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If my work does not come from God, I would consent to its ruin. I would join our enemies in destroying it if I thought it did not have God as its author, or that God did not will its progress. But if God declares Himself its defender, let us fear nothing; no arm can uproot what God has planted; no hand can snatch away what God holds in His.
- John Baptist de La Salle
(What "work" in your life do you believe to be rooted in God's will?)
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Gal 3:7-14; Ps 111:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6
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.”
USCCB Lectionary
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Luke 11:15-26 (Jesus and Beelzebul)
To discredit Jesus' ministry, some people begin accusing him of doing the work of Satan. Jesus
not only counters the contradictions apparent in such accusations but also states that people who are not with him are working against him. There is really no middle ground in life upon which a person may claim neutrality toward God.
* Looking back over the events of the past several days, do you see yourself moving toward or away from God?
Explain.
* What kind of “unclean spirit” has been troubling you lately? How can you displace it with love? Make a plan and pray for the grace to carry out your resolve.
Paperback, Kindle
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The Way of Perfection, by Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Treats of these last words of the Paternoster: "Sed libera nos a malo. Amen." "But deliver us from evil. Amen."
By the word "Amen," as it comes at the end of every prayer, I understand that the Lord is begging that we may be delivered from all evil for ever. It is useless, sisters, for us to think that, for so long as we live, we can
be free from numerous temptations and imperfections and even sins; for it is said that whosoever thinks himself to be without sin deceives himself, and that is true. But if we try to banish bodily ills and trials -- and who is without very many and various trials of such kinds? -- is it not right that we should ask to be delivered from sin?
Still, let us realize that what we are asking here -- this
deliverance from all evil -- seems an impossibility, whether we are thinking of bodily ills, as I have said, or of imperfections and faults in God's service. I am referring, not to the saints, who, as Saint Paul said, can do all things in Christ but to sinners like myself. When I find myself trammelled by weakness, lukewarmness, lack of mortification and many other things, I realize that I must beg for help from the Lord.
- Chapter 42 (Keep in mind that she is writing to sisters in a cloistered contemplative order.)
Paperback, Kindle
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