Mark 5 · The Lantern

And they came over the strait of the sea, into the country of the Gerasens.

And as he went out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the monuments a man with an unclean spirit,

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc. et v. Chrys. Hom. in Matt. 28) Or else, Mark and Luke relate what was most worthy of compassion, and for this reason they put down more at length what had happened to this man; for there follows, no man could bind him, no, not with chains.

And when he had come out of the ship, immediately a man with an unclean spirit met him from the tombs, who had his dwelling among the tombs. This man, who was vexed by an unclean spirit and was mad to the Lord but soon to be healed, holds the figure of the gentile people, who, up to the time of the Lord's incarnation, deluded by demonic doctrines, worshiped idols as God.

Here again the demoniac is the people of the Gentiles, in a most hopeless case, bound neither by the law of nature, nor of God, nor by human fear. Or they are choked in hell without any touch of mercy by the rushing on of an early death; which evils many persons thus avoid, for by the scourging of the fool, the wise is made more prudent.

Who had his dwelling in the tombs, and no man now could bind him, not even with chains.

For having been often bound with fetters and chains, he had burst the chains, and broken the fetters in pieces, and no one could tame him.

And he was always day and night in the monuments and in the mountains, crying and cutting himself with stones.

And seeing Jesus afar off, he ran and adored him.

And crying with a loud voice, he said: What have I to do with thee, Jesus the Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God that thou torment me not.

Obviously he would not be expelling evil spirits and pillaging idols if he were impotent, for the evil spirits would not obey one who was impotent. If, on the other hand, the very naming of him drives them forth, he clearly is not powerless. The spirits especially see through what is unseen by human eyes.

(non occ.) See how the devil is divided between two passions, fear and audacity; he hangs back and prays, as if meditating a question; he wishes to know what he had to do with Jesus, as though he would say, Do you cast me out from men, who are mine?

The demons consider it a torment to come out of a man, which is why they said: "do not torment us," that is, do not cast us out of our dwelling, that is, out of the man. On the other hand, they thought that the Lord would no longer tolerate them because of their excessive audacity, but would immediately deliver them to torment, and therefore they begged Him not to torment them.

For he said unto him: Go out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

And he asked him: What is thy name? And he saith to him: My name is Legion, for we are many.

Look too at Legion: when in anguish he begged, our Lord permitted the demons to enter into the herd. He asked for respite, without deception, in his anguish, and our Lord in his kindness granted this request. His compassion for the demoniac is a rebuke to the demons, showing how much anguish his love suffers in desiring that humans should live.

One should also bear in mind that God antecedently wills all to be saved and to attain to his kingdom. For he did not form us to be chastised, but to share his goodness, because he is incomparably good. Yet, because he is just, it is required that sin be punished. So, the first form of the will of God is called his antecedent will and blessing, which has God as its cause.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) Lest he should not be believed, if He affirmed there were many, He wishes that they themselves should confess it; wherefore there follows, And he saith unto him, Legion, for we are many. He gives not a fixed number, but a multitude, for such accuracy in the number would not help us to understand it.

And he besought him much, that he would not drive him away out of the country.

And there was there near the mountain a great herd of swine, feeding.

This ("substance"), accordingly, he "squandered; "having been cast by his moral habits far from the Lord, amid the errors and allurements and appetites of the world, where, compelled by hunger after truth, he handed himself over to the prince of this age.

(de Con. Evan. ii. 24) What Mark here says, that the herd was about the mountain, and what Luke calls on the mountain, are by no means inconsistent. For the herd of swine was so large, that some part were on the mountain, the rest around it. It goes on: And the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

There was a large herd of pigs feeding near the mountain. And the spirits implored him, saying: Send us into the pigs, that we may enter them. And Jesus immediately granted them. Therefore, he allowed what they were asking for, that through the destruction of the pigs, an occasion for salvation might be offered to humans.

And the spirits besought him, saying: Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

And Jesus immediately gave them leave. And the unclean spirits going out, entered into the swine: and the herd with great violence was carried headlong into the sea, being about two thousand, were stifled in the sea.

The devil's legion would not have had power over the herd of swine unless they had gotten it from God. Thus they are far from having power over the sheep of God. Even the bristles of the swine were counted by God, just as were the hairs of the heads of the just.

Was it just that two thousand swine perished so one soul might be saved? One seeking purity of heart had best not become preoccupied with the natural prerogative of the demonic legion or animals. It is better that each single reader reflect upon his own soul, his own way of life, and the rarity of true excellence.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He wished to show publicly the fury which devils entertain against men, and that they would inflict much worse things upon men, if they were not hindered by Divine power; because, again, His compassion would not allow this to be shown on men, He permitted them to enter into the swine, that on them the fury and power of the devils might be made known…

And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city and in the fields. And they went out to see what was done:

And they came to Jesus, and they see him that was troubled with the devil, sitting, clothed, and well in his wits, and they were afraid.

The necessity of their loss, however, brought these men to the Saviour; for frequently when God makes men suffer loss in their possessions, he confers a benefit on their souls. Wherefore it goes on: And they came to Jesus, and see him that was tormented by the devil, &c.

