Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop & Martyr (circa 130-202, of Lyons), martyred in the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Paul I, Pope (700-767), ninety-third Bishop of Rome: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Weekday
The Book of Genesis, chapter fifteen, verses one thru twelve, seventeen, & eighteen;
Psalm One Hundred Five, verses one & two, three & four, six & seven, & eight & nine;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter seven, verses fifteen thru twenty.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Irenaeus, a Father of the Church. He expressed the heart of Christian spirituality when he said, “Gloria Dei homo vivens”—the glory of God is a human being fully alive.

So many of the gods worshipped by ancient peoples were imagined as rivals to humanity, competitors standing over and against us and resentful of our excellence. For instance, in the Greek myth of Prometheus, the human hero steals precious fire from the gods and spreads it on the earth to the benefit of all, but when the gods learn of this theft, they are outraged. They track down Prometheus, tie him to a rock, and send an eagle every day to tear out his liver. In the desperate zero-sum game of human/divine competition, Prometheus had to pay a price for his presumption.

But there is none of this in Christianity. God is not our rival; rather he is the one who rejoices in our being fully alive. God pours out the whole of creation in an effervescent act of generosity, and then, even more surprisingly, he draws his human creatures, through Christ, into the intimacy of friendship with him.
Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Irenaeus
The Second Letter to Timothy, chapter two, verses twenty-two(b) thru twenty-six;
Psalm Thirty-seven, verse thirty(a);
The Gospel according to John, chapter seventeen, verses twenty thru twenty-six.

Mass Readings—Vigil of Ss. Peter & Paul
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter three, verses one thru ten;
Psalm Nineteen, verses two & three, four & five;
The Letter to the Galatians, chapter one, verses eleven thru twenty;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty-one, verses fifteen thru nineteen.

Bible Study—Vacation Bible School
The Second Book of Kings, chapter twenty-two (verses one thru twenty);
The Second Book of Kings, chapter twenty-three, verses one thru thirty;
The Book of Proverbs, chapter thirty, verse five.

Commentary: Reign of Josiah (2 Kings, 22:1-7) & the Book of the Law (22:8-23:30); excerpt from VI. The Words of Agur (Proverbs, 30:5).

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