A Latin spiritual journey with discerning hearts, from ashes to glory.

Day 23, the battle within.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke, chapter 11, verses 14 through 23.

Jesus was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. But when the devil had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said,

It is through Bielzable, the prince of devils,

that he casts out devils.

Others asked him as a test for a sign from heaven,

but knowing what they were thinking, he said to them,

every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin,

and a household divided against itself collapses.

So too with Satan.

If he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?

Since you assert that it is through Bielzable that I cast out devils.

Now if it is through Bielzable that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Bielzable that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then.

But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you.

So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed.

But when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him,

the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

By this point in our Lenton journey, we may have begun to taste the fruits of prayer,

self-awareness, and even forgiveness.

But with every step toward healing and holiness, we also encounter resistance.

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