Living the Gospel – January 31, 2021

Recently, I spent some time studying part of the Gospel of Mark. In a meditative piece written in the January issue of the Magnificat, I read: “Jesus continues to cast out evil, heal and forgive us today,” and I thought….how does Jesus cast out evil in our time? I knew that some priests still performed exorcisms, but there has to be more. Then I read the following reflection written by Bishop Robert Barron……

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus drives out an unclean spirit from a man in the Capernaum synagogue. And he wants to perform the same cleansing operation in our lives.

What God intended from the beginning is that our hearts be temples of his presence. But when Christ comes into our world, what does he find? He finds that the temple of our heart is filled up with all sorts of things that are not the divine power. Money, worldly success, the esteem of others, sex…..whatever it is, it has now taken the place that rightfully belongs to God. Therefore, when Christ comes into our life, he will always have a cleansing role to play.

Fulton Sheen once talked about the “expulsive power” of Christ. When you place him in the center of your soul, he will expel all those things that don’t belong in that center and make them find their proper place. And so Jesus the nonviolent warrior, Jesus the judge, God’s own mind, now comes into our hearts when we invite him through conversion. He will have this cleansing authority and cleansing power.

Watching the news on many nights, we can easily see that evil is still at work in the hearts of men and women. Anger, violence, jealousy, etc. can be very real feelings that take hold of one’s heart.

Asking Jesus to come into our hearts and take control of our lives brings peace.

Let us pray that by our lives we can demonstrate to others the power of love that a heart centered on Jesus will bring.

Sylvia Bates