Do "unclean spirits" still exist?

READINGS FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 71

                                                         Ir-4 Ħadd tas-Sena ‘B’                                                             

Messalin ‘B’ pp 356

Reading 1     Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Moses spoke to all the people, saying: “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen. This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘This was well said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.’”

1 QARI     Dewteronomju 18:15-20

Il-Mulej, Alla tieghek, iqajjimlek profeta bhali minn gensek, minn fost hutek; lilu ghandkom tisimghu. Dan kollu skond ma tlabt inti stess lill-Mulej, Alla tieghek, fil-Horeb f'jum il-laqgha, meta ghedt: 'Jalla ma nismax aktar lehen il-Mulej, Alla tieghi, u ma narax aktar dan in-nar iheggeg, halli ma mmutx.' U l-Mulej qalli: 'Sewwa ghamlu li tkellmu. Jiena nqajjmilhom profeta bhalek, minn fost huthom; nqieghed kliemi fuq fommu, u jhabbrilhom kull ma nordnalu. Min ma jaghtix widen ghal kliemi li huwa jhabbar f'ismi, jiena nitolbu kont talli jkun naqas. U jekk xi profeta jfettillu jghid f'ismi hwejjeg li ma nkunx qabbadtu jghid, jew inkella jhabbar f'isem allat ohra, dan il-profeta jkun haqqu l-mewt.

Responsorial Psalm       PSalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

  Salm Responsorjali            SALM 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

R./ Isimghu lehen il-Mulej, u la twebbsux qalbkom

Ejjew, ħa nfaħħru bl-hena l-Mulej,

ħa ngħajjtu bil-ferħ lill-blata tas-salvazzjoni tagħna!

Nersqu quddiemu b'għana ta' radd il-ħajr,

ngħannulu b'għajat  ta' ferħ.                           /R

Ejjew inqimuh u ninxteħtu quddiemu,

għarkubbtejna quddiem il-Mulej li ħalaqna!

Għaliex hu Alla tagħna,

u aħna l-poplu tal-mergħa tiegħu u

n-nagħaġ tiegħu.                                                  /R

M'hux li kontu llum tisimgħu leħnu!

 "La twebbsux qalbkom bħal f'Meriba,

bħal dakinhar f'Massa,  fid-deżert,

meta ġarrbuni u ttantawni missirijietkom,

għalkemm raw dak li jien għamilt.              /R

Reading 2                 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.  I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

2 Qari                 1 Korintin 7:32-35

Iva, jiena rridkom bla ħsibijiet. Ir-raġel mhux miżżewweġ, ħsiebu fil-ħwejjeġ tal-Mulej, jiġifieri, kif jogħġob lill-Mulej. Min hu miżżewweġ, ħsiebu fil-ħwejjeġ tad-dinja, jiġifieri, kif jogħġob lil martu, u hu mifrud fih innifsu. Hekk ukoll il-mara mhix miżżewwġa u x-xebba ħsiebhom fil-ħwejjeġ tal-Mulej, jiġifieri, biex ikunu qaddisa f'ġisimhom u f'ruħhom. Iżda l-mara miżżewwġa ħsiebha fil-ħwejjeġ tad-dinja, jiġifieri, kif togħġob lil żewġha. Dan qiegħed ngħidhulkom għall-ġid tagħkom, mhux biex inxekkilkom, iżda għall-ġid tagħkom u biex tgħixu marbutin mal-Mulej bla tixrid ta' moħħ.

