Saints + Scripture — Friday, 28 September

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

The Popish Plot
Vlog Post: "Made for Happiness"

Friday, 28 September was the Optional Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr (circa 907-935, A.K.A. Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia), martyred by his usurper brother Boleslaus the Cruel: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Grandson of the martyr St. Ludmilla [16 September].

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

The Duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935, his younger brother, Boleslaus the Cruel, was complicit in the murder. He is the subject of the well-known "Good King Wenceslaus," a carol for St. Stephen's Day [26 December].

Wikipedia-link Carol

'Twas also the Optional Memorial of Saint Lawrence Ruiz & Companions, Martyrs (died 1633-1637, A.K.A. the Sixteen Martyrs of Japan), martyred in the reign of the Japanese warlord Tokugawa Iemitsu: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link XVI.

Commentary: Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

St. Lawrence Ruiz & his companions shed their blood for Christ in Nagasaki, Japan. These martyrs were members of the Order of St. Dominic. They were nine priests, two religious, two sisters, & three laymen.

'Twas also the festival of Saint Faustus of Riez, Bishop & Abbot (circa 405-495): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twas also the festival of Saint Jan of Dukla, Priest, O.F.M. Conv. (1414-1484, Anglicized as John): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twas also the festival of Blessed Nykyta Budka, Bishop & Martyr (1877-1949), martyred in the reign of the Communist dictator Joseph Stalin: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of That Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter three, verses one thru eleven;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-four, verses one(b) & two(a/b/c), three & four;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter nine, verses eighteen thru twenty-two.

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

Friends, the Gospel for today is incomparably rich and mysterious. First, we notice that peculiar question, "Who do people say that I am?" No other religious figure or founder would ask such a question. This is the primordial and peculiar question of the Christian faith. It has to do with Jesus and who he is.

The first group that "responds" is the general public: "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." A range of opinions—and all of them wrong.

Then that devastating question: "But who do you say that I am?" You who are closest to me, you whom I have chosen. But the disciples don’t speak. Are they afraid? Perhaps. Are they ignorant? Probably.

Finally Simon Peter speaks: "You are the Messiah." You are the Messhiach, the anointed, the long-awaited Savior, but more to it, as Peter says in other Gospels, you are the Son of God, not just a human hero. This is the mystical faith that stands at the heart of Christianity. This is the standing or falling point. To hold this Petrine faith is to be a Christian; to deny it is not to be a Christian.

Video reflection by Father Praveen Lakkisetti: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Wenceslaus
The First Letter of Peter, chapter three, verses fourteen thru seventeen;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-six, verse five;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verses thirty-four thru thirty-nine.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Lawrence Ruiz & Companions
The Book of Wisdom, chapter three, verses one thru nine;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-four, verse seven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verses twenty-eight thru thirty-three.

Papal Quote o' That Day

"There is nothing passive about nonviolence when it is chosen out of love. It has nothing to do with indifference. It has everything to do with actively seeking to resist evil & conquer it with good."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' That Day

"I understand clearly that through love alone can we become pleasing to God, & my sole ambition is to acquire it."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Catholic Quote o' That Day

"People do not criticize Christ. They criticize Christians because they do not resemble Him."
—François Mauriac (1914-1996)