Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
A local parish had its first “Christ Renews His Church” retreat. The men responded well. Most of those who signed up attended. Just as wonderful, most who came on Friday night stayed until Sunday. But, of course, the end of the retreat was not the end of the “Christ Renews His Church” process. Before people went home, a follow-up meeting was scheduled. At that reunion the men would share how they felt when they returned to the regular ways of the world. Such follow-up meetings are typical of the popular movements that invigorate the Church today. Jesus hints at their necessity in today’s gospel.
Jesus has just driven out a demon. The people wonder where he got such power. He tries to convince them that it comes from God because the devil would not work against himself. Then Jesus teaches the people that once cleaned of their impurities they must stay close to the Lord. He would say that thinking one can remain in virtue without prayer and penitence is tantamount to playing a trick on oneself. As he puts it, the devil can return with evil spirits more pernicious than what possessed the person before.
We do not use the terminology of spirits, evils, and demons today. But this does not mean that they do not exist. More sophisticated, we typically call the moral problems we face “psychological pathology,” “deviant behaviors,” or the like. In any case, if we can rid ourselves of moral deviances, we are wise to stay close to Jesus in prayer and virtue. If not, we are likely to experience even greater moral difficulties than before.
