32<\/sup>\u00a0What more shall I say? There is not\u00a0time\u00a0for me to give an account of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, or of David, Samuel and the prophets.<\/p> 33<\/sup>\u00a0These were men who through\u00a0faith\u00a0conquered kingdoms, did what was upright and earned the promises. They could keep a lion's mouth shut,<\/p> 34<\/sup>\u00a0put out blazing fires and emerge unscathed from battle. They were weak people who were given\u00a0strength\u00a0to be brave in\u00a0war\u00a0and drive back foreign invaders.<\/p> 35<\/sup> Some returned to their wives from the dead by resurrection; and others submitted to torture, refusing release so that they would rise again to a better life.<\/p> 36<\/sup> Some had to bear being pilloried and flogged, or even chained up in prison.<\/p> 37<\/sup> They were stoned, or sawn in half, or killed by the sword; they were homeless, and wore only the skins of sheep and goats; they were in want and hardship, and maltreated.<\/p> 38<\/sup>\u00a0They were too\u00a0good\u00a0for the world and they wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and ravines.<\/p> 39<\/sup> These all won acknowledgement through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised,<\/p> 40<\/sup>\u00a0since\u00a0God\u00a0had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to reach perfection except with us.<\/p> 20<\/sup> Safe in your presence you hide them, far from human plotting, shielding them in your tent, far from contentious tongues.<\/p> 21<\/sup>\u00a0Blessed be\u00a0Yahweh\u00a0who works for me miracles of his faithful love (in a fortified city)!<\/p> 22<\/sup> In a state of terror I cried, 'I have been cut off from your sight!' Yet you heard my plea for help when I cried out to you.<\/p> 23<\/sup>\u00a0Love Yahweh, all his faithful:\u00a0Yahweh\u00a0protects his loyal servants, but he repays the arrogant with interest.<\/p> 24<\/sup>\u00a0Be brave, take heart, all who put your\u00a0hope\u00a0in Yahweh.<\/p> 1<\/sup> They reached the territory of the Gerasenes on the other side of the lake,<\/p> 2<\/sup>\u00a0and when he disembarked, a\u00a0man\u00a0with an unclean\u00a0spirit\u00a0at once came out from the tombs towards him.<\/p> 3<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0man\u00a0lived in the tombs and no one could secure him any more, even with a chain,<\/p> 4<\/sup>\u00a0because he had often been secured with fetters and chains but had snapped the chains and broken the fetters, and no one had the\u00a0strength\u00a0to control him.<\/p> 5<\/sup> All night and all day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he would howl and gash himself with stones.<\/p> 6<\/sup>\u00a0Catching sight of\u00a0Jesus\u00a0from a distance, he ran up and fell at his feet<\/p> 7<\/sup> and shouted at the top of his voice, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? In God's name do not torture me!'<\/p> 8<\/sup>\u00a0For\u00a0Jesus\u00a0had been saying to him, 'Come out of the man, unclean spirit.'<\/p> 9<\/sup> Then he asked, 'What is your name?' He answered, 'My name is Legion, for there are many of us.'<\/p> 10<\/sup> And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the district.<\/p> 11<\/sup> Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding,<\/p> 12<\/sup> and the unclean spirits begged him, 'Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.'<\/p> 13<\/sup> So he gave them leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned.<\/p> 14<\/sup> The men looking after them ran off and told their story in the city and in the country round about; and the people came to see what had really happened.<\/p> 15<\/sup>\u00a0They came to\u00a0Jesus\u00a0and saw the demoniac sitting there -- the\u00a0man\u00a0who had had the legion in him -- properly dressed and in his full senses, and they were afraid.<\/p> 16<\/sup> And those who had witnessed it reported what had happened to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs.<\/p> 17<\/sup>\u00a0Then they began to implore\u00a0Jesus\u00a0to leave their neighbourhood.<\/p> 18<\/sup>\u00a0As he was getting into the boat, the\u00a0man\u00a0who had been possessed begged to be allowed to stay with him.<\/p> 19<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus would not let him but said to him, 'Go home to your people and tell them all that the\u00a0Lord\u00a0in his mercy has done for you.'<\/p> 20<\/sup>\u00a0So the\u00a0man\u00a0went off and proceeded to proclaim in the\u00a0Decapolis\u00a0all that\u00a0Jesus\u00a0had done for him. And everyone was amazed.<\/p>","categories":[{"id":160,"name":"Daily Bible"}],"tags":[{"id":188,"name":"Daily Bible"}]}Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 31:20, 21, 22, 23, 24<\/em><\/h3>
Gospel, Mark 5:1-20<\/em><\/h3>