“In thy light, we shall see light.” — Ps. 35:10
On this feast of St. Martin of Tours, the Church lifts before our eyes a model of pastoral zeal and sanctity—a man who, once a soldier, became a bishop, and whose charity and humility radiated the light of Christ in a darkened world. In the lessons from Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) and St. Luke’s Gospel, the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, places before us luminous passages on righteousness, the priesthood, and the interior light that must shine in all who serve God.
1. Ecclesiasticus 44:16–27; 45:3–20: The Righteous Line and the Priesthood
The reading from Ecclesiasticus is taken from the liturgical eulogy of the fathers—“Let us praise men of renown, and our fathers in their generation.” Today, the Holy Ghost praises especially Moses and Aaron, types of Christ and prefigurations of the priesthood. These verses culminate in the high dignity of the Aaronic priesthood, whose vestments, offerings, and liturgical role reflect the glory of divine worship:
“He put upon him a robe of glory, and girt him about with a glorious girdle… to execute the office of the priesthood, and to bless the people in his name.” (Sir. 45:8, 15)
St. Martin, though not a Levite, bore the sacerdotal spirit. His was a white martyrdom of daily self-offering, clothed not in Aaron’s linen ephod, but in the seamless robe of charity and the armor of spiritual warfare.
St. John Chrysostom, in his Homily on the Priesthood, declares:
“The priest stands between God and man. He makes supplication for the people, as though he were himself the whole people. But he must also be a pure offering.”
How fittingly this describes St. Martin, who once tore his military cloak to clothe a beggar—and in a dream saw Christ Himself clothed with it. Here is a priest not merely offering gifts, but himself becoming gift and intercessor.
2. Luke 11:33–36: The Lamp of the Body
In the Gospel, Our Lord instructs His disciples:
“No man lights a lamp and puts it in a hidden place… but on a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light.” (Lk 11:33)
Christ is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), and He places His saints as lamps to bear that light through their bodies, their words, their works. The Church Fathers consistently interpret this passage as a call to inner purity and the right ordering of the soul.
St. Augustine, commenting on this passage (Sermon 99), explains:
“The eye is our intention. If your intention is simple—seeking God alone—your whole body, that is, your whole life, will be luminous.”
St. Martin’s intention was simple and clear—to serve Christ. Though offered the prestige of episcopal office, he resisted, preferring a hidden life. But once ordained bishop, his hidden lamp was placed on a candlestick, and all Gaul was illumined by his sanctity. His biographer, Sulpicius Severus, recounts miracles, conversions, and his profound humility—never separating his office from the example of Christ the Good Shepherd.
3. From Soldier to Bishop: A Light for the Church
The very life of St. Martin serves as a commentary on today’s readings. In the spirit of Sirach, he stood among the spiritual descendants of Abraham, Moses, and Aaron—a righteous man chosen and anointed, not by hereditary line, but by divine grace. He bore the weight of the priesthood, not in ceremonial splendor, but in the shining simplicity of the Gospel lived out.
In the light of the Gospel, he is the man whose eye is single—whose heart was undivided, whose gaze was fixed on the heavenly Jerusalem. Thus his whole body was full of light, and that light has never ceased to shine in the Church.
The Commemoration of St. Menas, though brief today, adds a gleaming thread of martyrdom to the feast. Menas, a soldier-martyr of Egypt, chose death rather than deny Christ. In this we see a kindred spirit to Martin, who, though not slain in body, died daily to self.
As St. Gregory the Great writes in Homily 1 on the Gospels:
“There are two kinds of martyrdom: one in open suffering, the other in hidden patience. Both carry the palm of victory.”
Spiritual Application
Let us examine the eye of our soul. Is our intention pure? Are we allowing the grace of baptism and confirmation—the indwelling light of Christ—to illuminate our thoughts and actions?
Let us, like St. Martin, become lamps in the house of God. Not hidden under worldly bushels, but set aloft by charity, discipline, and prayer.
May our lives, though ordinary, reflect the extraordinary light of Christ through fidelity in small things, through reverence for the sacred, and through readiness to give our cloak to Christ in the poor.
Prayer
O God, who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do: mercifully grant that by the intercession of blessed Martin, Thy Confessor and Bishop, we may be defended against all adversities. Through our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen.