Homily for Ordinary Time 21 - August 23, 2020

 

Homily for August 23, 2020

Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Powers of Hell Will Not Prevail

 

            I know a priest from Savannah, Georgia, who told me that one day, two ladies showed up at his parish, asking him to come bless their house. They explained that they thought their house was possessed. He went with them to the house, and they told him about all of the strange noises, cold winds, and a sinister presence. The ladies thought that the devil was involved in such creepy occurrences.

            After he blessed the house, he asked them what parish they attended, since he didn’t recognize the ladies. They responded, “Oh, Father, we’re Baptists!”

            Shocked, he replied, “Then why did you come to a Catholic priest, and not your Baptist preacher?”

            They replied, “Oh, don’t you Catholics deal with this kind of stuff?”

            He had to laugh, because it was true – we Catholics DO deal with Satan and evil head-on, because the Church has been given the authority to do so by Christ Himself.

            In reading this Gospel, what stood out to me is the line, “The gates of Hell will not prevail” against the Church. Often, we interpret that to mean that the Church will exist until the end of time – which is true. But it also means that the gates of Hell are going to try with all their might to prevail! We live in a spiritual battle, one with eternal consequences – and the gates of Hell, the powers of Satan, are trying to conquer the Church, your family, and your immortal soul.

            Satan tries to attack the Church through errors, heresy, scandal, and division. He likewise attacks the family through division, through family strife, or through sins like alcoholism or abuse or adultery. We have all experienced Satan’s power in our everyday lives through strong temptation, fear, confusion, and self-hatred.

            But thankfully God has given authority over Satan to the Church and to every baptized Christian. I want to look at three types of spiritual authority that God has given to us: in the Church, in the family, and as an individual Christian.

            The Church (through Peter) was given great authority. In the first century, not everyone had keys – the only person who had keys was the master of the house, the one with authority. And they would use those keys to lock the doors to keep out evildoers at night or when they were away on a journey.

            In the same way, the Church has been given the “keys of Heaven”, with authority over good and evil. Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the Vatican’s top exorcist who performed over 10,000 exorcisms in his lifetime, said that the two best weapons the Church has against Satan are…Confession and the Eucharist. If we stay close to these two Sacraments, we never need to fear the Evil One.

            But the Church also has other weapons. For example, its teachings are powerful weapons. Two of the tactics of the Evil One is ignorance and rebellion – so knowing our Church’s teachings and humbly obeying them will guarantee victory in the spiritual battle. The treasury of devotions in the Church such as the Rosary, Adoration, and Stations of the Cross are powerful means of grace, which is that supernatural power that conquers Satan. The Scriptures are also a powerful weapon (St. Paul calls it a “two-edged sword”), and the Church is the custodian of the Bible.

            Some people focus on things such as statues, blessings, and Holy Water in their fight against the Evil One. Yes, these are helpful, but only if you are serious about personally following the Lord and having a solid prayer life. One time a woman at another parish came to me with a five-gallon bucket, asking for Holy Water. I didn’t recognize her, so I asked her what she planned to do with the Holy Water. She said she wanted to give her children baths in it. I then asked if she attended Mass and she said no. So I refused her request and said, “Oh, my dear, going to Mass will do far more for your children’s soul than bathing them in holy water!” These sacramentals are meant to augment and not replace our living faith in Jesus.

            The Kingdom of Hell is not just trying to attack the Church, though – it is also trying to attack the “domestic Church” – which is what the Catechism calls the family! Satan hates families, because they are such a beautiful reflection of the Trinity – a life-giving community of love. But if the family is the Domestic Church, then parents are the priests of the domestic church, and they have authority to protect their children from evil and lead them on the path to holiness.

            In a particular way, you fathers and grandfathers are given a unique authority in the spiritual realm. A few years back I had the privilege of helping with an exorcism. It was a boy who had been adopted by Catholic parents who was struggling with full-blown possession. One thing that struck me deeply is how much the devil had to obey the authority of the father in particular. If the demon was manifesting itself, the mother could say, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, be silent!” but the demon would continue screaming and writhing around. But if the father commanded, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, be silent!”, then the demon would quiet down. Demons know who has spiritual authority over them.

            Parents can exercise this authority by blessing their children, interceding for them, bringing them to the Sacraments, teaching them about the Lord, and keeping evil out of their homes (how many of you parents have put filters or restrictions on your children’s cell phones? You need to do that to prevent tremendous evils from influencing them!).

Finally, every Christian is also given a certain amount of authority over Satan, by virtue of their baptism. Did you know that when you were baptized, you became a priest, prophet, and king? You are granted a share in Christ’s kingship, which means authority over the devil in your own life.

            So, if you find yourself in a particularly strong temptation, rebuke it in the name of the Lord Jesus! Every baptized Christian can say, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I rebuke the evil spirit of lust…greed…anger…and I command you to leave me.” If you are overtaken by a powerful sense of fear, sadness, or shame, command it to leave in the Name of the Lord Jesus. When I was writing this homily, my computer froze up many times and came close to crashing – I invoked Jesus’ Name upon this document, and all went smoothly after that.

            My friends, it is true that the gates of Hell are trying desperately to destroy the Church, the world, our families, and our souls. But we have been given authority over these evil spirits. We only need to use that authority and the weapons provided to us by God, and the victory will be assured.