Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 24, 2022
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.”
The last line of today’s gospel strikes at the heart: “Whoever is not with me is against me.” What does it mean to be with Jesus?
Years ago, I met with a newly ordained priest for spiritual direction. His faith was simple, and his love of God infectious. Fr. Pavel emphasized that to mature in faith, I must embrace suffering. During one conversation, he recollected the first time he administered last rites. As he made the sign of the cross on the patient’s forehead, Fr. Pavel heard the man draw his final breath. At that moment, this young priest realized that ministry was impossible without a profound acceptance of the cross.
Honestly, his advice was hard. Suffering and pain aren’t comfortable places to land, but they are unavoidable in this world. Ours is the faith of the suffering servant. Perhaps that is the essence of Christ’s statement. Ultimately, to be with Jesus means to embrace his mission from the Father, a mission that leads to suffering and death.
When I am not with Christ, I live in opposition to God’s will. When I run from struggles and attempt to avoid suffering, I am against Christ.
So how do we stay with Jesus? I believe he gives us the key in the section of Luke just before this passage. There Jesus talks about perseverance in prayer. Prayer cultivates the life grafted onto Christ. Through prayer, we remain with Jesus and receive the grace to accept our sufferings.
During Lent, we focus intensely on Christ’s ultimate sacrifice at Calvary. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving train us to accept redemptive suffering. Walking with Christ is not without hope because ultimately, we journey with him beyond the cross and into the light of the resurrection.
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
On October 14, 2018, Pope Francis canonized seven new saints of the Church, one of whom was the much-loved Archbishop Óscar Romero, long honored as a saint and martyr by the people of El Salvador. In standing with the marginalized and standing up to those who use their power to abuse and oppress the poor among the children of God, even at the cost of his life, Óscar Romero truly embodied Christ's words in John's Gospel: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13).
Óscar Romero was born on August 15, 1917, in Cuidad Barrios, El Salvador. The young Óscar attended the local public school from grades 1-3, and then studied under a tutor, as the public school offered no further education. His father trained Óscar as a carpenter, and, while Óscar was quite adept as a carpenter's apprentice, he wanted to become a priest. Thus, Óscar entered the minor seminary in San Miguel at the age of thirteen, and then the national seminary in San Salvador after his graduation.
Óscar attended the Gregorian University in Rome, completing his studies cum laude at the age of twenty-four, one year too young to be ordained a priest. Accordingly, Óscar was ordained a year later, on April 4, 1942, in the thick of World War II. Óscar obtained another degree in theology, and then, once called back by his bishops, he returned home to El Salvador at the age of twenty-six.
Óscar was assigned to a parish and quickly gained a reputation for his care for the imprisoned and the poor, and his beautiful, impassioned sermons. In 1970, Óscar was appointed an auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, then, in 1974, he was appointed the bishop of the Diocese of Santiago de María, a rural diocese.
On February 23, 1977, Óscar was appointed archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador's capital. Many wealthy members of the city's elite were pleased that Óscar, a Roman-trained, conservative bishop, had been appointed. As Marxist-infused liberation theology was growing in popularity throughout Latin America, those in power feared being ousted. But, to their chagrin, very soon after his appointment, the new Archbishop Romero's theological and political ideas underwent a rapid transformation. On March 12, 1977, Archbishop Romero's dear friend Rutilio Grande, himself a Catholic priest, was cruelly murdered by government thugs. Grande had been living in solidarity with the rural poor and speaking out against the military government. Grande’s death was a watershed moment for Archbishop Romero, as he realized that being a Catholic and being a priest meant standing with the poor and being a prophet against the establishment. Archbishop Romero ordered three days of mourning and a funeral mass in San Salvador's cathedral, despite advice to the contrary from those who feared government repercussions.
The rise to power of the Revolutionary Government Junta in 1979 led to increasing violence across the country, which would eventually become over twelve years of fighting. This escalating violence of the Salvadorean Civil War began to tear the country at the seams. Throughout the civil unrest, Archbishop Romero called for peace, held accountable the governments that were financing the violence, and criticized the Salvadorean government for its persecution of the Catholic Church. In his homily at Mass on March 23, the day before he died, Archbishop Romero rebuked the Salvadorean army for its violence against the citizens of El Salvador: “In the name of God, and in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I beg you, I implore you, I order you, in the name of God, stop the repression!”
Óscar Romero was murdered on March 24, 1980, while consecrating the Eucharist during Mass. His last words were a prayer for mercy for his assassin. Despite the danger of attending the funeral, thousands of Salvadorans attended his funeral Mass, even as the army fired into the congregation. His assassin has never been brought to justice.
Pope Francis beatified Óscar Romero in May 2015 in San Salvador. A crowd of more than 250,000 gathered to pay their respects to Archbishop Romero. Óscar Romero was canonized on October 14, 2018 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The photograph to the right shows Archbishop Romero with Paul VI, who was canonized on the same day.
Saint Óscar Romero, bishop, martyr, and prophetic voice for the people of God—pray for us!
To learn even more about Saint Óscar Romero, watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.