God is our true Friend, who always gives us the counsel and comfort we need. Our danger lies in resisting Him; so it is
essential that we acquire the habit of hearkening to His voice, or keeping silence within, and listening so as to lose nothing of what He says to us. We know well enough how to keep outward silence, and to hush our spoken words, but we know little of interior silence. It consists in hushing our idle, restless, wandering imagination, in quieting the promptings of our worldly minds, and in suppressing the crowd of unprofitable thoughts which excite and disturb the soul.
- François
Fénelon
(Listen! Shhhh . . . ) |
JL 1:13-15; 2:1-2; PS 9:2-3, 6 AND 16, 8-9
LK 11:15-26
When Jesus had driven
out a demon, some of the crowd said:
"By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons."
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by
Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with
me scatters.
"When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
'I shall return to my home from which I came.'
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is
worse than the first."
Reflection on the
Scriptures |
My reflection for today is about our need to remain
vigilant. What gives us the confidence in our struggle? Surely evil is everywhere around us and in us, working away to destroy our confidence in our salvation. It is easy to just give in and hope that in the end, the Lord will have mercy on our souls. But that is such a waste of our potential and God’s love, of which there is an abundance of both. We accept with humility that we are indeed vulnerable all the time. But at the same time, let’s not admit defeat
just because we are imperfect and frail. Why sit and tremble over that? I think the Psalms drive this message clear, over and over. Let’s give thanks to the Lord with all our hearts and sing his praises no matter how bad it gets. God is indeed our very present help in times of trouble - no matter how much trouble. To me, the lessons today suggest that instead of vigilance in fear, we do better to remain vigilant in our faith. We will be delivered. The
Lord will destroy wickedness, surely, but not those who scorn it and keep the faith!
- by Barbara Dilly Revelations of Divine
Love - by Julian of Norwich
Fourteenth Revelation, Chapter 43
“Prayer uniteth the soul to
God”
PRAYER oneth the soul to God. For though the soul be ever like to God in kind and substance, restored by grace, it is often unlike in condition, by sin on man’s part. Then is prayer a witness that the soul willeth as God willeth; and it comforteth the conscience and enableth man to grace. And thus He
teacheth us to pray, and mightily to trust that we shall have it. For He beholdeth us in love and would make us partners of His good deed, and therefore He stirreth us to pray for that which it pleaseth him to do. For which prayer and good will, that we have of His gift, He will reward us and give us endless meed. |
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