Coming from Afar

Seeing how all history is really Jesus’ story

12/25/2022

Mt 1:1-25 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.

What causes the twists and turns in the river of history? What are history’s major moments? We might be tempted to answer that it is the world wars, or the election of presidents or the enthroning of kings or even natural disasters that move the needle of history. That is what we read about in history books. But I would suggest to you that the real catalyst that determines the course of history is the birth of a baby. After all, it was a baby who became George Washington, our first president. And another baby who became Adolph Hitler, who started World War II. In other words, babies change history.

And ultimately all history revolves around the birth of One Baby, namely, Jesus. We even mark the days and months, years and centuries and millennia according to his birthday. B.C. means Before Christ, and A.D. is Latin for Anno Domini, meaning in the year of our Lord. Even the kings of the earth came to worship this Baby at his birth because they sensed this was the central event of history.

Someone sent me a funny meme the other day. It had two men staring at a Nativity scene. One man asked: “Why are your three kings dressed as firefighters?” The other man answered, “Well, the Bible says that the three kings came from afar.” But it was actually a brilliant idea to dress the kings as firefighters because not only did they come from a far, they were also going to a fire. How so? Hb 12:29 describes God saying: “For our God is an all-consuming fire.”

That is, the fire of God’s love is burning hot and out of control, and all time and history basks in the glow of that divine Inferno of love all wrapped up in an Infant. In other words, what we discover in this Baby in Bethlehem is that history is really “his story.” And he stands in the middle of that story like the burning sun at the center of our solar system, and all creation and all time are like planets revolving around the Son, Jesus.

Today we hear the magnificent opening verses of the gospel of St. Matthew. Now, truth be told, most priests and deacons dread reading the long genealogy of Jesus because of all the tongue-twisting Old Testament names. But I love it. Why? Well, because among other things, Matthew wants to make it crystal clear that the catalyst that controls the march of history is not kings or wars or disasters, but rather the birth of a baby.

And it is precisely through the birth of characters like Amminadab and Rehoboah, Abijah and Jechoniah, Eliakim and Eleazar, that the birth of Jesus finally bursts on the scene. Their births made his birth possible. The final line of that genealogy is like a thunderous crescendo of a great symphony, where Matthew writes: “And of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” I always get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I get to that last line. And by the way, it is not only the crescendo of Matthew’s genealogy, but it is also the crescendo of all history and humanity.

And I think about this too. God could have sent Jesus into the world a hundred different and much more dramatic ways. Jesus could have parachuted down from the sky a fully grown man with bulging muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He could have ridden into Jerusalem on a white horse wearing armor and brandishing a huge sword. He could have appeared as a general of an army arrayed with countless weapons at his command. That’s what I would have done, and maybe you, too, if we were to save the world.

But God decided that his Son would enter the world as a helpless little Baby. Why? Because God knows that what causes the twists and turns of history, what moves the needle of time, is the birth of a baby. And this beautiful Baby would be greater than all the kings and presidents and generals who ever lived combined. And as a down payment of the homage of all humanity, three kings “came from afar” dressed as firefighters to adore the blazing Son of God.

My friends, when you think about your own history, what accounts for its twists and turns? What changes your life profoundly and permanently? Sometimes we mistakenly think it is our accomplishments or our wealth or our reputation. But those things are really small potatoes compared to the birth of a baby, or a grandbaby. When my brother and sister had a combined total of 9 children, my father’s only comment was: “Keep them coming!” My father understood intuitively that what makes our family history meaningful and moves it forward is the birth of a baby, especially grandbabies.

I receive dozens of Christmas letters from parishioners and family and friends. And do you know what all those letters are invariably about? They are full of the stories of the children and grandchildren and sometimes even their dogs and their cats. But not one Christmas letter mentions enthroning a king, or the election of a president, or the military victory of a four-star general. Just like the gospel of Matthew begins with Jesus’ human family, so our Christmas letters are all about our precious family members.

And on Christmas day we remember the most important member of our family is Jesus. Just like Amminadab, Jechoniah, and Abijah, we want Jesus to be part of our family story. Or better yet, we want our family story to be part of his story, which is ultimately the center of all history. Maybe we should all dress up as firefighters for Christmas, too. Why? We, too, all “come from afar” to worship our God, who is “an all-consuming fire”, an Inferno inside an Infant, smiling at the very heart of history.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

A New Name

Learning the importance of bestowing a new name

12/18/2022

Mt 1:18-24 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Well, you will never guess what I did this weekend. Do you give up? I adopted a dog, and so I have become a “dog-dad”. I guess I miss having Fr. Daniel’s dog, Lola, around to go on walks with and watch movies with. And now I will also have someone to practice preaching my Sunday homilies on before I deliver them at Mass. And if my dog falls asleep, then I know my homily needs more work! He is a mix between a lab and a pit bull, which means he’s very loving but also very athletic and strong.

