Dear Parishioners,
Does anybody remember the movie, The Exorcist? I remember not being able to sleep a few nights after viewing that movie when it came out in the early 1970s and had people talking about possession and demons. Hollywood has made millions from such films portraying evil, Satanic possession, conjuring spirits and the like. While I would rarely look to the likes of Hollywood to speak of anything of faith, it has done a pretty good job of scaring the hell out of some people….LOL.
God casts out evil. The Rite of Exorcism may be called upon when necessary to intercede when the faithful experience a force of evil or the “power of darkness.” God has already freed us from the snares of evil; and, yet at times in our journey we may feel overtaken by forces, personal demons or the unholy.
But God is holy, and God’s holy authority seeks to make each one of us, His children, whole and holy through His active love. In times of trouble, we turn to God in prayer (conversation) giving the Divine Presence authority over our very lives. We commune with the Holy One.
When the road diverges and through the sinfulness of our choices, we find ourselves feeling “possessed” like a demoniac: pray, confess, converse and be embraced by the holy. We have powerful tools in our spiritual lives and in the weapons closet of our faith. We need not fear, only give ourselves over in humility to the power of God’s restorative love.
The journey continues…into holiness and wholeness.
Blessings,
Fr. Mark
