Saints + Scripture: Eastertide

The Popish Plot
Prayer Time Out: "Adoration"

'Tis the festival of Saint Crescentius of Florence, Deacon (died circa 396): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link (disambiguation, "deacon of Saint Zenobius"); Wikipedia-link Saint Zenobius of Florence.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Ursmar of Lobbes, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 640-713), co-founder of Aulne Abbey: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Ælfheah of Canterbury, Bishop & Martyr, O.S.B. (circa 953-1012; A.K.A. of Winchester, also spelt Alphage), martyred by Viking Danes; abbot of Bath Abbey prior to episcopal consecration: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Leo IX, Pope (1002-1054, "the Pilgrim Pope;" A.K.A. Bruno of Egisheim-Dagsburg), one hundred fifty-second (CLII) Bishop of Rome, who for all his holiness could not prevent the Great Schism: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Pontiff; Wikipedia-link Schism.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed James Duckett, Martyr (died 1601), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Easter Weekday
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter eight, verses twenty-six thru forty;
Psalm Sixty-six, verses eight & nine, sixteen & seventeen, & twenty;
The Gospel according to John, chapter six, verses forty-four thru fifty-one.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus offers himself as food for the soul. There is a great truth revealed in the bread of life discourse: it is the law of the gift. This personal, incarnating God wants to be eaten and drunk, to be radically and fully for the other.

Why were the gods of the ancient world so popular? Because they were projections of ourselves—vain, arrogant, resentful, violent. This means that they put little moral pressure on us. They were frightening but not morally demanding.

But this God who shows that he is totally love, and who wants us to eat and drink him in, is the God who wants us to be like him. As he is food and drink for the world, so we must be food and drink for the world. As he gave himself away utterly, so we must give ourselves away fully.

We’re not to cling to the goods, honors, and values of the world—all those things that aggrandize the ego—but rather give ourselves away. That’s what we learn from the God of the gift.

Video reflection by Fr. Roger Lopez, O.F.M. (Franciscan Media): U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Real love is demanding. It was for Jesus—our Jesus Himself—who said: 'You are My friends if you do what I command you' (John, 15:14). Love demands effort & a personal commitment to the will of God. It means discipline & sacrifice, but it also means joy & human fulfillment."
—Pope St. John Paul II (the Great, 1920-2005; feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"It is true, you are the Mother of Jesus, but you have given Him to me; & He, from the Cross, has given you to be our Mother—thus we are richer than you!"
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Love, to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta (A.K.A. Mother Teresa, 1910-1997; feast day: 5 September)