Project BLACK MAMBA: Eastertide

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest, O.P. (1350-1419): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

He was a Valencian Dominican friar, who gained acclaim as a missionary & a logician. He is the patron of builders, construction workers, plumbers, fisherman (Brittany), & orphanages (Spain).

'Tis also the feast of Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio, Priest (1905-1983): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter four, verses thirty-two thru thirty-seven;
Psalm Ninety-three, verses one, two, & five;
The Gospel according to John, chapter three, verses seven(b) thru fifteen;

or, for the Memorial:
The Second Letter to Timothy, chapter four, verses one thru five;
Psalm Forty, verses eight(a) & nine(a);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter twelve, verses thirty-five thru forty.

Personal Reading
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-five (verses one thru forty);
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-six (verses one thru thirty-seven);
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-seven (verses one thru twenty-one);
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-eight, verses one thru five.

Commentary: This last & longest section of Exodus, "IV. The Dwelling & Its Furnishings" is, with all due respect, not the most compelling part of the narrative. Much of the significance of the exacting specifications is lost on me—or any other reader who does not possess a far more thoroughgoing knowledge of pre-Rabbinic Judaism. As I was reading the specifications of the altar for holocausts, I could not help but recall yesterday's Psalm, specifically Psalm 40:7:

Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not…

I should consider re-reading the Letter to the Hebrews, which speaks of the Heavenly Temple, of which first the Dwelling Tent & then both Solomon's & Herod's Temples were only pale reflections.

Anywho: Collection of materials (25:1-9), plan of the Ark (25:10-22), the Table (25:23-30), the Lampstand (25:31-40), the Tent Cloth (26:1-14), the Wooden Walls (26:15-30), the Veils (26:31-37), the Altar of Holocausts (27:1-8), Court of the Dwelling (27:9-19), oil for the lamps (27:20-21), & the priestly vestments (28:1-5).