[Catholic Caucus Devotional] My Catholic Life! Catholic Daily Reflections: Spiritual Warfare and Heavenly Glory

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17–20

The seventy-two disciples Jesus sent out on a mission symbolize the whole Church. Though the Twelve Apostles and their apostolic successors, the bishops, hold a unique role in providing the foundation of the Church, the seventy-two represent all disciples who, after choosing to follow Christ in word and deed, are then sent forth to witness to the Gospel and exercise Christ’s authority.

It’s interesting that when the seventy-two returned, their only recorded reaction was, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Why is that? Why not say, “Lord, many hearts were touched, and many came to believe in You”? Perhaps for a few reasons.

First, given the mixture of many pagan religious practices found in first-century Israel, it’s possible that demonic possession was far more prevalent and visible than it is today. Or perhaps satan is just as active now, but more subtle and deceptive in appearance. It’s also possible that mental illness was often interpreted as demonic possession.

Another reason the seventy-two may have focused on the authority over demons they experienced on mission is because, then as now, many people find evil and demonic activity strangely fascinating. Evil and satanic manifestations can create a dark allure in people’s minds.

Whatever the reason for their fascination, there is something good in the joy they experienced. Demons and demonic possession are jarring and intimidating. Therefore, when these disciples encountered demons directly and then successfully commanded them to be silent or to depart from a possessed person, they were rightly relieved and overjoyed. Christ had given them authority over evil, and the demons were overpowered by a simple command spoken in Jesus’ name.

Jesus acknowledges the value of this spiritual warfare and affirms that it was by His authority that the seventy-two prevailed. However, He also places their mission and its fruits in proper order. Driving out demons is not an end in itself. It may be necessary at times, but it is not the highest good. The salvation of souls, which gives God eternal glory, is the highest good. Therefore, Jesus says, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Reflect today on your own focus. Are you more fascinated by the darkness of evil or by the light of grace? Are you more intrigued by dramatic spiritual battles or by the quiet workings of sanctity? Rejoice above all that your name, by God’s grace, is written in heaven, and make this the ultimate goal of all you do by God’s grace.

All-powerful Lord, You command the demons, and they obey. Grant me the grace to rebuke the evil one and all his works. Even more, grant me the grace to be transformed in heart, conformed ever more perfectly to You, so that I may share more fully in Your Kingdom and help draw others into the glory of eternal life. Jesus, I trust in You.

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY(RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

Today’s First Reading

From: Job 42.1-3, 5-6, 12-17

Job accepts that God has acted rightly
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[1] Then Job answered the Lord:
[2] I know that thou canst do all things,
and that no purpose of thine can he thwarted.
[3] Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
[…]
[5] I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees thee;
[6] therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes."

God's blessing on Job
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[12] And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. [13] had also seven sons and three daughters. [14] And he called the name of the first Jemimah; and the name of the second Keziah; and the name of the third Keren-happuch. [15] And in all the land there were no women so fair as Job's daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. [16] And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. [17] And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

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Commentary:

42:1-6. The last verses of the poetical section of the book are given to Job to speak. In them he answers two challenges raised by the Lord. To the first (v. 3) Job replies by confessing that he did speak without knowing all the facts, that is, without appreciating the harmony with which creation is imbued, the awesome fact that even seemingly useless and destructive things have their part to play. This is a sort of "sapiential' response. To God's second appeal (v. 4). Job's reply is full of faith: he acknowledges that God has manifested himself in person: now he has seen him with his eyes (v. 5), as Moses and the prophets saw him, Job feels consoled, and he is moved to repentance now that he has actually met God. This meeting, more than the words he has heard, is what brings about his conversion: "It is one thing to hear your voice and another to see you before our eyes; for just as all things are made clear in the light of the sun, and darkness and every trace of shadow is banished, so the sight of your resplendent face, when it dawns over the soul. dissipates all ignorance and error. When I see you before me, I berate and reprove myself, and I suffer bitter pain for ever having offended you" (Fray Luis de Leon, “Expositio libri lob,” 42, 6).

42:7-17. The prose epilogue describes Job's remarkable rehabilitation. He is indeed appreciated as a wise man, for he spoke rightly, and as a good person, who will successfully intercede on behalf of his opponents. This passage, almost certainly, must (like the prologue) have been part of the original text; prologue and epilogue are closely interconnected and have literary features in common. Some commentators have suggested that this happy ending does not fit in well with the message in the book, because it seems to confirm the idea that good people enjoy success and wrongdoers do not. But that is not really the point. The epilogue displays the mercy of God who, as supreme judge, desires that all should be saved; Job, in his case, has found salvation through suffering.

