Monday, November 6, 2017

Project BLACK MAMBA: The Long Road Back

Saturday, 4 November the Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop (1538-1584), founder of the Oblates of Saint Ambrose & of Saint Charles & a leading light at the Council of Trent & of the Counter-Reformation: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Oblates, Wikipedia-link Trent, & Wikipedia-link Counter-Reformation.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat against the Protestant Reformation together with St. Ignatius of Loyola [31 July] & St. Philip Neri [26 May]. In that role he was responsible for significant reforms in the catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests.
Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Charles Borromeo was born in northern Italy in 1538 to an established & wealthy family. Trained in civil & canon law in Pavia, he was called to Rome as a young man by his uncle, Pope Pius IV, to be secretary of state at the Vatican. he played an important role in convincing Pius to reconvene the Council of Trent, which sought to address corruption in a sixteenth-century church beleaguered by the Protestant reformation. Under the auspices of that council, beginning in 1563 Borromeo supervised the writing of an accurate catechism, rewrote liturgical texts & music, & began enforcing clerical reform in Rome. Pope Pius IV named Borromeo archbishop of Milan, but kept him in Rome performing a multitude of official functions.
'Twas also the festival of Saint Gregor of Burtscheid, Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 940-999; A.K.A. of Calabria, of Cassano), inaugural abbot of the Burtscheid Abbey: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.

'Twas also the festival of Blessed Teresa Manganiello, O.F.S. (1849-1876): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of That Day
Mass Readings—Feria
The Letter to the Romans, chapter eleven, verses one & two(a), eleven & twelve, & twenty-five thru twenty-nine;
Psalm Ninety-four, verses twelve & thirteen(a), fourteen & fifteen, & seventeen & eighteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter fourteen, verses one & seven thru eleven.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, our Gospel today is the famous passage from Luke's Gospel dealing with honor at a banquet. Jesus has been invited to the home of a prominent person, one of the "leading Pharisees," and he notices how people jockey carefully for position, status, prominence.

Who will notice me? Who can I impress? And Jesus puts his finger on the most desperate scenario for an egotist. Trying as hard as he can to be noticed, he gets noticed but for all the wrong reasons! His egotistic games backfire dreadfully, as everyone sees him reduced to embarrassment. So what's the solution? Stop playing the game. Take the lowest place on purpose. Opt out.

Another strategy is suggested at the end of the parable. It's also a strategy of non-cooperation with evil. I'll have a dinner for people, but only so that they can pay me back with another dinner. So opt out! Don't play. Invite people to a party who have no capacity whatsoever to invite you in return. "Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you."
Video reflection by Father Michael Ackerman: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.


Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo
The Letter to the Romans, chapter twelve, verses three thru thirteen;
Confer Psalm Eighty-nine, verse two(a);
The Gospel according to John, chapter ten, verses eleven thru sixteen.

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