Project BLACK MAMBA: XXII Sunday in Ordinary Time

'Tis the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter twenty, verses seven, eight, & nine;
Psalm Sixty-three, verses two, three & four, five & six, & eight & nine;
The Letter to the Romans, chapter twelve, verses one & two;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter sixteen, verses twenty-one thru twenty-seven.

Commentary: Video Gospel reflection by Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word.

Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, last week we heard the great Gospel describing Peter's confession. Because he says correctly who Jesus is, he is declared rock, the firm ground upon which the Church shall be built. And just moments later—it is our Gospel for today—he is told that he is a Satan, a stumbling block, thinking not as God thinks but as men think. What accounts for this rather remarkable reversal?

In the Gospel it's always relatively simple: he doesn't get the cross. The entire momentum of the life of Jesus is toward the cross. All sorts of forces are trying to keep him from it—some out of self-interest, some out of genuine concern. But they all have this in common: they don't get it, they don't get him.

So Peter, probably out of genuine love for Jesus, urges him away from the passion: "Heaven forbid that such things should happen to you, Lord." Having correctly confessed who Jesus is, Peter promptly forgets what that entails. Being the Son of God, he thought, meant power and lordship, not ignominy and death.

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Journal: Week 36
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:

Within each of us there is a light. It is the light of God, & when it shines it reflects not only the wonder of God but also the greatness of the human spirit. We live in difficult times. I pray that we never become fearful, but rather we turn our focus to nurturing the light within us. I hope we allow that light within us to be nourished & to grow. Darkness has one enemy that it can never defeat, & that is light. Let your light shine! The best thing you can do for yourself is to become (sic) the-best-version-of-yourself. The best thing you can do for your spouse, your children, your friends, your Church, your nation, & God is to become the-best-version-of-yourself.

Otherwise, 3 September would be the festival of Saint Phoebe, Deaconness (floruit first century): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church, O.S.B. (circa 540-604, A.K.A. Gregory I), sixty-fourth Bishop of Rome: Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

Saint quote of the week: "You don't climb a mountain in leaps & bounds, but by taking it slowly." — Pope St. Gregory the Great, whose feast day is September 3.

'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Andrea Dotti, Priest, O.S.M. (1256-1315, Anglicized as Andrew Dotti): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.