to receive God's promise. However, it was to us that God gave the full fulfillment, that is, the forgiveness of sins and salvation through the redeeming cross of Christ.

Let us imitate the great biblical characters from the First and Second Testaments. Let us be courageous like them, overcoming, with God's help, all the tribulations that arise in our lives.

Local: Springfield, MA, EUA

Comentários

Postar um comentário

Postagens mais visitadas deste blog

Sirach 35:1-12 / Mark 10:28-31

Today we take a break from Ordinary Time, which will return after the Solemnity of Pentecost in the month of June. The reason is the beginning of Lent Season tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, a day of obligatory fasting and abstinence from meat. Today the evangelist Mark tells us about the hundredfold promise that Jesus made to His disciples. Peter reminded Jesus that he and the disciples had given up everything and followed Him. And Jesus promised that whoever had done this, for His sake and for the sake of the Gospel, would receive a hundred times more in the present age—house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, lands, with persecutions—and, in the age to come, eternal life. Jesus concluded by saying that many that were first would be last. And the last would be first. In a mysterious but real way, God's providence, through the members of the Church, takes care of the material and emotional needs of those who serve Him. He is the Good Shepherd and His sheep lack nothing. Of cour...
Leia mais

Exodus 12.1-8,11-14 | 1 Corinthians 11.23-26 | John 13.1-15

In this Holy Week, today we arrive at the Easter Triduum, with Holy Thursday, celebrating the Institution of the Eucharist, at the Last Supper, and remembering the Washing of the Feet, love made humble service. A short while ago, the Institution of the Ministerial Priesthood was celebrated, with Priest's Day, and the consecration of the Holy Oils for the anointing of catechumens, for the anointing of those being confirmed and ordained ministers (deacons, priests and bishops), and for the anointing of the sick. Today the Evangelist John speaks to us about the Washing of the Feet during the Supper. Jesus - the Lord and Master - washed the feet of His disciples, giving them the example so that they would do the same thing that He did. The evangelist emphasizes that Jesus was demonstrating all His love for His people in the world. Simon Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet, but he allowed it when Jesus told him that he would have no part with Jesus if he did not allow it.  In that...
Leia mais

Ezekiel 47.1-2,8-9,12 | 1 Corinthians 3.9c-11,16-17 | John 2.13-22

We begin the thirty-second week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. In two Sundays, the Liturgical Year will conclude with the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. In 2025, the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, on November 9th, coincided with Sunday, the Lord's Day. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, presided over by Pope Leo XIV. It is the oldest church in the West, inaugurated in the year 324, during the pontificate of Pope St. Sylvester I. It is the most important of the four papal basilicas in Rome (the others are St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of St. Mary Major). Five ecumenical councils have taken place there. She is considered the ecumenical Mother Church. Initially, the basilica was dedicated to Christ the Savior, and only centuries later was it co-dedicated to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. Let us celebrate the catholicity...
Leia mais