Catholic Homily for October 10, 2025
Marcus thought he had won the battle. After twenty-three years of struggling with alcohol, he’d been sober for eight months. His AA meetings were regular, his sponsor was supportive, and his family was cautiously hopeful. He’d cleaned out his bar cart, thrown away the hidden bottles, and even changed his route home to avoid his old drinking spots.
But something was missing. Marcus had focused entirely on what he wasn’t doing—he wasn’t drinking, wasn’t lying about it, wasn’t disappointing his wife and kids. He’d swept his life clean of alcohol, but he hadn’t filled it with anything meaningful to replace it.
The relapse came on a Tuesday evening. His son had gotten into trouble at school, his boss had criticized a project, and his wife seemed distant. Standing in his pristine kitchen—no bottles, no temptation—Marcus felt completely empty. Within an hour, he was at the liquor store. Within three days, he was drinking worse than before he’d gotten sober.
At his next AA meeting, Marcus stared at his day-one chip and whispered to his sponsor, “I don’t understand. I did everything right. I cleaned up my act completely. How did I end up worse than when I started?”
His sponsor, Jim, a man with fifteen years of sobriety, nodded knowingly. “Marcus, you swept the house clean, but you forgot to move anything good into it. An empty house is just an invitation for trouble to move back in—and it usually brings friends.”
That night, Marcus learned what Jesus taught two thousand years ago: it’s not enough to cast out our demons. We must fill the empty spaces with something better, or we’ll find ourselves in a worse condition than when we started.
Today’s Gospel from Luke 11:15-26 contains one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings about spiritual warfare and the danger of halfway measures in our relationship with God. After Jesus casts out a demon, some in the crowd accuse Him of working through Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus responds with unassailable logic: “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house.”
Jesus then tells a parable that should unsettle anyone who thinks spiritual growth is simply about eliminating bad habits: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
The message is sobering: spiritual cleansing without spiritual filling leads to spiritual disaster. It’s not enough to remove evil from our lives—we must actively invite good to take its place. An empty soul, however clean, remains vulnerable to invasion by forces worse than those we originally expelled.
Jesus emphasizes that neutrality in spiritual matters is impossible: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
October 10 – Challenge for the day
In our daily lives, this Gospel challenges us to examine not just what we’re avoiding, but what we’re embracing. Parents who want to protect their children from negative influences must also actively cultivate positive ones. It’s not enough to limit screen time—we must fill that time with better activities. It’s not enough to discourage bad friendships—we must encourage good ones.
Students facing temptations toward cheating, substance abuse, or destructive relationships need more than rules and restrictions. They need compelling reasons to choose differently—meaningful goals, supportive communities, and personal relationships with Jesus that make sin less attractive than grace.
Married couples working to improve their relationships discover that it’s not enough to stop fighting—they must start connecting. It’s not enough to avoid criticism—they must actively express appreciation. Empty spaces in relationships, like empty spaces in souls, invite problems.
Even in our work lives, the principle applies. Employees who want to break patterns of gossip, negativity, or dishonesty must replace those patterns with positivity, integrity, and constructive communication. The office environment, like the human heart, abhors a vacuum.
In parishes, this Gospel challenges communities to offer alternatives, not just restrictions. Youth programs that simply forbid certain behaviors often fail. Youth programs that provide compelling, meaningful, joyful alternatives to destructive behaviors usually succeed.
Jesus offers Himself not just as the one who casts out demons, but as the one who moves in to stay. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just clean our spiritual house—He takes up residence, transforming every room with His presence.
Today’s Gospel challenges us to examine our own spiritual housekeeping. What have we swept clean? More importantly, what have we invited to fill the clean spaces? Are we actively gathering with Jesus, or are we unconsciously scattering? Have we filled our hearts with His love, our minds with His truth, our days with His purpose?
Today’s Prayer
Lord Jesus, You cast out the darkness from our lives, but You also offer to fill the empty spaces with Your presence. Help us not just to avoid evil, but to actively embrace good. Move into every room of our hearts and make Your home in us, so that no space remains vacant for destructive forces to occupy. Amen.
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