A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 11:15-26

15 But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

23 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

24 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

The Gospel of the Lord Praise be to you Lord Jesus Christ

REFLECTION: "But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you".

There is always chaos in a military coup or civil war and there can be many who try to be the leader. There can be a mini civil war in the new illegal government with each person fighting the other for position. If there is a power vacuum there can be infighting and violence and many good, faithful and loyal people can die because they were in the way.

The ousted leader can form a militia and fight a counter coup and the more soldiers on your side , the better are the chances of beating your enemy. And if you were on the losing end, you can almost guarantee that your life would be extinguished . The battle is to win and all else has to be destroyed.

Such is our spiritual battle....

In the time of Jesus, evil spirits were known to inhabit a person and to wreck havoc on their lives. They seemed to be all over and the exorcisms performed by Jesus were abundant. Jesus came to fight for us and to free us from the evil that makes us slaves of sin and slaves of Satan. Jesus was and still is more powerful than Satan. He will assert his power and he will follow the will of his Father and he will defeat the enemy that has stolen our souls, minds, bodies and love for God.

The enemy refuses to give up and as in the above mentioned military coup, the soldiers will reconvene, a new leader will surface and the war continues. There will be many names given the ruler of the opposing forces--The Accuser, Beelzebub, Beast, Deceiver, Devil, Dragon , Enemy, Evil One, the Father of all lies, the Lawless One, King of Tyre, Leviathon, Liar, Lucifer, etc, etc.

But our Leader is the same--God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The battalion's camp is the Kingdom of God where the finger of God protects his children. Our best defense is the best prayer which is a desire to do His Will on earth . If we identify ourselves with Our Lord's divine will and if we pray with this spirit , we can be sure that we will win.

PRAYER: Dearest Lord, in a world full of uncertainties and fears, we pray that you will guide us and deliver us safely to the waiting arms of our Father. AMEN

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