However you want to understand why there are demons on the earth even now, it is true that they are real and they are present. It is true that the suffering of this world is closely associated with their activity.
With the calling of these disciples, Christ is building His army. Later in the Gospels, we will see Jesusâ disciples doing what He does in the very next passage after this oneâcasting out demons, calling people to repentance. And this is not only His army but also His government.
Mankind is suffocated by his idolatry. If we want to breathe, to breathe again the Holy Spirit, it begins with repentance. It begins with sacrifice. It begins with worship.
Whatever good that we see, whatever love that we receive, whatever grace has been given, no matter where or in whom or through whomâthese are all from Jesus Christ.
Iâve had more than one person say to me over the past couple weeks: âWith Pascha here, I feel like COVID-19 should be over.â Shouldnât this thing be over now? Christ is risen, you know.
This is a moment for grieving, for deep repentance. It is not okay. Do not try to make it okay. That does not mean that we have to go around depressed, angry, etc. But it does mean that this is a moment for grief.
What I do affects who I am and what I believe, especially when it is something I do over and over. It is my habits, my repeated actions, that influence how I see the world and who I am.
At the end of time, when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride forth, bringing famine, pestilence, war and death upon mankind, God will send forth His holy ones to match them and to overcome them.