Commentary: St. Onesimus, then a runaway slave, is the principal subject of St. Paul's [25 January, 29 June] Letter to Philemon: Wikipedia-link Epistle.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Berach of Cluain Coirpthe, Abbot (died 595; A.K.A. of Termonbarry, of Kilbarry): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
'Tis also the festival of Saints Sunaman, Deacon; Unaman, Priest; & Winaman, Subdeacon; Martyrs, O.S.B. (died circa 1040), martyred by pagan Swedes in the reign of the good king Anund Jakob: Martyr-link Sierra, Martyr-link Uniform, & Martyr-link Whiskey & Wikipedia-link Whiskey.
Commentary: Nephews of & missionaries with St. Sigfrid.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Sigfrid of Sweden, Bishop, O.S.B. (died circa 1045, the "Apostle of Sweden;" also spelt Siegfried, Sigurd, et al.): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Claude de la Colombière, Priest, S.J. (1641-1682), promoter of devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; imprisoned (ruinous to his health) & banished from England, a victim of the perjurer Titus Oates' "Popish Plot" hoax: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Sacred Heart & Wikipedia-link Popish Plot.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday after Ash Wednesday
The Book of Deuteronomy, chapter thirty, verses fifteen thru twenty;
Psalm One, verses one & two, three, & four & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter nine, verses twenty-two thru twenty-five.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, our Gospel today from Luke lays out Jesus’ conditions for discipleship: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."Video reflection by Fr. Roger Lopez, O.F.M. (Franciscan Media): U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
How do we overcome pain? How do we attain joy? Not from a Stoic resignation, nor from a Buddhist negation of the self, nor from a Platonic contemplation of the eternal forms, but rather from the sacrifice of the self in love. Jesus is going to Jerusalem in order to give himself away, to sacrifice himself in love for the other—and in this, he will become a source of life to others.
Ronald Knox talked about the sign of the cross this way: the first two gestures form the letter "I" and the next two cross it out. That’s what the cross of Jesus meant and means. The path of discipleship is the path of self-sacrificing love—and that means the path of suffering.
Saint Quote o' the Day
"The Eucharist is the privileged summit of the meeting of Christ's love for us; a love that is made available for each of us, a love that is made to be sacrificial lamb & food for our hunger for life. As the Apostle says, 'He loved me & gave Himself up for me.'"
—Pope Bl. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 26 September)
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