Project BLACK MAMBA

7 February was the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Otherwise, 7 February would have been the feast of Saint Richard the Pilgrim (died 722, A.K.A. of Wessex): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also have been the feast of Blessed Pius IX, Pope (1792-1878), the "Prisoner of the Vatican": Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings
The Book of Isaiah, chapter six, verses one thru two(a) & three thru eight;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-eight, verses one thru five, seven, & eight;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses one thru eleven;
(or, the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses three thru eight & eleven);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter five, verses one thru eleven.

* * * * *

Today is the Optional Memorial of Saint Jerome Emiliani, priest, C.R.S. (1486-1537), founder of the Somaschi Fathers, formally the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link C.R.S..

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Using his own money, he rented a house for the orphans, fed them, clothed them, & educated them. He committed his whole life & all he owned to helping others. He is the patron saint of abandoned children & orphans.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

Jerome was born in Venice in 1486. He first embraced the military; but when he was liberated from imprisonment through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, he made a vow to dedicate himself to her service. He dedicated himself to helping the poor, distributing to them his own possessions. His motto was "Anyone who would not work should not eat" (2 Thes., 3:10). He founded the Order of Clerks regular of Somascha, which supported orphan boys & the poor. He died of the plague in 1537 with the names of Jesus & Mary on his Lips. In 1928 Pope Pius XI named him patron of orphans & infants.

'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin, F.D.C.C. (circa 1868-1947): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duae, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

At her canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope (St.) John Paul II (22 October) said that in St. Josephine Bakhita, "We find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. The history of her life inspires not passive acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls & women from oppression & violence, & to return them to their dignity in the full exercise of their rights."

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The First Book of Kings, chapter eight, verses one thru seven & nine thru thirteen;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-two, verses six thru ten;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter six, verses fifty-three thru fifty-six;

or, for St. Jerome's Memorial,
The Book of Tobit, chapter twelve, verses six thru thirteen;
Psalm Thirty-four, verse two;
or, Psalm Thirty-four, verse nine;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses seventeen thru thirty;

or, for St. Josephine's Memorial,
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter seven, verses twenty-five thru thirty-five;
Psalm Forty-five, verse eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-five, verses one thru thirteen.