Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 11, 2021
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
In this reading, Jesus gives us one of the gospel versions of the famous “house divided” line that we know so well in the American historical context from Abraham Lincoln in the time leading up to the Civil War. Jesus tells his critics that, “every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.”
In a time of so much division, we long for healing and greater unity. Political parties try to block each other’s efforts so that nothing can get done. Family members damage relationships over ideological debates on social media. With so much discord and noise in our contemporary conversation, how can healing and unity be possible? Perhaps we can find a way forward in Jesus’ response to the scribes at the beginning of the reading.
The scribes accuse him of driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul (the ruler of demons). Jesus tells them, in effect, doing good and opposing evil is its own measure of any action. For us today, can we say that we are doing good and opposing evil? If so, can we use those issues of great substance to draw us together even if other differences remain?
For Catholics, there will always be important guiding lights in this discernment such as Catholic social teaching, the leadership or our local bishops, and the global context of the Catholic Church. But if we seek the good together, there is much more that unites us than divides us. If we recognize that, we can be a house united, not a house divided.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we know all too well what it is to be a house divided—we are often confronted with our own powerlessness and limitations. Please silence the selfish voices within us, or at least help us to not act on them. We so much want to be one with you. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Teresa Margaret Redi, also known as Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, is one of seven discalced Carmelite religious women who has been declared a saint. She was an intensely spiritual and private religious, who devoted her life to quiet prayer in service of the love of God.
Teresa was born in the Italian city of Arezzo in 1747, to a wealthy, noble family. Her baptismal name was Anna Maria Redi. At the age of nine, she was sent to a Benedictine boarding school in Florence. Her course was decided by the example of one of her older schoolmates. One of the girls who had graduated from the boarding school several years before approached one of Anna Maria's teachers to thank her for the education and the Christian formation, as she was entering the Carmelites. Anna Maria saw the deep joy on this young woman's face and instantly knew that she, too, desired to enter the Carmelites. Anna Maria, like many saints on fire with God, decided to pursue joy.
In the spring of 1764, Anna Maria returned home and began to live as a Carmelite in her own home, to practice the disciplines of the order. That September, she applied to the Monastery of St. Teresa in Florence. She was admitted that November. She took the name Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart and professed her vows in March of 1766.
Teresa was assigned the role of community nurse, and she tenderly cared for the suffering sisters in her care, particularly those experiencing mental illness. Teresa devoted herself to caring for her fellow sisters and cultivating her robust interior life. As a Carmelite sister, Teresa maintained the disposition of joy that drew her to the order, despite rebukes and harsh treatment. She continually repeated the phrase from 1 John 4:8: "God is love," and received deep insight into it in prayer.
Teresa died at the age of twenty-three, on March 11, 1770, in the midst of an outbreak of a disease in the monastery. She continued caring for other ill nuns until she reached her deathbed. Teresa's body, swollen from disease, at the time of her funeral, had miraculously been restored to its healthy form.
St. Teresa Margaret Redi, mystic and Carmelite, who fully embodied the truth that "God is love"—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Teresa Margaret Redi is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
