Saints + Scripture: Quadragesima — Friday, 15 March

The Long Road Back, Part I of III | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Popish Plot
vLent 2019: "Penal Substitution"

Scripture of That Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the First Week of Lent
The Book of Ezra, chapter eighteen, verses twenty-one thru twenty-eight;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty, verses one & two; three & four; five, six, & seven(a); & seven(b/c) & eight;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter five, verses twenty thru twenty-six.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel passage is an excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount. If we are to begin to understand Jesus’ staggering teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, we have to keep ever in our minds the little tagline: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Jesus is the Son of God, and his purpose is not primarily to construct a smooth-functioning human society; it is to establish the kingdom of God—that is to say, a body formed by those who participate in him, who share his relationship with the Father.

What is the Father of Jesus Christ like? The Father of Jesus Christ is love, right through. That’s all God is; that’s all he knows how to do. He is not like us: unstable, changing, moving from one attitude to another. No, God simply is love.

Why should you go beyond simply loving those who love you? Because that’s the way God operates: he loves the saints and he also loves the worst sinner in hell. Now, is that easy to do? Of course not. But that’s what Jesus call us to: be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Reflect: In this passage, Jesus warns about the deadly sin of anger. When was the last time you were angry? Was it being angry for justice or was it selfish or vengeful?

Video reflection by D. J. Bernal: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 54
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-three, verses twenty thru thirty-three.

Commentary: The Conquest of Canaan Promised (Exodus, 23:20-33).

Friday, 15 March was the commemoration of Saint Aristobulus of Brittannia, Bishop & Martyr (died circa 55), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Brother of the apostle St. Barnabas [11 June].

'Twas also the commemoration of Saint Zachary, Pope (circa 679-752, also spelt Zacharias), ninety-first (XCI) Bishop of Rome & last pontiff of the Byzantine Papacy: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Pontiff-link & Wikipedia-link Pontiff; Wikipedia-link Byzantine.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twas also the commemoration of Blessed William Hart, Priest & Martyr (1558-1583), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, one of the one hundred sixty Martyrs of Douai: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Douai & Wikipedia-link Douai.

'Twas also the commemoration of Saint Louise de Marillac, Religious, D.C. (1591-1660, A.K.A. Louise Le Gras), co-foundress of the Daughters of Charity (D.C.), formally the Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul: Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link D.C.

'Twas also the commemoration of Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer, Priest, C.Ss.R. (1751-1820, the "Second Founder of the Redemptorists" & the "Apostle of Vienna;" A.K.A. Johannes Hofbauer): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Order-link C.Ss.R., & Wikipedia-link C.Ss.R.

'Twas also the commemoration of Blessed Jan Wojciech Balicki, Priest (1869-1948): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Papal Quote o' That Day

"We cannot live without hope. We have to have some purpose in our life, some meaning to our existence. We have to aspire to something. Without hope, we begin to die. Hope comes from God, from our belief in God."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' That Day

"If I have suffering unrelieved by any gleam of comfort, I manage to make that my joy."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' That Day

"Consider that death may meet you in the morning; or at evening, that you may sink to rest with the sun…."
—St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church (1567-1622, feast day: 24 January)