FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD
FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Monday – Week Four
WORD of the DAY
They came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes.
When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) (Mark 5: 1-8)
How shall I live this Word?
Evil is like a parasite that lives by stealing the life of what it clings to. The spirit of evil keeps us in its clutches, tormenting us and making us live in places of solitude and death. Torment, loneliness, and death are the effects of its presence. Evil works without being seen, without showing itself. Just a gray area in our life and, like a mushroom, like mold, it begins to take root and steal our life, joy, serenity, peace, meaning. The only way to block it is to unmask it, to eliminate the shadow areas, to let the light in where it never enters.
Jesus, enter our life with Your Word, enlighten us with Your light so that we can overcome the “dark suggestions of evil”. Shed light on our closures, which transform life, relationships, dignity into tombs. Only You can free us!.
The Voice of Pope Francis Meditation 12 October 2018
For this reason, so many times when Jesus casts out demons, they try to ruin the person, to do harm, even physically … Many times Jesus cast out the demons who were His true enemies and our enemies. The struggle between good and evil sometimes seems too abstract. The real struggle is the first struggle between God and the ancient serpent, between Jesus and the devil, and this struggle takes place within us. Each of us is in a struggle, perhaps without our knowledge, but we are struggling.
FMA, Rome E-mail: srmterzo@gmail.com Website: www.sanbiagio.org info@sanbiagio.org Blog: livingscripture.wordpress.com Comment by Sr. Monica Gianoli, FMA