Commentary: Wayback Machine. Brother of the Doctor of the Church St. Isidore of Seville [4 April], St. Fulgentius of Ecija [14 January], & St. Florentine of Cartagena [28 August].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Gerald of Mayo, Abbot (died 731), inaugural abbot of the Abbey of Mayo: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Nikephoros of Constantinople, Bishop (circa 758-828, Patriarch Nikephoros I; also spelt Nicephorus), an opponent of Byzantine iconoclasm: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Iconoclasm.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Sancha of Alenquer, Religious, O.Cist. (circa 1180-1229, A.K.A. of Portugal): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of This Day
Mass Readings—Lenten Weekday
The Book of Ezekiel, chapter forty-seven, verses one thru nine & twelve;
Psalm Forty-six, verses two & three, five & six, & eight & nine;
The Gospel according to John, chapter five, verses one thru sixteen.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel we find the beautiful healing of a paralyzed man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus sees the man lying on his mat, next to a pool, and asks, "Do you want to be well?" The man says yes, and Jesus replies, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately, the man is healed.Video reflection by Father Joseph Rogliano: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Now at this point, the story really heats up. We notice something that is frequently on display in the Gospels: the resistance to the creative work of God, the attempt to find any excuse, however lame, to deny it, to pretend it’s not there, to condemn it.
One would expect that everyone around the cured man would rejoice, but just the contrary: the Jewish leaders are infuriated and confounded. They see the healed man and their first response is, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
Why are they so reactive? Why don’t they want this to be? We sinners don’t like the ways of God. We find them troubling and threatening. Why? Because they undermine the games of oppression and exclusion that we rely upon in order to boost our own egos.
Let this encounter remind us that God’s ways are not our ways, and that there is one even greater than the Sabbath.
Operation AXIOM: Habemus Papam!
Five years ago to the day, 13 March 2013, Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, S.J., Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected the two hundred sixty-sixth (CCLXVI) Pope, supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church, the Vicar of Christ on earth, taking the papal name Franciscus (the Latin form) after St. Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis has offhandedly mused about resigned after three or four years, but he appears still to be going strong here at the dawn of the fifth year of his pontificate.
Pope Francis was elected Bishop of Rome on 13 March 2013, five years ago today.
Papal Quote o' This Day
"Let us ask the Lord today for conversion to the mercy of Jesus: only in this way will the law be fulfilled, because the law is to love God & neighbor, as ourselves."Little Flower Quote o' This Day
—Pope Francis
"Our Lord died on the Cross in agony, & yet this is the most beautiful death of love. To die of love is not to die in transports."Saint Quote o' This Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"Let the brothers ever avoid appearing gloomy, sad, & clouded, like the hypocrites; but let one ever be found joyous in the Lord, gay, amiable, gracious, as it meet."
—St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226, feast day: 4 October)
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