Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the festival of Blessed Khalīl al-Haddād, Priest, O.F.M. Cap. (1875-1954, A.K.A. Ya'Qūb of Ghazīr), founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Cross: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Priest (1902-1975), founder of Opus Dei, formally the Prelature of the Holy Cross & Opus Dei: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Opus Dei.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Weekday
The Book of Genesis, chapter twelve, verses one thru nine;
Psalm Thirty-three, verses twelve & thirteen, eighteen & nineteen, & twenty & twenty-two;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter seven, verses one thru five.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus commands us to stop judging others. He asks, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” We are exceptionally good at seeing the fault in others, but we are exceptionally adept at ignoring it in ourselves.

There was a very popular book that came out when I was a teenager. It was called, I’m Okay and You’re Okay. It represented the culture of exculpation and feel-good-about-yourself. Not many years ago, Christina Aguilera crooned, “I am beautiful in every single way and your words can’t get me down.” Look at so many of the debates today: the attitude that is winning is one of self-invention and self-assertion. Who are you to tell me how to behave?

In all of this, we are fundamentally looking away from our guilt, our fault, our darkness. We are effectively drugging ourselves, dulling the pain of real self-consciousness. In the process, we turn ourselves into God, pretending to be absolute, flawless, and impervious to criticism. So “remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye..”

Bible Study—Vacation Bible School
The Book of Joshua, chapter five, verses thirteen, fourteen, & fifteen;
The Book of Joshua, chapter six (verses one thru twenty-seven);
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verse fifty-seven.

Commentary: Siege at Jericho (Joshua, 5:13-6:19) & the Fall of Jericho (6:20-27); excerpt from the Resurrection Event (1 Corinthians, 15:57).

Bible Study—The Bible Timeline: Egypt & Exodus, Part 1
The Book of Exodus, chapter twelve (verses one thru fifty-one);
The Book of Exodus, chapter thirteen (verses one thru twenty-two);
The Book of Exodus, chapter fourteen (verses one thru thirty-one);
The Book of Exodus, chapter fifteen (verses one thru twenty-seven).

Commentary: The Passover Ritual Prescribed (12:1-29), Promulgation of the Passover (12:20-28), Death of the First-born (12:28-30), Permission to Depart (12:31-36), II. The Exodus from Egypt & the Journey to Sinai: Departure from Egypt (12:37-42), Passover Regulations (12:43-51), Consecration of First-born (13:1-16), Toward the Red Sea (13:17-14:9), Crossing the Red Sea (14:10-22), Destruction of the Egyptians (14:23-15:21), & At Marah & Elim (15:22-27).