The Noonday Devil

A Reflection of on the Gospel of Luke 11: 15-26 – 13 October 2023

(Internet image from Farrow)

     In today’s Gospel, I have always been intrigued by Jesus’ description of demonic possession,

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24–26 NABRE)

     Early Church Father, Origen of Alexandria (~185-254 AD), has this to say about our change on receiving the Sacraments and the danger of afterwards neglecting our spiritual welfare,

[Our Body] ought not still be a house, but a temple in which God dwells. If, therefore, it neglects the grace which was received and entangles itself in secular affairs, immediately that unclean spirit returns and claims the vacant house for itself. And it may not be able again to be expelled...(Origen Homilies on Exodus 8.4)

     Though demonic possession, the return of the “unclean spirit,” conjures images of exorcism movies, it is far more often very subtle. St John Paul II preached that.

The evil that surrounds us today, the disorders that plague our society, man’s inconsistency, and brokenness, are not only the results of original sin, but also the result of Satan’s pervasive and dark action.” (as quoted in Amorth 31)

     The implication is that holiness is not as some suppose, a “one and done” event, but instead, is more of a journey, a “striving toward.” The journey is not easy! It is far easier to fall, what some would call “backsliding,” especially if we allow distraction, grow weary, or get mired in sin. St Peter writes,

For if they, having escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, again become entangled and overcome by them, their last condition is worse than their first. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment handed down to them. (2 Peter 2:20–21 NABRE)

     Seventh century monk, St John Climacus observes in his work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, “It is dangerous to climb a rotten ladder.”

     The striving after holiness is the effort to fill our lives with Christ as the new and permanent tenant of our soul. It is not enough to simply vanquish sin and then walk away with our work done, to have the power of one ruler, that of sin, routed. We must swear allegiance to the new sovereign, Christ, and give Him our entire self. One must choose between kingdoms, one or the other, they cannot co-exist (Luke 11:17). That choice is important as the empty tenement invites squatters.

     How many times have we all been tempted to work instead of pray? How often have thoughts of a heated conversation, or “have to,” obstructed our prayer or even the reception of Sacraments? How often has the call of the pillow, a good book or sporting event, or even some foolish TV show supplanted our prayer time? When that happens, we slowly starve our soul of Christ and leave our house empty. We give in to the Noonday Devil, that weariness that creeps in around lunch and begs us to nap. Indeed, “watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38 NABRE)

     With every conversion there is a time that St John Climacus describes as, “that initial happy warmth” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent). Yet, if we are not careful, that house swept clean and placed in order, can through spiritual sloth, or acedia, be reinhabited by the demons that deny us grace. When this happens, our condition is clearly much worse than it was when we first tasted grace. Through laxity, spiritual weariness, negligence, or indifference, we let grace slip like sand through our fingers. That “demon” acedia is something we all should be careful of. As St Peter reminds us,

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NABRE)

      I have always found that the Spiritual Masters, especially in monastic communities, understood acedia well. The Rule of St Benedict is particularly full of advice in this regard. He writes,

Therefore the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labor, and again at fixed hours in sacred reading… Refrain from too much eating or sleeping, and from laziness … Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, aware that God’s gaze is upon you, wherever you may be. As soon as wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against Christ and disclose them to your spiritual father. (taken from The Rule 36-38,48-50)

     St Benedict’s rule gives us insight into the antidote to acedia. It is a disciplined prayer life, a humility of Spirit, and a Spiritual Director. Our striving for holiness reminds us of who we are in Christ. Finally, we must “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:14 NABRE) through the reception of all the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. When God fills our soul, our house, there is no room for anything else. In the Sacraments, “let us pray [to] the Lord to command the help of his grace to aid us in that which we cannot accomplish by nature.” (Benedict Rule 41)

     Acedia, often described as the “noonday devil,” slowly erodes our will to seek holiness, to live with and in Christ. It is that which rots the ladder of divine ascent. Pursuing a disciplined prayer life, humbly placing our lives and will in proper order with spiritual direction, and strengthened by the Sacraments, we ascend a sturdy ladder. Mostly, we consciously push all from our life that which is not Christ. This takes effort and desire. Who then is wise and faithful writes St John Climacus,

…[It] is the man who has kept unquenched the warmth of his vocation, who adds fire each day to fire, fervor to fervor, zeal to zeal, love to love, and this to the end of his life.

(The Ladder of Divine Ascent)

Endnotes:

Amorth, Gabrielle. An Exorcist Tells His Story (p. 31). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Benedict of Nursia. The Rule of St. Benedict in English with Notes. Ed. Timothy Fry. electronic edition. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981. Print.

Farrow, Mary. “What Acedia Is and Why You Should Care.” Angelus News - Multimedia Catholic News, Catholic News Agency, 19 May 2020, angelusnews.com/faith/what-is-acedia-how-do-you-pronounce-it-and-why-does-this-priest-tweet-about-it/.

John Climacus. John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Ed. Richard J. Payne. Trans. Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1982. Print. The Classics of Western Spirituality

New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE). Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.

Origen. Homilies on Genesis and Exodus. Ed. Hermigild Dressler. Trans. Ronald E. Heine. Vol. 71. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1982. Print. The Fathers of the Church.