Mass Readings
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-nine, verses twenty-nine thru thirty-two & chapter fifty, verses fifteen thru twenty-six(A);
Psalm One Hundred Five, verses one thru four, six & seven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verses twenty-four thru thirty-three.
Today is the Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot (c. 480-543 or 547), founder of the great monastery at Monta Cassino: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Monte Cassino-link.
Commentary: Quoth the bulletin:
Benedict completed his "Rule for Monks," basing it on earlier monastic literature as well as his own original material. Today, the "Rule of Saint Benedict," as it is commonly called, is considered one of the most important factors in the development of Christian Europe. In time, the Rule became the norm for all monks & nuns in the West.Your humble narrator wears on his right wrist a bracelet composed of ten tiny St. Benedict Medals, oriented so that five display the front face of the medal & the other five display the back face: Medal-link. The current bracelet is a replacement for one I was given last fall, on my Cursillo Weekend. The original was not lost, but given to an ailing friend & brother in Christ (Santa Claus), who had in turn given his own bracelet featuring a single, large St. Benedict Medal to another friend & brother in Christ (identify withheld), who was struggling with angst & the attendant anger.
Among the titles given to Saint Benedict over the centuries are the following: "Messanger of Peace, Architect of Unity, Teacher of Culture & Civilization, father of Western Monasticism, Herald of the Christian Faith, & Father of the Whole of Europe." Today, Benedict's disciples, both men & women, can be found on every inhabited continent of the world, leading lives dedicated to "Prayer & Work," as the holy father Benedict taught in his rule & by this life.
A priest I know asked me what the bracelet meant; when I told him it was a series of St. Benedict Medals, he said that he knew that, & wore his own St. Benedict Medal around his neck, but wondered what this particular bracelet meant, if it was the emblem of a particular movement, as he thought he'd seen it elsewhere. I had, & still have, no idea, having been given the original & having found the replacement by searching an online retailer for "Saint Benedict Medals." There is no mention of the St. Benedict Medal in any of the voluminous Cursillo literature I've read. I wear the bracelet to be reminded, by the letters standing for "Vade retro satana!" ("Get behind me, Satan!"), of the Christ's admonishment in to-day's Gospel reading, that we should not fear men who can kill the body but cannot touch the soul, but should fear the enemy who wishes to destroy the soul in fiery Gehenna.
To-day we also remember Saint Olga of Kiev (c. 879-969): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: St. Olga is featured in the book Saints Behaving Badly, her chapter titled "St. Olga, Mass Murderer." It should read, St. Olga, Mass Murderess," but the author's point remains: we are all sinners, there is no sin that cannot be cleansed by the Blood of Christ, & that each of us, no matter what we've done, is called to holiness, to sainthood.
Operation AXIOM
Project BLACK MAMBA began in July 2014 as a month-long experiment, Objective BLACK MAMBA. After the objective was achieved, BLACK MAMBA was expanded to an indefinite project & has been a going concern since. It hasn't been twelve months of shining success, but the ten months before the horror show of May & June were pretty good. St. Benedict's day is what recalled to mind the anniversary of BLACK MAMBA: Wayback Machine.
Mass Journal: Week 25
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Reflection by Matthew Kelly of the Dynamic Catholic Institute
Several years ago, my brother Nathan was living in Japan for a year as an exchange student. During that time, I received a letter from him with a photograph he had taken of what seemed to be the courtyard of an ancient Japanese garden. In the middle of the courtyard was an almond tree in full bloom. Nathan has always been a talented photographer, but what really captured my attention was a quotation he had written on the back of the photograph. The quotation was from the writings of [El] Greco, the famed Greek-born Spanish painter. It read: "I said to the almond tree, 'Sister, speak to me about God,' & the almond tree blossomed."
No comments:
Post a Comment