Homily for Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Year C - 2/3/2025)

Good morning. Today’s Gospel, in which Jesus healed the Gerasene demoniac, gives us hope because, no matter how dire we believe our situation might be or how unforgivable or unlovable we might think we are to others and, especially, to ourselves, Jesus loves us and has the power to save us from our wretchedness. Saint John reminds us of this when he wrote: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (3:16-17).

The man possessed by the demoniac “had been dwelling among the tombs. . . and on the hillsides he was always crying out. . .” He was ostracized by the townspeople. His family had given up all hope that he would ever be cured. They even allowed him to be “bound with shackles and chains” by the townspeople. Yet, even though the man was not in his right mind, evidenced by the fact that he had been “bruising himself with stones”, he recognized Jesus “from a distance” and “ran up and prostrated himself before [Jesus].” What did Jesus do in response? With authority and power of the Son of the Most High God over the demoniac, identified as Legion (for there were many of them), Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to “come out of the man!” Jesus broke the shackles and chains that bound the man and freed him to become the person that God created him to be - a man who has a family and belongs to a community and, most of all, a man with a purpose in life - to share with others who Jesus was and what Christ did for him.

This gives us hope to believe that Christ can break the “shackles and chains” that bind us in our lives because he is our God and we are His people, the flock He shepherds (Jeremiah 31:33). When we believe this with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul, then this singular belief will give us the strength and courage to turn to Jesus with confidence for help when the “shackles and chains” in our lives become too much for us to bear, just like the man possessed by the demoniac turned to Christ for help. Our Lord Jesus Christ desires to free us and, when he breaks the “shackles and chains” that bind us, whatever they may be, he will say to us: “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Then, freed from sin, we can become who God created us to be, beloved sons and daughters of our Father in heaven, ready to proclaim to all what Jesus has done for us.

Finally, today is the Memorial of Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, who was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316. Persecution of Christians raged in Armenia, which forced Blaise to flee to the back country where he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer. The hunters happened to stumble into his cave. The legend has it that as the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command the child was able to cough up the bone. For decades many United States Catholics have sought the annual Saint Blaise blessing for their throats.