Saints + Scripture: Advent

Simplex Edition

'Tis the festival of Saint Damasus I, Pope (circa 305-384), thirty-seventh (XXXVII) Bishop of Rome: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, Saint-link trēs, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Pontiff.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of Sacred Scripture. He spoke out against major heresies in the Church & encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for St. Jerome [30 September]. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome & the Church of Antioch, & encouraged veneration of the martyrs.

Wikipedia-link Council & Wikipedia-link Vulgate

'Tis also the festival of Saint Daniel the Stylite, Priest (circa 409-493, of Constantinople): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Stylite.

'Tis also the festival of Saints Peris & Cían, Hermits (floruit sixth century): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Arthur Bell, Priest & Martyr, O.F.M. (1590-1643), martyred under the auspices of the Roundhead Parliament, one of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link LXXXV & Wikipedia-link LXXXV.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent
The Book of Isaiah, chapter forty, verses one thru eleven;
Psalm Ninety-six, verses one & two, thee & ten(a/c), eleven & twelve, & thirteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter eighteen, verses twelve, thirteen, & fourteen.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel passage recounts the story of the shepherd finding his lost sheep. Let’s look at that lost sheep. A sheep is something more than a lost coin—which is to say, it has mobility, sense, appetites, and so on. Many years ago, when I was on retreat at the Abbey of Tamie in the Alps, I heard the desperate bleating of a sheep who had fallen into a pit. All night he cried, knowing that he was in trouble and hoping that someone would come to save him.

There are souls who are like the lost sheep. Spiritually compromised, fundamentally unable to help themselves, they are at least aware that they are in a mess. They are like people who commence the AA process by admitting that they have hit bottom and are out of control. They bleat, they cry for help.

And God finds them—and when he finds them, he carries them back, for they are unable to move on their own.

Video reflection by Jeannine Marino: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Damasus I
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter twenty, verses seventeen, eighteen(a), twenty-eight thru thirty-two, & thirty-six;
Psalm One Hundred Ten, verse four(b);
The Gospel according to John, chapter fifteen, verses nine thru seventeen.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"All of us are capable of expressing ourselves, of transmitting our message to the world. But at the same time, each one of us must be a hearer. Our message will be more fitting the more the hearing of the Word of God is already present in our message."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"When I open the Gospels, I breathe the fragrance exalted by the life of Jesus, & I know which way to run."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"You must remember to love people & use things, rather than love things & use people."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)