In today's Gospel, Luke poses an important question about discipleship: Who is righteous, unrighteous and self-righteous? In other words, Who is saved? Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself; O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous or even like this tax collector. but the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast and prayed: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. God alone can make a person righteous, that is, saved.

Today, World Mission Sunday, is the day set aside by the Catholic Church throughout the world to publicly renew its commitment to its universal mission, its calling to bring the Good news of Christ to the ends of the earth. The Second Vatican Council reminded us that mission is rooted in the nature of the Church; it is the reason for its existence. The church is the community of Christ's disciples called and sent to continue the Mission of Jesus in the world. Pope Leo invites us all to reflect together on our common baptismal call to be 'missionaries of hope among the peoples and to commit ourselves anew to the sweet and joyful task of bringing Christ Jesus our Hope to the ends of the earth.'

Today's Gospel story tells us of a single non-Jewish leper who returned to thank Jesus for healing him, while the other nine now healed Jewish lepers went their way. Perhaps they were under the false impression that healing was their right as God's chosen people, so hurried off to obtain health certificates from the priests. ''Where are the other nine? Jesus asked of the returned Samaritan and the crowd.

All the three readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time speak a lot about ''Faith'' and how it works in our lives. They give us three dimensions of Faith. 1. The theological virtue of Faith enables us to believe something to be true and therefore worthy of trust simply because it has been revealed to us by God. 2. In his instructions to Timothy, Paul, who elsewhere defined Faith as '' the assurance of the things hoped for'' shows Faith operating as a believing, trusting, loving relationship with Christ. 3. Finally, Christian Faith is the trusting Faith in God in action, expressed by that steadfast loyalty, fidelity and total commitment to Him which results in our offering ourselves to Him in those we encounter through our humble, loving service.

A major theme in the Gospel of Luke is the importance of the care of the poor in the life of discipleship. In the parable found in today's Gospel, Jesus contrasts the life of a rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, who lives in the shadow of the rich man and his wealth. Both die. Lazarus finds himself in heaven; the rich man in hell. The rich mar asks for assistance from Lazarus in his torment. Both Abraham reminds the rich man of the good things he had in his life and describes the current situation as a reversal of fortunes.

In the Parable this Sunday, the steward or manager of property of a wealthy man, faces destitution because of his imminent dismissal. In this crisis the manager acts with foresight and resolution, ensuring a secure future. He responds with cleverness to his circumstances and so in a sense is a '' prudent'' man, by worldly standards. His prudent and decisive action is the key idea of today's parable.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross traces its origin to 4th Century. According to tradition, Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, journeyed to the Holy Land around 326 AD, where she discovered the True Cross, the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. To honor this discovery and mark the sacred sites of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, Constantine ordered the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. The church was consecrated on September 13, 335 and the next day, September 14, the cross was publicly displayed for veneration. By the 7th Century, this became an annual celebration across Eastern and Western Churches.

The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday's Gospel passage might almost startle us. They are spoken by the Lord to convey without the shadow of a doubt, a very important message to his followers. The words of Jesus are these: '' if any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.'' Those are very tough words and what are we to make of them? Why does Jesus say we must ''hate'' our loved ones and even ourselves? The strong language used by the Lord stems from his setting and times, what we would now call a Sematic worldview, where very strong language was used to convey a teaching in no uncertain terms. so, without a doubt we can say the term ''hate,'' as we normally understand the word, is not to be taken literally but what is the underlying message?

Jesus' parable about how the guests might strategize to jockey themselves into more prestigious seats is nothing short of comedy. Rather than speak directly about humility, Jesus creates a slightly outrageous story/parable to make his point. Humility is having accurate knowledge of ourselves and accepting ourselves. In the parable, Jesus looks at motives. humility is elusive, it is a slippery fish. in claiming that we have it, we lose it to pride. He challenges his host, the guests, and us to become humble.

In Today's Gospel, Jesus answers a seeker who asks, '' Will only a few be saved'' with '' Strive to enter through the narrow gate...'' Here, the seeker is on the outside and Jesus is on the inside, but in both stories about entrance to life with our God, some effort is required of us who want to be on the same side of the door as Jesus. Whether it is by turning the doorknob and opening it or by walking through the gate, something is required of us.

Jesus said, ''i have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing.'' Jeremiah, the author of the first reading, wrote, '' within me there is something like burning fire shut up in my bones,'' What is it that is burning within? The fire of enthusiasm. enthusiasm sounds almost too weak a word. Athletes can surely appreciate the ''fire in the gut'' feeling. Being ''fired up'' means maximal effort, the absolute best effort within you. There is fire-filled football on the two-yard line - on both sides of the ball that is never exceeded.

The Gospel is from St. Luke 12:32-48. In a few vivid and expressive similes, our Lord tells the disciples and through them, all the followers, how they should conduct their lives on earth so that they would always be found in God's friendship when their call to judgement comes. In answer to a question put to him by Peter, our Lord says that more will be expected of those who have received greater gifts from God than of those who received lesser gifts.

In today's Gospel we see that when it comes to possessions even the best of people often end up losing their heads and become blind and deaf. they see only their interest and are willing to override even the most sacred sentiments. At times, with the help of a wise friend, the parties are able to agree, at other times instead the hatred lasts for years and the brothers stop talking to each other. Jesus was chosen as a mediator to solve one of these family contrasts. The situation presented to him has arisen because one has attempted to commit an injustice and the other is in danger of suffering it.