Commentary: Wayback Machine. It is a curiosity of Divine Providence that some saints live earthly lives as long as St. Narcissus's while others' sojourns are as short as Bl. Chiara's.
'Tis also the feast of Saint Gaetano Errico, Priest (1791-1860), founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Order.
'Tis also the feast of Blessed Chiara Badano (1971-1990, A.K.A. "Luce"): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter one, verses eighteen(b) thru twenty-six;
Psalm Forty-two, verses two, three, & five(c,d,e,f);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter fourteen, verses one & seven thru eleven;
Personal Reading
The Book of Sirach, chapter eighteen, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-three;
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter four, verse eight;
The Letter to Titus, chapter two, verses eleven thru fourteen;
The Book of Proverbs, chapter twenty-seven, verse seventeen;
The Book of Job, chapter one, verses twenty, twenty-one, & twenty-two.
Commentary: The first three readings are from this week's Saint Joseph Covenant Keepers meeting, wherein men gather to study Scripture & the Catechism & then reflect upon questions that help us to examine our lives, the better to grow as believers & disciples of Christ & to support each other in the quest to be better men, husbands, & fathers. 'Tis an idea at least as old as Proverbs, 27:17, & yet in our age of emasculation & isolation it seems fresh & new, almost a revelation:
As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man.I thought of Job when contemplating the difference in the lifespans of St. Narcissus & Bl. Chiara, when composing the above comment. I then cracked open my Bible to check that I had remembered the famous line correctly. Job, 1:21:
And said,
"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,
& naked I shall go back again.
The LORD gave & the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!"
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