Division and Demons

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to inspiration for living with Christ from people that we encounter unexpectedly who strengthen our faith.

Faith and New Friends

 

The Reading from the First Book of Kings describes the End of Solomon’s Reign.

* [11:1–13] The next major unit of the Solomon story corresponds to 3:1–15. Like the earlier passage it includes the narrator’s remarks about Solomon’s foreign wives and his building projects, and a divine word commenting on Solomon’s conduct. However, where 3:1–15 is generally positive toward Solomon, the present passage is unrelievedly negative. Chronicles has no parallel to this material.

* [11:2] Them: both the nations and their gods. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 106 seeks solidarity with the people, who can always count on God’s fidelity despite their sin.

* [Psalm 106] Israel is invited to praise the God whose mercy has always tempered judgment of Israel (Ps 106:1–3). The speaker, on behalf of all, seeks solidarity with the people, who can always count on God’s fidelity despite their sin (Ps 106:4–5)... mingling with the nations (Ps 106:34–47). The last, as suggested by its length and generalized language, may be the sin that invites the repentance of the present generation. The text gives the site of each sin: Egypt (Ps 106:7), the desert (Ps 106:14), the camp (Ps 106:16), Horeb (Ps 106:19), in their tents (Ps 106:25), Baal-Peor (Ps 106:28), the waters of Meribah (Ps 106:32), Canaan (Ps 106:38). (Psalms, PSALM 106 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus proclaims the Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith.

* [7:24–37] The withdrawal of Jesus to the district of Tyre may have been for a respite (Mk 7:24), but he soon moved onward to Sidon and, by way of the Sea of Galilee, to the Decapolis. These districts provided a Gentile setting for the extension of his ministry of healing because the people there acknowledged his power (Mk 7:29, 37). The actions attributed to Jesus (Mk 7:33–35) were also used by healers of the time.

* [7:27–28] The figure of a household in which children at table are fed first and then their leftover food is given to the dogs under the table is used effectively to acknowledge the prior claim of the Jews to the ministry of Jesus; however, Jesus accedes to the Gentile woman’s plea for the cure of her afflicted daughter because of her faith. (Mark, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Desiree Nownes reflects on the impact of Saint Anthony of Padua (Memorial on June 13) on her experience of recovery of lost spiritual connection.

Don Schwager quotes “Great was the power of her faith, and for our learning,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"See her humility as well as her faith! For he had called the Jews 'children,' but she was not satisfied with this. She even called them 'masters,' so far was she from grieving at the praises of others. She said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' Behold the woman's wisdom! She did not venture so much as to say a word against anyone else. She was not stung to see others praised, nor was she indignant to be reproached. Behold her constancy. When he answered, 'It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs,' she said, 'Yes, Lord.' He called them 'children'- but she called them 'masters.' He used the name of a dog, but she described the action of the dog. Do you see this woman's humility? Then compare her humility with the proud language of the Jews: 'We are Abraham's seed and were never in bondage to any man'(John 8:33). 'We are born of God' (John 8:41). But not so this woman. Rather, she calls herself a dog and them masters. So for this reason she became a child. For what does Christ then say? 'O woman, great is your faith.'

"So we might surmise that this is the reason he put her off, in order that he might proclaim aloud this saying and that he might crown the woman: 'Be it done for you as you desire.' This means 'Your faith, indeed, is able to effect even greater things than these. Nevertheless be it unto you even as you wish.' This voice was at one with the voice that said, 'Let the heaven be,' and it was (Genesis 1:1). 'And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.' Do you see how this woman, too, contributed not a little to the healing of her daughter? For note that Christ did not say, 'Let your little daughter be made whole,' but 'Great is your faith, be it done for you as you desire.' These words were not uttered at random, nor were they flattering words, but great was the power of her faith, and for our learning.

He left the certain test and demonstration, however, to the issue of events. Her daughter accordingly was immediately healed." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW, Homily 52.3) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Kings 11:4-13 asks how can we give our whole hearts to the Lord? By giving him first place in our lives. One way to do this is by turning to God a few times each day. We can dedicate the day to him when we first wake up. We can set aside time for prayer and ask him how we can best serve him. We can stop at midday to ask him to help us and guide us. Finally, when we retire at night, we can thank him for the day and ask forgiveness for any ways that we may have turned away from him.

