Book of Jeremiah 7,23-28.
This rather is what I commanded them: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers. When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. Say to them: This is the nation which does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.
Psalms 95(94),1-2.6-7.8-9.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; cry out to the rock of our salvation.
Let us greet him with a song of praise, joyfully sing out our psalms.
Enter, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For this is our God, whose people we are, God's well-tended flock. Oh, that today you would hear his voice: Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the desert.
There your ancestors tested me; they tried me though they had seen my works.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,14-23.
He was driving out a demon (that was) mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
ONE HELL OF A LENT
"If it is by the finger of God that I cast out devils, then the reign of God is upon you." –Luke 11:20
Lent is imitating Jesus as He fasted forty days in the desert. Here Jesus defeated Satan by overcoming his temptations. During this Lent, we too should be overcoming Satan's temptations. Furthermore, by repentance and healing, we can be totally freed from any demonic manipulation or influences in our lives. Then we can attack Satan and drive him out of those around us (see Lk 11:14). We can disarm and despoil him (Lk 11:22). Finally, we can destroy Satan's strongholds in our society and world (2 Cor 10:4).
Every day of Lent should mark another catastrophe for Satan. Systems he has painstakingly developed for generations and centuries will be destroyed within a few hours. Satan will be furious as he sees thousands of his demons vanquished by weak human beings empowered by the very Spirit of God.
Understandably, Satan dreads Lent. It brings back memories of the "bad old days" when he was definitively defeated by Jesus Christ. Lent is not only a time for "refreshing" Satan's memory, but also an opportunity to give him new memories of defeat at the praying hands of Jesus' disciples. This Lent, "quickly crush Satan" under your feet (Rm 16:20).
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