Gospel
text (Mc 5,1-20): Jesus
and his disciples arrived on the other side of the lake in the region of the
Gerasenes. No sooner did Jesus leave the boat than He was met by a man with
evil spirits who had come from the tombs. He lived among the tombs and no one
could restrain him, even with a chain. He had often been bound with fetters and
chains but he would pull the chains apart and smash the fetters, and no one had
the strength to control him. Night and day he stayed among the tombs on the
hillsides, and was continually screaming and beating himself with stones. When
he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell at his feet and cried with a loud
voice, «What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? For God's
sake I beg you, do not torment me». He said this because Jesus had commanded,
«Come out of the man, evil spirit». And when Jesus asked him, «What is your
name?», he replied, «Legion is my name, for we are many». And all of them kept
begging Jesus not to send them out of that region.
Now, a great herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside, and the evil spirits begged him, «Send us to the pigs and let us go into them». So Jesus let them go. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs, and immediately the herd rushed down the cliff and all were drowned in the lake. The herdsmen fled and reported this in the town and in the countryside, so all the people came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man freed of the evil spirits sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the same man who had been possessed by the legion. They were afraid. And when those who had seen it told what had happened to the man and to the pigs, the people begged Jesus to leave their neighborhood.
When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to stay with him. Jesus would not let him and said, «Go home to your people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you». So he went throughout the country of Decapolis telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were astonished.
Now, a great herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside, and the evil spirits begged him, «Send us to the pigs and let us go into them». So Jesus let them go. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs, and immediately the herd rushed down the cliff and all were drowned in the lake. The herdsmen fled and reported this in the town and in the countryside, so all the people came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man freed of the evil spirits sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the same man who had been possessed by the legion. They were afraid. And when those who had seen it told what had happened to the man and to the pigs, the people begged Jesus to leave their neighborhood.
When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to stay with him. Jesus would not let him and said, «Go home to your people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you». So he went throughout the country of Decapolis telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were astonished.
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