Scripture of This Week
Mass Readings—Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Isaiah, chapter six, verses one, two(a), & three thru eight;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-eight, verses one & two, two & three, four & five, & seven & eight;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses one thru eleven
(or, the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses three thru eleven);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter five, verses one thru eleven.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today’s Gospel gives us the story of the miraculous draught of fishes. In many ways, the whole of the spiritual life can be read off of this piece.Duc in altum, as St. John Paul II loved to quote. More dangerous? Yes. More exciting? Yes.
Without being invited, Jesus simply gets into the fisherman’s boat. This is to insinuate himself in the most direct way into Simon’s life. And without further ado, he begins to give orders, first asking Simon to put out from the shore and then to go out into the deep. This represents the invasion of grace. The single most important decision that you will ever make is this: Will you cooperate with Jesus once he decides to get into your boat?
In many ways, everything else in your life is secondary, is commentary. When the Lord Jesus Christ gets into your boat, he will always lead you to the depths.
Now, mind you, the depths we’re talking about here are spiritual depths. The excitement we’re talking about is the true excitement that comes from spiritual transformation. The depths have nothing to do with what the world considers important or exciting.Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Video reflection by Father Claude Burns (uCatholic): Weekend Reflection with Father Pontifex.
Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.
Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 21
The Book of Exodus, chapter nine, verses one thru seven.
Commentary: The Fifth Plague: Death of the Egyptians' Livestock (Exodus, 9:1-7).
Mass Journal: Week Eleven
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:
The life of Jesus Christ is indelibly engraved upon history; neither the erosion of time nor the devastating & compounding effects of evil have been able to erase His influence. Some people thought He was crazy; others considered Him a misfit, a troublemaker, a rebel. He was condemned as a criminal, yet His life & teachings reverberate throughout history. He saw things differently, & He had no respect for the status quo. You can praise Him, disagree with Him, quote Him, disbelieve Him, glorify Him, or vilify Him. About the only thing you cannot do is ignore Him, & that is a lesson that every age learns in its own way. You can't ignore Jesus, because He changed things. He is the single greatest agent of change in human history. He made the lame walk, taught the simple, set captives free, gave sight to the blind, fed the hungry, healed the sick, comforted the afflicted, afflicted the comfortable, & in all of these, captured the imagination of every generation.†
Otherwise, 10 February would be the festival of Saint Scholastica, Virgin, O.S.B. (circa 480-543): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, Saint-link trēs, & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia [11 July].
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Trumwine of Abercorn, Bishop (died circa 704; also spelt Trumwin; A.K.A. of Whitby): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint William of Maleval, Hermit (died 1157; A.K.A. the Great, of Guyenne, etc.), founder of the Williamites, formally the Hermits of Saint William: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Williamites.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Clare of Rimini, Abbess, O.S.C. (circa 1282-1346, A.K.A. Chiara Agolanti): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, Bishop & Martyr (1898-1960, also spelt Alojzije Stepinac), martyred in the reign of the Communist dictator Josip Broz Tito: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"In a single word, be Saints! Holiness is the most powerful force that leads human hearts to Christ. Remember that verse of the Gospel about the vine & the branches. In the union of the branches with the one vine is the concrete source & the sure measure of one apostolic activity."Commentary: John, 15:1-6, by the way.
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
Little Flower Quote o' the Day
"Always keep lifting your foot to climb the ladder of holiness, & do not imagine that you can mount even the first step. All God asks of you is good will."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"As time goes on, the good and the bad have different attitudes. The good are less conscious of their goodness. They strive to be zealous, close to the Lord; they are more conscious of their failings. But evil people, and those that are not living up to their full commitment to Christ, they are very satisfied. Samson did not know that his strength had left him. Saul, the first king the Israelites, did not know that the Lord had left him. We become self-satisfied and resent any challenge to change. Take a frog; put that frog in water. Then heat the water imperceptibly, day by day increasing the temperature until the water is boiling. At no point during the increase of temperature will the frog ever offer resistance. It will never realize that the water is too hot - until it s dead. That is the way we are spiritually. We just become used to the temperature of the world. And we don t realize that it is gradually possessing us until we are in its grip. So we are doing battle therefore with triteness, shallowness, and dullness, and we have to resist and begin to go in the other direction."
—Venerable Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979)
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