Jesus heals in the synagogue a man possessed by an unclean spirit, forced to recognise who Jesus, "the Holy One of God", is.
The greatest defeat of evil is to be forced to recognise the Good!
Even the Poor Man of Assisi, in the footsteps of Christ, attests to the greatness of God who uses the small as the cradle of the Great.
In the Sources, rich in healings that occurred through the Spirit working in Francis, we find indicative episodes.
"A friar was tormented by an illness so frightening that many believed it was more a diabolic vexation than a natural infirmity.
In fact, he often struggled all over his body and rolled around with frothing at the mouth; his limbs appeared now shrunken, now stretched out, now bent and twisted, now stiff and hard.
At times, all tense and stiffened, with his feet at head height, he would leap into the air, only to fall back with a hideous thud.
The servant of Christ, full of mercy and compassion for that unfortunate man, so miserably and irretrievably stricken, made him take a bite of the bread he was eating.
On tasting that bread, the sick man felt such miraculous strength within him that from that moment on he no longer suffered from that infirmity' (FF 1219/11).
That bread, a sign of intimate conviviality, had freed him!
Again the Sources recall:
"Since the herald of Christ was famous for these and many other prodigies, people paid attention to his words, as if an Angel of the Lord were speaking.
Indeed, the prerogative of the lofty virtues, the spirit of prophecy, the thaumaturgic power, the mission to preach coming from heaven, the obedience of creatures deprived of reason, the sudden conversions of hearts brought about by hearing his word, the knowledge infused by the Holy Spirit and superior to human doctrine, the authorisation to preach granted by the Supreme Pontiff by divine revelation, as well as the Rule, which defines the form of preaching, confirmed by the Vicar of Christ himself and, finally, the signs of the Supreme King impressed like a seal on his body, are like ten testimonies for the whole world and confirm without a shadow of doubt that Francis, the herald of Christ, is worthy of veneration for the mission he received, authentic in the doctrine he taught, admirable for his holiness and that, therefore, he preached the Gospel of Christ as a true envoy of God" (FF1221- Major Legend).
The Word emphasises: "I know who you are, the Holy One of God" (Mk 1:24).
Just like that! The heavens tell of the Glory of God; the Holiness of Him spreads over the works of His Hands!
Tuesday 1st wk. in O.T. (Mk 1,21b-28)
