Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
She was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. She established the first Catholic girls' school in the nation in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she also founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Mother Seton is one of the keystones of the American Catholic Church. She founded the first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity. She opened the first American parish school & established the first American Catholic orphanage. All this she did in the span of forty-six years while raising her five children. She died January 4, 1821, & became the first American-born citizen to be beatified (1963) & then canonized (1975). She is buried in Emmitburg, Maryland.'Tis also the festival of Saint Áedh of Kildare, Bishop & Abbot (died circa 639; also spelt Aidus, Áed Dub mac Colmáin), King of Leinster: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Rigobert of Rheims, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (died circa 743): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Angela of Foligno, Religious, T.O.S.F. (1248-1309), the "Mistress of Theologians:" Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duae, & Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Christmas Weekday
The First Letter of John, chapter three, verses seven thru ten;
Psalm Ninety-eight, verses one, seven & eight, & nine;
The Gospel according to John, chapter one, verses thirty-five thru forty-two.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus invites his first disciples to come and stay with him. I think that this command of Jesus is a bit like an initiation ritual. In order to prepare themselves for a lifetime of discipleship, his followers must first pass through an intensive period of spiritual formation, much like a novitiate in a monastery or training camp in football or boot camp in the army. During this concentrated time, they were to learn, in their bones, the essentials of this new way of life. So the disciples learn a new way of radical dependency upon God.Video reflection by Father Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Now what does all of this have to do with us? You say, "I’m a 50-year-old man with a wife and kids and job and responsibility; I can’t very well go drifting off in a boat, trusting in the providence of God."
True enough, but you can, for instance, go on a retreat every year. Spend a week once a year at a monastery or a retreat center, living the spiritual life intensely; live Lent more severely and more radically this year, perhaps undertaking a difficult fast or giving alms until it hurts. These are things that any of us can do.
Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
The Book of Deuteronomy, chapter ten, verses eight & nine;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-eight;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eleven, verses twenty-five thru thirty.
Bible Study—Wisdom Books
The Book of Psalms, psalm twenty-three (verses one thru six).
Commentary: The Lord, Shepherd & Host (Psalm 23).
Saint Quote o' the Day
"Be faithful in little things, for in them lies our strength."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta (A.K.A. Mother Teresa, 1910-1997; feast day: 5 September)
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