anyone, I will pay him back four times as much.” Looking at him Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house today, for he is also a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
Reflections
“Salvation has come to this house today.”In the course of ministry as a priest I have blessed many hou- ses. In many cases, the houses that I blessed were newly constructed. The owners wanted that the place be blessed before they occupy it. But there were also not-so-new houses which I blessed. The ow- ners, surprisingly have a different reason. The house is disturbed, meaning, they sensed some nega- tive and evil energies residing with them. And notably these have menacingly bothered the family. In other words, they asked for a house blessing to drive away evil spirits.I have therefore developed a habit of asking the family before the prayer for blessing: What do you ask for in this blessing? To make the devil come out? Or to make Jesus come in? The family is usually, but not always, thanks be to God, divided in their answer. And so I always offer a quick ca- techesis. To have the house bless- ed is to consecrate the house to God and to pray for God to take over and have control over the whole household. If we pray only to drive evils out, that’s only one benefit. But if we pray for Jesus to come in, that’s a basketful of benefits. We don’t only ride the house of disturbance, we also in- vite in more blessings, guidance, and protection for the family.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019