Nov 16 – Memorial for St. Margaret of Scotland; Memorial for St. Gertrude, virgin
St. Margaret (1045–1093) was the granddaughter of King Edmund Ironside of England, and the great-niece of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was born in Hungary, while her family was in exile due to the Danish invasion of England. Even so, she still spent much of her youth in the British Isles.
While fleeing the invading army of William the Conqueror in 1066, her family’s ship wrecked on the Scottish coast. They were assisted by King Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland, whom Margaret married in 1070, and became Queen of Scotland. They had eight children, one of whom was St. Maud, wife of Henry I. Margaret founded abbeys and used her position to work for justice and improved conditions for the poor.
- Patron Saint Index
St. Gertrude (1256–1302) may have been an orphan. She was raised in the Benedictine abbey of St. Mary of Helfta, Eiselben, Saxony from the age of five. She was an extremely bright and dedicated student, and she excelled in literature and philosophy. When she was old enough, she became a Benedictine nun.
At age 26, when she had become too enamoured of philosophy, she received a vision of Christ, who reproached her. From then on, she studied the Bible and the works of the Church Fathers. Gertrude received other visions and mystical instruction, which formed the basis of her writings. She helped spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her writings have been greatly praised by St. Teresa and St. Francis de Sales, and continue in print today.
- Patron Saint Index
3 Jn 5-8
Lk 18:1-8
…pray continually and never lose heart…
Today’s Gospel talks about the need for us to reach out to God with our needs through prayer continually. He uses the parable of a widow who persistently goes before an ‘unjust judge’, who neither fears God nor respects man seeking justice. Although the widow is initially ignored, the judge finally dispenses justice against the widow’s enemy through her persistent requests.
While the widow in this parable receives what she desires, I do not believe this is the objective of Jesus’ discourse. The reality is that under many circumstances, our prayers will likely be answered in the form we ask or that the outcome will go the way of our desires. What did the Lord mean by asking us to be like the persistent widow, if that was the case?
Instead, our Lord focuses on our relationship with Him.
With my parents divorcing when I was about five, I was brought up by my grandaunt. I was mostly left to face life’s challenges on my own. I survived, but because I depended only on my strength, I did not develop a relationship with God.
In 2015, I was blessed to attend the Conversion Experience Retreat, conducted by our then archbishop William Goh. It was a turning point for me. During this retreat, I learned to turn to our Lord in prayer. Like the widow, I learned to lift my thoughts, desires and concerns to Him and to reach out to Him persistently. Where previously I had sought specific outcomes for my prayers, I found the Lord answering them in ways I could never expect.
How can we learn to be like the persistent widow?
We can start by turning to the Lord and having regular conversations with Him. We can express our desires, thoughts, and frustrations to Him in these conversations. We could argue, lament and celebrate our days with Him. Over time, as we continue to do so, our relationship with our Lord will deepen and, almost without realising it, we will have become our version of the persistent widow.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)
Prayer: Father, show us how to develop a closer relationship with You. Help us to be relentless in turning to You in all things.
Thanksgiving: We thank You, Lord, for being with us, regardless of whether we know Your presence in our lives. We are grateful for Your grace and Your love.
OXYGEN 
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