September 2, 2025 - Tuesday of the 22nd week of OT
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11; Luke 4:31-37
Homily
Jesus' activity in the Gospel often reminds us that true “power” lies not in those who have strength and use it to crush others, but in those who know how to forgive and do not respond to violence with violence.
In today's Gospel, we see another form of power in Jesus. He speaks with authority to the forces of evil, and they obey him. When he heals a possessed man by simply commanding the demon to come out of him, the crowd says : “What is this word? For he commands with authority and power the evil spirits, and they come out!”
Because Jesus speaks “with authority,” the demon knows who He is: “I know very well who you are,” he says to Him. Knowing who someone is and knowing someone are two very different things. We can know who someone is, we can even know a lot about him or her, but we cannot say that we really know someone until there has been a mutual relationship of trust and friendship between that person and us.
Let us ask for the grace to live ever more under the influence of the Spirit of love, which allows us not only to truly know God, but also to drive out, through the all-powerful Word that is Christ Himself, all the forces of evil that may attack us.
Armand Veilleux