Saints + Scripture

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious, S.J. (1568-1591): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Cousin of the martyr Bl. Rodolfo Acquaviva, S.J. [25 July].

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

He was an Italian aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the victims of a serious epidemic.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Martin of Tongres, Bishop (died circa 350), seventh (VIII) Bishop of Tongeren: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Tongeren.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Alban of Mainz, Priest & Martyr (died circa 400), martyred by pagan Vandals; a cephalophore: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Cephalophore.

'Tis also the festival of Saint John Rigby, Martyr (circa 1570-1600), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter eleven, verses eighteen & twenty-one thru thirty;
Psalm Thirty-four, verses two & three, four & five, & six & seven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter six, verses nineteen thru twenty-three.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples not to store up treasures for themselves on earth, but to store up treasures in heaven, "where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal."

St. Augustine once said that since every creature is made ex nihilo, it carries with it the heritage of nonbeing. There is a kind of penumbra or shadow of nothingness that haunts every finite thing.

This is a rather high philosophical way of stating what all of us know in our bones: no matter how good, beautiful, true, or exciting a thing or state of affairs is here below, it is destined to pass into non-being. Think of a gorgeous firework that bursts open like a giant flower and then, in the twinkling of an eye, is gone forever. Everything is haunted by non-being; everything, finally, is that firework.

But this is not meant to depress us; it is meant to redirect our attention precisely to the treasures of heaven, to the eternity of God. Once we see everything in light of God, we can learn to love the things of this world without clinging to them and without expecting too much of them. Think of how much disappointment and heartache could be avoided if we only learned this truth!

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

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga
The First Letter of John, chapter five, verses one thru five;
Psalm Sixteen, verses one, two(a), & five; seven & eight; & eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verses thirty-four thru forty.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Covenant Crag, Day 5
The Book of Genesis, chapter six, verses one, two, & four thru nine.

Commentary: The Wickedness of Mankind (Genesis, 6:1-2, 4-9).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"To construct this world you have to undertake great tasks. If you want your legitimate ideals to be meaningful & not halfhearted, beginning now you must be daring, patient, & sincere with yourselves. You must also have an unshakeable faith."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Little Flower Quote o' the Day

"What mysteries we shall one day see unveiled!"
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Jesus Christ is very much like the light of the sun. The sun is so very bright that if we are to understand its inner beauty, we have to shoot that sunlight through a prism, & when we do, it splits up into the seven rays of the spectrum. And so Our Blessed Lord, having a life that is infinitely rich, shoots this divine light through the prism of the Church & it splits up, not into the seven rays of the spectrum, but into the seven sacraments of the Church."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)