(REMEMBER TO PRAY IN THIS MONTH OF NOVEMBER FOR YOUR RELATIVES, LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE DIED).
COLLECT: “O GOD, WHO ARE GLORIFIED IN THE BISHOP SAINT MARTIN BOTH BY HIS LIFE AND DEATH, MAKE NEW, WE PRAY, THE WONDERS OF YOUR GRACE IN OUR HEARTS, THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE MAY SEPARATE US FROM YOUR LOVE. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Titus 3:1-7; Ps 22:1-5 and Lk 17:11-19.
Martin was born into a pagan family. His father was a pagan military tribune in Hungary. At the age 15, Martin was recruited to the imperial cavalry at Amiens (Gaul). As a young catechumen, Martin one day divided his cloak with a half-naked and shivering beggar. The other half was long preserved as ‘St. Martin’s Cloak’ in the chapel of the Frankish Kings. Not long after this incident, Martin received baptism.
He soon got discharged from the military service and joined the disciples of St. Hilary of Poiters. His frequent visits to his parents brought about the conversion of his mother but his father remained a pagan. Martin took up the life of a hermit on an island in the Mediterranean when St. Hilary was banished from Gaul by the Arians. Martin later became Bishop and he continued his life of humble simplicity and mortification and, in order to avoid the distractions of the city, he built himself a small cell in the country nearby, and there he was soon joined by other hermits. He founded the first monastery in the West. His administration of his Diocese was characterized by firmness and justice, and by great zeal for the purity of the faith against heretics. Accordingly, one of St. Martin’s famous prayers was; “Lord, if I am still necessary to your people, I refuse no labour. Your holy will be done” (Martin of Tours).
The portion of St. Paul’s letter we reflect on today, puts before us that God saved us, not because of any righteous deeds or actions we have done to deserve that, but because of his mercy. Today’s Gospel shows that mercy of God in action: Jesus cures ten lepers. This is a manifestation of God’s mercy, kindness and generous love on sinful humanity. Everyday, this generous and merciful God keeps showering his merciful love, kindness and generosity upon us. However, we very often take things for granted, thinking that we deserve it or that it is our right.
There is a Dagaare adage that, “Ka foo wa kpiire nie kanga kuu, O meng biere fo baalong” (Lit. “When you are dying because of someone, the person should also be sick because of you”). The morale is that, when someone is sacrificing all he or she can for me, I also need to appreciate that and cooperate with the person for him or her to do more for me. All of us, everyday experience God’s unbounded merciful love and generosity. What do we do in return for that, to show that we appreciate all he has been doing for us? Today’s Gospel shows the disappointment of Jesus when only one of the ten lepers returns to show appreciation for the mercy, love and kindness, shown them by Jesus.
Where are the other nine cured lepers? It does not dawn on them to express gratitude to the one who granted them what they have been dying for. There is a saying that, ‘the one who does not show or express gratitude for a favour done him or her, is a fool and does not think’. Could this be applied to the other nine cured lepers who do not come back to thank Jesus? Do I sometimes behave similarly to God and fellow human beings when I receive a favour from them?
God is often pleased with us and he will show us more of his mercy, love and generosity, if we express gratitude to him. The best gratitude we can express to God is to be faithful to our Christian calling, and live some of the things St. Paul listed in his letter to Titus. Our first allegiance is to Jesus as Lord. Allegiance to Jesus implies being faithful to him, live and put into practice the Word of God, and always obey God’s Commandments. There is no better gratitude to God than this. One other implication of the Christian calling is to obey our government and its leaders as well. Christians should not live and behave as if we are above the law. We should not cause scandals and mayhem in the society. It is our Christian responsibility to obey the law, and be good citizens, worthy of emulation.
When we carry out our Christian responsibility by obeying state laws, we equally obey God and we demonstrate gratitude to God. May we, as a way of showing gratitude to God, ‘be peaceable, considerate, may we not slander fellow human beings who are created in the image and likeness of God, and may we exercise all graciousness toward everyone’. May I always thank God for all he has done for me. May Saint Martin of Tours intercede for us. Stay blessed and happy feast to all who bear the name Martin of Tours.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, WEDNESDAY, ON THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: ‘THE RESURRECTION, THE ASCENSION, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ASSUMPTION, AND THE CORRONATION’. (WE PRAY FAITH, HOPE, LOVE OF GOD, GRACE OF A HAPPY DEATH AND TRUST IN MARY’S INTERCESSION) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “GRANT TO US WHO HAVE BEEN RESTORED BY THIS SACRAMENT OF UNITY, O LORD, PERFECT HARMONY WITH YOUR WILL IN ALL THINGS, THAT, JUST AS SAINT MARTIN SUBMITTED HIMSELF ENTIRELY TO YOU, SO WE, TOO, MAY GLORY IN BEING TRULY YOURS. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN”.
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com.
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