As you try to keep your heart “with the Lord” like this, you won’t just avoid the idolatry that Solomon fell into (1 Kings 11:4). You’ll discover the goodness of your God. You’ll find peace in his presence. You’ll find wisdom because you’re more attuned to his voice. And you’ll find joy as you delight in a kingdom that lasts forever!

“Lord, I give you my whole heart today!” (Meditation on 1 Kings 11:4-13, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments in 1 Kings Solomon had many wives and foreign women who enticed the King to move away from the Lord and build temples to gods of child sacrifice. The Lord orders the Kingdom would be split in the life of Solomon’s son into two tribes. Jesus travels to Tyre and encounters a pagan woman and Jesus responds to her request for healing for her daughter possessed by demons with "Let the children be fed first” The purpose of this response is really unclear. The woman demonstrates “chutzpah” and Jesus is impressed. We have to tell God our deepest thoughts “What we are really feeling”. Friar Jude prays “May God bless us in our arguments with the Divine.”

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces psychotherapist Fiona Gardner who shares how we might once again experience paradise in the writings of contemplative writer and monk Thomas Merton. Contemplative practice creates opportunities to return to the ‘enchantment’ of the garden:

Present-moment awareness is about creating a gap in the constant busyness of the mind…. It is through such a clear space that new and creative possibilities are born…. There may be an inner prompting in the midst of a busy life to take stock, perhaps to stop and consider…. The focus is then on the inner desire for that thirst-quenching water of life. In other words to move to a place of renewal and rebirth, where there may be glimpses in adulthood of life beyond the shadow and disguise, and experiences, even if fleeting, of the spirit of the child. One way to start to shift out of the obscured false self way of living is to begin to develop awareness, to awaken the senses, to look, listen, feel, and touch as the small child does—to return to one’s senses. [3] (Rohr, n.d.)

We invite the Spirit to enhance our appreciation of the Way of the Lord in our interaction with people from unfamiliar circumstances and journeys different from ours.

References

Mark, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 12, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/7?24 

Meditation on 1 Kings 11:4-13. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved February 12, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/02/12/1498221/ 

1 Kings, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 12, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/11?4 

Psalms, PSALM 106 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 12, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/106?3 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 12, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/contemplation-and-paradise/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Demon Has Left Your Daughter. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 12, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Holiness Happiness and Health

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to assess and act on the conditions in our lives that support our seeking fullness of life for all communities.

Christian Care for Cuba

The Reading from the First Book of Kings explores Solomon’s Listening Heart and the visit of the Queen of Sheba.

* [10:1–13] The sub-unit on Solomon’s wisdom contrasts with 3:16–28. There Solomon’s gifts led him to listen to the humblest of his subjects; he accomplished justice and was revered by all his people. Here the emphasis is on his clever speech to a foreign monarch. She is duly impressed by the glory of his court, but it is she, not Solomon, who recalls the monarch’s duty of establishing justice (v. 9). The unit is interrupted briefly by a remark about Solomon’s maritime commerce (10:11–12).

* [10:1] Queen of Sheba: women rulers among the Arabs are recorded in eighth-century B.C. Assyrian inscriptions. Sheba was for centuries the leading principality in what is now Yemen. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 37 proclaims people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked.

* [Psalm 37] The Psalm responds to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? The Psalm answers that the situation is only temporary. God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth. The perspective is concrete and earthbound: people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked. Each group or “way” has its own inherent dynamism—eventual frustration for the wicked, eventual reward for the just. The Psalm is an acrostic, i.e., each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has its own imagery and logic.

* [37:3] The land: the promised land, Israel, which became for later interpreters a type or figure of heaven, cf. Heb 11:9–10, 13–16. The New Testament Beatitudes (Mt 5:3–12; Lk 6:20–26) have been influenced by the Psalm, especially their total reversal of the present and their interpretation of the happy future as possession of the land. (Psalms, PSALM 37 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus proclaims what comes out of a person, that is what defiles.

* [7:17] Away from the crowd…the parable: in this context of privacy the term parable refers to something hidden, about to be revealed to the disciples; cf. Mk 4:10–11, 34. Jesus sets the Mosaic food laws in the context of the kingdom of God where they are abrogated, and he declares moral defilement the only cause of uncleanness.

* [7:19] (Thus he declared all foods clean): if this bold declaration goes back to Jesus, its force was not realized among Jewish Christians in the early church; cf. Acts 10:1–11:18. (Mark, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

David Crawford comments that what we do and say should accurately reflect Christ, but too often there is a disconnect between what Christians are called to do and what Christians actually do. We often are tempted to become like the Pharisees, so sure in our righteousness and how we see the world that we assume everything we do, say, or think is in concert with what God wants, and equally sure that anyone who disagrees with us is somehow deficient.

