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Gospel: Luke 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When I think of a sacred space, I think of this church. This altar. This pulpit. The Saints and the Stations of the Cross that line our walls.
Sacred spaces are filled with holy things that point us to God.
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In today’s Gospel, there’s a man with an unclean spirit present in the synagogue. But the synagogue was a holy place – a sacred space, so why is he there?
Surely, he doesn’t belong.
Or does he?
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Perhaps he was a conflicted man, both a believer and a sinner – a man who knew he was under the power of something stronger than himself.
Maybe he went to the synagogue that day praying to be set free.
And he was.
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At times, how many of us feel the same way?
We need Jesus to set us free from something: fear, laziness, jealousy, judgmental thoughts, anger, impatience, anxiety, whatever it may be.
We approach the Lord in confidence, praying that he will say those same words to us: “Come out of him! … Come out of her!”
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Jesus can do it. He will do it. Sometimes the healing work of the Spirit is instant, as it is in the Gospel.
Most often it takes time.
We need patience with ourselves – and with others – while the Lord heals us, trusting in the words of Saint Paul: “God, who has begun this good work within you, will bring it to fulfillment.”
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Image credits: (1) QuoteFancy (2) Catholic Daily Reflections (3) JustBreatheMag.com