Saints + Scripture

The Popish Plot
Taco Tuesday: "Reactions to 'Made for Happiness,' Part 3: Bonus Clips"

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Hedwig, Religious, O.Cist. (1174-1243, of Silesia, of Andechs; A.K.A. Jadwiga), Duchess of Silesia: Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Aunt of St. Elizabeth the Hungary [17 November] & mother of Servant of God Henry II the Pious.

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Hedwig always helped the poor, the widows & the orphans, founded several hospitals for the sick & the lepers, & donated all her fortune to the Church. She allowed no one to leave her uncomforted, & one time she spent ten weeks teaching the Our Father to a poor woman. According to legend, she went barefoot even in winter.

'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin, V.H.M. (1647-1690, the "Disciple of the Sacred Heart"): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link; Sacred Heart-link & Wikipedia-link Sacred Heart.

Commentary: Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Margaret Mary was a French Roman Catholic Visitation nun & mystic, who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Gerard Majella, Religious, C.Ss.R. (1725-1755, the "Father of the Poor"): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Anicet Kopliński, Priest & Martyr, O.F.M. Cap. (1875-1941), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link CVIII & Wikipedia-link CVIII.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Galatians, chapter five, verses one thru six;
Psalm One Hundred Nineteen, verses forty-one, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-seven, & forty-eight;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eleven, verses thirty-seven thru forty-one.

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

Friends, Jesus concludes today’s Gospel by prescribing giving alms as a key to holiness. I’ve quoted to you before some of the breathtaking remarks of saints and popes about almsgiving: Leo XIII says, "Once the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, the rest of your money belongs to the poor." John Chrysostom says, "The man who has two shirts in his closet, one belongs to him; the other belongs to the man who has no shirt."

The deepest root of all of this is in the prophets, who continually rail against those who are indifferent to the poor. The prophets teach us that compassion is key to biblical ethics, feeling the pain of others in our own hearts. We’re not dealing with an abstract Aristotelian moral philosophy, but rather with something more visceral.

This is precisely why the two great commandments are so tightly linked: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart…and love your neighbor as yourself." In loving God you feel the feelings of God, and God is compassionate to the poor and oppressed. That’s all the argument that a biblical person needs.

Video reflection by Deacon Ted Pijacki: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Hedwig
The Book of Sirach, chapter twenty-six, verses one thru four & thirteen thru sixteen;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-eight, verse one;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter three, verses thirty-one thru thirty-five.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter three, verses fourteen thru nineteen;
Psalm Twenty-three, verse one;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eleven, verses twenty-five thru thirty.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Once the demands of necessity & propriety have been met, the rest of your money belongs to the poor."
—Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"We often think we receive graces & are divinely illuminated by means of brilliant candles. But from whence comes their light? From prayers, perhaps, of some humble, hidden soul, whose inward shining is not apparent to human eyes."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"The man who has two shirts in his closet, one belongs to him; the other belongs to the man who has no shirt."
—St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church (349-407, feast day: 13 September)