Saints + Scripture: V Sunday in Ordinary Time

'Tis the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Job, chapter seven, verses one thru four, six, & seven;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-seven, verses one & two, three & four, & five & six;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter nine, verses sixteen thru nineteen, twenty-two, & twenty-three;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter one, verses twenty-nine thru thirty-nine.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel recounts some of Jesus’ healing works. After entering the public stage, Jesus confronts and expels a demon in the synagogue. And here, once again, those possessed by demons are brought to Christ to be healed. “When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons.”

What is the metaphysical status of these New Testament demons? Suffice it to say that they are forces that stand behind the more immediately apparent manifestations of evil in the world: oppression, racism, violence, and war. Whether we construe them personally or impersonally, Jesus’ struggle against these “powers and principalities” is at the heart of the Gospel narratives—and he is ultimately victorious.

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Video reflection by Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word.

Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D.: Breaking the Bread.

Mass Journal: Week Six
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:

God always wants our future to be bigger than our past. Not equal to our past, but bigger, better, brighter, & more significant. God wants your future & my future, & the future of the Church, to be bigger than the past. It is this bigger future that we need to envision. One of the most incredible abilities God has given the human person is the ability to dream. We are able to look into the future & imagine something better than today, & then return to the present & work to make that richly imagined future a reality. Who is doing this for the Church? For many years I have been reflecting on a sigle verse from Proverbs. It never ceases to ignite my passion for the Church. "Where there is no vision, the people will perish (Proverbs, 28:19). I have found this to be true in every area of life. In a country where there is no vision, the people will perish. In a marriage where there is no vision, the people will perish. In a business, a school, or a family where there is no vision, the people will perish.

Mass Matters
Through the thirty-one days of January, I had participated in or served at thirty-seven Masses, including several Requiems.

Otherwise, 4 February would be the festival of Blessed Rabanus Maurus, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 776-856), composer of the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" ("Come, Creator Spirit"): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Hymn.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Gilbert of Sempringham, Priest, C.R.S.A. (circa 1083-1190), founder of the Gilbertine Order, which was destroyed in the king Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Order & Wikipedia-link Dissolution.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Joan of Valois, Religious, O.Ann.M. (1464-1505; also spelt Jeanne, Jane; A.K.A. of France), Queen of France, Duchess of Berry; foundress of the Annonciades, formally the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link O.Ann.M..

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Joseph of Leonessa, Priest, O.F.M. Cap. (1556-1612, A.K.A. Eufranio Desiderio): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint João de Britto, Priest & Martyr, S.J. (1647-1693; Anglicized as John de Britto, A.K.A. Arul Anandar), martyred in the reign of the king Raghunatha Sethupathi II: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Understanding is the sure & certain knowledge of some invisible thing."
—St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church (1090-1153, feast day: 20 August)