Saints + Scripture: Quadragesima

Simplex Edition

The Popish Plot
vLent 2019: "Bible Bits for March 9th, 2019"

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Frances of Rome, Religious, Obl.S.B. (1384-1440, A.K.A. Francesca Bussa de’ Leoni), foundress of the Benedictine Oblates of Saint Frances of Rome: Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Oblates.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

She is an Italian saint who was a wife, mother, mystic, organizer of charitable services, & a Benedictine oblate who founded a religious community of oblates, who share a common life without religious vows.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Bosa of York, Bishop, O.S.B. (died circa 705, also spelt Boso): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Boniface of Querfort, Bishop & Martyr, O.Cam. (circa 970-1009, the "Apostle of Livonia" & the "Second Apostle of the Prussians;" A.K.A. Bruno), martyred by the Old Prussian pagan Zebeden: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Catherine of Bologna, Virgin, O.S.C. (1413-1463, A.K.A. Caterina de' Vigri): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Dominic Savio (1842-1857): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Saturday after Ash Wednesday
The Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-eight, verses nine(b) thru fourteen;
Psalm Eighty-six, verses one & two, three & four, & five & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter five, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-two.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus tells Matthew, "Follow me." The call of Jesus addresses the mind, but it is meant to move through the mind into the body, and through the body into the whole of one’s life, into the most practical of moves and decisions. "Follow me" has the sense of "apprentice to me" or "walk as I walk; think as I think; choose as I choose." Discipleship entails an entire reworking of the self according to the pattern and manner of Jesus.

Upon hearing the address of the Lord, the tax collector, we are told, "got up and followed him." The Greek word behind "got up" is anastas, the same word used to describe the resurrection (anastasis) of Jesus from the dead. Following Jesus is indeed a kind of resurrection from the dead, since it involves the transition from a lower form of life to a higher, from a preoccupation with the temporary goods of this world to an immersion in the goodness of God.

Those who have undergone a profound conversion tend to speak of their former life as a kind of illusion, something not entirely real. Thus Paul can say, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me"; Thomas Merton can speak of the "false self" that has given way to the authentic self; and, perhaps most movingly, the father of the prodigal son can say, "This son of mine was lost and has been found; he was dead and has come back to life."

Reflect: What do you need to "leave behind" to really follow Jesus?

Video reflection by Harry Dudley, D.Min.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Frances of Rome
The Book of Proverbs, chapter thirty-one, verses ten thru thirteen, nineteen, twenty, thirty, & thirty-one;
Psalm Thirty-four, verses two & three, four & five, six & seven, eight & nine, & ten & eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verses thirty-four thru forty.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 48
The Book of Exodus, chapter twenty, verses eighteen thru twenty.

Commentary: The Ten Commandments (cont'd; Exodus, 20:18-20) & God Gives Moses Laws about Sacrifice (Exodus, 20:21-22).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"May the sacred flame of the Faith burn on the domestic hearth, & may parents forge & fashion the lives of their children in accordance with this Faith. Then youth will be ever ready to acknowledge the royal prerogatives of the Redeemer & to oppose those who wish to exclude Him from society."
—Pope Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"For men quickly change & presently fail: but Christ remains for ever, & stands by us firmly to the end."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"We cannot say we love the land & then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations. I urge you to be sensitive to the many issues affecting the environment & to unite to seek the best solutions to these pressing problems."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Complex Edition
I've also gone back & complicated the "Saints + Scripture" post from one week hence: Wayback Machine — Saturday, 2 March