Saints + Scripture: Eastertide — Wednesday, 2 May

The Long Road Back

The Popish Plot
Wordy Wednesday: "Forming Intentional Disciples"
+ Bonus Episode: "The Story of the Life of St. Nate"

Wednesday, 2 May was the Optional Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop & Doctor of the Church (circa 295-373; the Great, of Alexandria), the foremost defender of Christian orthodoxy against the Arian heresy & a Church Father: Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Heresy; Doctors-link, Wikipedia-link Doctors, & Wikipedia-link Fathers.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

His on-again/off-again episcopate spanned forty-five years, of which over seventeen encompassed five exiles, when his episcopate is replaced on the order of four different Roman emperors. Athanasius was a Christian theologian, a Church Father, the chief defender of Trinitarianism against Arianism, & a noted Egyptian leader of the fourth century.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

May 2 is the feast day of the "Father of Orthodoxy," St. Athanasius of Alexandria. He is widely known for his long battle with Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ by maintaining that Jesus was created by the Father & was therefore neither co-eternal with the Father, nor consubstantial.

'Twas also the festival of Saint Antoninus of Florence, Bishop, O.P. (1389-1459; A.K.A. Antonio Pierozzi, Antonio de Forciglioni), who participated in the Council of Florence (1431-1449): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Council-link & Wikipedia-link Council.

'Twas also the festival of Blessed William Tirry, Priest & Martyr, O.S.A. (circa 1608-1654), martyred in the reign of the English warlord Oliver Cromwell, one of the Irish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Irish & Wikipedia-link Irish.

'Twas also the festival of Blessed Bolesław Strzelecki, Priest & Martyr (1896-1941, also spelt Boleslas), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link CVIII & Wikipedia-link CVIII.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Easter Weekday
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter fifteen, verses one thru six;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-two, verses one & two, three & four(a/b), & four(c/d) & five;
The Gospel according to John, chapter fifteen, verses one thru eight.

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

Friends, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus declares that he is the vine and we are the branches, adding that “anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither.”

It’s odd that we accept this sort of language very easily when it comes to our bodily health, while we balk at it when it comes to spiritual or supernatural health. Doctors and health specialists can say with a clarity and matter-of-factness that certain practices and behaviors are absolutely essential if one wants to maintain physical well-being. Unless you eat a balanced, nutritious, low-fat diet, you will get sick, fat, and unfit. If you smoke, drink to excess, and never exercise, your body will become unhealthy, and if these practices (or negligences) become exaggerated, you will die. It just isn’t that complicated.

Jesus is not engaging in charming poetic imagery. He is laying out the spiritual facts. The spirit is a living thing, and it derives its life from the vine. If therefore you are separated from the vine, you will die spiritually; you will stop living a supernatural life. And it’s just not that complicated.

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

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Athanasius
The First Letter of John, chapter five, verses one thru five;
Psalm Thirty-seven, verse thirty(a);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verses twenty-two thru twenty-five.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"People in our modern society are threatened by the disease of superficiality, by complacency. We must work in order to reacquire depth, that depth which is really the essence of the human person."
—Pope St. John Paul II (the Great, 1920-2005; feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"Oh, how well I know that happiness is not found in the things around us! It is found in the secrecy of the soul."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Jesus became what we are that he might make us what he is."
—St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church (295-373, feast day: 2 May)