Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
"Bible Bites for 23 August 2019"

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin, T.O.S.D. (1586-1617), invisible stigmatic: Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link; Stigmata-link & Wikipedia-link Stigmata.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

She chose not to marry, joined the Dominican Third Order & modeled herself on Saint Catherine of Siena [Doctor of the Church, 29 April]. A recluse & mystic, noted for her radiant love of God & for the severe penance & hardships she endured during serious illness. The first saint of the Americas to be canonized.

Wikipedia-link T.O.S.D.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Tydfil, Martyr (died circa 480, also spelt Tudfil), martyred by pagan marauders (variously given as Picts, Welsh, or Saxons): Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Daughter of St. Brychan of Brycheiniog [6 April].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Victor of Vita, Bishop (circa 487-535), Bishop of Vita: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Vita.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Éogan of Ardstraw, Bishop & Abbot (died circa 618, also spelt Éoghan), abbot of the Abbey of Kilnamanagh, inaugural (I) Bishop of Ardstraw: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Ardstraw.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Filippo Benizzi, Priest, O.S.M. (1233-1285, Anglicized as Philip Benitius), Superior General of the Servite Order (O.S.M.), who attended the Second Council of Lyons (the fourteenth [XIV] ecumenical council, 1272-1274): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Council.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Juan María de la Cruz, Priest & Martyr, S.C.I. (1891-1936, A.K.A. Mariano García Méndez), martyred by Spanish Communist "Republicans" (Rojos), one of the Two Hundred Thirty-three Spanish Martyrs (A.K.A. the Martyrs of Valencia): Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link España & Wikipedia-link España.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Ruth, chapter one, verses one, three thru six, fourteen(b), fifteen, sixteen, & twenty-two;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-six, verses five & six(a/b), six(c) & seven, eight & nine(a), & nine (b/c) & ten;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verses thirty-four thru forty.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel some Pharisees challenge Jesus to answer which commandment of the Law is the greatest. Jesus responds that every power, every capacity in us must be given over to the love of God. But what exactly does it mean to love God?

St. Bernard of Clairvaux is helpful here. He said that the goal of the spiritual life is to love God alone, for the sake of God alone. Obviously, there are many things that compete for the love of God alone—money, sex, power, pleasure. But what Bernard saw is that even if God alone is the center of my life, I still might not be truly loving him for his sake alone. I might be using him.

He makes a helpful little distinction. He says that a slave has a kind of love for his master, but it is not truly love, for it is much more like fear. This can be very helpfully applied to the spiritual life. Many people who claim they love God really fear him. What might he do to me? If I don’t do the right things, I will be punished. Such attitudes are a long way from love.

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

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Rose of Lima
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter ten, verse seventeen(b) thru chapter eleven, verse two;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-eight, verses one(b/c) & two, eleven & thirteen(a), & thirteen(c) & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter thirteen, verses forty-four, forty-five, & forty-six.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Progeny Point, Day 26
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-one, verses thirty-eight thru forty-five, fifty, fifty-one, & fifty-two.

Commentary: Joseph's Rise to Power in Egypt (Genesis, 41:38-45, 50-52).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Evil is not the only thing that is contagious; goodwill is as well. It is necessary that, at this favorable hour, goodness increasingly abound in us! Let us succumb to the contagion of goodness!"
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven."
—St. Rose of Lima (1586-1617, feast day: 23 August)