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Death without the Eucharist: Day 34
He was thirty-four days dying & not yet dead.
'Tis the Monday of the Second Week of Easter: Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.
'Tis the festival of Saint Anicetus, Pope (died circa 166), eleventh (XI) Bishop of Rome (155-166): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Pontifex-link & Wikipedia-link Pontifex.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Peter of Wessex (circa 658-689; A.K.A. Cædwalla, also spelt Cadwallon, etc.; A.K.A. of Wales), King of Wessex: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Agnes of Montepulciano, Abbess, O.P. (1268-1317), founding abbess of a monastery at Proceno & abbess of a monastery at Montepulciano: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Blesseds James Bell, Priest, & John Finch, Martyrs (circa 1520-1584 & 1548-1584), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I: Martyr-link Juliett Bravo & Wikipedia-link Juliett Bravo, Martyr-link Juliett Foxtrot & Wikipedia-link Juliett Foxtrot.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Muiris mac Ionrachtaigh, Priest & Martyr (circa 1500-1585, Anglicized as Maurice MacKenraghty), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, one of the Irish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Éire & Wikipedia-link Éire.
'Tis also the festival of Blesseds Richard Sergeant & William Thomson, Priests & Martyrs (circa 1558-1586 & 1560-1586), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, two of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link Romeo Sierra, Martyr-link Whiskey Tango, & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Anthony Page, Priest & Martyr (1571-1593), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, one of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Michel Coquelet, Priest & Martyr, O.M.I. (1931-1961), martyred by the Panthet Lao Communists, one of the seventeen Martyrs of Laos: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Laos.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Second Week of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter four, verses twenty-three thru thirty-one;
Psalm Two (R/. see: eleven[d]; or, "Alleluia"), verses one, two, & three; four, five, six, & seven(a); & seven(b), eight, & nine;
The Gospel according to John, chapter three, verses one thru eight.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today in this inexhaustibly rich conversation with Nicodemus in the Gospel, Jesus tells the Israelite elder: "Unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
He is speaking with great directness here about metanoia, about the change of attitude required before one is capable of living in the energy of the Incarnation. Jesus senses that Nicodemus, the great "teacher of Israel," is caught in the net of ego concerns, still clinging fearfully to his power and status, still exulting in his grasp of the religious traditions of his people.
And Jesus’ concerns are confirmed by the almost comic rationalism of Nicodemus’ response to his invitation to rebirth: "How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" While Jesus speaks the evocative and analogical language of the soul, Nicodemus hears with the ears of the ego, the rational power that wishes to know clearly and control.
It is precisely that fearful rationalism which Nicodemus must abandon in the painful process of rebirth and reconfiguration of the soul.
Scripture Study—The 3:16 Project
The Letter to the Colossians, chapter three, verse sixteen.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach & admonish one another in all wisdom, & as you sing psalms & hymns & spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.Papal Quote o' the Day
"…being a Christian cannot be a little Sunday world in addition to our workaday world, something we build as an addition in some devotional corner of our life; rather, it is a new foundation, it is transformation that changes us."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927, r. 2005-2013)
"The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God… secondly to do it in the manner He wills… & thirdly, to do it because it is His will."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821, feast: 4 January)
"A bishop was put into a communist prison in China. After beatings & persecution his weight fell to about ninety pounds. Covered with vermin, prison sores, wearing a black stocking cap & a black kimono, he was unable to walk by himself. He always had to be supported by two fellow prisoners. Providentially, however, he was the only one in prison that was ever given bread & wine. The communists did not know why they gave it to him, but at any rate he had it. If they knew that he was going to say Mass with the bread & wine, they certainly never would have given it to him. Mass in a Gothic cathedral, with all the pomp & splendor of liturgy, could never equal the beauty of that Mass that was said by the bishop as he leaned against the prison wall, with the tray before him, as he moved his fingers, saying over the bread, 'This is My Body,' & over the wine, 'This is My Blood,' & then secretly passing out communion to those who shared his faith."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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