NOT DESPERATE ENOUGH

NOT DESPERATE ENOUGH

 

 

 

In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains… – Mark 5:4

 

For a long time, I tried to hide my sins and addictions — the result of being sexually molested when I was a young boy. But the more I denied that I had a problem, the more I remained in darkness.

Why? Because I didn’t like to face the pain within me. I just wanted to go on with life and forget the past. Just love God and do the right thing, I told myself.

But my bondages, like a hidden monster, which was a result of not facing my inner pain, were getting bigger and stronger. As I tried to bury the dull throb of my hidden wound, and ignored it as though it wasn’t there, I did not feel my desperate need for God.

But when I faced the pain squarely, and entered fully into the emotions of my grief, my anger and my shame because of what happened, I saw God in a totally new way.

He was big enough to heal me. And only then did my real healing start.

Friend, you can’t heal what you don’t feel. Face your pain today and get started on the road to healing. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Is there a wound in your life that’s keeping you in darkness? Bring it to light and allow God to set you free.

 

Father God, set me free from my bondages. Grant me the grace to face my inner pains so I can move on to the healing that You want for me.

 

An Eerie Story

 

Imagine if you had been there. Jesus and His disciples had taken a boat in the evening to cross the lake. He had calmed a violent storm and now they land at the opposite shore. It’s night and there, from the tombs, comes this violent man, possessed by demons. “No one had ever been able to bind him with a chain,” Mark tells us. Would Jesus be able to? He had just shown His power over wind and waves by saying, “Quiet now! Be calm!” But demons?

One brief command by Jesus was enough to shoo away these 6,000 unclean spirits: “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”

There are many people today who say the devil does not exist. The devil must be happy when they say this. Why? Because then they don’t fear him, they don’t resist his tricks and attacks and so fall into his trap. Pope John Paul II once said, “One who doesn’t believe in the devil doesn’t believe in the Gospel.” It could not be said more succinctly.

Now, many are afraid of the devil and his power. Being afraid makes one weak and vulnerable. And here comes today’s Gospel passage. It demonstrates Christ’s tremendous power over evil. If we, therefore, remain close to Him, we have nothing to fear.

In this connection, let me share what Fr. Amorth, the exorcist of the archdiocese of Rome, said about the Virgin Mary as Satan’s great enemy: “On one occasion an exorcist friend of mine asked the devil what most hurt him about Our Lady, what most annoys him. He responded, ‘That she is the purest of all creatures and that I am the filthiest; that she is the most obedient of all creatures and that I am the most rebellious; that she is the one who committed no sin and thus always conquers me.’”

With Jesus Christ and the powerful Mother of God on our side, what do we have to be afraid of in this evil world? Nothing! Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

Reflection Question:

How do I react to evil in me? Do I try to conquer my evil inclinations by turning to Christ? What do I do about evil in my environment?

 

Lord, often I am not only bothered but scared of evil in me and around me. Thank You for reminding me once more that with You and the intercession of Your Mother I have nothing to be afraid of. Help me to conquer with You what is evil in me so I can be with You one day for ever.

 

Blessed Anthony Manzi, pray for us.