Project BLACK MAMBA: Late Edition

Close, but no cigar. Mea culpa! Mea culpa! Mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, C.Ss.R. (1696-1787), founder of the Redemptorists, formally the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer: Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link C.Ss.R.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, C.Ss.R., was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic, philosopher, & theologian.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

At the University of Naples he received, at the age of sixteen, a doctorate in both canon & civil law by acclamation, but he soon gave up the practice of law for apostolic activity. he was ordained a priest & concentrated his pastoral efforts on popular (parish) missions, hearing confessions, forming Christian groups. He founded the Redemptorist congregation in 1732. It was an association of priests & brothers living a common life, dedicated to the imitation of Christ, & working mainly in popular missions for peasants in rural areas. Alphonsus is best known for his moral theology, but he also wrote well in the field of spiritual & dogmatic theology. His Glories of Mary is one of the great works on that subject, & his book Visits to the Blessed Sacrament went through forty editions in his lifetime, greatly influencing the practice of this devotion in the Church.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Peter Faber, Priest, S.J. (1506-1546), a co-founder of the Jesuits, formally the Society of Jesus: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link S.J.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder, Priest & Martyr (1907-1942), martyred in the reign of the Führer Adolf Hitler: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

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

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

Friends, our Gospel today is the parable of the wheat and the weeds. God sows his good seed, his word, his love and compassion, but his project is met with opposition. And the evil is such that it insinuates itself right into the very fabric of the good.

In classical theology, we speak of evil as a privatio boni, a privation of the good, meaning that evil is always and everywhere parasitic on the good. Just as a parasite is living off of the healthy body (and thereby weakening it), so moral evil lives off of the good soul, the good society, the good Church (and thereby weakens them).

What is the result? That it is exceptionally difficult to extricate the evil from the good without damaging the good. That's why it is extremely difficult—and often counter-productive—to go after these evils with a crusading spirit.

To be sure, there are certain evils that simply have to be addressed—right now, no questions, no hesitations. But there are other evils (and they really are evil) that are best left alone for the time being, lest more damage is done in the process of extricating them.

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori
The Letter to the Romans, chapter eight, verses one thru four;
Psalm One Hundred Nineteen, verse twelve;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter five, verses thirteen thru nineteen.

Bible Study—The Bible Timeline: Conquest & Judges, Part 2 of 2
The Book of Judges, chapter seventeen (verses one thru thirteen);
The Book of Judges, chapter eighteen (verses one thru thirty-one);
The Book of Judges, chapter nineteen (verses one thru thirty);
The Book of Judges, chapter twenty (verses one thru forty-eight);
The Book of Judges, chapter twenty-one (of twenty-one, verses one thru twenty-five);
Introduction to the Book of Ruth;
The Book of Ruth, chapter one (of four, verses one thru twenty-two);
The Book of Ruth, chapter two (verses one thru twenty-three);
The Book of Ruth, chapter three (verses one thru eighteen);
The Book of Ruth, chapter four (of four, verses one thru twenty-two);
Psalm One Hundred Fifteen (verses one thru eighteen);
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty, verse twenty-three.

Commentary: III. The Tribes of Dan & Benjamin in the Days of the Judges: Micah & the Levite (Judges, 17:1-13), Migration of the Danites (18:1-31), the Levite from Ephraim (19:1-21), the Outrage at Gibeah (19:22-30), Assembly of Israelites (20:1-19), War with Benjamin (20:20-48), & Wives for the Survivors (21:1-25); Naomi in Moab (Ruth, 1:1-18), Return to Bethlehem (1:19-22), the Meeting (2:1-23), Ruth Again Presents Herself (3:1-18), & Boaz Marries Ruth (4:1-22); the Greatness of the True God (Psalm 115); & excerpt from Appearance to the Disciples (John, 20:23).