Click here for Mass readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 30, 2011 (Year A):
"They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them." (Mt 23:4)
Friday night I sat in a packed gym listening to an exorcist speak. Fr. Vincent Lampert, one of the few Vatican trained exorcists in the United States, spoke for two hours about various dimensions to the battle between good and evil. He emphasized several great points, one of which was the care the Church takes to distinguish between mental disturbances vs true possession, obsession, oppression, or infestation (i.e. varying degrees of the presence and influence of evil). Fr. Lampert was quick to point out that the Church works to alleviate the suffering of all those who approach an exorcist - whether that means directing people to seek out psychological or psychiatric help, or in the few cases where there is true possession, setting them free from the dominion of the devil and helping them build a true life of prayer, faith, and virtue.
This is obviously a time of the year when many people become intrigued once again with Halloween, evil, the devil, and various forms of paranormal activity - sometimes in an exaggerated or unhealthy manner. So I thought I'd highlight the main themes found in Sunday's Gospel reading and then reflect on the relationship between Jesus' message and the realm of evil.
Jesus comes on strongly in his rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees this Sunday. He admonishes them on two main fronts: seeking to secure their own honor and glory in the eyes of others instead of seeking the honor and glory of God, and using their God-given authority to lay up heavy burdens for others and not help out, instead of using their authority to serve, build up, and set people free (see Luke 4:18-19). Such an abuse of God's authority is ultimately a transgression of the two greatest commandments (the love of God and love of others), which explains Jesus' vehement denouncement. But what I find intriguing is the correlation between these lessons and Fr. Lampert's talk on exorcisms on Friday night.
In the exorcisms which Fr. Lampert either performed or witnessed, he noted certain common denominators. First of all, there was the absence of God in the person's life. Then there was a moment or something that started the person down the wrong path, where a relationship with evil was established - some sort of connection. Sometimes in the search for a sense of power or control over life (or out of dangerous curiosity), people turned to psychics, mediums, Ouija boards, seances, tarot cards, palm readers, or they began dabbling in white magic or the occult. All of these things open up doorways to evil and the gravest of problems. On one hand, God is removed from the picture and faith supplanted by something else - an idol - which exalts itself and strikes at the heart of the first and greatest commandment. The second correlation between the Gospel and Fr. Lampert's talk has to do with "tying up heavy burdens" for other people. Similar to the scribes and Pharisees laying heavy burdens on people, those who open themselves to evil begin to discover what real oppression, bondage, and slavery are all about. Fr. Lampert pointed out the other night that all of those who had at one time been possessed end up recounting the same experience of bondage: "When the demon manifested himself I was a prisoner, conscious of what was taking place, but without control of my body, my movements, my voice, or the words I was saying." Instead of tying up heavy burdens, the Church uses the God-given authority she has received to set people free of this horrific bondage and suffering, and then builds them up by helping them to establish a real relationship with God through faith and prayer.
Where the Church directs us to honor and glorify God and exhorts us to keep ourselves free from the dominion of sin, the devil works in direct opposition to lead us to glorify something or someone else (often times ourselves) and subtly fall prey to the dark slavery of sin and evil. While the devil is real and powerful, exorcisms also remind us that He is no match for the power of God. So let us reconsecrate ourselves to God and Our Lady this Sunday at Mass, and ask Him for the grace to seek always His greater glory and honor in the day to day decisions of life. May we faithfully reflect the power and splendor of God's love and work to overcome evil with goodness (Romans 12:21). God bless you!
(Photo of the "No One Comes to the Father but by Me" courtesy of Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.)
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