Saints + Scripture: Quadragesima

The Popish Plot
vLent 2019: "Memento Mori: St. Cyril of Jerusalem"

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Second Week of Lent
The Book of Daniel, chapter nine, verses four(b) thru ten;
Psalm Seventy-nine, verses eight, nine, & eleven & thirteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter six, verses thirty-six, thirty-seven, & thirty-eight.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus calls us to "be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Mercy or tender compassion (chesed in the Hebrew of the Old Testament) is God’s most distinctive characteristic. St. Augustine reminded us that we are, by our very nature, ordered to God. But since God is tender mercy, "having" God is tantamount to exercising compassion, being merciful ourselves.

And attend to what Jesus says next: "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you." According to the "physics" of the spiritual order, the more one draws on the divine life, the more one receives that life, precisely because it is a gift and is properly infinite. God’s life is had, as it were, on the fly: when you receive it as a gift, you must give it away, since it only exists in gift form, and then you will find more of it flooding into your heart.

If you want to be happy, Jesus is saying, this divine love, this chesed of God, must be central to your life; it must be your beginning, your middle, and your end.

Reflect: How does judging others, even those you love, block love?

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

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem
The First Letter of John, chapter five, verses one thru five;
Psalm Nineteen, verses eight, nine, ten, & eleven (& the Gospel according to John, chapter six, verse sixty-three);
The Gospel according to John, chapter fifteen, verses one thru eight.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 57
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-five, verses one thru nine.

Commentary: Offerings for the Tabernacle (Exodus, 25:1-9).

Today is Day 57. One of the brothers joked, "Happy Heinz Day!"

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop & Doctor of the Church (circa 313-386), who attended the First Council of Constantinople (381), which refined & reaffirmed the Nicene Creed: Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Doctors-link & Wikipedia-link Doctors; & Council-link, Wikipedia-link Council, & Wikipedia-link Creed.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

About the end of A.D. 350 he succeeded [St.] Maximus [5 May] as Bishop of Jerusalem, but was exiled on more than one occasion due to the enmity of Acacius of Caesarea, & the politics of various emperors. Cyril left important writings documenting the instruction of catechumans & the order of the liturgy in his day.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Edward the Martyr (circa 962-978), King of England, martyred at the behest of his wicked stepmother, the queen dowager Ælfthryth: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Salvador of Horta, Religious, O.F.M. (1520-1567; A.K.A. Salvador Pladevall i Bien, also spelt Salvator): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the commemoration of Blesseds John Thules, Priest, & Roger Wrenno, Martyrs (died 1616, also spelt Thulis), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish king James VI & I, two of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link Juliett Tango, Martyr-link Romeo Whiskey, & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.

'Tis also the commemoration of Blessed Celestine of the Mother of God, Religious (1848-1925, A.K.A. Maria Anna Donati), foundress of the Calasanzian Sisters, formally the Daughters of the Poor of Saint Joseph Calasanzio: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"If we are to respect people in their integrity, we must educate them to do good with a sense of responsibility; with a capacity for self-discipline & also with the external help of law & authority."
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, feast day: 26 September)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"Turn your eyes back upon yourself, & you will not judge the doings of others."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Since Christ Himself has said, 'This is My Body' who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?"
—St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church (313-386, feast day: 18 March)