Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the festival of Saint Bardo of Mainz, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 980-1053): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Giovanni Dominici, Bishop, O.P. (1356-1419, Anglicized as John Dominic): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Weekday
The Book of Tobit, chapter twelve, verses one, five thru fifteen, & twenty;
The Book of Tobit, chapter thirteen, verses two, six(e,f,g,h), seven, & eight;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter twelve, verses thirty-eight thru forty-four.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in today’s Gospel we read about the poor widow who gave her all to the Lord. Her simple generosity, her offering her whole livelihood, was a response to God’s unconditional love. God’s love comes first. When we get this wrong, everything else in the spiritual life is thrown off kilter. Listen to how St. John expresses this predilection: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the expiation of our sins.”

If we play the game of loving God in order to get God to love us, then we are lost. If we think that we can earn salvation or we can work our way into God’s heart, then we are lost. Here’s a good way to think about it: we wouldn’t exist were it not for God’s love. God needs nothing; therefore whatever exists outside of God exists because God desires some good for it. Love precedes, therefore, our intelligence, our courage, our wills, our designs and purposes, indeed our very existence.

Mass Readings—Requiem for Delta Delta
The Book of Proverbs, chapter thirty-one, verses ten thru thirty-one;
Psalm Twenty-seven;
The First Letter to the Thessalonians, chapter four, verses thirteen thru eighteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter fourteen, verses one thru six.

Bible Study
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter two, verses eleven thru twenty-three;
The Letter to the Colossians, chapter two, verses eleven & twelve;
The Letter of James, chapter two, verses fourteen thru twenty-three.

Commentary: Infidelity of Israel (Jeremiah, 2:11-23), Sovereign Role of Christ (Colossians, 2:11-12), & Faith & Works (James, 2:14-23).