There is a fifteenth century manuscript called: The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry. The Duke was the man who commissioned this piece of art. The manuscript is a book with various prayers aimed at sanctifying different hours of the day and the night. Why is it called The Very Rich Hours? It is because most of the 206 leaves of the parchment are stunning miniatures. However they are not only stunning, they are also powerful in the messages they convey.
This Sunday I would like to talk about the miniature presenting the Crucifixion of Jesus. It is the scene we are all familiar with. However the manuscript The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry, which contains many images in vivid colours, shows the Crucifixion as if through a dark veil. Thus it refers to the Biblical account of the darkness which covered the earth when Jesus was dying of the cross. I also believe that it is a way to express a sense of loneliness and abandonment which were not only Jesus’s experience when he said in his native Aramaic language: ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?’ Which means ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’ This sense of darkness is our experience too. Think about the people who were betrayed by those whom they loved and trusted. Isn’t it darkness? Think about the people facing life threatening illnesses. Isn’t it darkness?
My Dear Sisters and Brothers! In our Second Reading we also heard a testimony of St. Paul about darkness. The Apostle Paul wrote this Letter, which was his last letter, just before his martyrdom in Rome. Listen to a couple of sentences from today’s reading: ‘The first time I had to present my defence, there was not a single witness to support me. Every one of them deserted me.’ This Letter which we have been reading in our churches last few Sundays is like Paul’s last testament. However it is not a litany of complaints or resentments. On the contrary Paul bears witness to what he already written in the Letter to the Galatians: ‘I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me.’ Having Christ living in us is not only about the power to perform miracles etc. It is about the power to relive in our own body Jesus’ way of the Cross, his Crucifixion so that the glory of the Resurrection can be ours too.
This faith St Paul expressed from the misery of his imprisonment: ‘The Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear, and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.’
There was not prison release for Paul on the horizon so what kind of rescue the Apostle wrote about? It was the rescue of a lamb, which was sent to the wolves or lions, and despite ill-treatment the lamb remained a lamb. It didn’t become a wolf or a lion. Thinking about all the persecution he received from his enemies and the abandonment he experienced from his companions St Paul revealed that all those misfortunes didn’t change him for worse. What he wrote to the Galatians sometime earlier was still valid:  ‘The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake.’ That’s why from the midst of the darkness of his personal situation St Paul wrote to Timothy: ‘I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, and not only to me but to all those who have longed for Jesus’ Appearing.’
The parchment with the scene of the Crucifixion from the manuscript The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry shows darkness but the darkness covers the earth only. Above that earthly situation the author presented God the Father and a glimpse of heaven in the most vivid colours. In fact that colourful reality of heaven appears like a sunrise.
My Dear fellow sunrise awaiters. If you find yourself in a situation of darkness I announce to you the News of Great Joy: the Glory of God is already appearing for you. The New Day is coming. If your senses tell you something different cling to your faith to sense the New Day of our life with God.
‘To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’

​            A hopeless situation from as social point of view was presented in the Gospel, a widow who kept going to a judge asking for his intervention. As a widow she didn’t have a husband who would take her side. If she had to go to a judge she didn’t have a son who would protect her either. What a hopeless situation. However she didn’t give up. Even after so many rejections she kept coming to the unjust judge. Was she optimistic? Did she have a positive attitude? It is hard to be optimistic and positive in a situation like hers, isn’t it?
            Let us turn to our First Reading from the Book of Exodus, the second Book of the Holy Bible. The image of Moses holding a staff in his outstretched arms is often recalled as an image of prayer. Indeed it is a beautiful image. It is even more beautiful if we put it in the context of the events which preceded it.
The passage which the Sacred Liturgy gives us this Sunday brings us to the happenings which followed the Exodus from Egypt. When the Israelites camped at the beaches of the Red Sea they realised that they were pursued by the Pharaoh army. They cried and blamed Moses for exposing them to such a danger. What happened next? At God’s commandment Moses raised his staff and parted the waters of the Sea. When they were saved from Egyptians they began crying and blaming Moses for exposing them to starvation in the desert. What happened next? There was manna and quails. When they were saved from starvation they began crying and blaming Moses for exposing them to dehydration in the desert. What happened next? At God’s commandment Moses raised his staff over a rock and after hitting it with the staff he brought out water. So many disappointments Moses went through dealing with his people who didn’t embrace his faith in God.
