Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop & Doctor of the Church (circa 376-444): Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. St. Cyril is especially noted for his conflict with the heretical bishop Nestorius, who denied that the Blessed Virgin Mary was the Theotokos ("God-bearer"), the Mother of God. Methinks it very fitting then that 27 June is also a Marian feast day.

'Tis also the festival of Our Lady of Perpetual Help: Our Lady-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Weekday
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirteen, verses two & five thru eighteen;
Psalm Fifteen, verses two & three(a), three(b,c) & four(a,b), & five;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter seven, verses six, twelve, thirteen, & fourteen.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel calls us to expect that God will answer our prayers. Faith is power, for it is a link to the reality of God, the power that made and sustains the cosmos. When we remain in the narrow confines of our perceptions, our thoughts, our hopes, we live in a very cramped way.

To have faith is, to use the current jargon, to live outside of the box, risking, venturing, believing the impossible. Sometimes, the power of faith is manifested in spectacular and immediately obvious ways. There is a long tradition, stretching back to Jesus himself and including many of the saints, of faith healing. When someone consciously and confidently opens himself to God, acting as a kind of conduit, the divine energy can flow.

There is also the power of prayer. When some people ask in a spirit of trust, really believing that what they are asking for will happen, it happens.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria
The Second Letter to Timothy, chapter four, verses one thru five;
Psalm Eighty-nine, verse two;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter five, verses thirteen thru nineteen.

Bible Study—Vacation Bible School
The Second Book of Kings, chapter eighteen (verses one thru thirty-seven);
The Second Book of Kings, chapter nineteen (verses one thru thirty-seven);
Psalm Forty-six, verse two.

Commentary: V. The Kingdom of Judah after 721 B.C.: Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:1-12), Invasion of Sennacherib (18:13-37), Hezekiah & Isaiah (19:1-19), & Punishment of Sennacherib (19:20-37); excerpt from God, the Protector of Zion (Psalm 46:2).