Saints + Scripture

The Popish Plot
Marian Monday: "Mary, Mother of the Church"

'Tis the festival of Blessed Lanfranc of Canterbury, Bishop, O.S.B. (circa 1005-1089, A.K.A. of Pavia, of Bec): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Margaret Pole, Martyr (1473-1541, née Plantagenet; Countess of Salisbury), martyred in the reign of the English king Henry VIII: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blesseds Thomas Ford, Robert Johnson, & John Shert, Priests & Martyrs (died 1582), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, three of the Martyrs of Douai: Martyr-link Tango Foxtrot & Wikipedia-link Tango Foxtrot, Martyr-link Romeo Juliett & Wikipedia-link Romeo Juliett, Martyr-link Juliett Sierra & Wikipedia-link Juliett Sierra; Martyrs-link Douai & Wikipedia-link Douai.

We also remember Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Confessor (1766-1853): Venerable-link ūnus, Venerable-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter of Peter, chapter one, verses three thru nine;
Psalm One Hundred Eleven, verses one & two, five & six, & nine & ten(c);
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses seventeen thru twenty-seven.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel a rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. There is something absolutely right about the young man, something spiritually alive, and that is his deep desire to share in everlasting life. He knows what he wants, and he knows where to find it.

Jesus responds to his wonderful question by enumerating many of the commandments. The young man takes this in and replies, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my childhood." So Jesus looks at him with love and says, "Go and sell what you have and give to the poor. After that come follow me."

God is nothing but love straight through, and therefore the life of friendship with him, in the richest sense, is a life of total, self-forgetting love. Jesus senses that this young man is ready for the high adventure of the spiritual life; he is asking the right question and he is properly prepared.

But at this point, the young man tragically balks. The spiritual life, at the highest pitch, is about giving your life away, and this is why having many possessions is a problem.

Video reflection by Msgr. James Vlaun (Telecare T.V.): United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The world you are inheriting is a world which desperately needs a new sense of brotherhood & human solidarity. It is a world which needs to be touched & healed by the beauty & richness of God's love."
—Pope St. John Paul II (the Great, 1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"Let us not grow tired of prayer: confidence works miracles."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Today, the Majesty of God is surrounding me. There is no way that I can help myself to prepare better. I am thoroughly enwrapped in God. My soul is being inflamed by His love. I only know that I love & am loved. That is enough for me. I am trying my best to be faithful throughout the day to the Holy Spirit & to fulfill His demands. I am trying my best for interior silence to be able to hear His voice…"
—St. Maria Faustyna of the Blessed Sacrament (1905-1938, feast day: 5 October)