Saints + Scripture: VII Sunday in Ordinary Time

'Tis the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
The First Book of Samuel, chapter twenty-six, verses two, seven, eight, nine, twelve, thirteen, twenty-two, & twenty-three;
Psalm One Hundred Three, verses one & two, three & four, eight & ten, & twelve & thirteen;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses forty-five thru forty-nine;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter six, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-eight.

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

Friends, our Gospel today is taken from Jesus’s Sermon on the Plain in Luke. It is one of more the puzzling texts in the New Testament. It speaks of loving our enemies—not tolerating them, or vaguely accepting them, but loving them. When you hate your enemy, you confirm him as your enemy. But when you love him in response to his hatred, you confuse and confound him, taking away the very energy that feeds his hatred.

There is a form of oriental martial arts called aikido. The idea of aikido is to absorb the aggressive energy of your opponent, moving with it, continually frustrating him until he comes to the point of realizing that fighting is useless.

Some have pointed out that there is a great deal of this in Jesus’s strategy of nonviolence and love of the enemy. You creatively absorb the aggression of your opponent, really using it against him, to show him the futility of violence. So when someone insults you, send back a compliment instead of an insult.

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 35
The Book of Exodus, chapter fourteen, verses ten thru twenty.

Commentary: Crossing the Red Sea (cont'd; Exodus, 14:10-20).

Mass Journal: Week XIII
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:

God created us with legitimate needs. We all have legitimate physical, emotional, intellectual, & spiritual needs. The most basic understanding of these legitimate needs comes from considering our relationship to food, water, & oxygen. To eat & drink are legitimate needs. If you don't eat & drink, you will die. If you don't breathe, you will die even faster. God gave us these needs for a reason. When we hear them calling to us, we hear the voice of God.

†

Otherwise, 24 February would be the festival of Saint Liudhard, Bishop (died circa 600, A.K.A. Letard), who helped establish Saint Martin's Church: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Church.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Chaplain to the Christian queen St. Bertha [1 May], who was married to the pagan king Æthelberht of Kent [see below]. St. Æthelberht was eventually converted to the Faith, by St. Augustine of Canterbury [27 May].

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Æthelberht of Kent (circa 550-616; also spelt Ethelbert, Ædilberct, etc.), King of Kent: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Husband of St. Bertha [1 May] & father of St. Æthelburh [8 September].

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Cumméne Find, Abbot (died 669, of Iona; A.K.A. Cumméne the White), seventh (VII) abbot of Iona Abbey: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.

Commentary: Brother of St. Comman of Iona [18 March].

'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Tommaso Maria Fusco, Priest (1831-1891), founder of the Priestly Society of the Catholic Apostolate & the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Josef Mayr-Nusser, Martyr (1910-1945, the "Martyr of the First Commandment"), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: The martyr Bl. Josef was beatifed on 18 March 2017.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"We must be convinced of the necessity of having a living, authentic, & active faith. That is all the more true today, when we face so many difficulties. It is not enough to have a vague, weak, or uncertain faith."
—Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963, feast day: 11 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"This sweet Savior has long since forgotten your infidelities. He sees only your longing after perfection, & the sight makes His Heart glad."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, & euthanasia, & to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse & evil significance: that of an absolute power over others & against others."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)