Saints + Scripture

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Saints of the Day
'Tis the festival of Saint Alberic of Utrecht, Bishop (died 784), Bishop of Utrecht (1775-784): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link, Wikipedia-link Utrecht, & Wikipedia-link Bishops.

Commentary: Nephew of St. Gregory of Utrecht [25 August].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Laurence O'Toole, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.A. (1128-1180, A.K.A. Lorcán Ua Tuathail), second (II) Archbishop of Dublin (1162-1180), abbot of the monastery at Glendalough (1154-1162), a father of the Third Council of the Lateran (1179, the eleventh [XI] ecumenical council) & the Synod of Cashel (1171): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Dublin; Wikipedia-link Glendalough; & Wikipedia-link Lateran III & Wikipedia-link Cashel.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Serapion of Algiers, Priest & Martyr, O.de.M. (circa 1179-1240, A.K.A. of England), martyred in the reign of the Almohad caliph Abd al-Wahid II: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saints Nikola Tavelić, Déodat of Rodez, Pierre of Narbonne, & Stefano of Cueno, Priests & Martyrs, O.F.M. (died 1391, A.K.A. the Martyrs of the Jaffa Gate), martyred in the reign of the Mameluke sultan Sayf ad-Din Barquq: Martyr-link November Tango ūnus, Martyr-link November Tango duo, & Wikipedia-link; & Martyr-link Delta, Martyr-link Papa, & Martyr-link Sierra.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Giovanni Liccio, Priest, O.P. (circa 1400-1511), founder of the convent of Saint Zita in Caccamo: Blessed-link ūnus, Blessed-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Maria Luiza Merkert, Religious, C.S.S.E. (1817-1872), co-foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth (1842, C.S.S.E.; the "Grey Nuns"): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link C.S.S.E.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Maria Theresa of Jesus, Religious, O.Carm. (1825-1889, A.K.A. Maria Scrilli), foundress of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (1854): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The Third Letter of John, verses five thru eight;
Psalm One Hundred Twelve (R/. one[a]; or, "Alleluia"), verses one & two, three & four, & five & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eighteen, verses one thru eight.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in our Gospel today, Jesus tells his disciples “a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary”—the parable of the insistent and persistent widow. She keeps pressing her demand against the judge, and the judge—who is no saint—finally gives in to her persistence.

When we rely on our own powers in the spiritual struggle against darkness, hatred, and division, we fail. But when we open ourselves to the infinite power of God and we rely on the power of prayer, then the battle goes well. As the Lord says in the parable, “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?” We must channel a power that goes infinitely beyond ourselves if we are to be successful.

God wants us to persist in asking for his power, his courage, and his strength. This biblical truth is repeated over and over in the Scriptures. Persistent prayer is the key to success in our spiritual combat.

Video reflection by Andrew Mercado (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Moor Uncomfortable, Day 7
The Song of Songs, chapter two, verses one & two.

Commentary: A Springtime Canticle (Song, 2:1-2).

Scripture Study—Pierced Hands Bible Reading Plan: Day 63
The Book of Leviticus, chapter twenty-four (verses one thru twenty-three);
The Book of Leviticus, chapter twenty-five (verses one thru fifty-five);
The Book of the Psalms, psalm sixty-three (verses one thru eleven);
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter two, verses one thru seventeen.

Commentary: The Lamp (Leviticus, 24:1-4), Bread for the Tabernacle (Leviticus, 24:5-9), Blasphemy & Its Punishment (Leviticus, 24:10-23), the Sabbatical Year (Leviticus, 25:1-7), & the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus, 25:8-55); Comfort & Assurance in God's Presence (Psalm 63); & Jesus Heals a Paralytic (Mark, 2:1-12) & Jesus Calls Levi (Mark, 2:13-17).

Scripture Study—Pierced Hands Bible Reading Plan: Day 64
The Book of Leviticus, chapter twenty-six (verses one thru forty-six);
The Book of Leviticus, chapter twenty-seven (of twenty-seven, verses one thru thirty-four);
The Book of the Psalms, psalm sixty-four (verses one thru ten);
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter two, verses eighteen thru twenty-eight.

Commentary: Rewards for Obedience (Leviticus, 26:1-13), Punishment for Disobedience (Leviticus, 26:14-46), & Votice Offerings (Leviticus, 27:1-34); Prayer for Protection from Enemies (Psalm 64); & the Question about Fasting (Mark, 2:18-22) & a Teaching about the Sabbath (Mark, 2:23-28).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Death can be an experience of extraordinary solidarity. Death makes us brothers & sisters. In a world that casts death aside & does everything to hide it, it is urgently necessary to recall the inevitability of an event that it part of the history of every person."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"When you are suffering, always remember that the Passion of Christ ends always in the joy of the Resurrection. So, when you feel in your own heart the suffering of Christ, remember the Resurrection has to come. Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of the risen Jesus."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"To be assumed by the Person of Christ, to act in His Name, first of all, we have to empty ourselves. Second, we must be lifted up ourselves. In the second chapter of the letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul says of Christ that the divine nature was His from the first. He did not need to snatch at equality with God, because He was God. He made Himself a nothing, assuming the nature of a slave. He made Himself a zero. He emptied Himself. There was a human nature, but no human person in Christ. There was only the divine Person. That means that in a certain sense we no longer have a human person. Believe me, our spirituality has been ruined by the so-called philosophy of identity. I've got to be me. I've got to do my thing. Since when? Doesn't charity mean doing the other person's thing? Why this affirmation of the ego? Why do we have to act in a certain way to attract the attention of others to our human personality? There's no human personality in us. Christ is in us at all times, acting through us, using us as His instrument. "
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)