Thursday, January 5, 2017

Project BLACK MAMBA: Christmastide Daily Double

Thursday, 5 January is the Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop, C.Ss.R. (1811-1860): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
John Nepomucene Neumann, C.Ss.R., was a Catholic priest from Bohemia. He immigrated to the United States in 1836, joined the Redemptorist order, & became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. He is the first United States bishop to be canonized. While Bishop of Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States.
Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
John Neumann was born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague, he came to New York at twenty-five & was ordained a priest. He did missionary work in New York until he was twenty-nine, when he joined the Redemptorists & became its first member to profess vows in the United States. At forty-one, as bishop of Philadelphia, he organized the parochial school system into a diocesan one, increasing the number of pupils almost twentyfold within a short time. Well known for his holiness & learning, spiritual writing, & preaching, on 13 October 1963, John Neumann became the first American bishop to be beatified.
'Tis also the feast of Saint Telesphorus, Pope & Martyr (died circa 137), eighth Bishop of Rome, martyred in the reign of the emperor Hadrian: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the feast of Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder, Hermit (circa 390-459): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
Christmas Weekday
The First Letter of John, chapter three, verses eleven thru twenty-one;
Psalm One Hundred, verses one(b) thru five;
The Gospel according to John, chapter one, verses forty-three thru fifty-one;

or, for St. John:
The Book of Isaiah, chapter six, verses one thru eight;
Psalm Eighty-nine, verse two;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-eight, verses sixteen thru twenty.

* * * * *

Thursday, 29 December was the Optional Memorial of Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop & Martyr (1118-1170): Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights & privileges of the Church.
St. Thomas Becket is the patron of secular clergy, those clerics who are not members of religious institutes,
e.g., the Dominicans, the Redemptorists, etc. My aim is to be a diocesan priest, which would make me secular clergy; so, I should acquire the habit of praying for his intercession on behalf of my vocation.

'Twas also the feast of Blessed William Howard, Martyr (1614-1680), 1st Viscount Stafford, martyred in the reign of the king Charles II, a victim of the perjurer Titus Oates's "Popish Plot" hoax: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The First Letter of John, chapter two, verses three thru eleven;
Psalm Ninety-six, verses one, two, three, & five(b) thru six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter two, verses twenty-two thru thirty-five.

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