Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on the 4th Sunday in OT; 28 January 2024, FSpIF Chapel, Talamban

Some years ago, I responded to a sick call. I heard the man’s confession and after that I anointed him since his illness was rather serious and may eventually lead to an untimely death. The following day however I got a message that the patient, though still very much alive, was still not able to sleep well as in previous nights. And the restlessness continued for many more nights. I began to wonder why until one day a brother from a another community came to visit him. Eventually their conversation led the sick man to admit that earlier in life he had consulted a quack doctor who gave him lucky charms to be worn around his body and put in strategic corners of his house. Added to that the “mananambal” even made him drink a kind of a potion that would cure his illness and protect him from all harm. When the sick man was asked by the brother why he had to do all those things, he replied saying that he was desperate for a cure and thought that “Wala naman daw mawawala sa kanya.” Wow! That was it. That would sufficiently explain why the sick man still did not find inner peace despite having received the last sacraments.

We know of many Catholics who are proud to be devout and prayerful. They go to Mass every Sunday; they pray the Rosary and recite other prayers everyday. Occasionally they also invite priests to bless their homes, cars, the sick and the dead. Sad to say, however, a good number of our Catholic faithful still do not understand well our faith including the various rituals that we do. Consequently they do not have the capacity to believe in the great power of our Sacraments, sacramentals and other similar rituals. In fact in extreme necessities, they are still engaged in folk religious practices, most of which are subtle worship of evil spirits. Some consult the horoscope, others visit fortune tellers, and many others thoughtlessly follow superstitious practices, even to the point of wearing lucky charms or amulets. And they think in the same way “Wala naman pong mawawala kung susubukan natin ito.” They believe that they would lose nothing if they engage in these non-Catholic rituals and occult practices. This is a perfect example of syncretism. Simply put Religious syncretism is the fusion of different beliefs and practices.

I must admit that when I was much younger I would say “Tabi-tabi po” before walking over a dirt mound along the pathway, or before peeing behind a tree. I just tried to follow what the oldies would say so that the spirits around would not disturb me or harm me. But is it really okay because anyway “wala namang mawawala sa atin?”

Brothers and sisters the gospel passage we have heard today presents to us Jesus as a devout Jew attending the weekly synagogue services in a village in Galilee. We must keep in mind that the Jews had only one temple where they could offer sacrifices to God, and that temple used to be located in Jerusalem. However they did not have to go to Jerusalem weekly in order to worship the Lord their God. During the time of Jesus they had synagogues in every town or village where they could assemble together every Sabbath day in order to pray, to sing and to celebrate God’s Word in observance of the holy day of rest.

In the gospel story we have just heard we see Jesus continuing his mission of preaching the Good News of Salvation. In particular he was proclaiming that God’s reign was at hand. That Saturday when he came into the synagogue he must have been invited by the synagogue leader to read the scroll and give the usual homily explaining the meaning of the Scripture passage for that day. I guess Jesus must have felt so honoured and excited by that invitation and immediately grabbed the opportunity to teach the assembled Jews in a more formal setting. And what was the outcome?

Verse 22 of this chapter states and I quote “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” From the reaction of the people we can conclude that Jesus must have been a very good teacher. He could keep the eyes and ears of his listeners glued on him, making them feel the power of his words. In other words he made a really big impact.

However right on the very first day of his public ministry we see Jesus immediately encountering a horrible challenge. As he preached he found himself face to face with his invisible opponent in the form of a man possessed by an evil spirit. But who could have thought that the devil could also be inside the synagogue seemingly listening to God’s Word? And is it possible that he is also around inside the chapel? Actually Jesus knew well that the aim of the devil was simply to disrupt the worship service.

The good news is that Jesus without delay put his invisible enemy quickly under control. He miraculously expelled the demon from the possessed man by a command “Be quiet! Come out of the man.” Please take note very well that Jesus did not say “Tabi-tabi po.” That would actually mean he was bowing before the demon in respect. Instead he said authoritatively to the demon “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” And so, with a loud cry, the evil spirit quickly obeyed and left the man in peace, to the great amazement of everyone. Jesus incredible victory over evil manifested to them the veracity of the Good News he was proclaiming, that God was indeed in their midst, and that He was actively at work in the man from Nazareth, called Jesus.

We recall in fact that in the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses already foretold that another powerful prophet raised from among the Israelites would be sent by God to speak on his behalf. Who else could that prophet be except Jesus?

Brothers and sisters, by reading Mark’s gospel every Sunday, Jesus is being revealed to us as the Savior whom the world needs today in order to win against the power of evil spirits. He is the only one who has the amazing power to command and drive away evil spirits that mingle with us to harm us, rob us of our inner peace and snatch away our souls from God’s grace; spirits that hide behind occult practices pretending to be the solution to our biggest problems . It is important, therefore, that as we come to know more deeply who Jesus is, we also strive to correct our many erroneous beliefs and unlearn many wrong practices.

It is not true that when we engage in superstitious practices we would not lose anything. Wrong! Absolutely wrong! If we consult the horoscope, visit a fortune teller, drink potions, wear lucky charms or amulets and engage in many other superstitious practices it means we do not trust fully the amazingly infinite power of Jesus our Lord and Savior, over all evil. What we are losing is our FULL TRUST in God by giving it away to the devil. And sad to say, at the end of our lives it would be the devil who would claim our soul, telling us “You belong to me, not to Jesus, because you trusted more in me than in Him. That would be the scariest thing that could ever happen to us at the final moments of our life, when we are about to die.

So the next time you are tempted to say “Tabi-tabi po” or something similar, remember to turn your heart to Jesus, and, addressing the invisible spirits that are not so good, say to them “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I command you to go away and leave me in peace.” This would definitely be the more Catholic way of addressing these particularly difficult and challenging situations.

To conclude, allow me to go back to the true story I was narrating earlier. I’m pretty sure you want to know what happened to the sick man. This is what happened next. When the brother came to know about the sick man’s earlier engagement in superstitious and occult practices he strongly recommended that a thorough cleansing be done both on his body and on the entire house. The man quickly agreed. And so the cleansing ritual was performed on him and his house using prayers approved by the Church. After this was done, he noticed that when he was inside the toilet to answer “the call of nature”, all the bad and toxic elements he had been keeping for years inside him was shockingly discharged from his body. And he said, it emitted such a fowl smell. Then, that very night he was able to sleep well as he never did before.

As we come to Mass every Sunday may we really get to know who Jesus is and consequently learn to trust him more fully especially in the sacraments and sacramentals we celebrate. Let’s remember this: rituals that weaken our faith and trust in God have no place in our family and community. GiGsss!

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