They KNEW Him !

He went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue, there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,  and he cried out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!"

Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, "What is there about his word? For with authority and power he and commands  the unclean spirits, and they come out." And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

They knew exactly who Jesus was and they shouted His name and His mission out for all to hear.  Jesus silenced the demon and cast him out of the poor unfortunate.   Look where this took place. It took place in the synagogue, a holy place where God was worshipped and the Law was taught and reverenced.  You would think that the synagogue, a space dedicated to God, would be a place where a demon would not want to go. 

It appears that demons sometimes enter holy places.  They may not be comfortable there but they do enter.  They may even proclaim that Jesus is Lord, for it is written that every knee shall bend and every tongue will proclaim this, but in this case, God silenced the demon and then cast it out.  

Today our Church is reeling from revelations of unholy actions that have taken place over the years and the cover-up of the actions by higher placed clergy.  Jesus will empower those of His choosing to cleanse the Church of those that have used their power for unholy reasons.  They will be cast out of the Bride of Christ to watch from the outside and not one of them shall escape detection.  

We have to be ready for more revelations of evil being done inside the closed doors of our Church.  There are bound to be more with more people guilty of sins of the flesh against those that they should have protected and more men being found lacking because out of some sense of misplaced loyalty they moved the criminal from parish to parish and became the hand that allowed more violation to occur. 

These misguided men knew Jesus, they knew who He is, they knew of His Power and Glory and they proclaimed Him to the world.  They all will be forgiven if they repent of their misdeeds but they are no longer fit to teach and preach the Word of God, they have given up that right because of the harm they have caused to the innocents that were in their care and must either step out of the way or be cast out.  No matter what, the Catholic Church, the Bride of Christ, the only Church that has the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ inside her doors will survive and prosper.  Pray for peace in the Chruch, in the world and pray that those who have caused this evil take their place outside of the altar rail and living the balance of their lives in prayer and penance. 

Please remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory in your prayers today.