Project BLACK MAMBA: Late Edition

Late again? Foxtrot Mike Lima.

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin (1656-1680), the "Lily of the Mohawks:" Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duae, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Francisco Solano, Priest, O.F.M. (1549-1610, Anglicized as Francis Solanus): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Weekday
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-six, verses one thru seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, & thirty;
Psalm Thirty-seven, verses three & four, eighteen & nineteen, twenty-seven & twenty-eight, & thirty-nine & forty;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verses sixteen thru twenty-three.

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

Friends, in our Gospel today Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit will help us when we face persecution. Speaking to his disciples the night before he dies, Jesus says that he and his Father will send another Parakletos (Advocate). That word, stemming from kaleo (to call) and para (for, or on behalf of), designates something like a lawyer, someone who would plead on behalf of another, who would support, advocate, encourage.

Jesus is saying that while he will depart physically from the scene, he and his Father will send their spirit as a friend. This is the the advocate who will inspire Christians up and down the ages.

When the martyrs went to their deaths, it was with the help of the Holy Spirit; when the missionaries went to proclaim the faith in hostile lands, it was the Holy Spirit who pleaded on their behalf; when Edith Stein went with her Gestapo captors to Auschwitz, she went too with the Holy Spirit. And that same Spirit is with you today, right now.

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha
The Book of Hosea, chapter two, verses sixteen(b,c), seventeen(c,d), twenty-one, & twenty-two;
Psalm Forty-five, verse eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-five, verses one thru thirteen.

Bible Study—The Bible Timeline: Desert Wanderings
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty (verses one thru twenty-nine);
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-one, verses one thru nine;
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-two (verses one thru forty);
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-three (verses one thru thirty);
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-four (verses one thru twenty-five);
The Book of Numbers, chapter twenty-five (verses one thru eighteen);
The Book of Deuteronomy, chapter eight (verses one thru twenty);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter four, verses one thru four.

Commentary: Death of Miriam (Numbers, 20:1), Water Famine at Kadesh (20:2-6a), Sin of Moses 7 Aaron (20:6b-13), Edom's Refusal (20:14-21), Death of Aaron (20:22-29), Victory over Arad (21:1-3), & the Bronze Serpent (21:4-9); III. On the Plains of Moab: Balaam Summoned (22:2-14), Second Appeal to Balaam (22:15-21), the Talking Ass (22:22-40), the First Oracle (22:41-23:12), the Second Oracle (23:13-26), the Third Oracle (23:27-24:13), the Fourth Oracle (24:14-25), Worship of Baal at Peor (25:1-5), Zeal of Phinehas (25:6-15), & Vengeance on the Midianites (25:16-18); God's Care (Deuteronomy, 8:1-5) & Danger of Prosperity (8:6-20); & excerpt from the Temptation of Jesus (Matthew, 4:1-4).