One of the most important things a dog-dad has to do is give his dog a great name. When I got the dog at the rescue, they said his name was “Presley.” But I am not a big fan of Elvis Presley, so I would like to give him a new name. And I would like a little help from our parishioners. I have a list of nine possible names on a sheet of paper in the back of church. There is also a blank at the bottom, if you would like to suggest another name for Presley. There is also a picture of me and Presley so you can see what name suits him best. I will tally up the votes and see what name the congregation likes best. And then I will give Presley whatever name I want, because after all the Catholic Church is not a democracy.

I mention all this news about names because surprisingly that is exactly what our Scriptures speak about today at Mass. For example, the first reading from Isaiah, the prophet tells King Ahaz: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” And six hundred years later we would learn that Virgin’s name was Mary. And we all know the name Emmanuel means “God is with us.”

In the gospel today, an angel appears to St. Joseph in a dream and tells him some news about a name. He says: “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home…She will bear a son and you are name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now, unfortunately, an angel did not appear to me in a dream and tell me what to name Presley, so I need your help in our parish poll for Presley’s new name. In a sense, you will be my angel.

But names are not negligible or unimportant and they should be chosen carefully and lovingly. They are charged with meaning and over the course of time they carry historical and even cosmic consequences. For instance, the name Jesus (Yeshua) means “God saves” and that names touches the deepest core of Christ’s identity: he was born in Bethlehem to save us. The holy Name of Jesus is so sacred and singular that modern Americans would never think to bestow that name on their own children whom they love more than life itself.

At Mass, some priests and people slightly bow their heads whenever the name of Jesus is uttered in the liturgy. Why? Well, because St. Paul said in Phil 2:10: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” In other words, there is only one name that will save us, because that is what the name “Jesus” itself means, namely, “God saves.” And God the Father gave his Son that name with unspeakable love and tenderness.

My friends, today let me invite you to give a little thought not just to your dog’s name or even to Jesus holy name, but to your own name, and the names of others. Why? Well, because your parents chose your name as an expression of their love for you and all their hopes and dreams for what you might become. There is a lot of love crammed into that little word that is your name.

And that is why everyone has a right to a good name, a good reputation. That is, not only should we not take God’s name in vain, but we should also not take other’s names in vain, in the ways we speak about them and utter their names. Names should be treated with utmost respect and even with reverence.

But did you know that God also wants to give you a new name? Of course we are given lots of names over the course of our life, some good and some maybe not so good. But the name God wants to give us will also express God’s eternal love and hopes and dreams for each of us and everything we should become, like the name of Jesus does for God’s Son. We read in Rv 2:17, “I shall also give a white stone upon which is inscribed a new name which no one knows except the one who receives it.”

In other words, we will not know this new name until we get to heaven and God reveals it to us. So, all the names we are given on earth are only imperfect approximations to the new and perfect name God will give us in the end. That means that we really do not know ourselves fully yet, because we do not yet know our true name, which God alone can give us. But one day we will know it, and we will know the full extent of God’s love for us. So, in the meantime, let’s just work on a new name for Presley.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Consulting the Faithful

Learning the purpose of the Synod on Synodality

12/13/2022

MT 21:28-32 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.”

This past Sunday I read Bishop Taylor’s letter on the Synod on Synodality. I think that subject of a synod is serious enough to warrant another sermon. For those of you who keep up with Catholic news (Church watchers), you know how this synod has stirred up quite a bit of controversy in some parts of the world. Bishops writing to other bishops and telling them to stand down. Some of you may have been surprised or even shocked when I shared the 11 areas of concern raised during the diocesan phase of this synod. Put simply, some Catholics feel this synod is pushing the Church in the wrong direction, even flirting with heresy.

There may be some legitimacy for those concerns, but I believe those concerns miss the larger purpose and the good the synodal process can accomplish. I tried to describe the synodal process as listening and learning between church leaders (like bishops, priests, and deacons) and the laity, and compared it to the familial relationship between parents and children. How so?

Well, while it is true that most of the time parents lead, guide, and teach their children, at some critical moments children also lead, guide, and teach their parents. All wise parents know they owe a debt of gratitude for many lessons they have learned from their children. That listening and learning between parents and children is the heart of the synodal process, and its greatest contribution to the life of the Church.

