Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Wisdom, chapter seven, verses seven thru eleven;
Psalm Ninety, verses twelve & thirteen, fourteen & fifteen, & sixteen & seventeen;
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter four, verses twelve & thirteen;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses seventeen thru thirty
(or, the Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses seventeen thru twenty-seven).
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel a rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. There is something absolutely right about the young man, something spiritually alive, and that is his deep desire to share in everlasting life. He knows what he wants, and he knows where to find it.Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Jesus responds to his wonderful and spiritually alive question by enumerating many of the Commandments. The young man takes this in, and replies, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my childhood." So Jesus looks at him with love and says, "Go and sell what you have and give to the poor.…After that come follow me."
God is nothing but love, straight through, and therefore the life of friendship with him, in the richest sense, is a life of total love, self-forgetting love. Jesus senses that this young man is ready for the high adventure of the spiritual life: he is asking the right question and he is properly prepared. But at this point the young man tragically balks. The spiritual life, at the highest pitch, is about giving your life away, and this is why the many possessions are a problem.
Video reflection by Father Claude Burns: Weekend Reflection with Father Pontifex.
Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.
Mass Journal: Week Forty-two
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:
Repent is a powerful word. But what does it mean for you & me, here & now, more than two thousand years later? It means the same as it did to the people walking around the dusty pathways in their sandals, trying to inch closer to Jesus as He passed through their town or village. Repent means "to turn back to God." I find myself needing to turn back to God many times a day, in ways small & large. It is not a matter of guilt & it is not a shameful thing. It is simply that at His side I am a better person—a better son, husband, father, brother, friend, employer, & citizen. Over time, I have also come to realize, quite painfully, that when I turn away from God I am also turning my back on my true self. Do you need to turn back to God today? Do you need to repent?†
Otherwise, 14 October would be the festival of Saint Callistus I, Pope & Martyr (died circa 223, also spelt Callixtus), sixteenth (XVI) Bishop of Rome, martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Severus Alexander, superintendent of the Catacombs of Callixtus: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Pontiff & Wikipedia-link Catacombs.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Donatian of Rheims, Bishop (died circa 389; also spelt Donat, Donas): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Richard Creagh, Bishop & Martyr (1523-1586), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, one of the Irish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Irish & Wikipedia-link Irish.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Franciszek Rosłaniec, Priest & Martyr (1889-1942), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link List (№ 23); Martyrs-link CVIII & Wikipedia-link CVIII.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Roman Lysko, Priest & Martyr (1914-1949), martyred in the reign of the Communist dictator Joseph Stalin: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Those who see suffering with merely human eyes cannot understand its meaning. We Christians know that suffering can be converted if we offer it to God. It can become an instrument of salvation, a path to holiness that helps us to reach heaven."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"To remain a child before God means to recognize our nothingness, to expect everything from God. It is not to become discouraged over our failings, for children fall often, but they are too little to hurt themselves very much."Christian Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"A moral approach to the world is possible & beneficial only when one takes upon himself the whole awful mess of life, one's share in the responsibility for death & sin, in short, original sin as a whole, & stops seeing guilt always in others."
—Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)
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