Commentary: Uncle of St. Cybi [8 November].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Willibrord, Bishop (circa 658-739, the "Apostle to the Frisians," of Echternach; A.K.A.Clement), founder of the Abbey of Echternach: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Son of St. Hilgis [31 January].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Ernest, Abbot & Martyr, O.S.B. (died 1148), martyred by Saracens at Mecca during the Second Crusade (1147-1149), abbot of Abbey of Zwiefalten: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Crusade & Wikipedia-link Abbey.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Engelbert of Cologne, Bishop & Martyr (circa 1185-1225, A.K.A. Count Engelbert II of Berg), martyred by his cousin, Count Frederick of Isenberg, in defense of the nuns of the Abbey of Essen: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter two, verses twelve thru eighteen;
Psalm Twenty-seven, verses one, four, & thirteen & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter fourteen, verses twenty-five thru thirty-three.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in our Gospel today the Lord offers one of the greatest, most “slap you in the face” challenges he ever offered. “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother…and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
There is the great spiritual principle that undergirds the entire Gospel: detachment. The heart of the spiritual life is to love God and then to love everything else for the sake of God. But we sinners, as St. Augustine said, fall into the trap of loving the creature and forgetting the Creator. That’s when we get off the rails.
We treat something less than God as God—and trouble ensues. And this is why Jesus tells his fair-weather fans that they have a very stark choice to make. Jesus must be loved first and last—and everything else in their lives has to find its meaning in relation to him.
In typical Semitic fashion, he makes this point through a stark exaggeration: “Unless you hate your mother and father, wife and children, sisters and brothers....” Well yes, hate them in the measure that they have become gods to you. For precisely in that measure are they dangerous.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"We ask you to go out to meet poor Lazarus, in his hunger & misery. Make yourself his neighbor, so that he can recognize in your eyes the Eyes of Christ welcoming him, & in your hands the Hands of the Lord sharing His gifts."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 26 September)
"Jesus does not consider time, since He is eternal. He considers only Love."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"There is nothing colder than a Christian who does not seek to save others."
—St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church (349-407, feast day: 13 September)
No comments:
Post a Comment