Project BLACK MAMBA

"The future starts today, not tomorrow." — Pope Saint John Paul II the Great

'Tis the festival of Saint Macrina the Younger, Religious (circa 327-379): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Granddaughter of St. Macrina the Edler [14 January]; daughter of Ss. Basil the Elder & Emmelia [30 May]; & sister of Ss. Basil the Great [2 January], Gregory of Nyssa [10 January], & Peter of Sebaste [9 January].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Symmachus, Pope (died 514), fifty-first Bishop of Rome: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint John Plessington, Priest & Martyr (circa 1637-1679, A.K.A. William Scarisbrick), martyred in the reign of the king Charles II, one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link XL.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feria
The Book of Exodus, chapter three, verses one thru six & nine thru twelve;
Psalm One Hundred Three, verses one(b) & two, three & four, & six & seven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eleven, verses twenty-five, twenty-six, & twenty-seven;

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

Friends, in today's Gospel we see Jesus praying to his Father. We are being given a share in the inner life of God, the conversation between the first two Trinitarian persons.

And what are the "things" that have been concealed from the learned and revealed to the little ones? Nothing other than the mystery of the inner life of God.

Now why, precisely, is this knowledge concealed from the learned and disclosed to children? The clue is in the next statement: "All things have been handed over to me by my Father." What is the essence of the divine life? It is a play of giving and receiving.

The Father, forgetting himself, gives rise to the Son, and the Son, refusing to cling to himself, receives from the Father. The Holy Spirit is this mutual sharing of the Father and the Son. God's ownmost life is a looking toward the other in love.

From Adam and Eve to today the fundamental human problem is that we seek something other than God. We seek to fill up the ego with stuff, such as sex, pleasure, power, honor. But this will never work, because we've been wired for God, and God is love.

Bible Study—The Bible Timeline: Conquest & Judges, Part 1 of 2
Introduction to the Book of Joshua;
The Book of Joshua, chapter one (verses one thru eighteen);
The Book of Joshua, chapter two (verses one thru twenty-four);
The Book of Joshua, chapter three (verses one thru seventeen);
The Book of Joshua, chapter four (verses one thru twenty-four).

Commentary: I. Conquest of Canaan: Divine Promise of Assistance (1:1-11), the Transjordan Tribes (1:12-18), Spies Saved by Rahab (2:1-24), Preparations for Crossing the Jordan (3:1-13), the Crossing Begins (3:14-17), & Memorial Stones (4:1-24).