The Popish Plot
"Archangels We Have Heard on High"
'Tis the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time during the year"): Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Amos, chapter six, verses one(a) & four thru seven;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-six, verses seven, eight & nine, & nine & ten (& one[b]);
The First Letter to Timothy, chapter six, verses eleven thru sixteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter sixteen, verses nineteen thru thirty-one.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today’s Gospel focuses on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man "dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day," while lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, "who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table."Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
God is not pleased with this kind of economic inequality, and he burns with a passion to set things right. This theme came roaring up out of the Bible and into the Christian tradition, and it echoes up and down the centuries. Even though it makes us uncomfortable—and God knows it does, especially those of us who live in the most affluent society in the world—we can’t avoid it because it’s everywhere in the Bible.
St. Thomas Aquinas says that we must distinguish between ownership and use of private property. We have a right to ownership, through our hard work, through our inheritance. Fair enough. But with regard to the use of those things—how we use them, why we use them—then, says Thomas, we must always be concerned first for the common good and not our own. This especially includes Lazarus at our gate: those who are suffering and most in need.
Video reflection by Father Claude Burns (uCatholic): Weekend Reflection with Father Pontifex.
Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.
Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 91: Decision Dome, Day 7
The Book of Joshua, chapter four, verses one thru fourteen.
Commentary: Twelve Stones Set Up at Gilgal (Joshua, 4:1-14).
Mass Journal: Week 44
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:
Grace is the power of God alive within us. It heals the wounds that our sins have created & helps us to maintain moral balance. Grace helps us to persevere in the pursuit of virtue. It enlightens our minds to see & know which actions will help us become all God has created us to be. Grace inspires us to love what is good & shun what is evil. Grace is not a magical illusion. It is mystical & real.†
I come to Confession to reconcile myself with myself, with God, & with the community. Confession is not just a cleansing experience; it is also a strengthening experience. Confession is an opportunity for you & God to work together to form a-better-version-of-yourself. It also increases our desires for holiness, & that is a desire we should fan with all our energy.
'Twould also be the festival of Saints Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael, Archangels: Archangel-links & Wikipedia-link Michaelmas, Archangel-link Mike & Wikipedia-link Mike, Archangel-link Golf & Wikipedia-link Golf, & Archangel-link Romeo & Wikipedia-link Romeo.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:
Almighty God, may the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael teach me to trust in Your power & goodness. May I, too, sing of the Glory of the Lord.'Twould also be the festival of Saint Leudwinus of Trier, Bishop (circa 660-722; also spelt Liutwin, etc.; A.K.A. of Mettlach), thirty-fifth (XXXV) Bishop of Trier (A.K.A. Treves) & twelfth (XII) Bishop of Laon, co-founder of the Echternack Abbey at Mettlach: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link Trier & Wikipedia-link Trier, Diocese-link Laon & Wikipedia-link Laon.
Commentary: Kinsman of the bishop & martyr St. Lambert of Maastricht [17 September].
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Richard Rolle, Hermit (circa 1300-1349): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint René Goupil, Martyr, S.J. (1608-1642), martyred by Mohawks, the first of the eight Martyrs of North America (A.K.A. the Canadian Martyrs): Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link North America & Wikipedia-link North America.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Luigi Monza, Priest (1898-1954), founder of the Secular Institute of the Little Apostles of Charity: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Above all, one must never lose confidence in what the Spirit of God can accomplish in our own day. For as the Angel Gabriel said to the Virgin Mary, 'Nothing is impossible for God.' Let our hearts be alive in faith & always steadfast in hope."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"Never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
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