Feast of St. Denis

by

Friday, 9 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today through the Scripture readings all of us are called to embrace God’s love and His path, and to believe in Him wholeheartedly, just as we heard how in the early Church and throughout the Lord’s ministry, there were all those who refused to believe in the Lord and preferred to keep to their old beliefs and their previous ways of the Law, and these disagreements had even led them to accuse the Lord Himself wrongly of a heinous sin and evil. However in doing that, they actually become serious hindrance to the good works that the Lord has carried out within the community of God’s people. Their stubbornness should serve as timely reminders for us that we should not continue to resist the Lord’s efforts to reach out to us and all of His wisdom and truth that is far greater than our own.

In our first reading today, we heard of St. Paul continuing with his address to the Church and the faithful in Galatia in Asia Minor, where for the past few days of our Scripture passages, we have heard how St. Paul chastised the faithful for their lack of faith and for believing in the misguided teachings of those who placed the Law above that of faith, and those who sought to divide the Church and lead the faithful astray. This is likely because in Galatia, as were in other cities and places where the first Christian communities appeared, many of the believers were from the Jewish diaspora, the Jewish people scattered throughout the world as they had been for centuries. It was to this people that St. Paul ministered to and directed his Epistle towards.

And among the Jews, some of whom became converts to the Christian faith, there were those who belonged to the Pharisees and believed in their tenets and way of living the faith. The Pharisees were very rigorous in their enforcement of the many rules and regulations, tenets and all which numbered no less than six hundred and thirteen, if not more, in how the Jewish people ought to live their faith. And the issue lies in the fanaticism in which these people carried on their beliefs, and their attitude in enforcing this belief on others made it problematic for the Christian faithful. That is because the Jewish customs and practices were often seen as contrary to the accepted customs and practices in many parts across the Mediterranean world at the time.

Those same people, the early Christian converts from the Pharisees and their supporters, also held strongly the view that the Jewish people were God’s sole chosen people and that they were far superior to the other peoples and races, and that they alone were worthy of God’s grace and blessings, His salvation and glory. They looked down on the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people, mainly the Greeks, Romans and other local populace that did not follow the laws of Moses preserved by the Jews and especially by the Pharisees. And they also demanded that the Gentiles who converted to the faith ought to adopt the Jewish laws and customs in their entirety, and that they ought to be circumcised and follow all the cultural traditions of the Jews, which essentially would have forced them to abandon their own customs and culture. And all these became significant source of friction between the members of the Christian community, that St. Paul wanted to resolve.

In our Gospel today, we heard the Pharisee accusing the Lord Himself of colluding with the devil, with the prince of demons Beelzebul when He miraculously drove out evil spirits from a person. Many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were so adamant in their opposition against the Lord that they were unable to look beyond their narrow-mindedness and stubbornness in insisting that their way was the true way and others like the Lord were wrong and even blasphemous. The Lord then immediately pointed out the flaw in their argument and said that it did not make sense for the demons and the evil spirits to be divided among themselves and fighting against each other. For if that was the case, then the dominion of Satan and all of his forces would have been torn apart, and the truth was that, the evil one and all of his allies, all those wicked spirits desiring our downfall, are always ever united in their desire and aim to bring about our destruction.

The Lord knew this full well, and just as St. Paul did in his response to the happenings in Galatia, both of them were saddened by what they saw as the divisions sowed by the devil in the community of the faithful. And thus, the Lord used the example of how the devil’s dominion would have collapsed and fallen apart if all of its members were divided against each other to point out that this will happen to us unless we seek to overcome the divisions among us and seek true unity in Christ. It is when we allow ourselves to be swayed by our own ideologies and preferences, ambitions and desires that we end up forgetting what it truly means for us to follow the Lord and commit ourselves to His path. We end up doing things for our own selfish desires and ambitions instead of doing God’s will.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings serve as a powerful reminder for us not to be easily misled by the devil and all of his forces, as they attempted to sow divisions and dissensions among us. We have to keep in mind what St. Paul said, that God has called on all, Jews and non-Jewish people alike, to follow Him, and that there should not be any distinction between them, for everyone is equal before God and is equally beloved. That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, our challenge lies in how we should strive for unity in our Christian community, and hold firmly to the faith which we have received from the Church. We must not allow the forces of evil from successfully dividing us and destroying the unity within our Church. And we should be inspired by our holy predecessors, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Denis and his companions in martyrdom, St. John Henry Newman, the famous theologian, as well as St. John Leonardi are good examples for us in how we should be faithful to God.

