'Tis the festival of Saint Peter of Sebaste, Bishop & Abbot (circa 341-390), who attended the First Council of Constantinople (381) which amended & reaffirmed the Nicene Creed: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Council(s)-link, Wikipedia-link Council, & Wikipedia-link Creed.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Grandson of St. Macrina the Elder [14 January[, son of Ss. Basil the Elder & Emmelia [30 May], & brother of Ss. Macrina the Younger [19 July], Naucratius [?], Basil the Great [2 January], & Gregory of Nyssa [10 January].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Adrian of Canterbury, Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 635-710, also spelt Hadrian), abbot of Saint Augustine's Abbey: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Berhtwald of Canterbury, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (died 731; also spelt Brithwald, etc.), abbot of the monastery that became Saint Mary's Church & Glastonbury Abbey before receiving the pallium as archbishop: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Church, Abbey-link, Wikipedia-link Abbey, & Wikipedia-link Pallium.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Giulia of Certado, Religious, O.S.A. (1319-1367, A.K.A. Giulia della Rena): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Józef Pawłowski, Priest & Martyr (1890-1942), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link (List, № 40); Martyrs-link CVIII & Wikipedia-link CVIII.
Scripture of This Day
Mass Readings—Wednesday after Epiphany
The First Letter of John, chapter four, verses eleven thru eighteen;
Psalm Seventy-two, verses one & two, ten, & twelve & thirteen;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter six, verses forty-five thru fifty-two.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, our Gospel today is the story of Jesus walking on the water. Water is, throughout the Scriptures, a symbol of danger. At the very beginning, the spirit of the Lord hovered over the surface of the waters. This signals God’s lordship over all of the powers of disorder.Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In all four Gospels there is a version of this story of Jesus mastering the waves. The boat, with Peter and the other disciples, is evocative of the Church. It moves through the waters, as the Church will move through time. Storms—chaos, corruption, stupidity, danger, persecution—will inevitably arise.
Now during the fourth watch of the night, which is to say the darkest time of the night, Jesus comes walking on the sea. This is meant to be an affirmation of his divinity: just as the spirit of God hovered over the waters at the beginning, so Jesus hovers over them now. So he says to his terrified disciples: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
Papal Quote o' This Day
"The Heart of Christ overflows with divine & human love & is abundantly rich with the treasures of all the graces that our Redeemer acquired by His Life, Passion, & Death. It is truly the unfailing fountain of the love that His Spirit pours forth into all the members of His Mystical Body."Little Flower Quote o' This Day
—Pope Ven. Pius XII (1876-1958)
"Should it please God, I am quite content to have my sufferings of body & soul prolonged for years."Saint Quote o' This Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"The coach of the Oakland Raiders said to me one day, 'What are you teaching in Catholic colleges? I have players come to me saying, "I've got to do my thing." How are we going to have a football team if everybody does his thing? I thought Christian charity meant doing the other person's thing.' And so we become wild & confused & full of psychoses & neuroses as soon as the I begins to get in the way.
"I don't want my life to be mine, I want to be His. The more ego there is, the less there is of Christ. If the box is full of salt, you cannot fill it with pepper. And if we're filled with the search for identity, we are not identical with Christ. The more we are Christ, the more he can use us. And he does not use us, he does not open doors & give us opportunities, until we are flexible in his hands, obedient like a pencil. If I want this pencil to write God, it writes God. But let this pencil be endowed with its own will, when I want to write the word God, it writes the word dog. I can't do anything with it. So the effectiveness of our apostolate depends to a great extent upon denial of self & the search to be one with Christ in knowledge & in will. Then after a while we reach a point where nothing in all the world is worth a moment of time except to know more of him."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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