How did Adam and Eve get tricked?……Why did Judas betray Christ?….As Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones rightfully sang it….”Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name - But what's puzzlin' you Is the nature of my game”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel according to St Mark….Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit…The exchange between Jesus and the man is telling…..“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory”…..Jesus knew exactly what he was up against but the people did not “see” the force of evil which stood right before their eyes…Interestingly enough too….The evil spirit (Legion) also knew what stood against him - The very power of God…….In our world this battle between good and evil still exists to this very day and is very real….Scripture tells us that the devil “roams the earth like a lion” - And you know what? - It’s true!….Evil most times wears a “mask”….And sadly people do not recognize it…..There are many things that exist in our “mainstream culture” that are an abomination to God…Only with the “eyes of faith” can we "see" properly….Back to our story from Scripture…After Jesus confronts this unclean spirit…You would think the people would be happy…Just the opposite…They ask Jesus to leave their town….”Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. Then they began to beg him to leave their district”………The people were fooled - Their own eyes betrayed them - Not many things have changed to this very day……When bad is called good - The “lights” go out and darkness falls upon the earth…And only when and until we “see” with the eyes of faith will we recognize what stands before us…“Legion is my name - There are many of us”

“Blessed be the LORD whose wondrous mercy he has shown me in a fortified city”

The image of “Sight” is something that is used throughout Scripture…..Human Beings see what they want to see…What is vey clear to one person many not be perceived by another...Our Gospel story today at Mass illustrates that reality for us - The people did not “see” something, which was evil and was tormenting them - However Jesus saw it for what it truly was…..When St Paul encountered the Lord on the Road to Damascus, he was blinded for three days…Scripture tells us when he regained his sight ”scales” fell from his eyes…..Catholic tradition has taught that before Our Lord returns there will be what is commonly referred to as an Illumination of Conscience…This is when all of humanity will “see” their souls in the light of God’s Truth…St Faustina, a visionary of the 20th century has written about the Illumination of Conscience, which is meant to be a warning, to draw us closer to Jesus and to increase our faith.….This what St Faustina wrote:

“Write this: before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.” (Section 83)

Only with the eyes of faith can a person truly see…..Like St Paul, we all have “scales” which cover our eyes, due to concupiscence….In order to “see” we must actively work at purifying our hearts…Only the pure of heart truly see….Why mention all this?….....Ask the Lord to allow you to see yourself as you truly are…..Seeing both the good and the bad aspects of your life......…….Ignoring the spiritual battle, which is ongoing in the world and within our very hearts does not make it go away…This “battle” is happening in our own homes right before our eyes!…What do we allow to enter our homes?….What images do we allow ourselves to see?….What “ideas” do we give the time of day too?…..“Legion is my name - There are many of us”…….Only with the “eyes of faith” will we "see" what stands before us…The battle is very real…..And the “stakes of the battle" are very high!

“Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.”

Today in the Gospel Jesus confronts evil…He does not pretend evil does not exist and he calls it for what it is……And so must we….The devil does not wear a “red suit” and have a “long tail”….He walks among us in disguise…He inverts good and bad…He takes the Truth and “twists it” ever so slightly only in the end to distort the Truth until it can no longer be recognized……Before we confront what stands before us, we must first be able to “see” what stands before us…..“Legion is my name - There are many of us”……Ask yourself the question…..How did Adam and Eve get tricked?……Why did Judas betray Christ?….As Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones rightfully sang it….”Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name - But what's puzzlin' you Is the nature of my game”