St. Denis was the Bishop of Paris at the time of the late Roman Empire, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Decius, who was infamous for his particularly brutal persecution of Christians, in which even the Pope at the time, Pope St. Fabian, was martyred together with many other Christian faithful. St. Denis himself presided over the Christian population that was targeted by intense persecution, and despite the difficulties, laboured hard to preach the Good News which successfully converted many among the pagans, and which brought opposition against their efforts. Eventually, St. Denis, the bishop of Paris and two other clergy were arrested and then sentenced to death by the governor. They were executed by beheading, but miraculously, after his head had been cut off, St. Denis was still alive, picking up his severed head and preaching a sermon as he walked down for miles from the place of his martyrdom, and eventually stopped at a place where he died, in which now stood the great St. Denis’ Basilica built and named in his honour.

Then, St. John Henry Newman was the renowned theologian from about over a century ago, hailing from the nineteenth century England, where then the Catholic Church had just emerged from centuries of persecution and oppression by the state Anglican church, and St. John Henry Newman, who was born in that era, baptised as an Anglican and then ordained as an Anglican priest. That time, during the period known as the Oxford Movement within the Anglican church, there were quite a number of clergy and laity who began calling for a rediscovery of the Catholic traditions and practices which the Anglicans had abandoned during the Reformation period. St. John Henry Newman was one of those who were drawn to this movement, and eventually it led to him resigning his position and post in the Anglican church, deciding to join the Catholic Church, and became a Catholic priest.

As a Catholic, St. John Henry Newman continued to pursue the theological studies and efforts he had done as a prolific theologian and writer, which brought him to the attention of many people not just in England but also throughout the rest of Christendom. His efforts in rejuvenating and supporting the cause of the Catholic Church in England which eventually led to the emancipation and liberation of Catholic worship in that country led to the Pope, then Pope Leo XIII to recognise his efforts by making him a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. Henceforth, he was remembered for his Cardinal title and as a prominent English churchman, and more so for all the various writings and theological works that he had committed and done throughout his life as a servant of God and His Church.

Meanwhile, St. John Leonardi was a renowned and holy priest, who was the founder of the Order of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca, remembered for his devotion to God and also to Mary, the Blessed Mother of God. Through St. John Leonardi, many people came to be converted, after having been touched and inspired by his tireless efforts in reaching out particularly to sinners. He made popular the Forty Hours Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and was instrumental in the Counter-Reformation effort in deepening the faith and spirituality of many among the faithful. St. John Leonardi faced difficulties and oppositions in his efforts and works as well, from those who were wary of his works and were skeptical of him, much like how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often ridiculed, opposed and went against the Lord and His works. Nonetheless, St. John Leonardi remained firm in his conviction and desire to help others and to lead more and more souls to the salvation in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by their examples, and after discerning the message of our Scripture passages today, let us strive to be more faithful as Christians, in genuinely loving God and devoting our time, effort and attention, in all things to glorify God by our lives. May the Lord, our loving God, bless us all and guide us in our journey, and help us all to remain united in faith, and not be divided and scattered by the falsehoods and dissent planted in our community by the evil one. May God be with us all, His Church, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 9 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Luke 11 : 15-26

At that time, some of the people said, “Jesus drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” Others wanted to put Him to the test, by asking Him for a heavenly sign.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.”

