Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Project BLACK MAMBA: Backlog Edition, Part I

Friday, 16 October was the Optional Memorial of Saint Hedwig, Religious (1174-1243; of Silesia, of Andechs): Saint-link ūnus & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
Hedwig & Henry had lived very pious lives, & Hedwig had great zeal for religion. She had supported her husband in donating at Oleśnica Mała. Hedwig always helped the poor & donated all her fortune to the Church.
Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
St. Hedwig was the Duchess of Silesia, the daughter of Berthold IV of Bavaria. She was educated by Benedictine nuns & developed a love of Scripture. She married Henry I & had seven children. She wasa model wife & mother & was generous to the poor. When her husband died, she retired to the Cistercian monastery at Trebnitz, which she had convinced him to found.
'Twas also the Optional Memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin. V.H.M. (1647-1690), who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duae, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Sacred Heart.

Commentary: Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French… nun & mystic, who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form.
Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque died in the convent of the Visitation nuns at Paray-le-Monial in France in 1690. She was cononized in 1920. Her father died when she was nine, & she was badly treated inthe family of an uncle who took her in. She entered the Visitation monastery at age twenty-four. She suffered from a lot of health problems. She received mystical revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Lord asked her to receive Communion on the first Friday of each month & to make reparation for the sins committed against Him. She worked to spread this devotion & on 21 June 1686 the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated for the first time in the convent. Devtion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us of the unfathomable love & mercy with whom Jesus loves us.
Scripture of the Day (Friday)
Mass Readings
The Letter to the Romans, chapter four, verses one thru eight;
Psalm Thirty-two, verses one(b) thru two, five, eleven;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter twelve, verses one thru seven;

or, for St. Hedwig's Memorial,
The Book of Sirach, chapter twenty-six, verses one thru four, thirteen thru sixteen;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-eight, verse one;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter three, verses thirty-one thru thirty-five;

or, for St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's Memorial,
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter three, verses fourteen thru nineteen;
Psalm Twenty-three, verses one;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eleven, verses twenty-five thru thirty.

* * * * *

Saturday, 17 October was the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr (c. 35-c. 107), martyred under the Emperor Trajan: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. For the second consecutive year, on the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch the Holy Redeemer bulletin carried a brief hagiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola (31 July), founder of the Jesuits, who lived & died more than a thousand years after the earlier St. Ignatius. I brought this error to the attention of the bulletin editor as gently as I could, though she was still mortified.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Ignatius was the third Bishop of Antioch. He was condemned to death by Trajan & was taken to Rome under military guard. On the journey, he wrote seven letters to the churches in various cities. When he arrived in Rome he was devoured by lions at the [Colosseum]. He related his martyrdom to the Eucharist; "I am God's wheat & shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ's pure bread." For him, the love of Christ was worth more than life itself.
Scripture of the Day (Saturday)
Mass Readings
The Letter to the Romans, chapter four, verses thirteen, sixteen thru eighteen;
Psalm One Hundred Five, verses six thru nine, forty-two & forty-three;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter twelve, verses eight thru twelve;

or, for the Memorial,
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter three, verse seventeen thru chapter four, verse one;
Psalm Thirty-Four, verse five;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twelve, verses twenty-four thru twenty-six.

* * * * *

Sunday was the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Otherwise, on 18 October we would have remembered Saint Luke the Evangelist (first century): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Ancient tradition says that St. Luke was a medical doctor from Syria. He was a companion of St. Paul on his second journey & was with him at the end of his life. He wrote the Gospel of Luke & the Acts of the Apostles. He is the patron saint of doctors, along with Ss. Cosmas & Damian. He is also said to have painted an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Scripture of the Day (Sunday)
Mass Readings
The Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-three, verses ten & eleven;
Psalm Thirty-three, verses four & five, eighteen thru twenty, twenty-two;
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter four, verses fourteen thru sixteen;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses thirty-five thru forty-five,
or, the Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses forty-two thru forty-five.

Mass Journal: Week 43
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute
I am a sinner & I need to be saved. I need to be saved from myself & from my sin. There are many [persons] who love me deeply—parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, & neighbors—but they cannot save me. I need a savior. It is the clarity of this realization that is life changing. This is what makes me eligible for membership in the Catholic Church*. Jesus didn't come for the healthy; He came for the sick, & He established the Church to continue His work (cf. Mark, 2:17). I am imperfect, but I am capable of change & growth. We are all imperfect but perfectible. The Church holds me in my weakness, comforts me in my limitations, endeavors to heal me of my sickness, & nurtures me back to full health, making me whole again. And throughout this process, the Church manages to harness all my efforts & struggles, not only for my own good, but for the good of the entire Church & indeed humanity. This is just a tiny part of the incredible mystery of the Church.
Commentary: * 'Twas St. Ignatius of Antioch who first used the phrase "the catholic Church."

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