Saints + Scripture — Friday, 13 July

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

Friday, 13 July was the Optional Memorial of Saint Henry, Obl.S.B. (circa 972-1024, A.K.A. Holy Roman Emperor Henry II): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Husband of St. Cunigunde of Luxembourg [3 March].

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

He consolidated his power by cultivating personal & political ties with the Catholic Church. He greatly expanded the Ottonian dynasty's custom of employing clergy as counterweights against secular nobles. Through donations to the Church & the establishment of new dioceses, Henry strengthened imperial rule across the Empire & increased control over ecclesiastical affairs. He stressed service to the Church & promoted monastic reform.

'Twas also the festival of Saint Arno of Würzburg, Bishop & Martyr (died 892, also spelt Arn; A.K.A. Arno von Endsee), martyred by pagan Slavs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twas also the festival of Blessed Thomas Tunstall, Priest & Martyr (died 1616, A.K.A. Thomas Holmes, Thomas Dyer), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish King James VI & I: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of That Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Hosea, chapter fourteen, verses two thru ten;
Psalm Fifty-one, verses three & four, eight & nine, twelve & thirteen, & fourteen & seventeen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verses sixteen thru twenty-three.

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

Friends, in our Gospel today Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit will help us when we face persecution. Speaking to his disciples the night before he dies, Jesus says that he and his Father will send another Parakletos (Advocate). That word, stemming from kaleo (to call) and para (for, or on behalf of), designates something like a lawyer, someone who would plead on behalf of another, who would support, advocate, encourage.

Jesus is saying that while he will depart physically from the scene, he and his Father will send the Spirit as a friend. This is the the advocate who will inspire Christians up and down the ages.

When the martyrs went to their deaths, it was with the help of the Holy Spirit; when the missionaries went to proclaim the faith in hostile lands, it was the Holy Spirit who pleaded on their behalf; when Edith Stein went with her Gestapo captors to Auschwitz, she too went with the Holy Spirit. And that same Spirit is with you today, right now.

Video reflection by Paula Trigo-Galan: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Henry
The Book of Micah, chapter six, verses six, seven, & eight;
Psalm Forty, verse five(a);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter seven, verses twenty-one thru twenty-seven.

Papal Quote o' That Day

"The happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy, has a Name & a Face: it is Jesus of Nazareth."
—Pope Benedict XVI (born 1927, reigned 2005-2013)

Little Flower Quote o' That Day

"What peace pours over the soul once it soars above natural feelings."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' That Day

"The Christian will for peace has its weapons, too. Its principal arms are those of prayer & love: constant prayer to the Father of Heaven; brotherly love among all, since all are children of the same Father."
—Pope Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958, feast day: 9 October)