“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God has come upon you? As long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on, and disposes of his spoils.”

“Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters. When the evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry lands, looking for a resting place; and finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds the house swept and everything in order. Then it goes to fetch seven other spirits, even worse than itself. They move in and settle there, so that the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

by

Friday, 9 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! I thank YHVH with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of YHVH are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are His deeds, His righteousness endures forever. He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; YHVH is merciful and kind.

Always mindful of His Covenant, He provides food for those who fear Him. He shows His people the power of His arm by giving them the lands of other nations.

by

Friday, 9 October 2026 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Galatians 3 : 7-14

Understand, then, that those who follow the way of faith are sons and daughters of Abraham. The Scriptures foresaw that, by the way of faith, God would give true righteousness to the non-Jewish nations. For God’s promise to Abraham was this : In you shall all the nations be blessed. So, now, those who take the way of faith receive the same blessing as Abraham, who believed; but those who rely on the practice of the Law are under a curse, for it is written : Cursed is everyone who does not always fulfil everything written in the Law.

It is plainly written that no one becomes righteous in God’s way, by the Law : by faith the righteous shall live. Yet the Law gives no place to faith, for according to it : the one who fulfils the commandments shall have life through them. Now Christ rescued us from the curse of the Law, by becoming cursed Himself, for our sake, as it is written : there is a curse on everyone who is hanged on a tree.

So the blessing granted to Abraham, reached the pagan nations in, and, with Christ, and we received the promised Spirit, through faith.

by

Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us are parts of the one Church of God and we all share together the mission of the Lord in reaching out to more and more people all throughout the whole world. All of us should continue to follow the Lord’s calling and embrace whatever missions that He had entrusted to us. Each one of us have the shared responsibility to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News of God to more and more people so that they may come to know of the Lord and that they may be inspired to follow Him and be saved together with all of us. All of us are called to continue remembering what the Lord has taught us and to follow Him in all of that. 

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Galatia in what is now part of Turkey, we heard of the continuation of the story which the Apostle had told to the people of Galatia regarding his past experiences and journeys, on how he was sent to proclaim the Word of God to the people of various places together with other Apostles and disciples like that of St. Barnabas, and how he had various encounters and experiences with all those people whom he had met. He also recounted his experiences in meeting the other Apostles of the Lord in Jerusalem and Judea where many of them were based in, and how there were tensions within the early Church and Christian community because of the disagreements among those who sided with the view of St. Paul and the majority of the disciples and those who came from the strict Jewish background on the matter of whether the Jews and non-Jewish people among the faithful should mingle together or not.

Those who came from the strict Jewish background such as from among the members of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law held very exclusivist view of the faith, and demanded that the Jewish customs and practices ought to be followed. On the other hand, St. Paul the Apostle championed the view that in order to reach out to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people, the Church could not demand such unreasonable things from the non-Jewish people and in fact the faithful as a whole because the extent in which the Law of God was observed and practiced by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were very excessive, superfluous and extremely demanding, especially for the non-Jewish people to adapt, and hence St. Paul lightly rebuked St. Peter who was afraid offending those converts from the Jewish people and hence appeared to follow their ways.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord told His disciples how to pray when they asked Him about it, and He taught them to pray the prayer we all well know as the Lord’s Prayer or the Pater Noster. Through this prayer, the Lord wanted to remind His disciples and hence all of us to continue to remain connected and attuned to the Lord, by constantly communicating with Him through prayers and other means, and growing ever stronger in our love and devotion to God. How we pray is also important, as the Lord has also criticised the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for having made long prayers and saying litany of self-praise and glorification, and yet, they did not truly focus their attention and hearts towards the Lord.

