15th Sunday, Authority Over Unclean Spirits

 

In the Gospel today, we witness the power and authority of Jesus given to His apostles. Over the centuries, God gave His power and authority to saints and ordinary priests.

Our Lord sent His twelve apostles out in twos. Jesus told them not to take gold or silver, or copper for their belts, no sack or second tunic, or sandals or walking staff, but what do these words mean? Why would Jesus not want them to take extra clothes, or money, sandals or a walking staff?

He told them these things, so that they would be free to go from place to place and not be worried about things they had to take with them. He wanted them to trust in His divine providence by letting them know, God would provide for all their needs, wherever they went.

We too should trust that God will take care of all of our needs, not only our housing, food and clothing, but most importantly He will take care of our spiritual needs. But we need to trust Him.

One of the main messages of Jesus through St. Faustina, was to trust Jesus. Our Lord indicated to her that something that hurt Him the most was the lack of trust people had in Him, especially those who are consecrated to Him, such as priests and religious sisters.

The apostles and later bishops and priests appointed by their bishop are given authority over unclean spirits

as exorcists, and they would expel demons from the possessed.

Saint Benedict drove out a demon from a man by beating him with a rod. He is known for his power over evil spirits. Today, the St. Benedict medal is exorcised by priests with a special blessing and the medal is very helpful in keeping demons away. Everyone should wear a St. Benedict medal and place it in various places in our home. Some exorcists recommend burying Benedict medals at the four corners of your property.

Saint Dominic placed a rosary around a possessed persons neck and the demon was expelled.

It is well known St. Padre Pio and St. John Vianney were physically attacked by evils spirits especially because they were so successful in taking people from the grasp of the enemy.

Many plagued by demons pray to St. Gemma Galgani, who bore the stigmata, to be delivered from evil spirits.

St. Joseph has a title, terror of demons. He is the guardian and protector of Holy Mother Church and protected the infant Jesus from Herod’s soldiers, who wanted to kill Him. When you find yourself feeling overcome by the trials of life, turn to St. Joseph. He was a man who, in his earthly life, never succumbed to "vain terrors." He remained ever grounded in faith, ever attuned to the will of God in his life. From Heaven, he stands as a go-to saint to help you when forces beyond your control - including demonic forces - seek to unsettle you and pull you toward despair and ruin.
The Virgin Mary is the human being that evil spirits can’t stand the most. When Mary comes, evil spirits flee. Mary’s power comes from Her humility. Mary is the Virgin Most powerful and She has the role of crushing the head of the serpent. She is the woman who is at enmity with the devil. We should call upon Mary when we are tempted and consecrate our self to Her regularly.

St. Michael the archangel is especially noted for protection against evil spirits. We pray the prayer at the end of every Mass and whenever you are tempted pray say that prayer and ask him to come and protect you. When Lucifer refused to serve God, St. Michael a mere archangel rose up to defend God saying, “Who is like God?” St. Michael led the army of good angels to cast Lucifer (Satan) and the bad angels out of heaven.

Our guardian angels have the task of protecting and guarding us from evil spirits and helping us to grow in our love of God, we should pray to our guardian angel every day.

The apostles anointed many who were sick and cured them. And they preached repentance.

When I was doing hospital ministry in Tulsa, one of the patients told me a story about what happened when he was hospitalized and anointed by a priest in Florida.

While in Florida, in ICU, his heart stopped. The doctors began CPR because he “flat lined”. The priest came during this crisis and anointed him. Right when the priest anointed him, the man sat up in bed, opened his eyes, looked around and his heart begins to beat normally. The priest was so shocked, he jumped back and hit his head against the wall. And the doctor cried out, “You were dead! You were dead! And now you came back to life!”

The man believed, Jesus, through the priest healed him by the sacrament of anointing of the sick. The sacrament of the sick is noted for three purposes. 1. It is used to give graces to the sick to help them persevere in their suffering. 2. It forgives their sins when they are unconscious or unable to confess their sins. 3. Jesus can immediately physically heal a sick person, if it would help the person on their road to salvation.

Today, let us trust in God’s providence to provide for all our needs. And let us pray to the saints asking their intersession to deliver us from evil spirits and may we seek to be anointed when our life is in danger, to receive the graces and healing God desires to give us.

O Mary, Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.

St. Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us.

St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

All you holy Apostles, pray for us.

Our Guardian Angels, pray for us

St. Benedict, pray for us.
St. Dominic, pray for us

St. John Vianney, pray for us

St. Padre Pio, pray for us

St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us.