After this, let the deacon say: Go out, catechumens, in peace. And after they have gone out, let him say: You energumens, afflicted with unclean spirits, pray, and let us all earnestly pray for them, that God, the lover of humankind, through Christ, may rebuke the unclean and wicked spirits, and deliver the faithful from the dominion of the adversary.

Struck by the miracle, the inhabitants of that city came out to Jesus, and having heard the details, they were even more frightened.

And they that had seen it, told them, in what manner he had been dealt with who had the devil; and concerning the swine.

And they began to pray him that he would depart from their coasts.

And when he went up into the ship, he that had been troubled with the devil, began to beseech him that he might be with him.

And he admitted him not, but saith him: Go into thy house to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had mercy thee.

(non occ.) But although he bade others, whom he healed, to tell it to no one, he nevertheless fitly bids this one proclaim it, since all that region, being possessed by devils, remained without God.

I have loved the beauty of the contemplative life as a Rachel, barren, but keen of sight and fair, who, though in her quietude she is less fertile, yet sees the light more keenly. But, by what judgment I know not, Leah has been coupled with me in the night, to wit, the active life; fruitful, but tender-eyed; seeing less, but bringing forth more.

But the Lord sends him back to his house, intimating to him, that though He Himself was not present, yet His power would keep him; at the same time also that he might be of use in the healing of others; wherefore it goes on: And he did not suffer him, and saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, &c. See the humility of the Saviour.

And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men wondered.

Behold, a legion hurls headlong the swine Of Gerasenes, and once enchained in tombs, It loudly grunts with pain. From lips possessed It had cried out: "O Jesus, Son of God, Offspring of David's royal line, we know Who you are and why you have come, what power Expels us, at your coming filled with dread." Has not this voice, Judea, reached your ears?

Therefore he began to preach, and all marveled. But see how the Savior is free from boasting! He did not say, "Tell what I have done for you," but, "what the Lord has done for you." So you also, when you do something good, ascribe what was done not to yourself, but to God.

But the man who is healed preached in Decapolis, where the Jews, who hang on the letter of the Decalogue, are being turned away from the Roman rule.

And when Jesus had passed again in the ship over the strait, a great multitude assembled together unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea.

And there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue named Jairus: and seeing him, falleth down at his feet.

Let our opponents-that is, they who speak against their own salvation-inform us [as to this point]: The deceased daughter of the high priest; the widow's dead son, who was being carded out [to burial] near the gate [of the city]; and Lazarus, who had lain four days in the tomb, -in what bodies did they rise again? In those same, no doubt, in which they had also died.

After the miracle over the demoniac, the Lord performs another miracle — He raises the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. For the Jews who witnessed the event, the Evangelist also mentions the name of the ruler of the synagogue.

Mystically, however, Jairus comes after the healing of the woman, because when the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, then shall Israel be saved. (v. Rom.

And he besought him much, saying: My daughter is at the point of death, come, lay thy hand upon her, that she may be safe, and may live.

Those who are sick do not lay down the conditions of how they are to be cured. They only want to be made well. But this man was a ruler of the synagogue, and versed in the law. He had surely read that while God created all other things by his word, man had been created by the hand of God.

And he earnestly begged Him, saying: "My daughter is at the point of death; come, lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live." In the Gospel of Luke, it is written that she was his only daughter about twelve years old, and she was dying.

Now this man was faithful in part, inasmuch as he fell at the feet of Jesus, but in that he begged of Him to come, he did not show as much faith as he ought. For he ought to have said, Speak the word only, and my daughter shall be healed.

And he went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they thronged him.

And a woman who was under an issue of blood twelve years,

And had suffered many things from many physicians; and had spent all that she had, and was nothing the better, but rather worse,

When she had heard of Jesus, came in the crowd behind him, and touched his garment.

Glory to you, hidden Son of God, because your healing power is proclaimed through the hidden suffering of the afflicted woman. Through this woman whom they could see, the witnesses were enabled to behold the divinity that cannot be seen. Through the Son's own healing power his divinity became known. Through the afflicted woman's being healed her faith was made manifest.

The woman with the hemorrhage had spent all that she had on doctors. Hungering and thirsting, her spirit had died within her. Having lost everything she possessed, because her life was wasting away within her, she cried out to the Lord in anguish. Her touch on the hem of his garment was the cry of a believing heart.

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed." And immediately the source of her bleeding dried up. The Church comes and touches the Lord when it approaches Him through the truth of faith.

For she said: If I shall touch but his garment, I shall be whole.

And forthwith the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the evil.

And immediately Jesus knowing in himself the virtue that had proceeded from him, turning to the multitude, said: Who hath touched my garments?

And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself the power that had gone out from Him, turned to the crowd and said: "Who touched My garments?" He asked not to learn what He did not know, but that the power He clearly knew, indeed which He Himself had given, might be declared in the woman, and by the declared and recognized power of faith, many might reach salvation.

