Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
Summer Book Club: "Beating the Clock"

'Tis the festival of Saints Martinian & Processus, Martyrs (died circa 37, of Rome), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero: Martyr-link Mike, Martyr-link Papa, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Swithun of Winchester, Bishop (circa 800-862, also spelt Swithin): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Otto of Bamburg, Bishop (circa 1060-1139, the "Apostle of Pomerania"): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Amos, chapter two, verses six thru ten & thirteen thru sixteen;
Psalm Fifty, verses sixteen(b/c) & seventeen, eighteen & nineteen, twenty & twenty-one, & twenty-two & twenty-three;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eight, verses eighteen thru twenty-two.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, a man who appears willing to become Jesus’ disciple makes a reasonable request: "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But the man receives a shocking rebuke from Jesus: "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead."

What is more important than the mission? Nothing. Not even one of the most sacred and revered practices of our society: piety toward our dead relatives. Could you imagine a scenario in which you wouldn’t give permission to someone to attend his father’s or mother’s funeral?

I don’t want to soften Jesus’ words or explain them away or contextualize them. They are what they are, and they’re harsh, for the man in his own time and for us. But they compel us to make a decision: Are we finally about the things of God or about something else? Is religion and the mission attached to it substantial for us, or merely decorative?

Now mind you, we don’t usually have to make such a terrible choice. Normally, our love for God and our love for family don’t come into conflict. But this is a sort of spiritual exercise, an experiment. What if it came down to God or my family? Whom would I choose?

Video reflection by Msgr. James Vlaun (Telecare T.V.): United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Requiem for Mike Echo Romeo
The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter three, verses one thru fourteen;
Psalm Twenty-seven;
The First Letter to the Thessalonians, chapter four, verses thirteen thru eighteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter fourteen, verses one thru six.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Let no one be under any delusion. Christ is demanding. Christ's life is the narrow way. To be worthy of Him, we must take up our cross. It is not enough to be religious; it is necessary to carry out the Divine Will in actual fact."
—Pope Bl. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 26 September)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day*

"I find nothing in books except in the Gospel. That book alone is sufficient for me."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Catholic Quote o' the Day

"You cannot imagine at all how much you interest God; He is interested in you as if there were no one else on earth."
—Julien Green (1900-1998)

*While acknowledging that St. Thérèse is a Doctor of the Church & I am not, I respectfully disagree.