💖 HOMILY - OCTOBER 10 💖

First Reading - Joel 1:13-15,2:1-2 

Gospel - Luke 11:15-26

There are times in life when we sense that something is not right — when darkness seems to close in, when confusion and conflict fill our hearts or our homes. In such moments, we often try to fix things on the surface — rearranging what is visible — but forget that true restoration must begin within. Today’s readings remind us that spiritual renewal and vigilance are the only ways to overcome the powers that destroy peace.

In the first reading, the prophet Joel sounds an alarm. The “day of the Lord” is near — a day of judgment and reckoning. The people are urged to wake up, to mourn their sins, and to return to God with sincerity. Joel’s message is not meant to frighten but to awaken: to call God’s people back from complacency before it’s too late. Sin and indifference leave the soul empty — a place where chaos and darkness easily take hold. God, through Joel, is calling His people to repentance so that His presence may once again fill their hearts and their land.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of a person from whom an unclean spirit has gone out. But when that person fails to fill the empty space with good — with faith, prayer, and obedience — the evil spirit returns with seven others, leaving the person worse off than before. This image is sobering. It shows that spiritual life cannot remain neutral. When we remove what is bad, we must replace it with what is good. It is not enough to drive out evil; we must invite God to dwell within us.

Dear friends, a heart that is not filled with God will eventually be filled with something else. We cannot live in spiritual emptiness. If we do not cultivate prayer, love, and virtue, the void invites pride, anger, or temptation to return. That is why Jesus calls us not only to reject evil but to welcome the Holy Spirit, to fill our hearts with His truth and strength.

This means making space for God each day — through prayer, forgiveness, acts of kindness, and humble service. When we do this, God’s presence becomes our protection. No darkness can overcome a heart where Christ dwells.

Let us, then, take Joel’s warning to heart and Christ’s teaching as a guide: cleanse our hearts, but also fill them — with God’s Word, His love, and His peace. For only a heart full of God can stand firm against the storms of life.

May we be people not just emptied of sin, but filled with the presence of the living God — shining His light wherever darkness threatens to return.