Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Project BLACK MAMBA: Eastertide, Backlog Ed., Part II

Monday, 11 April was the Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr (1030-1079, A.K.A. Stanisław Szczepanowski), martyred by the king Bolesław II: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
Stanislaus's major accomplishments included bringing papal legates to Poland, & (the) reestablishment of a metropolitan see in Gniezno. Patron of Poland, Kraków, (&) moral order.
Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
St. Stanislaus was born in the town of Szczepanow in Poland around the year 1030. He studied in Paris & was ordained to the priesthood. In 1071 he succeed Bishop Lambert at Cracow. In this post he ruled as a good shepherd by helping the poor & visiting his clerics every year. He courageously rebuked King Boleslaus who killed him while he was saying Mass on 11 April 1079. St. Stanislaus is the first Polish saint to be officially recognized as a martyr.
'Twas also the feast of Saint Gemma Galgani, Virgin, C.P. (1878-1903), stigmatist: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter six, verses eight thru fifteen;
Psalm One Hundred Nineteen, verses twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-nine, & thirty;
The Gospel according to John, chapter six, verses twenty-two thru twenty-nine;

or, for the Memorial:
The Book of Revelation, chapter twelve, verses ten thru twelve(a);
Psalm Thirty-four, verse five;
The Gospel according to John, chapter seventeen, verses eleven(b) thru nineteen.

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Tuesday, 12 April was the feast of Saint Julius I, Pope (died 352), the thirty-fifth Bishop of Rome: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twas also the feast of Saint Zeno of Verona, Bishop (circa 300-371): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link

'Twas also the feast of Saint Sabbas the Goth, Martyr (died 372, A.K.A. the Lector), martyred under the prince Atharid: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter seven, verse fifty-one thru chapter eight, verse one(a);
Psalm Thirty-one, verses three(c) thru four, six, seven(b), eight(a), & seventeen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter six, verses thirty thru thirty-five.

Personal Reading
The Book of Exodus, chapter thirty-five (verses one thru thirty-five);
The Book of Exodus, chapter thirty-six (verses one thru thirty-eight).

Commentary: Sabbath regulations (35:1-3), collection of materials (35:4-9), call for artisans (35:10-19), the contribution (35:20-29), the artisans (35:30-36:7), the tent cloth & coverings (36:8-19), the boards (36:20-34), & the veil (36:35-38).

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Today, 13 April is the Optional Memorial of Saint Martin I, Pope & Martyr (died 655), the seventy-fourth Bishop of Rome, martyred under the emperor Constans II: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
Martin's pontificate occurred during an extensive controversy that had strained relations between the East & West churches, monothelitism, a heresy maintaining that Christ had only one will. To bring an end to the controversy, Martin convoked & presided over the Lateran Council of 649 that condemned monothelitism & the Typos, an order by the Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus that forbade discussion of Christ's wills. Constans, who had not approved Martin's election, ordered the Pope's arrest, & the Pope was banished to the Crimean Peninsula.
Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
St. Martin was born at Todi in Umbria. He became a member of the clergy of Rome & was elected pope in 649. He convened the council which condemned the heresy of the Monothelites, who denied that Christ had a human will. The council also condemned a document promulgated by the emperor Constans II. In 653 Martin was taken prisoner by Constans & detained in Constantinople where he was forced to suffer many indignities. Finally, having been exiled to Kherson, he died in 656. He is the last pope to be venerated as a martyr.
'Tis also the feast of Saint Caradoc, Priest (died 1124): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter eight, verses one(b) thru eight;
Psalm Sixty-six, verses one thru three(a) & four thru seven(a);
The Gospel according to John, chapter six, verses thirty-five thru forty;

or, for the Memorial:
The Second Letter to Timothy, chapter two, verses eight thru thirteen & chapter three, verses ten thru twelve;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-six, verse five;
The Gospel according to John, chapter fifteen, verses eighteen thru twenty-one.

Personal Reading
The Book of Exodus, chapter thirty-seven (verses one thru twenty-nine);
The Book of Exodus, chapter thirty-eight (verses one thru thirty-one);
The Book of Exodus, chapter thirty-nine (verses one thru forty-three);
The Book of Exodus, chapter forty (verses one thru thirty-eight);
Introduction to the Book of Numbers.

Commentary: The Ark (37:1-9), the table (37:10-16), the lampstand (37:17-24), the altar of incense (37:25-29), the altar of holocausts (38:1-8), the court (38:9-20), amount of metal used (38:21-31), the vestments (39:1-21), the other vestments (39:22-31), presentation of the work to Moses (39:32-43), erection of the Dwelling (40:1-33), & God's Presence in the Dwelling (40:34-38).

Thus ends the Book of Exodus. I'm not yet decided precisely where to go next. I'll either jaunt back to the New Testament to re-read the Acts of the Apostles (or the unified work Luke-Acts, re-reading the Gospel first) or skip over Leviticus to read the more narrative Book of Numbers. I am also interested in reading the Book of Revelation, the only portion of the New Testament I've not read in the last two years, though given the highly symbolic nature of the apocalyptic language I will only do so armed with a Bible study. I'm just not yet decided if I'll do so alone or wait to see if I can get the old Followers of the Way band back together to study the Apocalypse of John as a group.

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