*4th of October 2022*

*Tuesday in the 27th week of Ordinary Time, Year 11*

_(Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi)_

_Gal. 1:13-24_

_Lk. 10:38-42_

*Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible*(Francis of Assisi).

The Church celebrates the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi(1181-1226). He was born in Assisi, Italy. Francis left a life of luxury and devoted his life to Christianity and spread of the gospel after he heard the voice of Christ which mandated him to rebuild His Church. This he did through his life of charity, living out the gospel and correcting some ills in his society.

In the gospel of today we hear about the hospitality offered to Jesus by two women; Mary and Martha. Each offered according her own disposition and understanding. But Jesus saw greater value in Mary's, little wonder he said, "Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken away from her."

As a kid, there was this song we sing especially during spiritual exercises, it reads "God has something to say, listen, pay attention." In the gospel of today, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, listening to him. The scripture tells us that faith come from hearing the word of God. The Lord wants us to listen and pay attention to his words, especially in a world filled with noise and conflicting voices. He wants us to listen.

•As we listen, his words comforts us from our worries. Like Martha, some of us worry so much. In the parable of the sower, we hear about those whom the cares and worries of this life choked the words sown in their hearts. Worry can make us miss things that are important. It can also block the words of God from penetrating our hearts, Jesus today tells us not to worry so much especially about things of less value.

•What type of hospitality do you give to Jesus? Jesus through today's reading teaches us that the best hospitality is that which he desires. He wants us to know that everything has its own time and season. Paul later understood this as we heard in the first reading. This made him to make a U-turn, from criticizing and destroying Christians, to being a propagator of the good news.

*God's grace upon and may St. Francis pray for us.*

(Fr. Camillus Nwaigwe)