Project BLACK MAMBA: The Advent Daily Double

Today is the Optional Memorial of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

He is a native of Mexico, & the first… indigenous saint from the Americas. He is said to have been granted an apparition of the Virgin Mary on four separate occasions in December 1531 at the hill of Tepeyac, then outside but not will within metropolitan Mexico City.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

First called Cuauhtlatohuac ("the eagle who speaks"), Juan Diego's name is forever linked with Our Lady of Guadalupe because it was to him that she first appeared at Tepeyac Hill on 9 December 1531. The most famous part of his story is told in connection with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12 December. After the roses gathered in his tilma were transformed into the miraculous image of Our Lady, however, little more is said about Juan Diego. In time he lived near the shrine constructed at Tepeyac, revered as a holy, unselfish, & compassionate catechist who taught by word & especially by example.

I keep in my bedroom a small statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe & next to it a laminated prayer card bearing the image of St. Juan Diego kneeling before Our Lady, with the roses filling his tilma.

'Tis also the feast of Saint Valeria of Limoges, Martyr (third century, A.K.A. Valerie), martyred by beheading, a cephalophore: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link cephalophore.

'Tis also the feast of Saint Peter Fourier, Priest, C.R.S.A. (1565-1640), founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame & the Congregation of Our Savior: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
Advent Weekday
The Book of Isaiah, chapter forty-eight, verses seventeen, eighteen, & nineteen;
Psalm One, verses one thru four & six;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eleven, verses sixteen thru nineteen;

or, for St. Juan Diego:
The Book of Deuteronomy, chapter six, verses three thru nine;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-one;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eleven, verses twenty-five thru thirty.

Individual Reading
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter one (verses one thru twenty-five);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter two (verses one thru twenty-three).

Commentary: I still need to finish the Book of Job, but it's like pulling teeth. I'm taking the advice from Rediscover Jesus to re-read the Gospels, fifteen minutes a day (or two chapters, whichever takes longer).

I. The Infancy Narrative: The Genealogy of Jesus (1:1-17), the Birth of Jesus (1:17-25), the Visit of the Magi (2:1-12), the Flight to Egypt (2:13-15), the Massacre of the Infants (2:16-18), & the Return from Egypt (2:19-23).

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Friday, 2 December was the feast of Saint Silverius, Pope (circa 480-537), fifty-eighth Bishop of Rome: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. I still think Pope St. Silverius should be recognized as a martyr.

'Twas also the feast of Blessed John of Ruusbroec, Priest (circa 1293-1381, A.K.A. Jan van Ruysbroeck): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twas also the feast of Blessed Rafał Chyliński, Priest, O.F.M. Conv. (1694-1741, A.K.A. Melchor Chyliński): Blessed-link ūnus, Blessed-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The Book of Isaiah, chapter twenty-nine, verses seventeen thru twenty-four;
Psalm Twenty-seven, verses one, four, thirteen, & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter nine, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-one.