SAINT Martin of Tours
He was born in the Roman province of Pannonia. He spent some time as a hermit on an island off the Ligurian coast, founded a monastery at Ligugé in western France. The famous story about St Martin is that while a soldier in Amiens he gave half of his military cloak to a beggar and later had a dream in which the beggar revealed himself as Christ. He died in 397.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. 1 Sam 2: 35
I shall raise up for myself a faithful priest who will act in accord with my heart and my mind, says the Lord.
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, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Romans 16:3-9,16,22-27
My greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked death to save my life: I am not the only one to owe them a debt of gratitude, all the churches among the pagans do as well. My greetings also to the church that meets at their house. Greetings to my friend Epaenetus, the first of Asia’s gifts to Christ; greetings to Mary who worked so hard for you; to those outstanding apostles Andronicus and Junias, my compatriots and fellow prisoners who became Christians before me; to Ampliatus, my friend in the Lord; to Urban, my fellow worker in Christ; to my friend Stachys. Greet each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. I, Tertius, who wrote out this letter, greet you in the Lord. Greetings from Gaius, who is entertaining me and from the whole church that meets in his house. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends his greetings; so does our brother Quartus. Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith. This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the eternal God wants things to be. He alone is wisdom; give glory therefore to him through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 144(145):2-5,10-11
R/ I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
I will bless you day after day and praise your name forever. The Lord is great, highly to be praised, his greatness cannot be measured.
Age to age shall proclaim your works, shall declare your mighty deeds, shall speak of your splendour and glory, tell the tale of your wonderful works.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God.
Gospel Acclamation: Ac16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 16: 9-15
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own? ‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him. He said to them, “You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as virtuous in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Sanctify these offerings, we pray, Lord God, which we joyfully present in honour of Saint Martin, so that through them our life may always be directed whether in tribulation or in prosperity. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Mt 25: 40
Amen, I say to you: Whatever you did for one of the least of my brethren, you did it for me, says the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
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.
Meditation
If we want to reach Heaven in our Christian life, we must absolutely be aware of some incompatibilities. Evil and good, lies and truth, darkness and light, for example, are radical opposites. In the same way, Money – very seductive and tempting (of referred to as “the devil!”) – and God cannot be a good match. Yes, we absolutely have to make a choice between them and bear it. At our baptism, we chose to serve God. It is a very noble choice, but a demanding one that requires us to distance ourselves from material goods, wealth and money. Having understood this text of the Gospel, and conscious of the fate of Judas, the ministers of Christ make the Vow of Poverty thus renouncing attachment to money or to possessions which tend to replace God in their lives.