Saints + Scripture — Saturday, 23 June

The Long Road Back, Part I of V | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Saturday, 23 June was the festival of Blessed Lanfranco Beccari, Bishop (circa 1124-1198): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link (Italian).

'Twas also the festival of Saint Peter of Juilly, Priest & Religious, O.S.B. (died 1136): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twas also the festival of Saint Thomas Garnet, Priest & Martyr, S.J. (1574-1608), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish king James Vi & I, one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link XL & Wikipedia-link XL.

Commentary: Nephew of fellow Jesuit priest & martyr Henry Garnet, who curiously has not been canonized nor even beatified, perhaps because of his implication in the Gunpowder Plot.

'Twas also the festival of Saint Giuseppe Cafasso, Priest (1811-1860, the "Priest of the Gallows;" Anglicized as Joseph Cafasso): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Uncle of Bl. Giuseppe Allamano [16 February].

Scripture of That Day
Mass Readings—Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
The Second Book of Chronicles, chapter twenty-four, verses seventeen thru twenty-five;
Psalm Eighty-nine, verses four & five, twenty-nine & thirty, thirty-one & thirty-two, & thirty-three & thirty-four;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter six, verses twenty-four thru thirty-four.

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

Friends, our Gospel today calls us to entrust our lives completely to God. How often the Bible compels us to meditate on the meaning of faith! We might say that the Scriptures rest upon faith, and that they remain inspired at every turn by the spirit of faith.

Paul Tillich said that "faith" is the most misunderstood word in the religious vocabulary, and I’ve always felt that he’s right about that. What is faith? Faith is an attitude of trust in the presence of God. Faith is openness to what God will reveal, do, and invite. It should be obvious that in dealing with the infinite, all-powerful person who is God, we are never in control.

This is precisely what we see in the lives of the saints: in Mother Teresa moving into the worst slum in the world in an attitude of trust; in Francis of Assisi just abandoning everything and living for God; in Rose Hawthorne deciding to take cancer sufferers into her own home; in Antony leaving everything behind and going into the desert; in Maximilian Kolbe saying, "I’m a Catholic priest; take me in his place."

Do not worry, and depend on God for everything. Have faith!

Video reflection by Deacon Bernard Nojadera: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist: Vigil Mass
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter one, verses four thru ten;
Psalm Psalm Seventy-one, verses one & two, three & four(a), five & six(a/b), & fifteen(a/b) & seventeen;
The First Letter of Peter, chapter one, verses eight thru twelve;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses five thru seventeen.

Papal Quote o' That Day

"Nothing is so inconsistent with the Church of Jesus Christ as division; nothing is so opposed to her very life as for her members to take refuge in selfish solitude. There is nothing worse than for them to be too much devoted to themselves & to take an interest only in the private concerns of their own little group."
—Pope Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958, feast day: 9 October)

Little Flower Quote o' That Day

"My one thought, Jesus, is to love You."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' That Day

"We are born to love, we live to love, & we will die to love still more."
—St. Giuseppe Cafasso (1811-1860, feast day: 23 June)