Mark 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
The above passage from Mark 6 is the gospel reading for today, but I predict that the priest at Mass at my parish this morning will not make any mention of the Devil or of demons or of demonic possession or of our Lord Jesus Christ having given priests the power to drive out demons.
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UPDATE: As I had predicted, in his homily today, the new pastoral administrator at my parish ignored today’s gospel reading entirely. Not a word about the Devil, or of sin, or of demonic possession, or of the awesome power and authority Jesus had conferred on him as a successor of the Twelve.
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Only one of the following three can be true:
- The author of the Gospel of Mark was lying.
- Jesus was delusional in believing there are demons and that He has the authority and the ability to cast out demons — an ability He conferred on His twelve Apostles and their successors.
- Mark was telling the truth, which makes any priest or minister who refuses to address this subject a coward, at best, or at worst, a liar by omission.
CNS News reported that a 2013 Harris Poll found that although a majority (74%) of U.S. adults still said they believed in God, only 58% or fewer than 6 out of every 10 American adults believed in the Devil. That percentage can only be even lower today. Those Americans must think that Jesus was lying or hallucinating when He exorcised demons.
“The finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist. (La plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu’il n’existe pas.)” -Charles Baudelaire, Le Joueur généreux, 1864.
How can we armor ourselves against the Devil if we don’t even believe he exists? No wonder Americans increasingly are debauched and depraved.
What’s the best defense against the Devil and demonic possession?
Be faithful to the First and Greatest Commandment of All (Matthew 22:37):
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
And may the peace and love of Jesus Christ, our Lord, be with you,
~E