08 OCTOBER 2021
LUKE 11:15-26 FRIDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
UNSEEN WAR
The gospel today has reference to one of the challenging experiences of spiritual life – a spiritual war which every human being experiences within. Human heart is the battlefield of this war between ‘Kingdom of God’ and ‘Kingdom of Satan’ where a human person’s interior life, the seat of free-will, is constantly under attack. The words of Our Lord, ‘whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Luke 11:23)’, reminds that human beings cannot avoid this inner conflict by making their heart a neutral territory or a demilitarized zone. If they try to be neutral, they would end up in Satan’s camp because he always tries to occupy the human heart – a house made for God. Satan the prince of lies uses his weapons namely temptation, lie, deception, betrayal, doubt and fear for the occupation.
Therefore, human beings cannot keep their heart void because as Jesus reminds, ‘upon returning if Satan finds the human heart swept clean put in order, then it would go and bring back seven other spirits more wicked than itself (Luke 11:25-26). So Jesus reminds His disciples to always allow God to occupy their heart. God never encroaches into human hearts as God always respects human freedom, but is always happy to be invited by human beings. But Satan always tries to encroach into the human heart. As Prophet Joel reminds the ministers of the altar in the first reading today (Joel 1:13) to spend the night in sackcloth to be related to God always.
Therefore, we should invoke the indwelling presence of God in our hearts through the spiritual weapons of prayer, sacrifices, vigil, fasting, penance and contrition.
Month of October is dedicated to Rosary Devotion and let us be aware that Rosary is a powerful spiritual weapon in our struggle against Satan. Rosary is not merely a repetition of memorized prayers. It is a method of pondering the mysteries of God in our hearts just as Mary continually pondered all God’s works in her heart. Amen.