A number of small details help us to see why the book is given this ending: it contains no mention of Satan, perhaps because his presence was irrelevant to the question posed in the book. Eliphaz and his friends, who thought that they were speaking on God's side, now have to admit they were wrong: they have not "spoken what is right" (vs. 7-8); they must turn to the Lord; that is the only way to discover the truth. Finally, Job is comforted and accepted by all his relatives and friends (v. 10-11), and is blessed by God with children, wealth and a long life (vv. 12-17). So, God does not conform to the way human beings see things; they, rather, must respect what he does and conform to his wishes.

42:12-17. God's blessing on Job brings with it many children and much wealth. It is interesting to see the importance given to his daughters: they enjoy the same inheritance as their brothers, they are the fairest in all the land (as their names imply). Jemima (Jamama), according to Arabic etymology means Dove; Keziah/Cassia is the name of a tree (which must he the acacia, which was considered in that region to be very beautiful); and Kerena-happuch or "Horn of Antimony" referred to a container for very expensive perfume.

As we have pointed out a number of times, the Fathers see Job as prefiguring Jesus; this applies also to the restoration of his fortunes: "Job recovered both his health and his wealth. In the same way, the Lord, through his resurrection, brings not only good health to those who believe in him, but immortality; and he restores the whole kingdom of nature, as he himself assured us when he said: Everything has been given to me by my Father. New children are born of Job to replace those who died. Similarly, the holy apostles are sons of the Lord in the same line as were the prophets of old. Job is filled with happiness and in the end rests in peace. And the Lord is blessed forever, as he was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be" (St Zeno of Verona, “Tractatus,” 1, 15).

42:17. This is the same wording as is used in the accounts of the lives of the patriarchs (Gen 25:8; 35:29). The Fathers of the Church usually interpreted these words in a broad sense, as a sort of resume of the good things enjoyed by the blessed in heaven. In line with this, St Thomas writes: "By 'fullness of days' is meant not only the possession of many material goods but also an abundance of spiritual graces, by whose power Job entered into the glory that lasts forever" (“Expositio super Iob,” 42, 17).

Today’s Gospel Reading

From: Luke 10:17-24

The Seventy Return from their Mission
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[17] The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" [18] And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. [19] Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you." [20] Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven." [21] In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank Thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. [22] All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

[23] Then turning to the disciples He said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! [24] For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

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Commentary:

16. On the evening of the day of His resurrection, our Lord entrusts His Apostles with the mission received from the Father, endowing them with powers similar to His own (John 20:21). Some days later He will confer on Peter the primacy He had already promised him (John 21:15-17). The Pope is the successor of Peter, and the bishops the successor of the Apostles (cf. "Lumen Gentium", 20). Therefore, "Bishops who teach in communion with the Roman Pontiff are to be revered by all as witnesses of divine and Catholic truth [...]. This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak "ex cathedra" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 25).

20. Our Lord corrects His disciples, making them see that the right reason for rejoicing lies in hope of reaching Heaven, not in the power to do miracles which He gave them for their mission. As He said on another occasion, "On that day many will say to Me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast our demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you evildoers'" (Matthew 7:22-23). In other words, in the eyes of God doing His holy will at all times is more important than working miracles.

21. This passage of the Gospel is usually called our Lord's "hymn of joy" and is also found in St. Matthew (11:25-27). It is one of those moments when Jesus rejoices to see humble people understanding and accepting the word of God.

Our Lord also reveals one of the effects of humility--spiritual childhood. For example, in another passage He says: "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:3). But spiritual childhood does not involve weakness, softness or ignorance: "I have often meditated on this life of spiritual childhood, which is not incompatible with fortitude, because it demands a strong will, proven maturity, an open and firm character [...]. To become children we must renounce our pride and self-sufficiency, recognizing that we can do nothing by ourselves. We must realize that we need grace, and the help of God our Father to find our way and keep it. To be little, you have to abandon yourself as children do, believe as children, beg as children beg" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 10 and 143).

22. "This statement is a wonderful help to our faith," St. Ambrose comments, "because when you read `all' you realize that Christ is all-powerful, that He is not inferior to the Father, or less perfect than He; when you read `have been delivered to me', you confess that Christ is the Son, to whom everything belongs by right of being one in substance [with the Father] and not by grace of gift" ("Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").

Here we see Christ as almighty Lord and God, consubstantial with the Father, and the only one capable of revealing who the Father is. At the same time, we can recognize the divine nature of Jesus only if the Father gives us the grace of faith--as He did to St. Peter (cf. Matthew 16:17).

23-24. Obviously, seeing Jesus with one's own eyes was a wonderful thing for people who believed in him. However, our Lord will say to Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (John 20:29). St. Peter, for his part, tells us: "Without having seen Him you love Him; though you do not see Him you believe in Him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:8-9).

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