As we listen to that passage from the Exodus we can imagine what was going on in Moses’s head. Looking at his stubborn and faithless compatriots, while holding his staff in his tired arms, he could so easily give up. It was a hopeless situation. These people were not advancing in faith. Why did he keep stretching his staff over the people engaged in a battle? Was he optimistic? Did he have a positive attitude? It is hard to be optimistic and positive in a situation like his, isn’t it?
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! From outside the both situations presented to us this Sunday appear hopeless. However the perseverance of Moses and the widow reveal a divine gift which was determining their actions. That divine gift is called hope.
A descendent of the people on whom Moses didn’t give up, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, put it this way: ‘Optimism is the belief that the world is changing for better; hope is belief that together, we can make the world better. Optimism is a passive virtue, hope is an active one. It takes no courage to be an optimist, but it does need courage to hope.’ Drawing from today’s readings we can say how true these words are. Both Moses and the widow were active in the hoping. Both Moses and the widow had courage despite having gone through many disappointments.
            Let me highlight the big word: together in what the Rabbi Jonathan said. This big word takes us to God. It is God’s involvement in the history of the world and in our own personal history that we dare to say: ‘hope is belief that together, we can make the world better.’ God and we makes together. Rabbi Jonathan drew his belief about hope from the saving events treasured in the Old Testament. For us Christians it is Jesus Christ from whom we draw our belief about hope.
            In one of our Eucharistic prayers we speak to God the Father in this way: ‘Fulfilling your will and gaining for you a holy people, Jesus stretched out his hands as he endured his Passion so as to break the bonds of death and manifest the Resurrection.’ The Crucified Messiah and our hope belong together. Those outstretched arms of Jesus Christ raise up our hope.
            I would like to finish with another insight of Rabbi Jonathan which for us, the followers of Jesus Christ becomes truly powerful: ‘There are no logical grounds for hope. There are no logical grounds that tomorrow will be better than today. But God doesn’t give up, and for that reason, neither do we.’
Look, my Dear fellow hopers, at Jesus on the cross. He is the new Moses through whom God assures us that he is with us. Thus ‘The lord be with you,’ becomes a powerful message we can take home. In the Lord Jesus we believe. In the Lord Jesus we hope. That’s why there are no hopeless situations for us who believe in Jesus, but there are situations which become an opportunity for us to manifest our hope for living and believing.

            A month ago we heard at Mass the parable of the father and his two sons, which is often called the parable of the prodigal son. I’ve always wondered why the younger son who left home has been called prodigal. Is it because we are so fixated on finances that the younger son’s wasteful actions get our attention? What about the father from the parable? Don’t you think that he is prodigal? He gave a portion of his property to the boy who obviously didn’t deserve it. The boy was selfish and unappreciative. Still his father gave him the inheritance. Even when the boy lost everything, upon his return his father kept on giving. What a prodigal attitude. However, deep down, we hope and pray that this is the attitude of our heavenly Father, don’t we? We hope and pray that our Heavenly Father will always be prodigal; that he will keep on giving us is love which takes the form of forgiveness.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! The parable which we heard a few weeks ago we can meditate again through the lenses of the Gospel for today. Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God lived what he knew of his Heavenly Father. If his Father is prodigal in loving Jesus is prodigal in loving too.
Ten lepers approached him shouting: ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.” That’s what Jesus did. He didn’t calculate the rate of return for his act of mercy but prodigally he took pity on them all. He cleansed them all. He got poor return, only 10%. However it is not about a good return it is about investment. Without God’s investment there would be no return. The first Pope, St Peter wrote once: ‘The Lord is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways.’ This is the prodigal attitude of our Heavenly Father which is called the Gospel, the Good News.
