Our fundamental call, as Christians, is the call to holiness. If there is a Christian who is not working tirelessly to become Holy, then he or she has a misguided religion. Our life as Christians must be modelled to move to holiness, and this is becoming Saints. As we celebrate All Saints Day, this is our basic reminder that we are all called to become saints.
Ps 144:1b, 2, 9-10
LK 13:31-35 Full Readings
Brethren, St Paul in the first reading tells us, we should not and we ought not to struggle and fight against human enemies, we are wasting our time by doing that, the battle we should fight is the spiritual battle, a battle against the sovereignties, principalities and the powers who originate darkness in the world, that is, the spiritual army of evil, Satan being the army commander. If we fight and win this battle, we have victory over everything, even enmity for it is the evil that brings this enmity.
Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14
Lk 13:22-30 Full Readings
Today's Gospel should be taken seriously and definitely take Jesus' words at heart, especially for those of us who think that it is easy to be saved without our tireless efforts. It’s easy to presume we will be saved. It’s easy to simply presume that God is kind and that we are good people at heart and, therefore, salvation is assured. But that’s not what Jesus says. When Jesus was asked the question "will there be a few to be saved?" He doesn’t really give a direct answer to this question. Rather, he turns the tables. He first, says that we should all try hard to enter into the narrow door because at the end, many will try to enter and will not succeed, many will knock on the door and the Lord will say, 'I don't know you,' many will come from East and West, north and south and enter into the kingdom, while the chosen ones are declined, and so the first will be the last and the last the first. Again, we should take these words to heart.
PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
Lk 13:18-21 Full Readings
Some lessons from the mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds, and yeast as we read in today's Gospel. Those small things you do in love do really make a difference. Those small things you do to your spouse out of love makes love and unity to grow, those small things you are very trustworthy with makes you a great and a trusted person, those small things you do in love for your friend, makes one more than a friend to a brother or a sister, those small things you do to your parents or your children makes them secure and feel loved, and those small things you do as a sign of charity even to one person, changes one for eternity, and those small things you do in mission of proclaiming the Gospel makes the kingdom of God grow even to the bigger heights than what you have done. Are you afraid of doing small things thinking that you cannot make difference in your life or someone's life? Be encouraged, those small things are the ones which make bigger differences.
Today we celebrate the feast day of Saints Simon (not Simon Peter) and Jude (not Judas Iscariot) who were among the twelve chosen Apostles of Jesus. Little is known about these two Apostles even in the Gospels. Simon is referred to as a zealot in the Gospels, which could have meant he was a member of a more radical sect within Judaism aimed at promoting Judaism by hook it crook and against Roman authority. Jude is popularly known as the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes. Some suggest this is because he was often the last Apostle to be prayed to by the early Christian faithful on account of the fact that he shared a name with Judas Iscariot and praying to Jude reminded people of that betrayer. If that was the case, then in God’s providence, since Jude became the last Apostle to be prayed to, he also became the last hope for many and, thus, the patron saint for those with truly hopeless causes.
Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Heb 5:1-6
Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza
Brethren, Jesus, the prophet par excellence, summed up and fulfilled all prophesies of the Old Testament, and about him is written all the New Testament. He came from heaven and took the form of man, becoming the Son of God in human flesh and with deep humility, he fulfilled all the prophecies and the mission entrusted to him by his Father, and thus became for us a high priest, who is able to sympathise with us for he has become one of us as our today's second reading from the letter to the Hebrews tells us. The prophecy of Isaiah in the first reading is fulfilled in one way or the other by Jesus in today's Gospel. Isaiah had prophesied the time of peace, when God saves all his people and a time of the blind seeing, lame walking, women in labour giving birth, and to wipe away all tears of those in pain and in desperate needs. This time, no doubt, came in and with the person of Jesus. Today we see him healing the blind man Bartimaeus, restoring his spiritual and physical sight. What can we learn from Bartimaeus today?
Psalm 122:1-2.3-4ab.4cd-5
Brethren, one of the strongest emphasizes and lessons from Luke's Gospel is the need for conversion and repentance, and above all God's patience or second chances right away from the preaching of St John and onwards to the end of the Gospel. Today's gospel emphasizes these two aspects: need for repentance and God's patience and grace.
Brethren, there are many natural human abilities to read and predict the future especially as it concerns weather. One may look in the west and knows that it is going to rain and so it does, or one may look at the clouds and says it won't rain and so it doesn't. Seafarers and farmers know the importance of spotting weather conditions for safe travel and planting. More still, a lot of effort is made today, with the help of science and technology, to discern potential natural dangers, such as tropical storms, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and erupting volcanoes, so that people can be warned to take shelter before disaster hits. Surprisingly, this is how Jesus wants us to interprete and read the signs of time in our world.