I said all that last Sunday. In this second sermon on the synod, I want to share the groundbreaking insights of a recently canonized saint, John Henry Newman, and his work called “On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine.” Newman was a convert to Catholicism in England in the mid-1800’s. One thing that convinced Newman of the truth of the Catholic faith was the study of Church history. In other words, if you seriously and soberly study the history of Christianity, you must conclude that the Catholic Church is the one true Church that Jesus Christ established. And our Lord founded that Church on St. Peter, the rock.

But a careful study of Church history also teaches another valuable lesson, namely, the crucial importance and involvement of the laity (everyone who is not ordained clergy) in the life and mission of the Church. At one point Bishop Ullathorne paid Newman a visit to question him about his views and asked haughtily, “And who are the laity?” And Newman humbly answered, “Well, the Church would look foolish without them.” Newman’s comment wasn’t just a sharp come-back; it was also a sharp insight that really bishops, priests, and deacons exist not for ourselves, but to serve lay persons. In the same way, good parents know their real purpose in life is to raise up holy children. That is, without children, parents would look foolish.

In his small book Newman cites two clear instances where the lay people helped the Church to maintain the true faith, while even bishops fell into confusion, doubt, and heresy. The first, and most stunning case was the Arian heresy of the fourth century. Arianism denied that Jesus was fully God, even though they believed he was fully human. That’s probably hard for us to imagine.

Newman wrote this very pregnant sentence: “The body of the faithful is one of the witnesses to the fact of the tradition of revealed doctrine, and because their consensus through Christendom is the voice of the Infallible Church.” In other words, that voice and that consensus of the faithful speaking for the Holy Spirit is what the Synod on Synodality hopes to achieve.

As I said, the first instance of which the voice of the faithful was highlighted was during the Arian heresy. Newman explained: This period in the fourth century is “the age of doctors, illustrated, as it was, by the saints Athanasius, Hilary…Augustine,…nevertheless, in that very day the divine tradition committed to the infallible Church was proclaimed and maintained far more by the faithful than by the Episcopate.”

By the way “episcopate” means the body of bishops, while the word “presbyterate” refers to the body of priests. Newman continues: “In that time of immense confusion the divine dogma of Our Lord’s divinity was proclaimed, enforced, maintained, and (humanly speaking) preserved, far more by the Ecclesia docta (laity) than by the Ecclesia docens (bishops).” That is the laity got it right while the bishops got it wrong.

The second instance of consulting the faithful was the declaration of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, or in Italian “Pio Nono” which was a fitting name because he often said, “No” to a lot of things. But one thing Pio Nono said “yes” to was checking with the laity before declaring and defining that Mary was immaculately conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne.

In other words, the Holy Father was saying in so many words, “Hey guys, I think I’m right about the Immaculate Conception of Mary. But just to double-check myself, and to be sure, what do you guys thing about it?” And he conducted a world-wide consultation of the faithful. And the voice of the consensus of the faithful rose up in a chorus of approval and praise. After having consulted the faithful, the pope knew he was on the right track. He had heard the voice of the Holy Spirit in the voices of the people.

This, then, is the purpose of the Synod on Synodality, listening and learning from one another. In other words, trying to train our ears to hear how the Holy Spirit speaks through the clergy (to be sure), but also speaks at important times through the laity. When St. John Henry Newman was asked, “What is the laity?” he answered, “The Church would look foolish without them.” In addition, the Church might also err in matters of faith without them.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Hard to Hack

Coming up with Christian codes to protect our faith

12/08/2022

Lk 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

When I was first ordained a priest, I was assigned to Christ the King Church in Little Rock. My pastor was Msgr. Gaston Hebert, who was like the “Msgr. Galvin” of Little Rock. He was a big deal. As he was showing me around the rectory, my first home as a priest, he told me the garage door code. It was 1208. He asked me if I could guess what the numbers stood for. Can YOU guess what 1208 stands for? Don’t worry, I could not guess either. He said, “Well, 1208 is December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. And so it should be easy to remember the garage door code.”

He was right! I not only remembered the garage door code, but I use 1208 for many of my other passwords. Don’t tell anyone. Whenever I create a new account I try to put 1208 into the password. Now, not only is that 4-digit code easy to remember, but it is also hard to hack. Why? Well, because most people’s passwords use their name or their children’s names, or their dog’s name, or their birthday, or some other memorable number. But hackers know all that and so they can crack the codes of our passwords easily. But guess what hackers never think of: spiritual codes, saints feasts, our patron’s name, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just like you and I could not guess what 1208 means, so it is hard for hackers, too.

