Gospel Thought for Today
3rd November: Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, religious
Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection:
“You shall love the Lord…You shall love your neighbor…”
In the sanctuary of our church, we could find a statue of St Martin de Porres. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and a Panamanian ex-slave from Lima, Peru. His father initially refused to accept him because of his dark skin. When he was sixteen, he applied to the Dominican convent and eight years later, he became a lay brother. He spent hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament. He also worked as an almoner, infirmarian, and surgeon. A contemporary reported that Martin did the jobs of many men, all “with great generosity, promptness, and attention to detail…It made me realise that, in that he clung to God in his soul, all these things were effects of divine grace.” As God’s children, we are all called to love because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). May St Martin inspire us to answer that call with a generous heart.
- How does your love for God translate into love for your neighbour?
- In what ways can you help make the community more inclusive?
- How can you eradicate discrimination in society?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Through the example and prayers of St Martin de Porres, grant us a heart that seeks Your glory and the good of others. Amen.
