By Sister Marianne Ferguson
Humans are often intrigued and horrified by Evil Spirits at the same time. We all have our private Demons, which unfortunately we often fail to recognize. We can be surprised at outbursts of anger caused by things we thought we controlled long ago. We often are surprised by our own occasional acts of pure selfishness. When we make decisions that affect others, we don’t always consider the consequences, yet live to see the thoughtless results.
Frustrated, we pray for self- knowledge, but our attention span seems to run out too soon. Other chance opportunities arise that sometimes can help us learn more about our behavior. Overhearing a criticism about ourselves can stimulate us to better actions in the future. But a trusted friend may be our best source of self -knowledge.
The challenge comes in having the self-discipline to implement the acquired self-knowledge into our actions. When we can discern the underlying motives of our behavior, we may recognize our need for help from God who so willingly helped the demoniac in this Gospel story. If Jesus could heal the demoniac, why not us?