Now, being hacked was not just a problem for us modern Christians. It was a problem for the early Christians, too. The early Christians did not want to protect their log-in passwords, but they did want to protect their Christian identity. Why? Well, if people found out someone was a Christian, they would throw you into prison, persecute you, and probably feed you to the lions. That is a lot worse than having your computer hacked!

And so, the early Christians came up with a code, kind of like Msgr. Hebert’s 1208, to protect themselves. Their Christian code was the word fish in Greek, which is ICHTHUS. In the Roman Empire streets were often made of sand. If one Christian approached another and wanted to see if they were both Christians, one made an arc with his sandal. If the other person was also a Christian, he completed the arc with another, upside down arc, which formed the outline of a fish in the sand, an ICHTHUS. And that is why Catholics are called fish-eaters, not just because we eat fish on Fridays.

But the fish symbol goes a lot deeper than that. The letters of fish in Greek, ICHTHUS, spell out the whole Christian faith. The I is for Jesus (I’s and J’s are virtually identical), the “CH” is for Christ. The “TH” is for theus, the Greek word for God. The “U” is “huius” meaning son. And the final “S” is for soter, meaning savior. Did you catch all that? Well, that’s kind of the point. But if you put all that together you get: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior” – the whole Christian faith in a nutshell, or better, in a little fish. And no ancient hacker could crack that code.

My friends, we are constantly coming up with codes and passwords and logins. Well, why don’t we use Christian signs, saints, and the Immaculate Conception 1208 to protect our privacy like Msgr. Hebert and the early Christians did? For example, when I pump gas, I always tap the nozzle at the pump three times. Instead of counting, “I, 2, 3” I say, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” When I turn the portable mic off at the end of Mass, I have to hold the button down for a few seconds. Instead of counting to three, again I say, “Father, Son, Holy Spirit.” This is why almost all Hispanic men are named “Jose” for St. Joseph, and why Hispanic women are frequently called “Maria,” for Mother Mary.

In other words, when we think of Christian numbers for garage door codes, when we name our children for Mary and the saints, and even how we pump gas, we are transforming the temporal order with our faith. Nothing is left outside the Kingdom of God. And that transformation began with Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. She was the first person touched by faith, and she was immaculately conceived. She was the first Christian code in this world that changed it forever, and prepared the way for her Son.

In other words, we are making the whole world we live in part of the Kingdom of Christ, one garage door code at a time. And the best part is: Christian coding always has been and always will be, hard to hack.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

 

Here He Comes

Preparing for Jesus by understanding his parables

12/06/2022

Mt 18:12-14 Jesus said to his disciples: "What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

I’ll never forget when Msgr. Scott Friend explained that there are several things that Jesus was bad at. I remember that startling me because I thought: “No, way, Jesus is good at everything.” But in fact he was right, there are several things that Jesus does very poorly. For example, he mentioned that Jesus is a very bad gardener. Our Lord says that we should let the weeds grow up together with the wheat. No master gardener would do that, only a bad one.

And then he said that Jesus is a very bad businessman. How so? Well, he hires people and pays those who work a full day exactly the same amount as those who only work one hour. No CEO would allow that because you would go bankrupt, but the unions would love that! That shows that Jesus is a bad businessman. And monsignor was right.

And in the gospel today we see the third thing that Jesus is bad at, namely, in being a shepherd. Again Jesus says that it is very clear that if one sheep goes astray, you should leave the ninety-nine and go in search of the one that is lost. Well, no good shepherd would do such a thing. A good shepherd would make sure that the ninety-nine are safe so that he doesn’t lose any more. Cut your losses by letting the one stray go.

And so it is true that in our calculation, our way of thinking, human thinking, earthly thinking, Jesus is bad at these occupations. He is a poor businessman, he is a poor farmer, and he is a poor shepherd. But Jesus is trying to teach us another kind of thinking, an eternal way of thinking, God’s way of thinking, a heavenly way of thinking, that looks pretty poor by earthly standards.

Today we see what, at least I believe this parable means, that when Jesus says he leaves the ninety-nine in search of the one stray, he’s talking about leaving the righteous in search of the sinner. And we have to be very careful when we listen to that parable, because we all have a tendency (myself included) to think that well I’m doing pretty good. I must be among the ninety-nine.

