'Tis the Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot (circa 251-356, the "Father of All Monks;" A.K.A. the Great, of Egypt, of the Desert, of Thebes, etc.), most renowned of the Desert Fathers, whose temptation is oft-depicted in art; also associated with the Tau Cross: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Fathers, Wikipedia-link Temptation, Wikipedia-link Saint Anthony's Cross.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:
Although identified as Patron of Farm Animals, Anthony had little or nothing to do with the rural world: Indeed, he was a hermit & among the most rigorous ascetics in the history of early Christianity,the founder of Christian monasticism & the first abbot.Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:
O Lord, St. Anthony the Abbot traveled out into the desert in order to learn the ways of self-denial. May I too find the desert in my life & learn from You.'Tis also the festival of Our Lady of Pontmain (apparition 17 January 1871, A.K.A. Our Lady of Hope): Madonna-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Sulpitius the Pious, Bishop (died circa 647, A.K.A. Sulpicius II of Bourges): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Joseph of Freising, Bishop (died 764, A.K.A. of Verona): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Roseline of Villeneuve, Religious, O.Cart. (circa 1263-1329, also spelt Rossolina, Rosalinde, etc.): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter three, verses seven thru fourteen;
Psalm Ninety-five, verses six & seven(c), eight & nine, & ten & eleven;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter one, verses forty thru forty-five.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, our Gospel for today has to do with Jesus’ healing a leper. There aren’t that many lepers around today, but there are plenty of people that we treat as outsiders or pariahs. Like Jesus, we should be welcoming to them. Now, I have nothing particularly against that way of reading the situation, but I suspect that we’ve all heard it a thousand times.Video reflection by Monsignor James C. Vlaun: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Let me propose a symbolic reading a little different from the customary one. I propose that the leper here stands not so much for the socially ostracized, but for the one who has wandered away from right worship, the one who is no longer able or willing to worship the true God. That’s why Jesus tells the man to "go show yourself to the priest." In other words, go back to the Temple from which you’ve been away for so long.
What is so important about worship? To worship is to order the whole of one’s life toward the living God, and, in doing so, to become interiorly and exteriorly rightly ordered. To worship is to signal to oneself what one’s life is finally about. It’s nothing that God needs, but it is very much something that we need.
Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Anthony
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter six, verses ten thru thirteen & eighteen;
Psalm Sixteen, verses one, two(a), & five; seven & eight; & eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter nineteen, verses sixteen thru twenty-six.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Attaining happiness requires a rigorous personal asceticism whose function is to bring order into the human person. It is a tragic lie to teach people that happiness can or even should be reached by abandoning oneself to the inclinations of instinct, without any self-denial."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"Just as a mother is proud of her children so we shall be proud of one another without the least trace of jealousy."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"If you want world peace, go home & love your family."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta ("Mother Teresa," 1910-1997; feast day: 5 September)
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