Caterina Benincasa Dominican Monastery

Our last community Lectio discussed the Gospel about Jesus casting out devils, and we got into a discussion on just what are the demons in our lives? We all know the big demons: addiction, abuse, sin. But what about the daily demons? And we came to the thought that one daily demon that infects our lives is dishonesty. That led to a whole new direction in our discussion.

Honesty isn’t much thought of in this day and age of political correctness and saving face. Yet, for a sincere follower of Jesus, honesty is paramount. You cannot have a true spiritual life without sincerity, which leads to honesty.

Think of Jesus. He didn’t come to bring the kind of kingdom his people expected, even his disciples. Are you going to return the kingdom of Israel now? they asked him after his resurrection, after they had seen him suffer rejection, disgrace, and die on the cross.

“My kingdom is not of this world.” he told them over and over again. He didn’t come as a band aid for all our ailments, but to show us good can come from even the worst kinds of evil. And that suffering evil, weakness, being vulnerable aren’t the worst aspects of our lives. Dishonesty and insincerity is.

Honesty starts with ourselves. It begins by stripping away what we want to be for what we are. St. Catherine, our patron, tells us true love can only come after we have received light in the cell of self-knowledge. This is the goal, and the demon to be cast out is all falseness, even to ourselves.