            The Gospel for this Sunday is truly Good News as it shows us the work of God in a human being. The 10% who returned to Jesus, that one man, ‘thanked Jesus.’ Simple words in English but when St Luke wrote it he used the word eucharist. The man who returned to Jesus became the Eucharist as his new life was defined by thankfulness. He was ready to tell everybody what Jesus did for him. He became a missionary. He was not spreading some propaganda but he was evangelising.
            Can you remember what the ten lepers were doing when they came to Jesus? ‘They called to Jesus.’ When we need something we are professional at making our voice heard. Now, look at what the one leper is doing when he finds himself cleansed. ‘He turned back praising God at the top of his voice.’ What a missionary! The new life he received from Jesus became a means of reaching out to others. He didn’t do any course to preach but by believing in Jesus and being ready to witness to that faith he was ready to be commissioned. Our Blessed Lord said to him: ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’ Powerful words, which can be our commission too.
Jesus Christ, who is the Prodigal Son from today’s Gospel, didn’t stop on giving. The journey on which we find him this Sunday was to take him to Jerusalem where he was to give himself, to the last drop of his precious blood, for our salvation. He gave himself for us and for our salvation. Like Father like Son. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
My dear fellow Christians. You are at the Eucharist now. Become the Eucharist. Thank him for having saved you by his Cross and Resurrection. Praise him at the top of your voice. Make your thankfulness for God’s salvation heard. When you are asked about your faith remember that it is your opportunity not just to explain your faith but to praise the Lord before the people. You will be a missionary then, so ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.

          Last Thursday, on the memorial of St Francis of Assisi, we glorified God for the life and mission of the Saint who chose Jesus over the wealth of his family. The saint who has inspired our Pope Francis had an encounter with Jesus Christ which not only changed his life but also has impacted generations of Christians. One day Francis went to a falling apart church near Assisi. There he prayed in front of a crucifix. As he was looking at the crucified Lord he heard a voice coming from the crucifix: 'Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into ruin.' First Francis thought that Jesus wanted him to fix the walls of the collapsing church. He started working on the building. However in the midst of that manual work he was enlightened by the Spirit of the Risen Jesus that the mission he was entrusted with was to be directed to renewing the whole Catholic Church.
            The Lord Jesus called Francis to rebuild the Church when Francis was nobody in his society. He had already given up the prestige and wealth of his family. He didn’t have resources even to fix the little church he found damaged. How could he embark on renewing the whole Catholic Church?
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers!
            St Francis didn’t have any resources indeed; however he had faith of which the Lord Jesus spoke in the Gospel.
            Firstly it was faith of an apostle, someone who has been sent by Jesus on a mission. St Luke in the Good News for this Sunday tells us that the request for an increase of faith came from the Apostles, the ones who are sent. They are not only disciples, they are not only followers of Jesus, they are now given a mission, they are to participate in the mission of the Son of God. However the more they witness Jesus the more they find themselves lacking many things to be part of Jesus’ mission. In the midst of that they discover that what is needed for mission is faith.
            Secondly it is faith which makes apostles resemble Jesus. Apostles are the people who after doing everything don’t except anything for what they have done. Instead they say: ‘We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.’ To our modern understanding of justice and fairness it sounds unjust and unfair. That’s why we, who are called to be apostles in this place and at this time, need to make our own the prayer of the first Apostles of Jesus Christ: ‘Lord, increase our faith’ because it is easier to uproot a mulberry tree with its big root system and plant it in the sea then to move us out of our obsession with gratification for what we do. We need to ask Jesus Christ: ‘Lord, increase our faith’ so that what Jesus said at the Last Supper can be our way of living our Christian faith: ‘I didn’t come to be served but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many.’
            My Dear fellow apostles! The Bishop of Rome, the successor of St Peter the Apostle, has invited us to live this month of October 2019 as an extraordinary missionary month. It is a prophetic call for all of us to rediscover our call to be missionaries here and now, to rediscover that the Lord Jesus sends us to carry out his mission in our own time and in our own place. It can overwhelm us. We may feel inadequate. Let us then call upon the Lord: ‘Increase our faith’ so that we may accept as our own Jesus’ way of living and doing mission: ‘I didn’t come to be served but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many.’
            St Francis of Assisi, pray for us.