To be a better representative, my daily interactions with those who are suffering should bring healing, not add to pain. I should follow the Spirit’s promptings to foster unity (not division) and reconciliation (not distrust). I should welcome people with God’s love and mercy, not drive them away with self-righteous condemnation. When someone falls short,

I should joyfully forgive (like the Prodigal Father), not begrudge that forgiveness (like the Prodigal Brother). I should seek to be the just one described in today’s psalm, one whose mouth tells of wisdom and whose tongue utters what is right.

Loving God, change our hearts and our minds so that everything we say, everything we do, everything we think is worthy of you. (Crawford, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The cycle of bitterness broken by forbearance,” by Tertullian, 160-225 A.D.

"Let us, then, his servants, follow our Lord and patiently submit to denunciations that we may be blessed! If, with slight forbearance, I hear some bitter or evil remark directed against me, I may return it, and then I shall inevitably become bitter myself. Either that, or I shall be tormented by unexpressed resentment. If I retaliate when cursed, how shall I be found to have followed the teaching of our Lord? For his saying has been handed down that one is defiled not by unclean dishes but by the words which proceed from his mouth ( Mark 7:15)."(excerpt from ON PATIENCE 8)

[Tertullian (160-225 AD) was an early Christian writer and theologian from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was a noted early Christian apologist who defended Christianity and the practice of Christians against the reproaches of the pagans. He promoted the principle of freedom of religion as an inalienable human right and demanded a fair trial for Christians before they were condemned to death.] (Crawford, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 7:14-23 asks how can we be pleasing to the Lord in our hearts and walk in holiness throughout our days?

First, don’t be discouraged! Remember: the same Jesus who asks you to strive for purity is the One whose blood can cleanse your conscience from “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14), and his cross and resurrection can give you the grace to turn from sin. He offers you power to love him and follow him. Second, remember that the Sacrament of Confession offers the perfect opportunity to bring your weaknesses and sins to Christ. There, you can receive his mercy and strength. There, Jesus will meet you in your heart and provide you with all the help you need.

“Come, Lord, and purify my heart! May my every thought, every motive, every intention be pleasing in your sight!” (Meditation on Mark 7:14-23, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in 1 Kings the Queen of Sheba comes to see Solomon attracted by his wisdom. Israel had trading outposts in the Queen’s area. Wisdom is also knowing nature, medicine, solution to riddles, alchemy and magic. The Queen brings spices and gold to Solomon recognizing the blessing of God in his person and reign. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus attacks the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who are worrying what is outside ourselves and we should focus inside. Friar Jude notes Jesus' call to a radical transformation of our way of living, thinking, and seeing reality. 

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Rev. Dr. Ruth Patterson who has worked for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. In CAC’s journal ONEING, she characterizes our life’s journey as a return to a knowledge of God’s love and acceptance.

This longing inevitably leads to an expulsion from the false Eden and a pilgrimage that goes by the way of dispossession. Such a journey is not for the faint-hearted but for those who, in the words of Leonard Cohen, are willing to forget their perfect offering. They begin to see that the cracks are gift. The wounds of the journey allow the light to shine through. The softening of the heart welcomes the diversity that its Creator proclaims is good. Out of uncertainty, not knowing, vulnerability, and openness, they become the mercy-givers, the peacemakers, the light-bearers. With them, there is always more….

The way back to Eden, the space between “paradise lost” and “paradise regained,” the place where we live our lives, can be one of great love and great suffering, of newfound humility and awe. It can also be a return to wonder … to the movement or the dance of belonging and becoming. It is the place where we laugh and cry and sing. It is the place where we risk taking off our shoes. It is the place of ever-increasing awareness. This is the way in which we “are not” and along which we, and even I, may dance with joy. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the Spirit to lead us in contemplation and action to seek transformation of our greed and energy for self gratification to acts of kindness, mercy, and peace for all people in our environment.

References

Crawford, D. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-february-11-2026 

Mark, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/7?14 

Meditation on Mark 7:14-23. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved Month 11, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/02/11/1497878/ 

1 Kings, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/10?1 

Psalms, PSALM 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/37?5 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/longing-for-the-garden/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Out of the Heart Come Evil Thoughts. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/