Posted by The WORD in Other Words by Fr Eugene Docoy SVD (Philippines) for Wednesday 13th Week in Ordinary Time
The Archdiocese of Cebu has been running an Oratio Imperata to end the culture of violence in the province. Reports of killings have been noted in many parts of the country, mostly related to illegal drugs and perpetrated by either shadowy personalities from the military or from members of drug cartel themselves avenging deals that have gone wrong. Because of these killings incidents, it is easy to feel that the devil is lurking in the locality. The devil induces the production and selling of drugs to destroy people’s lives; it is the same devil that eliminates so called criminals without remorse and without due process. Human rights are not in the mind of the devil that doesn’t value human lives. This is the same savage devil that Christ commanded to enter into the herd of swine.
More than ever we need nationwide exorcism to drive away the devil in society. We have been experiencing not only killings but corruption, deception, hunger, environmental calamities, homelessness, sickness, fast price increases, immorality and everything else. These are modern-day devils that terrorize people and create a world of fear and discomfort. The world we have now – full of lawlessness and violence – is a far cry from the world that God created in the beginning. .
We therefore go back to the Lord for protection and guidance. In the midst of so much evil, we find shelter in the powerful arm of the Lord who casts out demons. He alone can command the devil to stop and give us peace. In the meantime we too have to reform our lives so that we do not appear too inviting for the devil to dwell in us. Certainly, the devil lives in places where the Lord is not present.
Source – Bible Diary 2020
