Homily on the 20th Sunday in O.T., 20 August 2023, Maryville Subd. Talamban
The other day, during one of our meals in the community, we suddenly found ourselves talking about a very scary topic – the reality of diabolical possessions. One confrere shared that when he was still in formation their professor made them watch a film based on a true story. It was entitled “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” Another confrere shared that years ago he actually witnessed one female students being tormented and possessed by an evil spirit. Despite the fact that she was rather skinny and small in stature, the young men who tried to pacify and subjugate her just couldn’t equal her strength. What was quite amazing was that when they tried to sprinkle her with Holy Water and make her look at the crucifix the possessed girl started to react very strongly.
So, you might ask: do devils and evil spirits really exist? And if they do, can demons really torment us and even possess us? The hard answer is YES. The devil is real. Evil spirits do exist. And if we are not careful we could be their next victim. But the good news is, we Catholics have a powerful weapon against them. It is the Rite of Exorcism used by carefully chosen priests, called exorcists.
Just to let you know more, some days ago my elder brother told me that Asia’s first “center for exorcism” will soon rise within the compound of San Carlos Seminary in Guadalupe, Makati. And the good Cardinal Advincula of Manila has requested him to manage its construction pro bono. It will be called “St. Michael Center for Spiritual Liberation and Exorcism”. Moreover, just a while ago two of our confreres from Manila together with other priest-exorcists have arrived at Mactan airport to attend a national convention of exorcists which will be held at the IEC starting tomorrow until Friday. These events somehow make us realize that demons and evil spirits are not fiction at all. They are a reality the Church has to contend with because our people continue to be afflicted and tormented by them even today.
In the Gospel passage we have just heard on this Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Matthew carefully narrates to us a story related to this. It happened when Jesus visited a non-Jewish territory, known as Tyre and Sidon. It was there that he met a helpless woman pleading for her daughter who was tormented by a demon.
At first Jesus showed indifference even if the woman tried to acknowledge him as Lord and Son of David. I guess that reaction proves how truly human Jesus can sometimes be. Aren’t we sometimes like that towards people who ask for help? Mo-message sila kanato sa ilahang request pero dili nato sila tagdon, ug ang ilang text dili nato tubagon. Kay, we feel they would communicate only when they need something. Motext lang sila kung naa silay kinahanglan. And when finally weare annoyed by their persistent follow up for our response, diha pa lang kita mo-reply: “O, nagmiss-call diay ka!” pretending as if we never got any of their messages.
In the Gospel story, Jesus’ seeming indifference took a different turn when he saw the woman’s amazing humility in admitting her lowly status. She, a Canaanite woman, didn’t mind being compared to a dog asking for a share of the food prepared for the children. So she just humbly said to Jesus, “Lord, even dogs eat the scraps that fall from the master’s table.” I believe what the desperate woman was trying to say in plain words was “Ang akong gipangayo kanimo tipik ra man, dili man ang tibuok pan. Ug kini dili para sa akoa, kondili para sa akong anak nga giyawaan.” In Tagalog it might sound this way “Kapiraso lang naman po ang hinihingi ko sa inyo. Hindi naman po buong tinapay. Bakit hindi nyo pa po maibigay?”
Would you believe? Kalit jud nga natunaw ang kasing-kasing ni Jesus. His heart quickly melted down when he heard the woman’s words filled with humility, sincerity and FAITH. And so , at the end the Canaanite woman received what she was asking for. Her afflicted daughter was immediately healed by Jesus. No doubt, this inspiring story teaches us that a humble, persistent, and faith-filled prayer is definitely what moves the heart of God to respond to us with compassion.
My dear brothers and sisters, like the Canaanite woman we sometimes find ourselves in a difficult and challenging situation, feeling helpless, hopeless and almost in despair. Sometimes it is because someone dear to us is being afflicted by some evil spirits that seem so impossible to conquer or expel. It could be the demon of alcoholism or drug addiction, screen dependency or online gaming addiction, sexual perversity or cyber pornography, or simply the compulsion to gossip, just to name a few of them. These modern demons are practically destroying lives as well as families including the entire society we live in.
The good news, however, is we have Jesus really present with us even today especially in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments and in the liturgies we celebrate. Whenever we feel so desperate, let us remember the compassionate heart of Jesus and be inspired by the Canaanite woman of today’s Gospel. Let us re-boot our prayer life and keep an unceasing connectivity with Jesus. And to make our prayer life even more powerful, we need to put in more humility, more persistence, and more trust-filled faith. At times our prayer intentions should also be extended to people who are different from us. We ought to pray also for those who do not share the same faith with us, such as the non-Catholics and non-Christians, Muslims and Jews, to name just a few.
In this Holy Mass, let us intercede together for people who need our prayers, especially young people who are sick or in trouble feeling helpless, hopeless and depressed. Let us also pray for the needs and intentions of non-Catholics, non-Christians, and non-believers scattered in different parts of the world. Let us pray using these or similar words “O Ginoo, ang among gipangayo kanimo tipik ra man sa pan ug dili ang tibuok pan. Kini dili para sa among kaayohan kondili para sa nag-antus namong kauban ug sa tibuok nimong katawhan. GiGsss!
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