Sts. Denis, Rusticus, and Eleutherius

The first mention we have of these three martyrs who died around 258 A.D. comes in the sixth century in the writings of Saint Gregory of Tours.
Denis (or Dionysius as he is also called) is the most famous of the three. Born and raised in Italy, he was sent as a missionary to Gaul (now France) circa 250 A.D. by Pope St. Clement along with five other bishops.
Denis made his base of missionary activity an island in the Seine near the city of Lutetia Parisorium -- what would become Paris. For this reason he is know as the first bishop of Paris and the Apostle of France. There he was captured by the Parisians along with Rusticus and Eleutherius. Later writers have referred to these as Denis' priest and deacon, or his deacon and subdeacon, but we have no further information on them.
After a long imprisonment and several aborted executions, the three martyrs were beheaded with a sword and their bodies were thrown into the river. Denis' body was retrieved from the Seine by his converts and buried. The chapel that was built over his tomb grew into the abbey of Saint-Denis.
In the ninth century, Denis' story and identity became fused and confused with Dionysius the Areopagite and Pseudo-Dionysius, but later scholarship has re-established his identity as a separate saint.
Denis is pictured as he was martyred -- headless (with a vine growing over the neck) and carrying his own mitred head.
Recognized since the time of St. Gregory as a special saint of Paris, Denis is the patron saint of France.

Daily Reading for Sunday, October 2nd, 2016

Reading 1, Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4

² How long, Yahweh, am I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry, 'Violence!' in your ear while you will not save?
³ Why do you make me see wrong-doing, why do you countenance oppression? Plundering and violence confront me, contention and discord flourish.
² Then Yahweh answered me and said, 'Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read.
³ For the vision is for its appointed time, it hastens towards its end and it will not lie; although it may take some time, wait for it, for come it certainly will before too long.
⁴ 'You see, anyone whose heart is not upright will succumb, but the upright will live through faithfulness.'

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Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

¹ Come, let us cry out with joy to Yahweh, acclaim the rock of our salvation.
² Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, acclaim him with music.
⁶ Come, let us bow low and do reverence; kneel before Yahweh who made us!
⁷ For he is our God, and we the people of his sheepfold, the flock of his hand. If only you would listen to him today!
⁸ Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as at the time of Massah in the desert,
⁹ when your ancestors challenged me, put me to the test, and saw what I could do!

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Reading 2, Second Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

⁶ That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift of God that you possess through the laying on of my hands.
⁷ God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love and self-control.
⁸ So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but share in my hardships for the sake of the gospel, relying on the power of God
¹³ Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ With the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, look after that precious thing given in trust.

Gospel, Luke 17:5-10

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith.'
⁶ The Lord replied, 'If you had faith like a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you.
⁷ 'Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, "Come and have your meal at once"?
⁸ Would he not be more likely to say, "Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards"?
⁹ Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told?
¹⁰ So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, "We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty." '

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Pontiff pays homage to tiny Catholic flock in Muslim Azerbaijan

Many of them are foreigners, including staff from embassies and domestic workers and some in the oil and gas industries

Pope Francis said a Mass on Sunday for the miniscule Catholic community in Shi'ite Muslim Azerbaijan, urging the "precious little flock" to keep the faith and paying tribute to those persecuted during the Soviet era.

The oil and gas-rich nation of about 9 million people bordering on Russia, Iran and Turkey, has only about 700 Catholics, according to Vatican figures.

Many of them are foreigners, including staff from embassies and domestic workers and some in the oil and gas industries.

In fact, Sunday's Mass, which was said mostly in English, had more of the feeling of a worship service in a multi-ethnic, well-to-do American suburb than a liturgy on the Caspian sea.

"You are a little flock that is so precious in God's eyes," he told the congregation in the homily of the Mass in the modern church, which opened in 2007 and was built on the site of one demolished under Soviet rule in 1931.

"Courage. Go ahead without fear", Francis said, praising them for being a close-knit and vibrant "community on the periphery".

Francis, who arrived in Baku from neighbouring Georgia and returns to Rome on Sunday night, also paid tribute to Christians who were persecuted by the Communists.

"FAITH IN ADVERSITY"

"Here the faith, after the years of persecution, has accomplished wonders. I wish to recall the many courageous Christians who trusted in the Lord and were faithful in the face of adversity," he said.

He said he was sure "that when you look to the example of those who have gone before you in faith, you will not let your hearts become lukewarm."

The land for the modern church building was donated by the late president Heydar Aliyev at the request of the late Pope John Paul after the pontiff's visit to Baku in 2002.

Relations between the miniscule Catholic community and the Muslims in Azerbaijan are broadly smooth.

Before returning to Rome, Francis was due to meet in the afternoon with Heydar Aliyev son, Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled since his father's death in 2003, and visit a mosque.

Last week Azeris voted in a referendum in favour of extending the presidential term from five to seven years, a step that critics say will hand unprecedented powers to Ilham Aliyev.

Aliyev, 54, can seek re-election indefinitely after a maximum number of terms in office was scrapped via a similar referendum seven years ago.

Rights advocates accuse his government of muzzling and jailing opponents but the government says citizens enjoy full freedom of speech and a lively opposition press.