Thursday 11th November 2021, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Martin of Tours. (316 - 397). Bishop. St Martin was born of pagan parents in modern day Hungary.

Martin was a soldier in the imperial army of Rome. After he encountered Jesus Christ, he became a Christian and a man of peace. Today is also Veteran Day in the USA, Armistice Day in other countries. November 11  served in the past as a day of memorial of signing peace treaties.  The treaty to end World War 1 was signed on the Feast of St Martin of Tours, November 11th. Hail Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace. Happy Veterans Day!

Our key Scripture for today is taken from the Entrance Antiphon on the Feast of St Martin of Tours. The Lord made Martin a faithful priest who embraced God's will in everything. Martin founded a monastery in France and was consecrated later as the Bishop of Tours. He sent missionaries to evangelize France. France is one of the earliest Christian countries in the world and is known as the Elder Daughter of the Church.

St Martin de Tours can help us appreciate the truth that God's gracious and mysterious will is our peace and prosperity.  Lust for power and greed for riches lead nations to war. Consider the end of these nations: The France of Napoleon, the Germany of Hitler, the liquidation of the Soviet Union of Stalin. The Prince of Peace warns that those who live by the sword will perish by the sword. (Cf Matthew 26: 52).

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"Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it."  (Luke 17: 33).

Friday 12th November 2021, in the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr.  (1580 - 1623). Born in Poland, ministered and martyred in Ukraine. Josaphat spent his life working for the reconciliation and unity of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church. He paid the supreme price for this with his life.

"Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it."  How do you seek to preserve your life? Example:  After the Corona Virus vaccine was approved in the US, there was a great scramble to get the shot. Why? People were terrified of dying from the virus. They did everything within their power to preserve their lives.

Is their great scramble to get to the Church on Easter Sunday or Christmas? Or Ordinary Sunday?
Our saint of today, St Josaphat had the opportunity to preserve his life by hiding from his killers. He chose to die as Jesus did when He refused to come down from the Cross when His enemies taunted Him to do so and prove that He is the Son of God.

No man can serve two masters at the same time. If you elect to serve the world, you must be running here and there trying to preserve your life. First from any pandemics, next from any terminal disease, then from inflation and so forth and so on.

Stop running and realize that it is impossible for any human being to preserve his life. When God, the Lord of life calls a soul home, there is no negotiation.

"The attack on My priesthood that appears to be spreading and growing is, in fact, in its final stages. It is a satanic and diabolical onslaught against My Bride the Church, an attempt to destroy her by attacking the most wounded of her ministers in their carnal weaknesses; but I will undo the destruction they have wrought and I will cause My priests and My Spouse the Church to recover a glorious holiness that will confound My enemies and be the beginning of a new era of saints, of martyrs, and of prophets."  (IN SINU JESU, Tuesday, March 2, 2010).

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Jesus made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” (John 2: 13.... 22).

Tuesday 9th November 2021, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Church of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome. The Lateran has been known as the "Mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world."

Why is this an important feast and why are we celebrating it? In the Gospel of today,  Jesus expressed an outrage at the way the holy Temple was desecrated. It is therefore appropriate to reflect on the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica the theme of the sanctity of the Place of Abode of God. Every Catholic Church is consecrated to be holy and equipped with the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament. Below are other reasons why today's feast is very important.

#1 The Church is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The destiny of the Church is prophesied in the key Scripture for today: "A new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband."
#2 The Lateran Basilica is the Church of the Pope, Successor St Peter and Universal  Pastor of the flock of Jesus Christ.
#3 This feast is celebrated worldwide and makes the faithful remember these important truths of our salvation. Especially the truth that the Church is Catholic, that is, universal.
#4 It is God's desire to dwell with us. The physical church is a symbol of this mystery. (Cf Revelation 21: 3).

As we celebrate this feast with joy, we remember that we are the chosen and living stones that form  the eternal Temple of the Most Holy God.

Let us pray especially today for the growth of the Church, for the unity of all Christians, for many vocations to the priesthood, consecrated life, missionaries, catechists and evangelists and of course for the Holy Father Pope Francis.

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