This is why, as we all listened to these words from the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that we should always put our faith in the Lord as the focus and emphasis of our lives, and we must be careful that we do not allow ourselves to be misguided by our pride, ego, desires and ambitions around us which may lead us into our downfall and destruction. We should not easily be tempted to follow our own ideals and ideologies, but learning instead to trust in the Lord and in everything that He has taught, provided and revealed to us. We should continue to grow in our relationship and connection to God, spending good and quality time with Him, listening to Him speaking in the depth of our hearts, our minds and our beings, humbly obeying Him and His will.

Today, the Church also celebrate the Feast of great and holy men and women, holy saints and people dedicated to God whose lives and actions can be inspiration for each and every one of us to follow in how we ourselves ought to live our lives with faith and devotion to God. First of all is St. Denis, Bishop of Paris and his companions in martyrdom during the late Roman Empire. At that time, Christians throughout the Empire were under intense persecutions from the state during the reign of the Roman Emperors who were often violent in their attempt to destroy the Church and eradicate Christianity. St. Denis was the Bishop of Parisiorum, what is now Paris, the capital of France. He faithfully and courageously ministered to the faithful during those difficult moments, during the harshest persecutions.

Eventually, the persecutions under the Roman Emperor Decius and his successors caused many of the local Christians to be martyred and lost their lives. The authorities also arrested St. Denis and his companions in martyrdom, and after a long period in incarceration in prison, he and the other Christians were eventually led to the highest hill in Paris, a place now called Montmartre, which literally meant ‘Mountain of Martyrs’ in memory of their courageous defence of their faith and martyrdom. It was told that after he was beheaded, St. Denis did not die immediately and miraculously he continued on preaching, taking up his beheaded head and walking from the place of his martyrdom to the place where now stands the Basilica of St. Denis, the place where he was buried.

Meanwhile, the other saint celebrated today is that of St. John Leonardi, an Italian saint who was the founder of the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca. He was the youngest of seven children and has always been devoted to the Lord since his youth, ever seeking consolation and refuge in God through prayer and meditation. Eventually he was ordained a priest and together with several other priests, he ministered to the people and reached out to many to strengthen their faith in God, especially during the time of confusion, division and hardships in the Church, being part of the Counter-Reformation efforts against the various heresies and the corruptions facing the Church and Christian faithful at the time. He propagated strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and also the popular Forty Hours Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, which he continued on after he had established his congregation, inspiring many to follow in his examples and efforts as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all discussed through the messages of the Scriptures and from the life and examples of God’s holy saints, namely that of St. Denis and his companions in martyrdom, as well as St. John Leonardi, all of us are reminded that we have been called to share in the journey and faith of our holy predecessors, those who had also encountered lots of difficulties, challenges and obstacles in their own lives. Yet, we must remain strong in faith and we must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations and pressures all around us, that we may continue to embody our faith in the Lord ever more worthily by our dedication and commitment to Him. We must be missionary and evangelising in each and every moments of our lives, and even in the smallest and seemingly least significant actions that we do.

May the Lord our ever loving and compassionate God continue to guide us in our respective journey in life, so that we may always continue to be faithful and committed to Him. May He continue to bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours to follow Him and to obey His Law and commandments, and to do what is right and just in accordance with His will. May God bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, and continue to encourage and strengthen us in all the struggles and in persevering through the hardships and difficulties in our journey towards Him. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Luke 11 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”

by

Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.

How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.

by

Wednesday, 9 October 2024 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Galatians 2 : 1-2, 7-14

After fourteen years, I, again, went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and Titus came with us. Following a revelation, I went, to lay before them the Gospel that I am preaching to the pagans. I had a private meeting with the leaders – lest I should be working, or have worked, in a wrong way.

They recognised that I have been entrusted to give the Good News to the pagan nations, just as Peter has been entrusted to give it to the Jews. In the same way that God made Peter the Apostle of the Jews, He made me the Apostle of the pagans. James, Cephas and John acknowledged the graces God gave me.

Those men, who were regarded as the pillars of the Church, stretched out their hand to me and Barnabas, as a sign of fellowship; we would go to the pagans, and they, to the Jews. We should only keep in mind, the poor among them. I have taken care to do this.

