Reflection for February 24 Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 9:14-29

Gospel: Mark 9:14-29

As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John and approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. 

He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. 

I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. 

As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 

Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” 

Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

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Reflection:

Is it possible for the disciples to lack faith? Yes. Even though they were always with Jesus, it was still possible for them to lack faith. Perhaps, because they were with Jesus every day, His presence became ordinary to them, and they began to treat Him as just one of them. Their extraordinary discipleship with Jesus became ordinary in their eyes. 

That is why they no longer had strong faith. Adding to this was their lack of a prayerful life. The result of their weak faith and lack of prayer was their failure to drive out the evil spirit from the boy. Therefore, Jesus admonished them to strengthen their faith and reignite their prayer life. 

Why do marriages fail? It is because both spouses oftentimes forget to have faith in the sacredness of their marriage. Being together every day, they become too familiar with each other, treating each other in an ordinary way. Their marriage loses its fervent, unifying prayer life, and as a result, it becomes a casualty. 

Let us take Jesus’ admonition to the disciples personally—to have faith and a more fervent prayer life. Let us also apply it to our married life, making prayer an essential part of it. 

If only we invested more in prayer in our marriages, perhaps there would be fewer marriage failures. — Marino J. Dasmarinas