Saints + Scripture — Monday, 12 November

The Longest Road Back, Part XVIII of XX | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Popish Plot
Why We're Catholic Book Club: "The Church & the Sacraments," Part 3

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop & Martyr, O.S.B.M. (circa 1580-1623, of Polotsk; A.K.A. Ioann Kuntsevych), martyred by Orthodox Christians: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

He was a Polish-Lithuanian monk & archbishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Church, who on 12 November 1623 was killed by a mob in Vitebsk, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in Belarus). He is "the best-known victim" of anti-Catholic violence related to implementing the Union of Brest.

Wikipedia-link Union

'Tis also the festival of Saint Machar of Aberdeen, Bishop (died circa 540, the "Apostle to the Picts"): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Cuimín Fada, Abbot (died 662, of Kilcummin; also spelt Cumméne, Cummian), founder of a monastery around which grew the village of Kilcummin: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Kilcummin.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Cunibert, Bishop (circa 600-663, of Cologne, of Trier; also spelt Cunipert, A.K.A. Honoberht): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Ymar of Reculver, Religious & Martyr, O.S.B. (died circa 830), martyred by Danish Vikings: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of That Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to Titus, chapter one, verses one thru nine;
Psalm Twenty-four, verses one(b) & two, three & four(a/b), & five & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter seventeen, verses one thru six.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel we hear Jesus speak about faith. Faith is powerful, for it is a link to the reality of God, the power that made and sustains the cosmos. Sometimes, the power of faith is manifested in spectacular and immediately obvious ways. For example, there is a long tradition of faith healing, stretching back to Jesus himself and through many of the saints. There is also the power of prayer. When some people ask in a spirit of trust, really believing that what they are asking for will happen, it happens.

But more often than not, the power of faith manifests itself in the courage to face trauma, sickness, even the terror of death. It is the confidence that we are being guided and cared for, even when that guidance and care are not immediately apparent.

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

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Josaphat
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter four, verses one thru seven, eleven, twelve, & thirteen;
Psalm Forty, verse five(a);
The Gospel according to John, chapter seventeen, verses twenty thru twenty-six.

Papal Quote o' That Day

"Only by becoming more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ can we hope to travel the path of unity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Only by accepting Jesus as Lord of our lives can we empty ourselves of negative thinking about each other."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' That Day

"May I not say in my own name & in the name of unbelieving people: 'O God, be merciful to us sinners'?"
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' That Day

"The working of the Holy Spirit deepens our interior life. Connected with this is a search for silence, an aversion to inopportune speech."
—Heinrich Spaemann (1903-2001)