Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 17:14-20
This week we have seen how important faith truly is. With even just a few moments of clear faith, Peter walked on water. The Transfiguration taught us to listen and not merely watch; Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus not only changed the direction of his life but laid the foundation for the Church. This faith helps us to trust in the Jesus we have come to know, love, and follow, even if we come face-to-face with the Enemy who has rejected Him and dedicated his existence to resisting Him.
In today’s Gospel the apostles are astounded and dismayed when they fail to cast out a demon, when Jesus does so with seeming ease. When they ask as to why they failed, Jesus says, “Because of your little faith.” Jesus, Peter, James, and John, immediately prior to encountering the demoniac, had just come down the mountain where the Transfiguration took place; it is the other disciples that lacked faith and could not oppose the demons with any true power. Why is faith so important in this case?
When you face a demon, you are facing a coward, yes, but an incredibly proud and obstinate one. When we have faith, when we believe and trust in Jesus, we are humbly submitting to His Word. When we choose to trust Jesus, when we put our faith in Him, this is a profound act of humility, and it is only through humility will we be able to confound the pride of devils. For devils, too, are masters of illusion; even St. Ignatius warns that they can appear as “angels of light,” and so we cannot trust our own perception of them; we must “walk by faith not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), because while the Enemy can mislead us through our senses, he cannot mislead those of deep faith.