Thursday, October 19, 2017

Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the festival of Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf & Isaac Jogues, Priests, & Companions, Martyrs, S.J. (died 1642-1649, A.K.A. the North American Martyrs), martyred by Iroquois, specifically by Mohawks: Martyrs-link ūnus, Martyrs-link duo, & Wikipedia-link North American Martyrs; Martyr-link Juliett Bravo & Wikipedia-link Juliett Bravo; Martyr-link India Juliett & Wikipedia-link India Juliett; Martyr-link Alpha Delta & Wikipedia-link Alpha Delta; Martyr-link Charlie Golf & Wikipedia-link Charlie Golf; Martyr-link Golf Lima & Wikipedia-link Golf Lima; Martyr-link Juliett Lima & Wikipedia-link Juliett Lima; Martyr-link November Charlie & Wikipedia-link November Charlie; & Martyr-link Romeo Golf & Wikipedia-link Romeo Golf.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
John & his companions were cruelly slain by the Iroquois… near Georgian Bay. His companions were Isaac Jogues, Antoine Daniel, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Noël Chabanel, Jean de Lalande, & René Goupil—all Jesuits. Jean de Brébeuf converted seven thousand Indians & composed a dictionary & catechism in the Huron language.
Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
St. Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649) was a French-born Jesuit missionary & martyr of New France who arrived in America in 1625 to evangelize Native Americans. He lived among the Huron for over fifteen years under difficult & challenging circumstances. In 1648 the Iroquois launched a war of extermination against the Huron, their traditional enemies. Refusing to flee when their Huron village was attacked, Brébeuf & his assistant, Gabriel Lalemant, were captured the following year & tortured to death by the Iroquois. Brébeuf was canonized in 1930 with seven other missionaries who are collectively called the North American Martyrs.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Frideswide, Abbess, O.S.B. (circa 650-735, A.K.A. Frithuswith, etc.), foundress of an abbey on the site of what was later St. Frideswide's Priory & later still Christ Church, Oxford: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Priory & Wikipedia-link Christ Church.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, Priest & Martyr (1947-1984), martyred by the Polish Communists in the reign of Wojciech Jaruzelski: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feria
The Letter to the Romans, chapter three, verses twenty-one thru thirty;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty, verses one(b) & two, three & four, & five & six(a,b);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eleven, verses forty-seven thru fifty-four.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today we celebrate the missionaries and martyrs St. John de Brébeuf and St. Isaac Jogues. The spirit of God grows in us only in the measure that it is risked in love. God, after all, is love. Not the hoarding of being, but the giving away of being.

In the measure that we strive to preserve our life and security by hanging on, we in fact lose the little that we have. It is brutal, unforgiving, but simply in the nature of things spiritually. You see it in the life of Jesus, which culminates in death on the cross. You see it, invariably, in the lives of the saints.

St. Thomas More risked reputation, home, family, the esteem of his friends, and ultimately his life; St. Isaac Jogues had his fingers chewed off by the people he was trying to convert, returned to France, and then went back to his death; Mother Teresa left the comfort of her convent for the worst slums in the world.

And on and on it goes. Cling to your life and you will lose it; invest it, throw it away in love, and you will get it back thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
Video reflection by Father Don Miller, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.


Mass Readings—Memorial of Ss. John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, & Companions
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verses seven thru fifteen;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-six, verse five;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-eight, verses sixteen thru twenty.



Bible Study—Proverbs in a Month
The Book of Proverbs, chapter nineteen (verses one thru twenty-nine).

Commentary: II: First Collection of the Wisdom of Solomon (cont'd, 19:1-29).

Adventures in the New Evangelization
The Popish Plot—Theology Thursday, "Ask a Stupid Question on the Rosary"

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