Saints + Scripture

The Popish Plot
Why We're Catholic Book Club: "Jesus & the Bible (Part 2)"

'Tis the festival of Saint Magnus of Milan, Bishop (died circa 530): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Guido Maria Conforti, Bishop (1865-1931), founder of the Xaverian Missionary Fathers: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg, Priest & Martyr (1875-1943), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, honored by the State of Israel as one of the Righteous among the Nations: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Righteous.

Scripture of This Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter two, verses one thru four;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-one, verses one(b/c/d/e), two, & three;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter fourteen, verses twelve, thirteen, & fourteen.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us this extraordinary command to consider the weakest and most vulnerable in our society: "When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." This is one of his central concerns throughout the Gospels. Aliens, strangers, foreigners, widows, orphans, the poor—if these weak people are ignored, God will become angry.

God’s passion not only runs right through the biblical tradition, but it comes roaring up into the social teaching of the Catholic Church: "If you have two coats in your closet, one belongs to you; the other belongs to the man who has no coat."

Let us not forget the poor and marginalized today.

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

Scripture Study—Nazarite Challenge
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter seven, verses twenty-four thru twenty-seven;
The Letter of James, chapter one, verse five.

Scripture Study—Wisdom Books
The Book of the Psalms, psalm one hundred seventeen (verses one & two);
The Book of the Psalms, psalm one hundred eighteen (verses one thru twenty-nine);
The Book of the Proverbs, chapter five (verses one thru twenty-three).

Commentary: Universal Call to Worship (Psalm 117) & a Song of Victory (Psalm 118);

Proverb o' This Day (Proverbs, 5:22)

The inquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is caught in the toils of his sin.

Papal Quote o' This Day

"Grace is Divine Life in the human soul, fruit of reconciliation, gifts of God in Jesus. It is the beginning of ternal life, that is, of salvation."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' This Day

"Without leaving the shelter of your arms or even turning my head, I will distribute your treasures to the souls who come to me asking for food."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Catholic Quote o' This Day

"Mary's response… is the most momentous word in history."
—Reinhold Schneider (1903-1958)