Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
The first name Paul received for his community was "the Poor of Jesus;" later they came to known as the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, or the Passionists. The community was to live a penitential life, in solitude & poverty.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Paolo Francesco Danei was born in Italy in 1694, the second of sixteen children. because of his father's financial difficulties, Paul had to leave school to help support his family. At age twenty, Paul joined the Ventian army that was defending the faith. After a year, he went back to a life of prayer & penance. Then God called him to form a group of men dedicated to preaching parish missions. These men, called Passionists, would preach the mystery of Christ crucified—the mystery of the father's love—in hopes that Christians would turn from their sins & rededicate their lives to Christ.'Tis also the feast of Saint Irene of Tomar, Nun & Martyr (circa 635-653), martyred by a jealous man who would not accept her religious celibacy: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
Weekday
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter three, verses fourteen thru twenty-one;
Psalm Thirty-three, verses one, two, four, five, eleven, twelve, eighteen, & nineteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter twelve, verses forty-nine thru fifty-three;
or, for St. Paul:
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter one, verses eighteen thru twenty-five;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verse fifteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter sixteen, verses twenty-four thru twenty-seven.
Chase Perfection, Catch Excellence
Today is my first day of praying a fifty-four day novena (Wikipedia-link) from the booklet 54 Day Basic Training in Holiness by Father Richard Heilman. Why today? Because there's no time like the present. I am a practiced enough procrastinator to know that if I delay any further & set a date on which I'll faithfully begin, on that day I'll find a perfectly valid excuse to put it off another day or two, & then another, & then another, 'til Kingdom Come & I am found unprepared. Prayers for my perseverance & diligence, as well as my sanctification, would be both welcome & most warmly appreciated.
The rallying cry of this novena is adapted from a quote of Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach (legendary enough that the Super Bowl trophy is named in his honor), as well as a dogged opponent of all discrimination & loyal Knight of Columbus:
"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."
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