Healing the Demon-possessed boy

St Luke Chapter IX : Verses 37-43

Contents

• Luke ix. 37-43.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the commentary in Madame Cecilia's Scripture Manuals (1904)

Luke ix. 37-43.

37 And it came to pass the day following, when they came down from the mountain, there met him a great multitude.

Factum est autem in sequenti die, descendentibus illis de monte, occurrit illis turba multa.

38 And behold a man among the crowd cried out, saying: Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one.

Et ecce vir de turba exclamavit, dicens : Magister, obsecro te, respice in filium meum quia unicus est mihi :

39 And lo, a spirit seizeth him, and he suddenly crieth out, and he throweth him down and teareth him, so that he foameth; and bruising him, he hardly departeth from him.

et ecce spiritus apprehendit eum, et subito clamat, et elidit, et dissipat eum cum spuma, et vix discedit dilanians eum :

40 And I desired thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not.

et rogavi discipulos tuos ut ejicerent illum, et non potuerunt.

41 And Jesus answering, said: O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring hither thy son.

Respondens autem Jesus, dixit : O generatio infidelis, et perversa, usquequo ero apud vos, et patiar vos? adduc huc filium tuum.

42 And as he was coming to him, the devil threw him down, and tore him.

Et cum accederet, elisit illum dæmonium, et dissipavit.

43 And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the boy, and restored him to his father.

Et increpavit Jesus spiritum immundum, et sanavit puerum, et reddidit illum patri ejus.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

37. And it came to paſſe the day folowing, when they came downe from the mountaine, there met him a great multitude.

38. And behold a man of the multitude cried out, ſaying: Maiſter, I beſeech thee, looke vpon my ſonne because he is mine only one.
39. And loe, the ſpirit taketh him, and he ſodenly crieth, and he daſheth him, and teareth him that he fometh, and with much adoe departeth renting him.
40. And I deſired thy Diſciples to caſt him out, and they could not.
41. And IESVS answering ſaid: O faithles and peruerſe Generation, how long ſhal I be with you and ſuffer you? bring hither thy ſonne.
42. And when he came to him, the Diuel daſhed, and tore him.

43. And IESVS rebuked the vncleance Spirit, and healed the boy, and rendred him to his father.

Annotations

[Taken from the Scripture Manuals commentary by Madame Cecilia on St Mark's Gospel (1904). The verse numbers refer to St Luke's account]

    37. there met him a great multitude. This happened the day following (ix. 37), as St Luke tells us. This seems to indicate night as the time when the Transfiguration took place.

    38. And behold a man among the crowd cried out, saying: Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one. The man had brought his son, hoping to find Jesus with the disciples.

    39. And lo, a spirit seizeth him, and he suddenly crieth out. Since St Luke tells us he suddenly crieth out (ix. 39), we may conclude the boy could not utter articulate sounds.

    and he throweth him down and teareth him, so that he foameth; and bruising him, he hardly departeth from him. The father describes minutely the effects of the natural disease of epilepsy, attributing them to the action of the dumb spirit.

    40. And I desired thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not. The man had clearly heard of miracles worked by the Apostles.

    they could not. He attributes the failure to want of power, not lack of good will. The Apostles had tried to cast out the devil, but had failed signally.

    41. And Jesus answering, said: O faithless and perverse generation,  St Matt, gives unbelieving and perverse generation (xvii. 16).

     how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? To bear with and to teach you.

   43. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the boy, and restored him to his father. This spirit is characterised as dumb and unclean. These words shew clearly that the boy was possessed. This is an example of a double cure : of healing, and of possession of the devil.

      

Additional Notes

    On prayer and fasting. The utility of fasting as a preparation for spiritual graces, is shown by the following examples: —

    (a) It was when St Peter was “ praying and fasting ” that a vision was granted to him.

    “ Peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour. And being hungry, he was desirous to taste somewhat. And as they were preparing, there came upon him an ecstasy of mind ” ( Acts x. 9-10).

    (b) It was while “ministering to the Lord and fasting ” that the Holy Ghost enlightened the Apostles, regarding the mission of Saul and Barnabas.

    “And as they were ministering to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Ghost said to them ; Separate me Saul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I have taken them. Then they fasting and praying, and imposing their hands upon them, sent them away ” ( Acts xiii. 2, 3).

    (c) St Paul speaks of himself as frequently praying and fasting :

    “ In much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often” (2 Cor. xi. 27), and these penitential works rendered his mission more fruitful.

    Many examples of fasting might be cited from the Old Testament, e.g. Moses, Elias, David, etc. Maldonatus says : “ Faith expels the enemy by believing, prayer by petitioning, fasting by tormenting and starving him ; as an enemy is driven out of a fortress, not only by force, but by starving him.” The doctrine here formulated by our Lord concerning “ prayer and fasting ” is not contradictory to the answer He made concerning fasting, when questioned by the Pharisees as to why the disciples did not fast. “ Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast ; but thy disciples do not fast?” (St Mark ii. 18). His answer in that case, “as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast” (St Mark ii. 19), referred to fasting of supererogation, which was unseasonable while He was with them. We know that both Jesus and His disciples observed the fasts, imposed by the Law of Moses, since He fulfilled the Law to an iota, but He did not observe the extra fasts prescribed by the Pharisees, nor imitate the rigorous abstinence of St John the Baptist.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.