St. Robert Bellarmine, bishop & doctor 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1Timothy 3: 1-13

 If someone aspires to the over­seer’s ministry, he is without a doubt looking for a noble task.

 It is necessary that the overseer (or bishop) be beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, responsible, judicious, of good manners, hospitable and skillful in teaching.  He must not be addicted to wine or quarrelsome, but gentle and peaceful, and not a lover of money,  but a man whose household is well-managed, with obe­dient and well-mannered children.  If he cannot govern his own house, how can he lead the assembly of God?

He must not be a recent convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the same condemnation as the devil.  Moreover he must enjoy a good reputation among the outsiders, lest people speak evil about him and he fall into the snare of the devil.

Deacons, likewise, must be serious and sincere and moderate in drinking wine, not greedy for money,  they must keep the mystery of faith with a clear conscience.  Let them be first tried and, if found blameless, be accepted as deacons.  In the same way the women must be conscientious, not given to gossip, but reserved and trustworthy.

A deacon must be husband of one wife, and must know how to guide his children and manage his household.  Those who serve well as deacons will win honorable rank, with authority to speak of Christian faith.

 

 ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 7: 11-17

 A little later Jesus went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by His disciples and a great number of people. As he reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

 On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Don’t cry.”  Then he came up and touched the stretcher and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, awake up!”  And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.  

A holy fear came over them all and they praised God saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.”  This news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

 

 Reflection gospel：

“THE LORD HAD PITY ON HER.”

God is so close to us more than we know that our pain, our suffering, our anguish are his. Such is the case because God is in every fabric of creation, in all forms of life, human beings and other-than-human beings alike. God’s creative love embraces and is within all creation; and, it has knowledge of everything that was created “very good.” This knowledge is not the same as human knowledge.

God’s knowledge of his creation touches the core of its being. Given the above assertions, God(in human limited terms) has profound knowledge and “feeling” of all creatures’ pain and suffering. That is why the inaudible cry of the unborn human life being terminated during pregnancy, God knows and feels; that is why he hears the cry of the poor; that is why he hears the voiceless cry of tiny creatures when a rainforest is being burnt; that is why he feels the blasting and destruction of a mountain and the poisoning of the river.