The Popish Plot
Meditation Monday: "'Week' 4 of Advent"
'Tis the festival of Saint Gregory of Spoleto, Priest & Martyr (died circa 304), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian & Maximian, a victim of the Great Persecution: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Persecution.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Delphinus of Bordeaux, Bishop (died circa 404), who opposed the Priscillianist heresy: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link (List); Heresy-link & Wikipedia-link Heresy.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Irmina of Oeren, Abbess, O.S.B. (died circa 710, A.K.A. of Trier), who donated the land for the Abbey of Echternach: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Abbey-link & Wikipedia-link Abbey.
Commentary: Daughter of St. Dagobert [23 December]; sister, or possibly mother, of St. Adela of Pfalzel [see: below]; & possibly great-great grandmother of Bl. Charlemagne [28 January].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Adela of Pfalzel, Abbess, O.S.B. (died 735), foundress of the Convent of Palatiolum: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Daughter, or possibly granddaughter, of St. Dagobert [23 December] & sister, or possibly daughter, of St. Irmina of Oeren [see: above].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Hanno of Worms, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (died 978): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link (List).
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent (Morning)
The Second Book of Samuel, chapter seven, verses one thru five, eight(b) thru twelve, fourteen(a), & sixteen;
Psalm Eighty-nine, verses two & three, four & five, & twenty-seven & twenty-nine;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses sixty-seven thru seventy-nine.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today’s Gospel contains the prayer of Zechariah at the birth of his son, John the Baptist. This prayer is especially precious to priests, religious, and all those who pray the liturgy of the hours on a daily basis. It’s called the "Benedictus," from its first word in Latin, or the "Canticle of Zechariah."
What’s wonderful about this prayer (and why the Church asks its ministers to pray it every day) is that it sums up magnificently the whole history of salvation, putting Jesus and John in the context of the great story of Israel.
John is seen here as the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets. His role is, like all the prophets, to "go before the Lord to prepare his way." His job is to point, explain, indicate—and then disappear.
Video reflection by Msgr. James Vlaun (Catholic Faith Network): U.S. Confer. of Catholic Bishops.
Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Vigil)
The Book of Isaiah, chapter sixty-two, verses one thru five;
Psalm Eighty-nine, verses four & five, sixteen & seventeen, & twenty-seven & twenty-nine;
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter thirteen, verses sixteen, seventeen, & twenty-two thru twenty-five;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter one, verses one thru twenty-five
(or, the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter one, verses eighteen thru twenty-five).
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Tomorrow, no tonight, we shall contemplate Him, meek & mild, a child like any other 'born of woman.' We shall be invited to admire & recognize Him, just as the shepherds once did. He will bestow 'grace & peace' on 'all God's beloved who are called to be Saints.'"Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul Ii the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"It would need a miracle to make me grow up once & for all, & God worked this little miracle on the date that I shall never forget: December 25, 1886."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"Mary is now with child, awaiting birth, and Joseph is full of expectancy as he enters the city of his own family. He searched for a place for the birth of him to who heaven and earth belonged. Could it be that the Creator would not find room in his own creation? Certainly, thought Joseph, there would be room in the village inn. There was room for the rich; there was room for those who were clothed in soft garments; there was room for everyone who had a tip to give to the innkeeper. But when finally the scrolls of history are completed down to the last word of time, the saddest lines of all will be: 'There was no room in the inn.' No room in the inn, but there was room in the stable. The inn was the gathering place of public opinion, the focal point of the world's moods, the rendezvous of the worldly, the rallying place of the popular and the successful. But there's no room in the place where the world gathers. The stable is a place for outcasts, the ignored and the forgotten. The world might have expected the Son of God to be born in an inn; a stable would certainly be the last place in the world where one would look for him. The lesson is: divinity is always where you least expect to find it. So the Son of God made man is invited to enter into his own world through a back door."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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