We are citizens of heaven. Whether in joy or in pain, God wants to mirror heaven through us. Are we willing to be used?

Memorial of St. Martin of Tours

Wisdom 6:1-11

Psalm 82:3-4, 6-7

L uke 17:11-19  On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Sama'ria and Galilee. (12) And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance (13) and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." (14) When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. (15) Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; (16) and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. (17) Then said Jesus, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? (18) Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" (19) And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

Meditation by Eileen Burke-Sullivan

F or my high school years I was privileged to attend a small Benedictine boarding academy for girls named after the saint we honor in the Church’s Liturgy today, St. Martin of Tours.  On November 11 each year we would have a holiday and hear the stories of Martin’s love for the poor and the most famous legend of him cutting his coat in half to cover a beggar who was freezing, only to discover when he returned home that it was Christ himself who returned his half cloak.  Martin is known for his compassion for the poor.  That was the model that was placed before the adolescent girls who celebrated the wonderful liturgy and a luncheon on the school’s feast day when the sisters waited at our table as humble servants (imagine your algebra teaching taking away your plate and bringing dessert!)

Although the school holiday for us in high school was unique to our school I was startled to discover when I arrived at St. Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas, that November 11 was a holiday there as well – but it had little to do with St. Martin and everything to do with the foundation of the sisters of Charity of Leavenworth who owned and operated that wonderful college now known as the University of St. Mary.  For the eight years of my adolescence, then, I observed a holiday each year on November 11 that never had anything to do with World War I. Celebrating this day as a feast day of faith is a hard pattern to forget even years later!  But what I learned so young was the value of taking time and honoring the great men and women of our historical tradition who have handed on the gift of their faith to us.  The purpose of memorials in the Church’s liturgy is precisely this . . . to hold a day of gratitude in honor of those followers of Jesus who continue to manifest the Kingdom of God by their generous lives and labor.

The readings for this memorial fit the pattern of ordinary time rather than the memorial, but they remind us of two of the great virtues that our saints and founders challenge us to share with them:  The first reading speaks quite firmly about the reality that those who are given any authority must be diligently accountable for that authority; must humbly recognize that such authority comes from God and may not be exercised arrogantly to oppress others.  Martin of Tours, forced to become a bishop by the need and pleas of the people of Tours, is reputed to have reported carefully to his people, as Augustine did more famously a few years later, about the state of their diocese – not his.  He saw himself as their representative to the larger Church and to Christ – and so he was accountable to the Baptized – that is the whole Church – for his stewardship.  The writer of the Book of Wisdom would have looked favorably upon his wisdom as a faithful shepherd of his flock.

Luke’s Gospel of the ten lepers who beg for healing calls us to gratitude.  This passage invites me to more deeply grasp that my life, my health, my well being, is gift of God. As I thought about this day I recalled recently finding a book mark in an old bible that said:  “We have every reason to be thankful to the Father of all for the protecting care His Divine Providence had extended over the community”. The words were attributed to Mother Xavier Ross, the founder of the Sisters of Charity who came to Leavenworth on November 11.  She knew that gratitude brings us close to God and serves as the source of humility and of service – those most necessary virtues of the Christian life.

Today is a very good day for me to practice the accountability and gratitude that I learned from those heroic Benedictines and Sisters of Charity by thanking them, and thanking God for the wonderful education they provided and the model of virtue they witnessed.    

Supplementary Reading

BRING BACK HEAVEN

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God. – Ephesians 2:19

The "90 Minutes in Heaven" is a New York Times bestselling book that tells the true story of Don Piper, an American pastor who met a terrible car accident and was declared dead. He went to heaven but came back to earth where he had to undergo 34 surgical procedures to fix the damage caused by the accident. Don described heaven as being beautiful, with happy people and unforgettably wonderful music. His words were inadequate to fully tell of his experience.

But what struck me most about the book was that when Don Piper returned to earth, he brought back heaven with him. He went through so much agony during his recovery that he kept asking the Lord why he had to go back to earth. But when he shared how his relatives, friends and church members took care of him just so his wife and three kids could continue living a normal life, I can understand why the Lord brought him back. Heaven came down through their acts of love and Don’s eventual acceptance of their help.

We are citizens of heaven. Whether in joy or in pain, God wants to mirror heaven through us. Are we willing to be used? -- Joy Sosoban

REFLECTION:

“To enter heaven, a man must take it with him.” (Henry Drummond)

Dear Lord, grant me the grace to let heaven shine forth through my earthly life.