Saints + Scripture

Better Late than Never, Simplex Complex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr (circa 907-935, A.K.A. Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia), martyred by his usurper brother Boleslaus the Cruel: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Grandson of the martyr St. Ludmilla [16 September].

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

When Wenceslaus's father died, his mother took control of the duchy & began to oppose Christianity. The people urged Wenceslaus to take power. He did so & protected & strengthened the Church. Wenceslaus, well known for his Christian virtue, responded to a call to live a consecrated life & made a vow of virginity.

'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Saint Lawrence Ruiz & Companions, Martyrs (died 1633-1637, A.K.A. the Sixteen Martyrs of Japan), martyred in the reign of the Japanese warlord Tokugawa Iemitsu: Martyrs-link ūnus, Martyrs-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Nihon.

Commentary: Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz is the first canonized martyr of the Philippines, & was canonized along with fifteen companions, all of whom were on mission in Nagasai, Japan, to evangelize & minister to the Japanese Christian community. Thirteen of the martyrs were Dominicans & three were Dominican Tertiaries.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Faustus of Riez, Bishop & Abbot (circa 405-495), second (II) Bishop of Riez, abbot of Lérins Abbey: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Riez, Abbey-link Lérins, & Wikipedia-link Lérins.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Conval of Strathclyde, (circa 570-630, A.K.A. the Confessor; also spelt Conwall): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Jan of Dukla, Priest, O.F.M. Conv. (1414-1484, Anglicized as John): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Nykyta Budka, Bishop & Martyr (1877-1949), martyred in the reign of the Communist dictator Joseph Stalin: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Zechariah, chapter two, verses five thru nine, fourteen, & fifteen(a);
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter thirty-one, verses ten, eleven & twelve(a/b), & thirteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter nine, verses forty-three(b), forty-four, & forty-five.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus predicts his being handed over to men—that is, his crucifixion. Here is the point I want to make: we are meant to see on that cross our own ugliness. What brings Jesus to the cross? Stupidity, anger, mistrust, institutional injustice, betrayal, denial, unspeakable cruelty, fear. St. Peter puts it with disquieting laconicism: the Author of life came and you killed him. In the light of the cross, all of the vermin are revealed. This is why we speak of the cross as God’s judgment on the world.

So far, so awful. But we can’t stop telling the story at this point. Dante and every other spiritual master know that the only way up is down. When we live unaware of our sins, we will never make spiritual progress. So we need the light, however painful it is. Then we can begin to rise. Once Dante makes it all the way to the center of hell, he suddenly finds himself climbing out.

On the cross of Jesus, we meet our own sin. But we also meet the divine mercy, which has taken that sin upon himself in order to swallow it up.

Video reflection by Father Nicholas Vaskov: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Wenceslaus
The First Letter of Peter, chapter three, verses fourteen thru seventeen;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-six, verses one(b/c) & two(a/b), two(c/d) & three, four & five, & six;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verses thirty-four thru thirty-nine.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Lawrence Ruiz & Companions
The Second Book of Maccabees, chapter seven, verses one, two, & nine thru fourteen;
Psalm Thirty-four, verses two & three, four & five, six & seven, & eight & nine;
The Gospel according to John, chapter fifteen, verses eighteen thru twenty-one.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 91: Decision Dome, Day 6
The Book of Joshua, chapter three, verses seven thru seventeen.

Commentary: Israel Passes over the Jordan (concluded; Joshua, 3:7-17).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"There is nothing passive about nonviolence when it is chosen out of love. It has nothing to do with indifference. It has everything to do with actively seeking to resist evil & conquer it with good."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Our Lord was not just a teacher, but a redeemer. He was coming to redeem man in the likeness of human flesh. Teachers change men by their lives. Our Blessed Lord would change men by His death. That poison of hate & sensuality & envy which is in the hearts of men could not be healed simply by mild exhortations of social reform. The wage of sin is death, & therefore it is by death that sin would be atoned for. As in ancient sacrifices where the fire symbolically burned up the imputed sin along with the victim, so on the cross the world’s sin would be put away in Christ’s suffering. For He would be upright as a priest, & prostrate as a victim. If there is anything a good teacher wants, it is a long life which will make his teaching known. Death is always a great tragedy to a teacher. When Socrates was given the hemlock juice, his message was cut off once & for all. Death was a stumbling block to Buddha & stood in the way of all of the teachings of the eastern mystics. But our Lord was always proclaiming His death, in which He took upon Himself the sins of the world so He would appear as a sinner."
—Ven. Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979)