14 October 2024
Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Or Optional Memorial of Saint Callistus I, Pope and Martyr

Luke 11: 29-32
Appreciating the miracles

When Jesus’ adversaries could not challenge him fairly, they turned to defamation. They claimed that his ability to cast out demons was because he was allied with the prince of demons. Jesus responded to them with a powerful and decisive rebuttal.

The act of resorting to slander when facing honest opposition is not an unusual occurrence. There is nothing so cruel as slander, because the human mind always tends to think the worst and very often the human ear prefers to hear the derogatory rather than the complimentary tale. We should not assume that we are exempt from this particular sin. How frequently do we default to assuming the worst about others? How often do we deliberately impute low motives to someone whom we dislike? How frequently do we spread malicious gossip and tarnish reputations over casual conversations? Reflecting on this should not lead to complacency but prompt self-examination.

He who was not with him was against him and that he who did not help to gather the flock helped to scatter it abroad. There is no place for neutrality in the Christian life. The man who stands aloof from the good cause automatically helps the evil one. A person is either on the way or in the way, becoming an obstruction for others.

Cleansing of the temple was not the only occasion when we saw the angry face of Jesus. Refusing to see the wonders and miracles around us and denying the hand of God working in our lives is an evil act – the work of the devil.

That is why when Jesus drove away the demons, healed the sick, calmed the sea, and fed the hungry, ordinary people were thrilled and joyous at God’s mighty works among them.

© Claretian Publications, Macau
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica 2024