Project BLACK MAMBA: I Week in Ordinary Time

Commentary: Welcome to Ordinary Time! "Ordinary" doesn't mean blah/boring/whatever, it means counting by numbers. What are we counting? The weeks in the brief sprint 'twixt from the Christmastide to Lent, & then again from the end of the Eastertide to Advent. Let the countdown (actually a "countup") begin!

'Tis the festival of Saint Peter of Sebaste, Bishop & Abbot (circa 340-391), who attended the First Council of Constantinople (381) which amended & reaffirmed the Nicene Creed: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Council & Wikipedia-link Creed.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. St. Peter was the son of Ss. Basil the Elder & Emmelia (30 May), grandson of St. Macrina the Elder (14 January), & brother of Ss. Macrina the Younger (19 July), Naucratius (?), Basil the Great (2 January), & Gregory of Nyssa (10 January).

'Tis also the festival of Saint Adrian of Canterbury, Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 635-710, also spelt Hadrian), abbot of Saint Augustine's Abbey: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Berhtwald of Canterbury, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (died 731; also spelt Brithwald, etc.), abbot of the monastery that became Saint Mary's Church before receiving the pallium as archbishop: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Monastery & Wikipedia-link Pallium.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Józef Pawłowski, Priest & Martyr (1890-1942), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link (list, № 40); Martyrs-link CVIII & Wikipedia-link CVIII.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feria
The First Book of Samuel, chapter one, verses nine thru twenty;
The First Book of Samuel, chapter two, verses one, four & five, six & seven, & eight(a/b/c/d);
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter one, verses twenty-one thru twenty-eight.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel finds Jesus encountering a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum. Isn’t it interesting that the first unclean spirit that Jesus confronts is in the holy place, the place of worship? And what marks this man? Though he is a single person, an individual, he speaks in the plural: "What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?"

The diabolic is, literally, a scattering power: diabalein. Sin separates us from one another—Sunde, related to sundering—but it also divides us interiorly, setting one part of the self against another. We’ve all experienced this: our minds are divided, our wills are split, and our emotions militate against our deepest convictions.

The authoritative voice of Jesus brings the man back to himself. And friends, this is precisely the effect that Jesus’ voice has had up and down the ages. When you allow his word to reach deep down within you, you get knitted back together. When Jesus becomes the clear center of your life, then your mind, your will, your emotions, your private life, your public life—all of it—finds its harmonious place around that center.

Video reflection by Father Joseph Rogliano: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

†

Bible Study—Wisdom Books
The Book of Psalms, psalm thirty-eight (verses one thru twenty-three);
The Book of Proverbs, chapter nine (verses one thru eighteen);
The Book of Wisdom, chapter thirteen, verses eleven thru nineteen;
The Book of Wisdom, chapter fourteen (verses one thru thirty-one);
The Book of Wisdom, chapter fifteen, verses one thru seventeen.

Commentary: Prayer of an Afflicted Sinner (Psalm 38); the Two Banquets (Proverbs, 9:1-18); the Carpenter & Wooden Idols (Wisdom, 13:11-14:11), the Origin & Evils of Idolatry (14:12-15:6), & the Potter's Clay Idols (15:7-17).

Bible Study—Pauline Letters
The Letter to the Romans, chapter eight (verses one thru thirty-nine).

Commentary: Life in the Spirit (Romans, 8:1-17), Future Glory (8:18-30), & God's Love in Christ Jesus (8:31-39).

Proverb o' the Day (9:10)

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Saint Quote o' the Day
From "Heroes' Words" in 54-Day Basic Training in Holiness by Father Richard Heilman:

"Dost thou hold wisdom to be anything other than truth, wherein we behold & embrace the supreme good?"
—St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church (354-430, feast day: 28 August)

A Humble Contribution to the New Evangelization
The Popish Plot—Taco Tuesday: "Grow + Go"