Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the festival of Saint Marcellus the Centurion, Martyr (died circa 298, of Tangier), martyred in the reign of the emperors Maximian & Diocletian: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Asterius of Amasea, Bishop (circa 350-410): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Gerard of Potenza, Bishop (died circa 1118, A.K.A. Gerard La Porta): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Benvenuta Bojani, Virgin, T.O.S.D. (1254-1292, of Cividale): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Alphonsus Rodríguez, Religious, S.J. (1532-1617): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Not to be confused with his contemporaneous fellow Jesuit Alonso Rodríguez, S.J. (1526-1616), who though a priest & spiritual writer has not been canonized as saint: Wikipedia-link. Extra confusing because St. Alphonsus Rodríguez is A.K.A. Alfonso Rodríguez & Alonso Rodríguez is A.K.A. Alphonsus Rodríguez. Living myself as a Michael Wilson in the late twentieth & the early twenty-first centuries, I understand what it is not to have a distinctive name.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feria
The Letter to the Romans, chapter eight, verses twelve thru seventeen;
Psalm Sixty-eight, verses two & four, six & seven(a,b), & twenty & twenty-one;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter thirteen, verses ten thru seventeen.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today’s Gospel gives us a wonderful story Jesus of performing a miracle, something he still does today. I want to draw your attention to an extraordinary book by Protestant scholar Craig Keener titled Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. The most surprising section of the book contains his reports of some of the millions of miracles that come, even today, from all over the world.

I’ll relay to you just one case from Keener’s book. Ed Wilkinson’s 8-year-old son was found to have two holes in his heart. Surgery was scheduled and, while he was waiting, Ed prayed, but he was struggling with doubts. When his son asked whether he was going to die, his father was honest with him.

Ed’s pastor decided to hold a prayer service for the boy, during which hundreds gathered to pray for his recovery. The day of the surgery arrived, and Ed was told the surgery would take four to six hours. After about a half hour, the surgeon entered the waiting area, and Ed feared for the worst. Instead, the doctor had inexplicable news: there were no holes in the boy’s heart. They had simply closed up.

Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (Telecare T.V.): U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

†

Bible Study—The Bible Timeline, Session 18: Messianic Fulfillment, Part 1 of 3
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter seven, verses eleven thru fifty;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eight (verses one thru fifty-six);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter nine, verses one thru fifty.

Commentary: I'm a week behind & trying desperately to catch up before tonight's Session 19.

IV. The Ministry in Galilee: Raising of the Widow's Son (7:11-17), the Messengers from John the Baptist (7:18-23), Jesus' Testimony to John (7:24-35), the Pardon of the Sinful Woman (7:36-50), Galilean Women Follow Jesus (8:1-3), the Parable of the Sower (8:4-8), the Purpose of the Parables (8:9-10), the Parable of the Sower Explained (8:11-15), the Parable of the Lamp (8:16-18), Jesus & His Family (8:19-21), the Calming of a Storm at sea (8:22-25), the Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac (8:26-39), Jairus's Daughter & the Woman with a Hemorrhage (8:40-56), the Mission of the Twelve (9:1-6), Herod's Opinion of Jesus (9:7-9), the Return of the Twelve & the Feeding of the Five Thousand (9:10-17), Peter's Confession about Jesus (9:18-21), the First Prediction of the Passion (9:22), the Conditions of Discipleship (9:23-27), the Transfiguration of Jesus (9:28-36), the Healing of a Boy with a Demon (9:37-43a), the Second Prediction of the Passion (9:43b-45), the Greatest in the Kingdom (9:46-48), & Another Exorcist (9:49-50).

Bible Study—Proverbs in a Month
The Book of Proverbs, chapter twenty-eight (verses one thru twenty-eight);
The Book of Proverbs, chapter twenty-nine (verses one thru twenty-seven).

Commentary: V: Second Collection of the Proverbs of Solomon (concluded, 28:1-29:27).