Saints + Scripture

The Popish Plot
Prayer Time Out: "The Pope's Prayer Intention for February"

'Tis the festival of Saint Rabanus Maurus, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 776-856, also spelt Hrabanus, Rhabanus), composer of the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" ("Come, Creator Spirit"): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Hymn.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Gilbert of Sempringham, Priest, C.R.S.A. (circa 1083-1190), founder of the Gilbertine Order, which was destroyed in the English king Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Order-link Gilbertines, Wikipedia-link Gilbertines, & Wikipedia-link Dissolution

'Tis also the festival of Saint Joan of Valois, Religious, O.V.M. (1464-1505; also spelt Jeanne, Jane; A.K.A. of France), Queen of France, Duchess of Berry; foundress of the Annonciades, formally the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link O.V.M.

Commentary: Cousin of Bl. Louise of Savoy [24 July].

'Tis also the festival of Blessed John Speed, Martyr (died 1594, A.K.A. John Spence), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Joseph of Leonessa, Priest, O.F.M. Cap. (1556-1612, A.K.A. Eufranio Desiderio): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint João de Britto, Priest & Martyr, S.J. (1647-1693, the "Apostle of Madura;" Anglicized as John de Britto, A.K.A. Arul Anandar), martyred in the reign of the Ramnad king Raghunatha Sethupathi II: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter eleven, verses thirty-two thru forty;
Psalm Thirty-one, verses twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, & twenty-five;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter five, verses one thru twenty.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel shows Jesus driving the unclean spirit from the Gerasene demoniac. What we see here on vivid display is Jesus the miracle worker.

Modern thinkers tend to be wary of this dimension. For instance, Thomas Jefferson took a straight razor to the pages of the Gospels and cut out everything that smacked of the supernatural—miracles, exorcisms, and so on. The problem, of course, is that he had to make an absolute mess of Mark’s Gospel, which is positively chock-a-block with such things.

Jefferson’s contemporary, the great modern philosopher David Hume, wrote a powerfully influential text against miracles. He claimed that since the laws of nature were set, miracles were, strictly speaking, impossible. Accounts of them, he concluded, were the result of the foggy or wishful thinking of primitive people.

But though God typically lets the universe run according to its natural rhythms and patterns, what is to prevent God from shaping it and influencing it occasionally in remarkable ways, in order to signal his purpose and presence?

Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 15
The Book of Exodus, chapter six, verses twenty-eight, twenty-nine, & thirty;
The Book of Exodus, chapter seven, verses one thru seven.

Commentary: Moses & Aaron Obey God's Commands (Exodus, 6:28-7:7).

The Imitation of Christ
Book I: Useful Admonitions for the Spiritual Life
Chapter 20: "On the Love of Solitude & Silence"

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Allow the light & the healing presence of Christ to shine brightly through your lives. In that way, all those who come in contact with you will discover the loving kindness of God."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"Our fulcrum is God: our lever, prayer; prayer which burns with love. With that we can lift the world!"
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Thirty or forty years ago it was easy to be a Christian. The very air we breathed was Christian. Bicycles could be left on front lawns; doors could be left unlocked. Suddenly all this has changed; now we have to affirm our faith. We live in a world that challenges us. And many fall away. Dead bodies float downstream; it takes live bodies to resist the current. And this is our summons. We will have to begin to be a different church. We are for a moment on the trapeze. We are in between the death of an old civilization and culture and the swing to the beginning of the new. These are the times in which we live. They are therefore wonderful days, marvelous, we should thank God that we live in times like this."
—Venerable Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979)

Mass Matters
Through the thirty-one days of January, I served at &/or participated in twenty-five Masses, twelve fewer than in the same period in 2018.