The Festival of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop and Confessor
Posted on November 11, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 11:33-36 (NKJV)
11:33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
Devotion
When Adam and Eve sinned by believing the devil’s lies, the whole world was plunged into darkness—the darkness of sin and death. Satan ruled this world and kept it in darkness until the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, came. He was “the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9). Through Him the darkness of sin and death is dispelled. Through Him mankind is enlightened with saving faith, which clings to the Lord Jesus and Him alone for salvation. He rules in light and truth by giving the Church as a sanctuary from this dark world.
The Church, the Bride of the Christ, continues to be a light in this world. It is a shining beacon, sitting on a hill, which illumines the surrounding area and can be seen from a far distance. For the Church proclaims the Light of the world. It preaches the pure Word of the Lord God, and administers the Sacraments that the true Light gave to her to distribute. These means enlighten men’s hearts with faith in the Lord Jesus. Those enlightened by the Word, like St. Martin of Tours, turn away from the darkness of sin and death, and cling to the true Light, which is not hidden but illumines the whole house.
Collect: O God, Who didst call Martin to preach the Gospel, grant to Thy servants steadfastness in the confession of the true faith that they would preach that unchanging Gospel in the midst of the darkness of this age; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Almighty God, we beseech Thee, show Thy mercy unto Thy humble servants, that we who put no trust in our own merits may not be dealt with after the severity of Thy judgment, but according to Thy mercy; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
