We are at War

Christ is in our midst!

Christ is in our midst!

Brothers, we are at War!

Today’s Gospel is one we hear many times through out the year, as it is always read on the feast days of the Apostles. The first 70 bishops of our Church are sent out in pairs as missionaries to bring the Good News to the whole country side. Last week Ivan reminded us that one of the roles of the priesthood is as a spiritual physician; however we are also called to be warriors. Today Christ reminds us that he has given us the power, and athority to walk on snakes and scorpions, and we shall not be harmed. Does this literally mean that we can now go and play amongst all kinds of venomous creatures? No…and God help you if you should try. What it does mean is that we have no reason to fear the evil one, and his minions. They can do us no harm because by virtue of our baptism our names have been written in heaven.

October is one of my favourite times of the year for a number of reasons, one such reason is because of halloween. I have always been fascinated by the creep and strange, the magical and mysterious. As such I have a tradition of watching exorcism movies around this time of year. For the most part many of these films are Hollywood garbage…however, I have seen a few of them that make me stop and reflect. The exorcism of Emily Rose for example is remarkable journey of faith, and I highly recommend it. In these films we get a sence of the invisible spiritual reality…one where the demons are no longer hiding behind masks, or whispering quietly in our ear. In our increasingly secular age, the devil is trying his best to become unseen, we are told that the demons are not real, and that good/bad it is all subjective—and for our own interpretations. The reason I watch exorcism movies is to remind me that the devil is prowing about in the dark, and he is very much active in the world.