Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
This is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. On this day, we contemplate the kingship of Jesus our Redeemer. Our Holy Father (emeritus), Pope Benedict XVI, has spoken of the power of Christ the King in this way:
"It is not the power of the kings or the great people of this world; it is the divine power to give eternal life, to liberate from evil, to defeat the dominion of death. It is the power of Love that can draw good from evil, that can melt a hardened heart, bring peace amid the harshest conflict, & kindle hope in the thickest darkness."Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
The Book of Ezekiel, chapter thirty-four, verses eleven, twelve, fifteen, sixteen, & seventeen;
Psalm Twenty-three, verses one & two, two & three, & five & six;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses twenty thru twenty-six & twenty-eight;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-five, verses thirty-one thru forty-six.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, our Gospel today is the scene of the Last Judgment. We hear that the specifics are a matter of love concretely expressed: "For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me." And we know the famous connection that Jesus makes: "Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me."Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
There is something awful about the specificity of these demands. This is not love in the abstract, having affection for "humanity." It is caring for that person who is homeless, for that person who is ill, for that person who is in prison.
We do not take our money, our social status, our worldly power into the next world; but we do take the quality of our love. You might consider doing an examination of conscience at the end of each day, and use as your criteria this passage. Perhaps put it up on your wall or post it next to your bed so that you see it before you go to sleep.
Video reflection by Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word.
Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D.: Breaking the Bread.
Mass Journal: Week 48
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:
Three or four years ago, my brother Andrew gave me a copy of a book titled Letters to a Young Poet. It is a small book that contains a collection of letters written by the great German lyric poet Rainer Maria Rilke to Franz Kappus, who at the time was a young aspiring poet. In one of the letters, Rilke penned some words that have remained ingrained on my heart since I read & underlined them in that small volume:
"Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart & try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms & like books that are written in a foreign tongue. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."
Otherwise, 26 November would be the festival of Saint Siricius, Pope (circa 334-399), thirty-eighth Bishop of Rome: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Conrad of Constance, Bishop (circa 900-975, in the German: Konrad von Konstanz): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Saint Sylvester Gozzolini, Priest & Abbot, O.S.B. Silv. (1177-1267), founder of the Sylvestrine Congregation of the wider Benedictine Confederation: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link O.S.B. Silv. & Wikipedia-link Confederation.
'Twould also be the festival of Blesseds Hugh Taylor, Priest, & Maramduke Bowes, Martyrs (died 1585), martyred in the reign of the queen Elizabeth I, two of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link Hotel Tango, Martyr-link Mike Bravo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link LXXXV.
Commentary: Bl. Hugh & Bl. Marmaduke were the first martyrs killed under a law that made it illegal simply to be a Catholic priest in Elizabethan England or to render aid to a priest.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Jan Berchmanns, Religious, S.J. (1599-1621, Anglicized as John Berchmanns), patron saint of altar servers: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Gaetana Sterni, Religious (1827-1889), foundress of the Sisters of the Divine Will: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link: Sisters-link (Italian).
Saint Quote o' the Day
From "Heroes' Words" in 54-Day Basic Training in Holiness by Father Richard Heilman:
"The prudent man considers things afar off, in so far as they tend to be a help or a hindrance to that which has to be done at the present time."
—St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (28 January)
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