St. Callistus Ⅰ, Pope & martyr 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Romans 1: 1-7

From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,

an apostle called and set apart for God’s Good News,  the very promises he foretold through his prophets in the sacred Scriptures, regarding his Son, who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognized as the Son of God endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead through the Holy Spirit.

Through him, Jesus Christ, our Lord,   and for the sake of his Name, we received grace and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith.  All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy: May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

 

 Ps  98  The Lord has made known his salvation.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 11: 29-32

 As the crowd increased, Jesus spoke the following words: “People of the present time are troubled people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.   As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation.  

 The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon.  

 The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah.

 

Reflection gospel：

“BUT NO SIGN WILL BE GIVEN TO THEM EXCEPT THE SIGN OF JONAH.”

One inspiring testimony I heard about a miraculous healing involved a sign. One early morning, an elderly couple was on their way to further hospital tests because a tumor was discovered in the husband. Along the way, they passed by the Church of St.

Therese of the Child Jesus and fervently prayed for healing. Incidentally it was October 1 and the parish has a tradition of distributing roses on the feast day of its patron. At the end of that morning’s mass, the priest requested the husbands to get a piece of rose for their wives. The wife knew that her husband was not the type who would stand up to get the rose.

So she prayed for a miracle. She prayed that the husband would stand, get the rose, and give the flower to her; that would be a sign that God hears her prayer of healing for him. But the husband did not move.

With tears in her eyes they left the Church to proceed to the hospital. But a surprise waited for her on their way out. A lady she did not know gave her a rose! And guess what, the doctor said the tumor was gone. She was sure the lady was St. Therese.

It is not wrong to ask for signs. At times, God uses signs too as his instruments either to relay his message or manifest his presence. But the life of a believer should not totally rely on signs but on solid faith. The power of God works in our life in many ways. But even in the absence of signs, faith should be sufficient for those who truly believe.