When, later, Cephas, came to Antioch, I confronted him, since he deserved to be blamed. Before some of James’ people arrived, he used to eat with non-Jewish people. But when they arrived, he withdrew, and did not mingle anymore with them, for fear of the Jewish group. The rest of the Jews followed him in this pretense, and even Barnabas was part of this insincerity.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas publicly : If you, who are Jewish, agreed to live like the non-Jews, setting aside the Jewish customs, why do you, now, compel the non-Jews to live like Jews?

by

Monday, 9 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord, we are all called and reminded to be loving and kind towards our fellow brethren, as each and every one of us as Christians have to emulate the Lord’s ways and His loving examples, His Law and commandments, in all of our way of life, words, actions and deeds. All of us must do what the Lord has called all of us to do, in our best way, in whatever ways He has taught and entrusted to us, as the ones whom He had called, chosen and revealed His intentions and ways to, in all of our actions and ways throughout this world. All of us should not be ignorant or idle in what we are expected to do, in reaching out to our fellow brothers and sisters, with great love and compassion.

In our first reading, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jonah about the calling and mission which God had entrusted to Jonah, as God told Jonah to go forth to the great city of Nineveh, which was then the capital and great city of the mighty and powerful Assyrian Empire. Contextually, by that time, the Assyrians had rose to power and conquered many nations, and the prophet Jonah lived and was called by God during this period of the Assyrians’ rise to power, about seven or eight centuries before the birth of Christ. At that time, the Assyrians were known for their power, but they had also risen to power amidst a lot of bloodshed and evil deeds, destroying many people and cities, killing countless thousands, tens of thousands and more during their many wars and conquests.

Hence, the Lord was sending Jonah to the people and city of Nineveh, to the Assyrians, their king and nobles in order to warn them of their impending destruction because of their own evil and wicked deeds. The Lord is Lord and God over all the whole world, and not only over the Israelites, His chosen people, only. Hence, just as the Israelites had suffered the consequences of their disobedience, sins and wickedness, thus, the Assyrians would also face similar consequences, just as how the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in the ancient past, according to the Scriptures, were destroyed by God when their wickedness were truly great and vile. That was how most of the people during the time of Noah were destroyed by the Great Flood, save for that of Noah and his own family, the only ones that remained righteous among mankind.

All these reminded us first of all that God wants us all, His creation, to be truly virtuous, good and free from sin and evil. Sin comes from our disobedience against God, His will, Law and commandments, and through sin, corruption and wickedness come into us, and we will have to face the consequences for sins and all the evils and wicked deeds we have done in our lives. But, just as we have heard how God sent His prophet Jonah to the people of Nineveh, and how He has also sent many other prophets like Isaiah, Elisha, Isaiah and others to His people in both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, to point out to them their sins and wickedness, and to help guide them to the right path, we can see that God truly loves us all, and what He despises is not us, but rather our sins and wickedness.

This is also where, the contrast between the attitude of the people of Nineveh and those of God’s chosen people, the Israelites can be clearly seen. The people of Nineveh, if we read on further in the accounts from the Book of the prophet Jonah, actually listened to the Lord and heeded Jonah’s warning and proclamation of their doom with repentance and true regret for their wickedness and sins, as the whole entire city, from the king right to the lowest among the people all publicly showed their repentance, wearing sackcloth and declaring fasting and regret over their sins. On the contrary, the people of Israel kept on hardening their hearts and refusing to believe in God, despite repeated reminders, omens and all the punishments that they had all suffered.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the famous parable of the Good Samaritan being told by the Lord to His disciples and followers. The Good Samaritan refers to the Samaritan who bothered to stop by a Jew who was assaulted by robbers on his way to Jericho, when a Levite and a priest each refused to help the injured man. Back then, the Samaritans were hated and despised by the Jewish people, and they were seen by the latter as those who had adopted the heretical and mistaken beliefs incompatible to the version of faith held and preserved by the Jewish people and elders. This came about because the Samaritans were descended from the mixture of the people living in the northern regions of the northern kingdom of Israel, that had been destroyed by the same Assyrians mentioned earlier, and intermingled with the foreigners and other peoples brought in by the Assyrians.

