In today’s readings we hear of the serpent and Beelzebul. Some call him Lucifer, Satan, demon. Whatever the name, we all
see the fruits of his labor: violence, murder, war, pornography, human trafficking, racial unrest, to name a few. The devil is real and apparently busy. Sometimes it seems as though he is running the show. What is the world coming to?
But never fear. The words from St. Mark’s Gospel are encouraging:
“... if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he
cannot stand; that is the end of him.” And St. John relates in
today’s Gospel acclamation: “Now the ruler of the world will
be driven out, says the Lord and when I am lifted up from the
earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” God is reminding us
He is still in charge and we need to put our faith in Him.
Let us place ourselves, and our world, in the hands of the Lord
and trust in his Mercy.