clearing the neighborhood of demons
"They went off, preaching the need of repentance. They expelled many demons, anointed the sick with oil, and worked many cures." —Mark 6:12-13
Jesus gave His Church authority to expel demons (Mk 6:7, 13). As members of the Church, we have the responsibility to apply the Church's authority to the situations in which we find ourselves. We do this by commanding Satan to leave in the name of Jesus. If we are in Christ and in His Church, we can expel demons by:
- saying: "In Jesus' name, be gone,"
- renewing our baptismal promises,
- praying the Mass,
- going to Confession,
- making the "Sign of the Cross,"
- using holy water, and
- praying the "St. Michael Prayer."
Simply, we apply the Church's authority over the devil by obeying the Lord. When we have made the commitment to obey the Lord completely, we can bring down the strongholds of the evil one, demolish his sophistries and proud pretensions, make every thought captive to Jesus (2 Cor 10:4-5), and quickly crush Satan under our feet (Rm 16:20).
Our "culture of death" is demonically driven and obsessed. We who are in the Church can do something about this. Be under the Lord's authority so as to be in authority over the evil one.
Prayer: Father, by Your grace I will resist the devil and he will flee (Jas 4:7).
Promise: "Take courage and be a man. Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God, following His ways and observing His statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do." —1 Kgs 2:2-3
Praise: Joan so honors the Triune God that comments are often made that her home is filled with the same Holy Presence that is felt in a church.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, August 18, 2001
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 25, 2001