Commentary: Quoth the bulletin:
The prophesy of Simeon that a sword would piece our Blessed Mother's heart was fulfilled. For this reason, Mary is sometimes depicted with her heart exposed & with seven swords piecing it. More importantly, each new suffering was received with courage, love, & trust that echoed her fiat, "Let it be done unto me according to Thy word," first uttered at the Annunciation.Scripture of the Day
Personal Reading
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter four;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-five, verses thirty-one thru forty-six.
Commentary: I sought out today's selection from Matthew because of recent Sunday readings from the Letter of James, which seeks to correct Saint Paul's often easily misinterpreted statements about the role of faith & works in salvation. Of course we cannot be saved by our works alone, only by grace, but Saint James provides a useful & necessary warning against Martin Luther's & John Calvin's error, which followed a millennium & a half later, of misreading Paul on the relationship of works to faith. In Matthew, chapter twenty-five, the Lord Jesus speaks very explicitly of the necessity of works, what Saint James would classify as demonstrations of genuine faith.
Mass Readings
The First Letter to Timothy, chapter three, verses one thru thirteen;
Psalm One Hundred One, verses one(b) thru three(a,b), five & six;
The Gospel according to John, chapter nineteen, verses twenty-five thru twenty-seven;
or, the Gospel according to Luke, chapter two, verses thirty-three thru thirty-five;
or, for the Memorial:
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter five, verses seven thru nine;
Psalm Thirty, verse seventeen;
(same choice of Gospel readings).
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