Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 30, 2022
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.
As a child, I found gospel passages like this frightening. Could people really be possessed by evil spirits? Could it happen to me? Then, as I got older, I wondered why there were so many demons back in Jesus’ time. You don’t hear about people being possessed by demons today. Where did all the demons go?
As a career psychologist in the military, I no longer wonder. I’ve realized through my training that at least some of the behaviors that were attributed to possession in the past are, in fact, more reflective of psychological struggles. For example, we can be haunted by painful memories and oppressed by trauma, regret, guilt, and shame. Some carry the extraordinary burdens of schizophrenia or epilepsy.
Through my work, I’ve come to believe that some of our most sinister demons are our perceived faults, unresolved conflicts, and memories of actions or inactions for which we have trouble forgiving ourselves.
Can God dispel these sorts of demons, like he banished the evil spirit in today’s gospel? The answer is, of course, yes— thousand times yes. To me, that is the joyful message underlying today’s reading.
This gospel passage reassures us that God’s love is so much more potent than whatever demons we bring to him. There is no amount of hopelessness, shame, or sorrow that can’t be banished when brought before Christ. As Luke writes, “…he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”
As my parish priest likes to say at the end of every Mass, “Smile, for you are a child of a loving God.” This is not some platitude; it is truth. You are loved by God even if you have trouble loving yourself. Our demons don’t stand a chance in the face of such love.
Prayer
Father in heaven, from the days of Abraham and Moses, until our own day you have formed a people in the image of your Son. Bless your people with the gift of your kingdom. May we serve with our every desire and show love one for another even as you have loved us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Pammachius was a prominent citizen in the ancient Christian empire of Rome, and his life is woven together with the lives of all of the prominent saints of his age. His devoted love for his wife led him to holiness, even after her death.
He was classmates with the great Scripture scholar, St. Jerome; they studied rhetoric together and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Pammachius was a member of a noble family and grew up to become a Roman senator.
In 385, he married Paulina (who was also friends with St. Jerome; her mother is also a saint). Twelve years later, Paulina died in childbirth. Pammachius must have been heartbroken, as he received letters of sympathy and encouragement from many friends. “Your wife is now a witness and an intercessor for you with Jesus Christ,” wrote a friend, St. Paulinus. “Make her a partner in your charities. She is honored by your virtues. She is fed by the bread you have given to the poor.”
Pammachius took the advice and dedicated the rest of his life to works of charity. With another friend, St. Fabiola, he built a hospice in Rome to offer shelter to pilgrims, especially those who were sick and poor. He cared for the forgotten people of Rome—poor and disabled people gathered around him whenever he went into the streets. He saw his care for the poor as a way of following in his wife’s footsteps.
Pammachius corresponded with the great St. Augustine, and was fearlessly honest in his letters to St. Jerome, who was known to be bitter and vitriolic at times in his pursuit of the cause of truth. Pammachius wrote several times to urge Jerome to tone down his language. Jerome often refused, but their correspondence encouraged him into new ways of thinking.
St. Pammachius’ image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.
St. Pammachius, the Roman senator, your devotion to your deceased wife led you to give your life to the poor--pray for us!