And we conclude sometimes too easily that of course the big sinners live in the big cities and commit all the big sins, the drug lords and the prostitutes. They are the stray; they are the one lost sheep. Me, on the other hand, I am right here in church going to Mass and doing pretty good. Surely, I am among the ninety-nine righteous. Well, that is precisely not the point of Jesus’ parable.

My understanding of it, and I might not be exactly right, is that when Jesus leaves the ninety-nine in search of the stray, he is really leaving heaven, where the ninety-nine righteous are. He’s leaving the good angels, who have been saved and are eternally righteous, in search of the lost sheep. That one lost sheep symbolizes all of humanity, all of us, each one of us, here on earth. Jesus, in other words, leaves the righteous angels in heaven and comes in search of us on earth, the lost sheep. And thank goodness that he does!

That is the point of all the parables. We are not the workers who work the full day. We are the ones who look for short-cuts and work only the one hour. And yet, in his generosity and his mercy he pays us more than we deserve. We are not the wheat in his garden, we are the weeds. We are the sinners who he allows to continue to grow in the hope that we might change before it is time for the harvest.

We are the weeds, we are the lost sheep, we are the one-hour worker. That is the point of Jesus’ parables. We are not the righteous sheep, we are not the wheat, we are not the diligent workers. And that is what Christmas is all about. Here he comes. Here he comes, to save us.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Driving out Demons

Expelling demons and being filled with God

11/27/2022

9:35–10:1, 5A, 6-8 Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Then he summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

I saw a funny meme the other day that said, “Everyone makes fun of the Catholic Church until they have a demon in their house.” But I think that meme says more than it seems at first sight. How so? Well, I believe people also “make fun of demons until they have a demon in their house.” In other words, demon possession might not only help you believe in the Catholic Church, it can also help you believe in demons themselves. Sadly, we live in a society that is asleep to the spiritual world, and sometimes it takes a demon to wake us up from our dogmatic slumber. Demon possession is never a good thing, of course, but sometimes it can have some beneficial, even if unintended, consequences.

In the gospel today, Jesus has no doubts about demons and no doubts about the Church to which he gives the authority to cast out demons. We read from Matthew 10, the great missionary discourse, as well as the third Luminous Mystery of the rosary called the Proclamation of the Gospel. Notice what Jesus tells his apostles (his first bishops) to do: “As you go make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.”

It is so significant that Jesus says “the Kingdom of heaven” because all these healings are exactly what being in heaven will feel like, especially driving out demons. In Rv 12:7-9, we hear how St. Michael drove demons out of heaven, and now the apostles drive demons out, because they are bringing the Kingdom of heaven down to earth.

Now, usually not a week goes by in which someone does not call the church and ask for a priest to come and bless their house because people think they have a demon in their home. And what do we do? I send Fr. Bala, and tell him to go check it out and let me know how it goes. But seriously, we do get such calls and we go and bless people’s home with holy water.

In a sense, every house blessing with holy water is a pseudo-baptism of that home. Why? Well, because part of the baptism of a baby includes an exorcism. That occurs when we anoint the baby on the chest with oleo catecumenorum, which is Latin for the oil of catechumens. That anointing includes a prayer of exorcism. In other words, in every baptism, as well as at every house blessing, we fulfill Jesus’ command today to “drive out demons.”

My friends the commission to drive out demons is not exclusively the task of bishops and priests, but also the job of every Christian. In other words, every Christian has to bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth so that both heaven and earth can be filled with angels rather than demons. I tell people that the best way to drive out demons is not simply by a sprinkling of holy water and a few spiritual words, although that is very important.

In addition, a Christian drives out demons from his or her life by living faith, hope, and love. By immersing themselves in the Scripture and sacraments. By caring for the poor, the sick, the homeless, and the immigrants. I insist with people who just want me to come bless their house to drive out demons that such a blessing will do no good unless their life is transformed by the gospel. In other words, a demon does not just want to hang out in your house and scare you at night. He wants to hang out in your heart and torment you for eternity in hell.

If you find all this talk about driving out demons fascinating – at least so you don’t make fun of the Catholic Church – then perhaps you will enjoy reading C. S. Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters, about how a higher ranking demon gives advice to a lower ranking demon, who is actually his nephew. Lewis has a brilliant insight about why demons bother us and what they are finally after.

In one letter Screwtape, the uncle demon, writes about what Satan wants with humans versus what God wants with us. He says: “We want [humans like] cattle who can finally become [our] food. God wants servants who can finally become sons.” In other words, Satan and his demons want to consume us, whereas God allows us to consume him in Holy Communion. And being filled with God, and even becoming like God, is the only way to drive out demons.

Praised be Jesus Christ!