Today's Gospel is quite shocking. How can Jesus who is the prince of peace, a spear header of unity among the people, say that he didn't come to bring peace on earth but fire and division among families. During the Last Supper, Jesus explained to his Apostles: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14:27). And yet in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus said, do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. Is he contradicting himself? Not really.
Ps: Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6
Lk 12:39-48 Full Readings
Dear brethren, the last Judgement on the Last day is real, it will come as a thief comes at night. Be alert! The eschatological discourse of Luke continues to build, telling us about the need for our preparedness for the coming of God’s kingdom. We have here the stylistic Lukan analogy of master and servant relationship and punishment to paint a picture of judgement, heaven and hell. When the master will come is judgement day, and the banquet with the master is heaven, and condemnation is hell. If we know when judgement will befall us, we shall be prepared in waiting, but unfortunately this knowledge is far from us. There will be total condemnation for those who heard the urgency of this coming yet are unprepared. Those who have the will but no action to implement the master’s command will be punished, and those who are ignorant, will be given a lighter punishment. What category do you belong to? Of course, we belong to the ones who know about the coming to this day, we know what is expected of us and how we should be prepared for that day. We have been given much and much is expected of us.
Ps 85:9ab-10, 11-12, 13-14
Lk 12:35-38 Full Readings
Beloved brethren, St Paul tells us in the first reading that through the Holy Spirit, we have been made citizens and vessels of God’s dwelling. It is however imperative for us to have our lamps lit and be as alert as citizens so that when the owner of the vessel comes, he will find us awake and worthy. This eschatological tone of the gospel tells us of the urgency of God’s kingdom. Our lighted lamps simply represent a state of righteousness and awareness of the urgency of the coming of the master (God). He may come at any time and, when he does come, will he find us righteous enough to sit at table with him in the heavenly banquet?
As human beings, planning for the future is part of us and in fact, one who does not think about the future is half human. In this way, many people invest in many things and store many treasures for themselves to use them in the future or to be used by their children and the following generations. It's tempting to say that most of these investments and preparations for the future are mostly in material things. Jesus in the gospel challenges this, not only to store material things but above all to store for ourselves a treasure in heaven.
Today we celebrate World Mission Sunday. It's the one Sunday in the year which occurs in October (missionary month) when the entire global Church comes together to support the mission. This year Pope Francis recommends to all dioceses throughout the world the service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. They represent the primary means “by which Catholics are imbued from infancy with a truly universal and missionary outlook and [are] also a means for instituting an effective collecting of funds for all the missions, each according to its needs” (Ad Gentes, 38). For this reason, the collections of World Mission Day in all the local Churches are entirely destined to the universal fund of solidarity that the Pontifical Society of the Propagation of the Faith then distributes in the Pope’s name for the needs of all the Church’s missions: support churches, hospitals, schools and vocations in countries where the Church is new, young or poor. In this way, every Catholic community, in every country, sends a powerful message of faith, hope and love on this special day. This is our chance to show love and solidarity to our global Church family. Through our prayers, we support missionaries everywhere in spreading the Good News. And by donating we respond to Christ’s call to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke, the only non-Jewish writer of the New Testament. Luke was a writer, physician and doctor, and artist who ran into St. Paul and decided to join the intrepid Apostle on his missionary journeys. In today’s first reading, we got a glimpse of St. Paul during his imprisonment and trial in Rome, when so many of his companions abandoned him. We can infer a twinge of sadness when he wrote, Luke is the only one with me. Luke didn’t meet Jesus while he was still walking and moving along the paths of Galilee. Instead, he gathered the material for his Gospel by interviewing those who had known Jesus, and he put together his narrative with a special emphasis on the aspects and perspective that would help non-Jewish readers understand and appreciate the good news of Christ. He presents Jesus as a friend of sinners, those who do not have a deep and sustaining relationship with God, teaching us that when we repent and come back to Jesus, He will surely welcome us. Thus, his gospel has been referred to as The Gospel of Mercy, The Gospel of Universal Salvation, The Gospel of the Poor, The Gospel of Absolute Renunciation, The Gospel of Prayer and the Holy Spirit, and The Gospel of Joy.
Psalm 98: 1.2-3ab.3cd-4.5-6 (R. 2a),
In today's Gospel, Jesus gives the Pharisees other two woes; those who build tombs for the prophets, meaning those who kill the prophets and another woe to those who have taken the key of knowledge and didn't enter themselves, but as well stop others from entering in. Jesus chastises them with a great warning that they will have to be answerable for this.
