Scripture for the day | November 3rd 2020

 03 November 2020. Tuesday of Week 31 – St Malachy, bishop (Memorial)

1st Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

Like Christ himself, who took the form of a servant

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial: from Psalm 21

R./: I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people

My vows I will pay before those who fear the Lord.

The poor shall eat and shall have their fill.

They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him.

May their hearts live forever and ever! (R./)

All the earth shall remember and return to the Lord,

all families of the nations worship before him

for the kingdom is the Lord’s; he is the ruler of the nations.

They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth. (R./)

And my soul shall live for him, my children serve him.

They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come,

declare his faithfulness to peoples yet unborn:

‘These things the Lord has done.’ (R./)

Gospel: Luke 14:15-24

God invites poor people from the streets and the alleyways

One of the dinner guests said to Jesus, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner, he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.'”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflections - A vibrant spirituality

In the wonderful chapter 2 of Philippians, St Paul quotes from an early Christian hymn to Jesus that summarises a vibrant spirituality within a couple of verse. Our attitude to life must be modelled on Christ himself. As eternal Son of God, Jesus did not cling to his divinity but “emptied himself” of all his former status, to be born as a child and live a human life. Then he lived a life of total service, right up to the ultimate sacrifice of himself, “even death on a cross.”

Paul’s hope is that we learn to live such a life of loving service within the church that we have emptied of self-love and dedicated to serving the interest of our sisters and brothers in the faith. The Gospel reinforces this lesson. We must not set our own preferences ahead of what God wants us to do. Gladly accepting our invitation to the banquet of God, we try to do our bit in welcoming others to share community with us.

Saint of the Day for November 3 | (December 9, 1579 – November 3, 1639) | Saint Martin de Porres

“Father unknown” is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. “Half-breed” or “war souvenir” is the cruel name inflicted by those of “pure” blood. Like many others, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised.

He was the son of a freedwoman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of indigenous stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. His parents never married each other. Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father, who finally acknowledged his son after eight years. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Martin was reared in poverty, locked into a low level of Lima’s society.

When he was 12, his mother apprenticed him to a barber-surgeon. Martin learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood—a standard medical treatment then—care for wounds, and prepare and administer medicines.

After a few years in this medical apostolate, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a “lay helper,” not feeling worthy to be a religious brother. After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility, led the community to request him to make a full religious profession. Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their colour, race, or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa, and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality, as well as generosity. He became the procurator for both priory and city, whether it was a matter of “blankets, shirts, candles, candy, miracles or prayers!” When his priory was in debt, he said, “I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the order. Sell me.”

Side by side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry, and infirmary, Martin’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bi-location, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and a remarkable rapport with animals. His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house.

Martin became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent.

Many of his fellow religious took Martin as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a “poor slave.” He was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima.

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