June 14, 2007

May the Lord grant you His peace.

I always had a hard time understanding Matthew 12:43-45. In that passage of Holy Scripture, Jesus talks about the unclean spirit that goes out of the person only to return with seven other evil spirits so that the condition of the person is worse than before. I felt bad for that poor person. Recently though, I have discovered a deeper meaning.

This is what I have come to understand: When a person kicks a bad habit, he drives out an unclean spirit from his life. The unclean spirit (or the habit) may still tempt, gnaw at, or entice the person. It could be the habit of smoking, drinking, sex, pornography, or drugs. It could be the habit of putting others down or of having a negative self image. Really, it could be any destructive (i.e. sinful) habit.

Once the person has kicked the habit, he must be careful not to invite that habit back into his life. If it comes back (and it can only come back if it is invited) it will be worse than before. This makes sense to me. The evil wasn’t strong enough before to maintain its hold on you, so it comes back stronger, hoping to keep you in bondage permanently.

The only way to make sure the evil spirit doesn’t come back is to make sure that there isn’t any room for it in your life. We need to replace the bad habit with a good habit. We have to replace it with something better, something that will really satisfy the longings of our heart. Only the sweet, warm embrace of the Lord will suffice. Everything else leaves us wanting. You know this because you have tried other things. In fact, all these bad habits are really desperate attempts to find love. Only in Jesus can real transformation happen. Until we find Him, we float from one temporary (and destructive) fix to another. Each one is confusing and hurting us more.

They can, however, inspire us to cling to what is life-giving. You don’t have to live with the emptiness and confusion those evil spirits cause if you don’t want to. No matter how strong the “evil spirits” in your life may seem to be, Jesus is always stronger. Whatever is holding you down can be replaced. Jesus is longing to give you the love and the acceptance you are searching for. Turn to Him.

Peace and Blessings,

Br. Giuseppe Maria Siniscalchi, CFR

St. Joseph Friary, New York, NY

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