Saints + Scripture

The Popish Plot
Taco Tuesday: "Going on Pilgrimage"

'Tis the festival of the twelve Martyrs of Scilla (died 180), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Commodus: Martyrs-link Scilla & Wikipedia-link Scilla.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Alexius of Rome (floruit fifth century; also spelt Alexis, A.K.A. of Edessa): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Leo IV, Pope (circa 790-855) one hundred third (CIII) Bishop of Rome, who ordered the building of Rome's Leonine Walls: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Pontiff, Walls-link, & Wikipedia-link Walls.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Hedwig of Poland (circa 1374-1399, A.K.A. Jadwiga, of Anjou), Queen of Poland: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of This Day
Mass Readings—Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Isaiah, chapter seven, verses one thru nine;
Psalm Forty-eight, verses two & three(a), three(b) & four, five & six, & seven & eight;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eleven, verses twenty thru twenty-four.

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

Friends, today Jesus declares judgment on the towns of Galilee that did not believe in him and repent. He stands at the end of the long line of prophets God sent in order to reconcile his people to himself. Like the prophets before him, Jesus is ignored, mocked, and rejected.

What happens as a result of man’s refusal of God? Not nothing. God’s judgment falls on the unfaithful nation. What is the instrument of God’s justice? One of the heathen nations, the Chaldeans, come and destroy the city of Jerusalem, burn the Temple, carry off its most sacred objects, and force the Israelites into exile. And then the Romans follow suit in the first century.

Is this bad luck? Just the typical give and take of geopolitical forces? No! The Bible insists that this should be read as God’s action, more specifically, as God’s judgment and punishment. Mind you, this is not an arbitrary punishment, something cruel and vindictive; rather, it is God allowing the fallen nation to feel the effects of its sin.

So what’s the lesson? Sin has consequences, and we rarely have to wait for the next world to experience them.

Video reflection by Sister Peggy Gorman, R.S.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Papal Quote o' This Day

"This is his [the theologian's] mission: in the loquacity of our day & of our times, in the plethora of words, to make the essential words heard. Through words, it means making present the Word, the Word who comes from God, the Word Who is God."
—Pope Benedict XVI (born 1927, reigned 2005-2013)

Little Flower Quote o' This Day

"What God has given me has always pleased me, even the things which appear to me less good & less beautiful than those which others had."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' This Day

"Be defenders of human life, whenever it is threatened. Be such particularly of those who are helpless, or when recourse to war does not seem justified by an absolute necessity of justice."
—Pope Bl. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 26 September)