Jesus said to his Apostles:
“As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town.”
In todays passage, we are focusing on the power that Jesus gave His apostles to heal and exorcise. He gives us all that same power, through our baptisms. When we are baptized we participate in the same offices of priest, prophet, and king that Christ established in His ministry. So when we act in faith, in Jesus’ name, we carry the power of these offices, and we too have the ablity to heal, to prophesy in Jesus’ name, and even drive out demons. But there is a limit, we cannot do anything that Jesus did, the difference between us and Him is authority. Our authority is limited to those people and things that God has given us jurisdiction over in this world. In order to be effective you need both. Power gives you the ability to do something in God’s name, but it is only under the correct authority that your powers will actually be effective.
Jesus’ apostles were the predecessors to our current popes and bishops. A Pope has the full power of Jesus for healing and exorcising over the whole world. A bishop has that same authority, but it is limited to the jurisdiction of his diocese, and every single soul that is under their protection and anyone that he also bestows that power on (ie an exorcist). The bishops and their designated exorcists are the only ones that have the authority to drive out deamons in other people within their jurisdictions. The father of a catholic home has the same power and authority, as a bishop, but his jurisdiction is limited to his own home and his own spouse and children, and even sometimes his place of work, if he serves as the patriach of that workplace.
Without the proper authority though, or if you swerve outside of your authority, you will attract the attention of other demons and possibly receive retaliation. Everything in God’s kingdom is governed by power and authority, and if you do not have both the power to do so through christian baptism, and the proper authority over the thing or person in question, the demons will notice and retaliate against you. Exorcist Chad Ripperger says that demons are like “lawyers from hell,” and they follow Gods law to the letter. It is funny, but they respect God’s law better than most humans do, because they are literally bound by natural law, and do not have a choice. But they also know all the loopholes in human behaviour, and they will exploit them all, to punish us dearly if we dare to step out from under God’s protection.
Nevertheless the message for us today is clear. That with the proper authority, we have the power to heal, prophesy, and to exorcise…, In our homes, in our families, and in our places of work if they are under our jurisdiction. And more than that we are called to this vocation, it is not optional. If we have this opportunity, and are properly authorized, we must not fail to act. You must act toward the end of saving the souls of those that God has put into your life, and do not allow the forces of darkness to corrupt and destroy them…, the Kingdom of God depends on it.