Power goes out from Christ not in such a way as to change place; on the contrary, it is communicated to others and at the same time remains in Christ without diminution, just as the lessons of teaching both remain with the teachers and are imparted to the students.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) Now the virtues of Christ are by His own will imparted to those men, who touch Him by faith. Wherefore there follows, And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

And his disciples said to him: Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou who hath touched me?

They further maintain that the passion which took place in the case of the twelfth Aeon is pointed at by the apostasy of Judas, who was the twelfth apostle, and also by the fact that Christ suffered in the twelfth month. For their opinion is, that He continued to preach for one year only after His baptism.

And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" The crowd pressing around Him in every direction, one believing woman touches the Lord, because those burdened by various disordered heresies or perverse habits, only the heart faithfully venerating the Catholic Church, is honored.

But see how the crowd pressed upon Him from all sides, and yet not one of them touched Him; on the contrary, the woman, who did not press upon Him, touched Him.

And he looked about to see her who had done this.

But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

Note the separate stages; mark the progress. As long as she was hemorrhaging, she could not come into his presence. She was healed by faith and then came before him. She fell at his feet. Even then she did not yet dare to look up into his face. As long as she had been cured, it was enough for her to cling to his feet. She "told him all the truth." Christ himself is the truth.

But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth.

But why does the Lord reveal the woman? First, in order to glorify the woman's faith; second, in order to arouse faith in the ruler of the synagogue that his daughter also will be saved; and also in order to free the woman from her great fear, for she was afraid as one who had stolen a healing. Thus the Evangelist also says: "she came in fear and trembling."

And he said to her: Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace, and be thou whole of thy disease.

This is in reality righteousness, not to desire other things, but to be entirely the consecrated temple of the Lord. Righteousness is peace of life and a well-conditioned state, to which the Lord dismissed her when He said, "Depart into peace." For Salem is, by interpretation, peace; of which our Saviour is enrolled King, as Moses says, Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the…

Few are they who by faith touch him; multitudes are they who throng about him.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) Or else He says, Go in peace, sending her away into that which is the final good, for God dwells in peace, that thou mayest know, that she was not only healed in body, but also from the causes of bodily pain, that is, from her sins

While he was yet speaking, some come from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying: Thy daughter is dead: why dost thou trouble the master any further?

(ubi sup.) It is not said that he assented to his friends who brought the tidings and wished to prevent the Master from coming, so that our Lord's saying, Fear not, only believe, is not a rebuke for his want of faith, but was intended to strengthen the belief which he had already.

The people of the ruler of the synagogue regarded Christ as one of the ordinary teachers, which is why they asked Him to come and pray over the girl, and in the end, when she died, they thought that He was no longer needed after her death.

It was told the ruler of the synagogue, Thy daughter is dead. But Jesus said to him, She is not dead, but sleepeth. Both are true, for the meaning is, She is dead to you, but to Me she is asleep.

But Jesus having heard the word that was spoken, saith to the ruler of the synagogue: Fear not, only believe.

When the chief of the synagogue asked him about his daughter, Jesus said to him: "Only firmly believe and your daughter shall live." He believed and so his daughter lived and arose.

"But Jesus, overhearing the word that was spoken, said to the synagogue leader, 'Do not be afraid; only believe.'" The synagogue leader is understood as the teacher of the law, about whom the Lord says, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat" (Matthew 23). For if he himself is willing to believe, the Synagogue subject to him will also be saved.

And he admitted not any man to follow him, but Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

And they cone to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he seeth a tumult, and people weeping and wailing much.

And going in, he saith to them Why make you this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

And what shall I say of the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, at whose death multitudes were weeping and the flute-players piping? For the funeral solemnities were being performed because of the conviction of death. How quickly at the word of the Lord does the spirit return, the reviving body rise up, and food is taken, that the evidence of life may be believed!

And entering, he said to them: Why are you troubled and weeping? The girl is not dead, but sleeping. To men she was dead, who could not raise her, but to God she was sleeping, in whose arrangement, the soul was received and lived, and the body rested to be resurrected.

It was told the ruler of the synagogue, Thy daughter is dead. But Jesus said to him, She is not dead, but sleepeth. Both are true, for the meaning is, She is dead to you, but to Me she is asleep.

And they laughed him to scorn. But he having put them all out, taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.

And taking the damsel by the hand, he saith to her: Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted: Damsel (I say to thee) arise.

(non occ.) Or else, to take away all display, He suffered not all to be with Him; that, however, He might leave behind Him witnesses of His divine power, He chose His three chief disciples and the father and mother of the damsel, as being necessary above all. And He restores life to the damsel both by His hand, and by word of mouth.

(Mor. 4, 27) Morally again, our Redeemer raised the damsel in the house, the young man without the gate, Lazarus in the tomb; he still lies dead in the house, whose sin is concealed; he is carried without the gate, whose sin has broken forth into the madness of an open deed; he lies crushed under the mound of the tomb, who in the commission of sin, lies powerless beneath the we…

The Lord takes her by the hand in order to impart strength to her.

And immediately the damsel rose up, and walked: and she was twelve years old: and they were astonished with a great astonishment.

And he charged them strictly that no man should know it: and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

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