Habakkuk 1.2-3, 2.2-4 | 2 Timothy 1.6-8,13-14 | Luke 17.5-10

We begin the twenty-seventh week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church at the beginning of October, known as the missionary month and the month of the rosary.

On October 1st, we celebrated Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, the universal patroness of missions. Christians are missionaries since their Baptism. The Church was founded to be missionary, that is, to awaken faith in those near and far through the proclamation of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Jesus is the missionary par excellence, having been sent into the world by God the Father to proclaim the Good News. Let us be missionaries, with joy and creativity, sowing seeds of hope in a contemporary society submerged in fear and insecurity. 

On October 7th, we celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary, who interceded for the victory of Catholic sailors in the Battle of Lepanto (off the coast of Greece) against Muslim sailors in 1571, while the Catholic faithful prayed the rosary, which the Mother of God had taught through Saint Dominic de Guzman in 1214. The rosary is the most popular Catholic Marian devotion through which the faithful meditate on the mysteries of salvation, growing in holiness and interceding for families and the needs of the Church and the world. Let us pray the rosary and encourage others to do the same.

Today, the Evangelist Luke speaks to us of faith and humble, selfless service.

The apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith. Jesus responded that, even with little faith, they could perform amazing signs.

Jesus himself raised the dead, healed the sick, walked on water, multiplied loaves and fishes, and so on. The Acts of the Apostles tells us of many signs performed in the apostolic Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Let us be women and men of faith, performing amazing signs, in the power of the Holy Spirit, such as moving mountains of hatred and injustice through the daily practice of love and sharing with those in need.

Jesus spoke of humble and selfless service. The apostles were to serve God and their brothers and sisters freely, without seeking recognition, aware that service pleases God, helps those in need, and benefits those who serve.

In contemporary society, people are vain and seek applause and the spotlight, both in the real world and online. When they serve, they blow trumpets so that everyone pays attention and praises them (cf. Matthew 6:2). Let us flee from this mentality and practice, imitating Jesus, the humble and selfless servant par excellence.

Today, the prophet Habakkuk speaks to us of divine judgment that could be delayed but would not fail. The prophet, who wrote between the 7th and 6th centuries BC, was distressed amid violence, iniquity, destruction, arrogance, strife, and discord.

The Lord told Habakkuk that those who were unrighteous would die within a set time, but that the righteous would live by their faith.

Our cries are answered by the Lord, who sees evil and helps us. Let us trust in Him. The victory of the righteous is certain and will come at the time appointed by the Lord. Let us live by faith, which comforts us during tribulations.

But let us not wait idly, for miracles only happen when we bend our knees in prayer and put our hands to work.

Today, the apostle Paul speaks to us in his second letter to Timothy about the spirit of fortitude, love, and sobriety that is received through the laying on of the apostles' hands. 

Timothy was instructed to keep alive the flame of God's gift, suffering with Paul for the Gospel, strengthened by God's power. As bishop of Ephesus, Timothy was to guard the precious deposit of faith and love (which he heard from Paul), with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in Christians.

It is Jesus' initiative to call us to service in the Church. To serve, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit, whom we received in Baptism and Confirmation. In evangelization, let us welcome with an open heart the Good News of Christ that we received from the apostles, committing ourselves to transmit this deposit of faith and love to others, without adding or taking away anything.