SEPTEMBER 23D, EMBER WEDNESDAY OF SEPTEMBER;
Commemorations of St. Linus, Pope and Martyr, and St. Theclae Virg. and Mart.
Month in honor of the Seven Dolours of the BVM.
Day of Fasting and Partial Abstinence.
Homily by the Venerable Bede, Priest at Jarrow.
Bk. III, ch. 38, on Mark IX.
Concerning this possessed person whom the Lord healed, after that He was come down from the mount, Mark saith that he was deaf and dumb, and Matthew xvii. 15 that he was lunatic. He was a figure of them of whom it is said: A fool changeth as the moon, Ecclus. xxvii. 12. These are they who continue never in one stay, but change now to one sin, and now to another, waxing and waning dumb, in that they confess not the faith deaf, in that they have no ears for the word of truth. They foam at the mouth also, and pine away with folly. For it is the way with idiots, and swooners, and stupified, to foam their spittle out at their mouths. They gnash their teeth when they are inflamed with the heat of passion. They wither up in the paralysis of sloth and live nerveless lives unbraced by any strong exercise. The father saith: And I spake to thy disciples, that they should cast him out, and they could not. Here he maketh a sort of accusation against the Apostles. But that cures cannot be wrought is sometimes owing, not to the powerlessness of them that would heal, but to the want of faith in them that are to be healed as saith the Lord: According to your faith be it unto you. Matth. ix. 29. He answereth him, and saith: O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you The meek and lowly One, Who, as a lamb before his shearers, is dumb, so opened not His Mouth, was not wearied out of patience, nor did He break out into words of passion, but He spake as a physician might speak, who saw that the sick man did contrary to his commands. Wherefore should I come unto thine house? How long am I to throw away the exercise of my skill, while I order one thing and thou dost another? And He said unto them: This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. While He teacheth the Apostles how the very worst kind of devil must be driven out, He giveth unto all of us an instruction unto life, that we may know that the most grievous trials, either from unclean spirits, or from men, are to be overcome by fasting and prayer. The wrath of the Lord also, when it is kindled to take vengeance of our sins, can be turned away by this remedy only. To fast, in a general sense, is not only to abstain from meats, but to restrain oneself from all the enticements of the flesh, and from all evil passions. So also, to pray, is not only to call in words for the mercy of God, but also, in all things which we do, in earnestness of faith to worship our Maker.