Saints + Scripture: Ash Wednesday

The Popish Plot
Wacky Wednesday: "Ash Wednesday"

'Tis Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent: Wikipedia-link Ash Wednesday & Wikipedia-link Lent.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Ash Wednesday
The Book of Joel, chapter two, verses twelve thru eighteen;
Psalm Fifty-one, verses three & four, five & six(a/b), twelve & thirteen, & fourteen & seventeen;
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter five, verse twenty thru chapter six, verse two;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter six, verses one thru six, sixteen, seventeen, & eighteen.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel prescribes the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I want to speak about the Biblical principle behind almsgiving. I know I’ve quoted to you before some of the breathtaking remarks of saints and popes. For example, Pope Leo XIII said, "Once the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, the rest of your money belongs to the poor." St. John Chrysostom [13 September] said—and St. Ambrose [7 December] echoed him—"For the man who has two shirts in his closet, one belongs to him; the other belongs to the man who has no shirt." These ideas are, of course, rooted in the biblical prophets, who continually rail against those who are indifferent to the poor.

Compassion is key to Christian ethics, learning to suffer with and feel with the other. We’re not dealing with an abstract Aristotelian moral philosophy, but rather with something more visceral.

This is precisely why the two great commandments are so tightly linked: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart…and love your neighbor as yourself." In loving God, you feel the feelings of God, and God is compassionate to the poor and oppressed. That’s all the argument that a biblical person needs.

Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Otherwise, 14 February would be the festival of Saint Valentine of Rome, Bishop & Martyr (died circa 269), martyred in the reign of the emperor Claudius Gothicus: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Abraham of Harran, Bishop & Hermit (died circa 422; also spelt Abraames; A.K.A. of Charres, of Cyrrhus): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Auxentius of Bithynia, Hermit (circa 400-473), who attended the Council of Chalcedon (451): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Council.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Antoninus of Sorrento, Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 555-625, A.K.A. of Campagna): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also be the festival of Saints Cyril, Monk, & Methodius, Bishop (circa 827-869, A.K.A. Constantine; & circa 815-885, A.K.A. Michael): Saints-link, Saint-link Charlie, Saint-link Mike, & Wikipedia-link.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Someone would have a poor idea of human & marital love by thinking that affection & joy vanish when difficulties come. This is when we really see what motivates people. Here also is where gift & tenderness are consolidated, because true love does not think about itself, but about how to increase the good of the beloved."
—Pope St. John Paul II (the Great; 1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)