Saints + Scripture

Better Late than Never
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Immaculate Heart-link & Wikipedia-link Immaculate Heart; Wikipedia-link Alliance of the Hearts.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys & sorrows, her virtues & hidden perfections, &, above all, her virginal love for God the father, her maternal love for her Son Jesus, & her compassionate love for all people.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Ephrem, Deacon & Doctor of the Church (circa 306-373, of Syria or the Syrian, the "Harp of the Holy Spirit"): Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Doctors.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Columba, Abbot (521-597, of Iona, the "Apostle to the Picts;" also spelt Colm Cille, Columbkille), founder of Iona Abbey, one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey & Wikipedia-link XII.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Robert Salt, Religious & Martyr, O.Cart. (died 1537), martyred in the reign of the English king Henry VIII, one of the Carthusian Martyrs of London: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link (List); Martyrs-link Charterhouse & Wikipedia-link Charterhouse.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
The Second Letter to Timothy, chapter four, verses one thru eight;
Psalm Seventy-one, verses eight & nine, fourteen & fifteen(a/b), sixteen & seventeen, & twenty-two;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter two, verses forty-one thru fifty-one.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel tells the familiar story of Mary and Joseph finding twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple. When they find him, they upbraid him with understandable exasperation: "Child, why have you treated us like this?" But Jesus responds, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?"

The story conveys a truth that runs sharply counter to our sensibilities: even the most powerful familial emotions must, in the end, give way to mission. Though she felt an enormous pull in the opposite direction, Mary let her Son go, allowing him to find his vocation in the Temple. Legitimate sentiment devolves into sentimentality precisely when it comes to supersede the call of God.

On a biblical reading, the family is, above all, the forum in which both parents and children are able to discern their missions. It is perfectly good, of course, if deep bonds and rich emotions are cultivated within the family, but those relationships and passions must cede to something that is more fundamental, more enduring, more spiritually focused.

The paradox is this: precisely in the measure that everyone in the family focuses on God’s call for one another, the family becomes more loving and peaceful.

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

Mass Readings—Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Book of Isaiah, chapter sixty-one, verses nine, ten, & eleven;
Confer The First Book of Samuel, chapter two, verse one;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter two, verses forty-one thru fifty-one.

Mass Readings—Presbyteral Ordination
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter one, verses four thru nine;
Psalm One Hundred Sixteen;
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter five, verses one thru ten;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty-one, verses fifteen, sixteen, & seventeen.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The initial reason for every persecution lies in the hate that the prince of the world carries toward those whom Jesus has saved & redeemed by His death & resurrection."
—Pope Francis (born 1936, reigning since 2013)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"One must have passed through the tunnel to understand how black its darkness is."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Whoever does not wish to have Mary Immaculate as his Mother will not have Christ as his Brother."
—St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941, feast day: 14 August)