Catching Sight of Jesus

"Unclean spirit, come out out of the man," Jesus was saying to a demoniac whom  He encountered in the territory of the Gerasenes (See Mark 5: 1-20).  This man lived "among the tombs  and no one could restrain him...even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him....
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How terrifying for anyone and for the demoniac himself!  Jesus was unafraid and approached him. As He got near to him, the demon in the man shouted:  "What have you do do with me, Jesus, Son of  the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me! ....He asked him, 'What is your name?' [The Devil] replied, 'Legion is my name. There are many of us.'" The legion of evil spirits, united in their desire to stay in the region and not be driven away, spoke through one of them:   "Send us into the swine. Let us enter them."  Jesus granted their request and the possessed pigs dashed down the hill and into the sea where they all drowned.

Jesus has power over Satan and all of his fellow devils. There are legions of them roaming the earth, seeking someone to devour us. Their last desire is to be confined to hell, where they will be sent at the end of the world along with their followers, those bent on doing evil and avoiding the good here on earth, those who deny Jesus or God's existence, who do not accept God's give of salvation, who do not call out to God for deliverance from the chains and shackles that bind them to wrongdoing, to deceitfulness, to corruption, to avarice, to hatred and divisiveness, to covetousness and abuse of any kind, who submerge themselves in the "pleasures" to which Satan lures them at the expense of others and their own demise from living wholesome lives pleasing to God.

May you and I cling to God, catch sight of Jesus, who, in fact, does not leave us out of His sight,
and beg to be freed from the chains and shackles that bind us to any kind of wrongdoing. May we seek God's deliverance, knowing that God is a warrior God, a God who is on our side and feared by Satan and his legion of helpers. Let us not be afraid to approach Jesus in the Eucharist, in the sacrament of Reconciliation, in private, communal and family prayer time, no matter how we may have bruised ourselves or others by our sinfulness.
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