Saints + Scripture: VIII Sunday in Ordinary Time

Simplex Edition

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

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Sirach, chapter twenty-seven, verses four thru seven;
Psalm Ninety-two, verses two & three, thirteen & fourteen, & fifteen & sixteen;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses fifty-four thru fifty-eight;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter six, verses thirty-nine thru forty-five.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus commands us to stop judging others. He asks, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” We are exceptionally good at seeing the fault in others, but we are exceptionally adept at ignoring it in ourselves.

There was a very popular book that came out when I was a teenager. It was called I’m Okay and You’re Okay. It represented the culture of exculpation and feel-good-about-yourself. Not many years ago, Christina Aguilera crooned, “I am beautiful in every single way and words can’t bring me down.” Look at so many of the debates today: the attitude that is winning is one of self-invention and self-assertion. Who are you to tell me how to behave?

In all of this, we are fundamentally looking away from our guilt, our fault, our darkness. We are effectively drugging ourselves, dulling the pain of real self-consciousness. In the process, we turn ourselves into God, pretending to be absolute, flawless, and impervious to criticism. So “remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 42
The Book of Exodus, chapter seventeen, verses one thru seventeen.

Commentary: Water from the Rock (Exodus, 17:1-7).

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

It is through prayer, reflection, the Scriptures, the grace of the sacraments, the wisdom of the Church, & the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we discover & walk the path that God is calling us to walk. In our own way, we all seek out out individual destiny. Drawn by our yearning for happiness, we may seek to experience pleasure, possessions, & even power, but the world & all it has to offer can never content the human heart. God alone can satisfy the deepest cravings of our hearts.

†

Otherwise, 3 March would be the festival of Saint Winwaloe, Abbot (circa 460-532; also spelt Winwallus, Guénolé, Winwaloëus, etc.), founding abbot of the Abbey of Landévennec: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.

Commentary: Son of St. Fragan [5 July].

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Non, Religious (floruit 500; also spelt Nonna, Nonnita): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Mother of the bishop St. David of Wales [1 March].

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Anselm of Nonantola, Abbot, O.S.B. (died circa 805), Duke of Friuli, founding abbot of the Abbey of Nonantola: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Abbey.

'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Innocenzo of Berzo, Priest, O.F.M. Cap. (1844-1890; Anglicized as Innocent, A.K.A. Giovanni Scalvinoni): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Katharine Drexel, Virgin, S.B.S. (1858-1955, also spelt Catherine), foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (S.B.S.) &, among other institutions, Xavier University of Lousiana: Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link S.B.S. & Wikipedia-link University.

Proverb o' the Day (Sirach, 27:5)

The kiln tests the potter's vessels;
so the test of just men is in tribulation.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"In today's world, torn by indifference, division, hatred, & oppression, fraternal communion founded on love is an eloquent example of universal reconciliation in Christ."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"Indeed the life of a good religious man is a cross, but it is a cross that conducts him to Paradise."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Christ's works testified to what He was; our works will testify as to what we are."
—Servant of God Emil Kapaun (1916-1951)