From: Mark 9:14-29
The Curing of an Epileptic Boy
[20] And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Him, immediately
it convulsed the body, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the
mouth. [21] And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And he
said, “From childhood. [22] And it has often cash him into the fire and into the
water, to destroy him; but if You can do anything, have pity on us and help us.”
[23] And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible to him who be-
lieves.” [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help
my unbelief!” [25] And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, He
rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command
you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” [26] After crying out and con-
vulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of
them said, “He is dead.” [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up,
and he arose. [28] And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him
privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” [29] And He said to them, “This kind
cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.”
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Commentary:
17. The demon who possessed this boy is described as a “dumb spirit” because
dumbness was the main feature of the possession. On diabolic possession cf.
note on Matthew 12:22-24.
19-24. As on other occasions, Jesus requires submission of faith before He
works the miracle. The exclamation of Jesus refers to the request of the boy’s fa-
ther (verse 22), which seemed to suggest some doubt about God’s omnipotence.
The Lord corrects this way of asking and requires him to have firm faith. In verse
24 we can see that the father has quite changed; then Jesus does the miracle.
The man’s strengthened faith made him all-powerful, for someone with faith relies
not on himself but on Jesus Christ. Through faith, then, we become sharers in
God’s omnipotence. But faith is a gift of God, which man, especially at times
when he is wavering, should ask humbly and tenaciously, like the father of this
boy: “I believe, help my unbelief,” and like the Apostles: “Increase our faith!”
(Luke 17:5).
28-29. “In teaching the Apostles how to expel a spirit as evil as this He is tea-
ching all of us how we should live, and telling us that prayer is the resource we
should use to overcome even the severest temptations, whether they come from
unclean spirits or from men. Prayer does not consist only in the words we use
to invoke God’s clemency but also in everything we do, out of faith, as homage
to God. The Apostle bears witness to this when he says: `Pray constantly’ (1
Thessalonians 5:7)” (St. Bede, “In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
First reading | Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 © |
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Psalm | Psalm 92:1-2,5 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | 1P1:25 |
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Or | cf.2Tim1:10 |
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Gospel | Mark 9:14-29 © |
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