Saints + Scripture: Quadragesima

The Popish Plot
vLent 2019: "Indulgences: Still a Thing!"

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Second Week of Lent
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-seven, verses three, four, twelve, thirteen(a), & seventeen thru twenty-eight(a);
Psalm One Hundred Five, verses sixteen & seventeen, eighteen & nineteen, & twenty & twenty-one;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-one, verses thirty-three thru forty-three, forty-five, & forty-six.

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

Friends, just before his Passion, Jesus tells the striking story that is our Gospel for today. The fertile vineyard stands for Israel, his chosen people. But it could be broadened out to include the world. What do we learn from this beautiful image? That God has made for his people a place where they can find rest, enjoyment, good work.

We—Israel, the Church, the world—are not the owners of this vineyard; we are tenants. One of the most fundamental spiritual mistakes we can make is to think that we own the world. We are tenants, entrusted with the responsibility of caring for it, but everything that we have and are is on loan. Our lives are not about us.

Christ is God’s judgment. We are all under his judgment. In the measure that we kill him, refuse to listen to him, we place our tenancy in jeopardy. And so the great question that arises from this reading: "How am I using the gifts that God gave me for God’s purposes? My money? My time? My talents? My creativity? My relationships?" All is for God, and thus all is under God’s judgment.

Reflect: How are you using the gifts that God gave you for God’s purposes?

Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 61
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty-six, verses one thru fourteen.

Commentary: The Tabernacle (Exodus, 26:1-14).

'Tis the commemoration of Saint Paul of Narbonne, Bishop (died circa 250, one of the "Apostles to the Gauls"): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Avitus of Périgord, Hermit (died circa 570): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Nicholas Owen, Martyr, S.J. (circa 1562-1606, A.K.A. John Owen, "Little John"), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish king James VI & I, in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot; one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales, the realm's foremost constructor of priest holes: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Gunpowder Plot & Wikipedia-link Priest Hole; & Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.

'Tis also the commemoration of Blessed Marian Górecki, Priest & Martyr (1903-1940), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link (List, № 53); Martyrs-link Polska & Wikipedia-link Polska.

'Tis also the commemoration of Blessed Clemens August von Galen, Bishop (1878-1946, the "Lion of Münster"), Bishop of Münster, who led the Church's resistance against the Nazis' euthanasia programs: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Münster & Wikipedia-link against Euthanasia.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"We are working for the Kingdom of God, & we do not do so with the gloomy spirit of those who see only insufficiences or perils. We work with the firm trust of those who know that they can count on the victory of Christ."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"Jesus prefers leaving me in darkness to giving me a false light which would not be Himself."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"How sweet will be the death of those who have done penance for all their sins so that they will not have any purgatory!"
—St. Teresa of Ávila, Doctor of the Church (1515-1582, feast day: 15 October)