Thursday, May 10, 2018

Saints + Scripture: Eastertide*

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster, Priest, SS.CC. (1840-1889, of Molokai, the "Apostle to the Lepers;" A.K.A. Jozef de Veuster): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.


Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
He was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium & member of the Congregation of the Sacrred Hearts of Jesus & Mary, a missionary religious institute. He won recognition for this service from 1873 to 1889 in the Kingdom of Hawai'i to people with leprosy, who were required to live under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine on the island of Moloka'i.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Niccolò Albergati, Bishop, O.Cart. (1373-1443): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint John of Ávila, Priest & Doctor of the Church (1499-1569, the "Apostle of Andalusia"): Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Doctor.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Ivan Merz, Confessor (1896-1928): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Easter Weekday
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter eighteen, verses one thru eight;
Psalm Ninety-eight, verses one, two & three(a/b), & three(c/d) & four;
The Gospel according to John, chapter sixteen, verses sixteen thru twenty.

Commentary: Video reflection by Father Roger Lopez, O.F.M. (Franciscan Media): U.S.C.C.B.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Damian de Veuster
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter twenty, verses seventeen, eighteen(a), twenty-eight thru thirty-two, & thirty-six;
Psalm Forty, verses eight(a) & nine(a);
The Gospel according to John, chapter ten, verses eleven thru sixteen.

Papal Quote o' the Day
"The rearing & education of children should be the joint task of the father & the mother, & there is certainly progress to be made in order that men should take their part in this task to a greater degree. But it it only too clear that the role of the woman remains an essential one."
—Pope Bl. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 26 September)
Little Flower Quote o' the Day
"The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
Saint Quote o' the Day
"The Blessed Sacrament is indeed the stimulus for us all, for me as it should be for you, to forsake all worldly ambitions. Without the constant presence of our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai; the foreseen consequence of which begins now to appear on my skin, & is felt throughout the body. Holy Communion being the daily bread of a priest, I feel myself happy, well pleased, & resigned in the rather exceptional circumstances in which it has pleased Divine Providence to put me."
—St. Damien of Molokai (1840-1889, feast day: 10 May)

*Commentary: This Thursday, forty days after Resurrection Sunday & ten days before Pentecost Sunday, is the traditional—& I believe proper—observance of the Ascension of the Lord. However, in the majority of dioceses in the United States (actually decided at the level above diocese, that of ecclesiastical province), the observance has been moved to the following Sunday, with Ascension Sunday overriding the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

Last year, 2017, in a pompous fit of rebelliousness, I was disobedient to both my local bishop & the metropolitan over him & blogged about the equivalent Thursday as the Ascension (Wayback Machine Ascension), blogging about the following Sunday as the Seventh of Easter (Wayback Machine VII). Quite simply, that is not my call to make. I believe we lost something precious when we conformed our liturgical observances to the world by moving major feasts to nearby Sundays, & I will pray that the observance of the Ascension will be transferred to the traditional Thursday throughout these United States, but even when I disagree with the Church hierarchy it is not my place to disobey those shepherds the King, Our Blessed Savior, has placed over me.


Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

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