Gospel     Mark 1:21-28

Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

Vangelu     Mark 1:21-28

U daħlu Kafarnahum. Malajr, f'jum is-Sibt, daħal fis-sinagoga u qagħad jgħallem. In-nies baqgħu mistagħġbin bil-mod tat-tagħlim tiegħu, għax beda jgħallimhom bħal wieħed li għandu s-setgħa, u mhux bħall-kittieba. Mela jkun hemm fis-sinagoga tagħhom raġel bi spirtu ħażin u qabad jgħajjat u jgħid: "Aħna x'għandna x'naqsmu, Ġesù ta' Nazaret? Ġejt biex teqridna? Jien naf min int: 'Il-Qaddis ta' Alla'."Imma Ġesù kkmandah: "Iskot?" qallu,"u oħroġ minnu." Mbagħad l-ispirtu ħażin lir-raġel beda jħabbtu ħafna, għajjat għajta kbira u ħareġ minnu. U lkoll stagħġbu, u bdew jistaqsu lil xulxin u jgħidu: "Dan x'inhu? X'tagħlim ġdid mogħti    bis-setgħa! Sa lill-ispirti ħżiena jikkmanda, u huma joqogħdu għalih?" U l-fama tiegħu malajr xterdet ma' l-inħawi kollha tal-Galilija.

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COMMENTARY   - Fr Raniero Cantalamessa on Unclean Spirits

The Unclean Spirit Came Out of Him

"Then a man with an unclean spirit cried out: 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.' Jesus then rebuked him saying: 'Be silent and come out of him!' And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him" What do you think of this episode narrated in this Sunday's Gospel and of many other similar incidents present in the Gospel? Do "unclean spirits" still exist? Does the devil exist?

When we speak of belief in the devil, we must distinguish two levels: the level of popular beliefs and the intellectual level (literature, philosophy and theology). On the popular level, or the level of customs, our present situation is not that different from the Middle Ages, or the 14th-16th centuries, sadly famous for the importance given to diabolical phenomena. There no longer are, it is true, Inquisition trials, deaths at the stake for the possessed, witch hunts and similar things; but practices that have the devil at the centre are even more widespread than they were then, and not only among the poor and popular classes. It has become a social (and commercial!) phenomenon of vast proportions. More than that, it could be said that the more one tries to expel the devil out the door, so much more does he return through the window; the more he is excluded from faith, the stronger he gets in superstition.

Things are very different at the intellectual and cultural level. Here the most absolute silence already reigns about the devil. The enemy no longer exists. R. Bultmann, the author of the demystification, wrote: "One cannot make use of electric light and the radio, one cannot make use of medical means and clinics in case of illness and at the same time believe in the world of spirits."

I believe that one of the reasons that many find it difficult to believe in the devil is because they look for him in books, whereas the devil is not interested in books, but rather in souls. Paul VI reaffirmed forcefully the biblical and traditional doctrine on this "dark agent and enemy that is the devil." He wrote, among other things: "Evil is no longer only a deficiency, but an efficiency, a living, spiritual, perverted and perverting being, terrible reality, mysterious and dreadful."

In this realm, however, the crisis has not happened in vain, without bearing even positive fruits. In the past, talk of the devil was often exaggerated; he was seen where he was not; many offenses and injustices were committed with the pretext of fighting him; much discretion and prudence is necessary not to fall in the enemy's game. To see the devil everywhere is no less deflecting than to see him nowhere. St. Augustine said: "The devil rejoices when he is accused. More than that, he wants you to accuse him; he accepts gladly all your recrimination, if this serves to dissuade you from making your confession!"

Therefore, one understands the Church's prudence in discouraging the indiscriminate practice of exorcism by people who have not received any mandate to exercise this ministry.

Our cities are full of people who make exorcism one of the many paid practices and they boast of removing "spells, the evil eye, bad luck, malignant negativities on people, houses, enterprises, commercial activities." It is surprising that in a society such as ours, so alert to commercial frauds and willing to denounce cases of excessive credit and abuses in the exercise of a profession, many people are found willing to swallow such hoaxes.

That day, even before Jesus said anything in the synagogue of Capernaum, the unclean spirit felt ejected and obliged to come out in the open. It was Jesus' "holiness" that seemed "untenable" for the unclean spirit. The Christian who lives in grace and is temple of the Holy Spirit, bears in himself some of this holiness of Christ, and it is precisely the latter which operates, in the environments where he lives, a silent and effective exorcism.

[Translation from the Italian original by ZENIT]   © Innovative Media Inc.