Saints + Scripture — Sunday, 21 October

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

The Popish Plot
Prayer Time Out: "The Rosary & Pride Parades"

Sunday, 21 October was the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of That Week
Mass Readings—Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-three, verses ten & eleven;
Psalm Thirty-three, verses four & five, eighteen & nineteen, twenty, & twenty-two;
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter four, verses fourteen, fifteen, & sixteen;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses thirty-five thru forty-five
(or, the Gospel according to Mark, chapter ten, verses forty-two thru forty-five).

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel James and John ask Jesus to place them in high places in his kingdom. They are asking for two of the classic four substitutes for God: wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, specifically for the last two. Power is not, in itself, a bad thing. And the same is true of honor. Thomas Aquinas said that honor is the flag of virtue. It’s a way of signaling to others something that’s worth noticing.

So what’s the problem? The problem is that they are asking for these two things in the wrong spirit. The ego will want to use power, not for God’s purposes or in service of truth, beauty, and goodness, but for its own aggrandizement and defense. When honor is sought for its own sake or in order to puff up the ego, it becomes dangerous as well.

So what’s the way out? "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all." When you serve others, when you become the least, you are accessing the power of God and you are seeking the honor of God.

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.

Mass Journal: Week Forty-three
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:

I am a sinner & I need to be saved. I need to be saved from myself & from my sin. There are many people who love me deeply—parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, & neighbors—but they cannot save me. I need a savior. It is the clarity of this realization that is life changing. This is what makes me eligible for membership in the Catholic Church. Jesus didn't come for the healthy; He came for the sick, & when He established the Church to continue His work (confer Mark, 2:17). I am imperfect, but I am capable of change & growth. We are all imperfect but perfectible. The Church holds me in my weakness, comforts me in my limitations, endeavors to heal me of my sickness, & nurtures me back to full health, making me whole again. And throughout this process, the Church manages to harness all my efforts & struggles, not only for my own good, but for the good of the entire Church & indeed humanity. This is just a tiny part of the incredible mystery of the Church.

†

Otherwise, 21 October would have been was the festival of Saint Saint Hilarion, Hermit (circa 291-371, of Gaza, the Great), around whose hermitage was built the Saint Hilarion Monastery, A.K.A. Tell Umm el-'Amr: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Monastery.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twould also have been was the festival of Saint Ursula, Virgin, & Companions, Martyrs (died 383), martyred at Cologne by the Huns; namesake & patroness, though not foundress, of the Ursulines, formally the Order of Saint Ursula, & the Angelines, formally the Company of Saint Ursula: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link O.S.U. & Wikipedia-link Angelines.

'Twould also have been was the festival of Saint Wendelin of Trier, Hermit & Abbot (circa 554-617): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also have been was the festival of Blessed Karl of Austria (1887-1922, A.K.A. Karl von Habsburg, Emperor Karl I of Austria, King Károly IV of Hungary, King Karel III of Bohemia; Anglicized as Charles): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also have been was the festival of Blessed Giuseppe Puglisi, Priest & Martyr (1937-1956, "Pino"), martyred by the Mafia against whom he preached passionately: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Papal Quote o' That Day

"Choosing a carpenter for His 'foster father' & becoming a carpenter Himself, Christ has enriched human work with a dignity that cannot be equaled. Now all who work know that they are doing something Divine, which can even be linked with God's initial work."
—Pope St. Jon Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' That Day

"I would like to do heroic deeds. I would gladly die in defense of the Church."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' That Day

"It was not the death that pleased Him [God the Father], but rather the will of Him Who freely died; Who through that death abolished death, made salvation possible, & restored innocence; Who triumphed over principalities & powers, robbed death, & enriched heaven; Who restored peace to what is in heaven & on earth, & united everything."
—St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church (1090-1153, feast day: 20 August)