As such, the disagreements and the misunderstandings that existed between both peoples led to the bitter divisions and prejudices between both communities. The Samaritans were despised and hated by the Jews, and were treated no better than pagans and foreigners, or even worse than those, even when the Samaritans actually worshipped the same Lord and God as the Jewish people. But as we heard from the parable, the despised and hated Samaritan was the one who actually had pity on the injured Jewish man, while ironically the Levite and the priest, who were both highly respected and esteemed among the Jewish community, did not even stop to help their own fellow countrymen, as they would have been expected to. They did not even show any care or even bothered to stop.

On the contrary, the Good Samaritan not only stopped by and helped the injured man, but he even took good care of him and paid all the expenses for the injured man and told the innkeeper to settle everything for him, to make sure that he fully recovered, and paid for everything with bonus added. He truly had gone the extra mile with his care and compassion, and through this story, we are all first of all reminded that we must not be prejudiced or biased against anyone simply because of their backgrounds or due to our preconceived notions or often flawed understanding of others. We must always remember that each and every one of us are equally beloved by God, and that everyone has the opportunity and the potential to be like the saints, to be reconciled fully with God and to be filled once again with God’s grace.

What matters now is for us to embrace God’s call and answer Him with faith. We should not be like Jonah, who ignored the Lord’s call and even tried to flee from the Lord, in ignoring the mission which God has entrusted to him. Neither should we be like the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, who have ignored the pleas and the need of the injured man. Instead, we should enthusiastically and courageously answer God’s call with dedication, just as what the Good Samaritan himself had done. We should always carry ourselves with commitment and faith, and with the genuine desire to love the Lord as well as our fellow brothers and sisters, all around us. Thus, we should also be inspired by the great examples set by our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs, so that we too can live lives that are truly worthy of God.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Denis and his companions in martyrdom, as well as that of St. John Leonardi, a devout man of God and priest, the founder of the Order of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca. First of all, St. Denis was the Bishop of Paris during the middle of the third century, in which he was remembered for his most miraculous martyrdom among with many others, who were oppressed and martyred during the intense persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Decius. St. Denis was arrested and tortured after his efforts in converting many pagans made many pagan priests and officials to be afraid of them, and he and others were brought to a hill where they were executed, with St. Denis being beheaded. However, miraculously, St. Denis still continued to preach while his head had been severed from his body, walking for a few miles before he finally died at the site where a great Basilica in his honour stands now. Not few were converted to the faith by this miraculous occasion.

St. John Leonardi meanwhile was a priest in what is now Italy, who answered God’s call for him to be a priest, and to serve among the people of God, ministering to their spiritual needs, while spreading the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the popular Forty Hours devotion, which were instrumental in checking the growth of the heresy of Protestant reformation at that time. He helped spreading the reforms of the Council of Trent, and established the aforementioned Order of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca. He did not have it easy as he encountered opposition and challenges from those who were politically motivated back then in opposing the establishment of the new religious order, known well as the Lucca Fathers. Nevertheless, St. John Leonardi continued to do his best in doing God’s work among His people.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us in all things, so that we may be inspired and encouraged to follow in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs, particularly those of St. Denis and his companions in holy martyrdom, and also the commitment and faith shown by St. John Leonardi. Let us all continue to strengthen and deepen our faith in each and every opportunities provided for us, and draw ever closer to the Lord, now and always. Amen.

by

Monday, 9 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Luke 10 : 25-37

At that time, then a teacher of the Law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do You understand it?” The man answered, “It is written : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.”

“It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.”

“The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.'” Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”