Monday, July 22, 2019

Saints + Scripture: Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

'Tis the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene (died circa 63, the "Apostle to the Apostles"): Magdalene-link ūna, Magdalene-link duæ, Magdalene-link Array of Hope, & Wikipedia-link.


Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
Mary Magdalene was a Jewish woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of His followers & was a witness to His Crucifixion, burial, & Resurrection.
Quoth St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus & the Holy Face, O.C.D., Virgin & Doctor of the Church:
"Most of all I imitate the behavior of Mary Magdalene, for her amazing—or, rather, loving—audacity which delighted the heart of Jesus, has cast its spell upon mine."
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
The Song of Songs, chapter three, verses one thru four(b);
or, the Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter five, verses fourteen thru seventeen;
Psalm Sixty-three, verses two, three & four, five & six, & eight & nine;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty, verses one, two, & eleven thru eighteen.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. Our Gospel says that Mary came to the Lord’s tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week.

Let’s place ourselves there: it is still dark—just the way it was at the beginning of time, before God said, "Let there be light." But a light is about to shine, and a new creation is about to appear.

The stone had been rolled away. The stone, blocking entrance to the tomb of Jesus, stands for the finality of death. When someone that we love dies, it is as though a great stone is rolled across them, permanently blocking our access to them. And this is why we weep at death—not just in grief but in a kind of existential frustration.

Undoubtedly, Mary Magdalene thought that a grave robber had been at work. The wonderful Johannine irony is that the greatest of grave robbers
had indeed been at work.

In the book of prophet Ezekiel, we hear this: "I will open your graves and have you rise from them." What was dreamed about, what endured as a hope against hope, has become a reality. God has opened the grave of his Son.
Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Joseph of Palestine (circa 285-356, A.K.A. of Tiberias), who built the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves & Fish & opposed the Arian heresy: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Church, Heresy-link Arianism, & Wikipedia-link Arianism.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Gerolamo of Pavia, Bishop (died 787, Anglicized as Jerome), Bishop of Pavia: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Pavia.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Benno of Osnabrück, Bishop, O.S.B. (circa 1020-1088), nineteenth (XIX) Bishop of Osnabrück, founder of the Abbey at Schloss Iburg: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Osnabrück & Wikipedia-link Abbey.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Augustine Fangi, Priest, O.P. (1430-1493, of Biella): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saints Philip Evans, S.J., & John Lloyd, Priests & Martyrs (died 1679), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish king Charles II, victims of the perjeror Titus Oates's "Popish Plot" hoax; two of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link Papa Echo, Martyr-link Juliett Lima, & Wikipedia-link; Plot-link & Wikipedia-link Plot, Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.

Papal Quote o' the Day
"Someone would have a poor idea of human & marital love by thinking that affection & joy vanish when difficulties come. This is when we really see what motivates people. Here also is where gift & tenderness are consolidated, because true love does not think about itself, but about how to increase the good of the beloved."
—Pope St.John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
Saint Quote o' the Day
"I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the break of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; & for drink I desire His Blood, which is love incorruptible."
—St. Ignatius of Antioch (50-108, feast day: 17 October)

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