Saints + Scripture

'Tis the Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor of the Church (circa 349-407), thirty-seventh (XXXVII) Archbishop of Constantinople, also a Father of the Church: Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Constantinople; Doctors-link & Wikipedia-link Doctors; & Fathers-link & Wikipedia-link Fathers.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

He is known for his preaching & public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical & political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, & his ascetic sensibilities.

Wikipedia-link Divine Liturgy

'Tis also the festival of Saint Amatus of Grenoble, Abbot (circa 560-627, also spelt Ame), inaugural (I) abbot of Remiremont Abbey: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Abbey-link Remiremont & Wikipedia-link Abbey.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Venerius of Tino, Abbot (circa 560-630, A.K.A. the Hermit): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Amatus of Sion, Bishop & Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 690, also spelt Aimé), Bishop of Sion: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Sion.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Maria Luisa Angelica, Virgin & Abbess, O.S.B. (1799-1847, A.K.A. Gertrude Prosperi): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Tempus per annum
The First Letter to Timothy, chapter one, verses one, two, twelve, thirteen, & fourteen;
Psalm Sixteen, verses one(b), two(a), & five; seven & eight; & eleven;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter six, verses thirty-nine thru forty-two.

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

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. John Chrysostom
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter four, verses one thru seven, eleven, twelve, & thirteen;
Psalm Forty, verses two & four, seven & eight(a), eight(b) & nine, ten, & eleven;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter four, verses one thru ten & thirteen thru twenty
(or, the Gospel according to Mark, chapter four, verses one thru nine).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Insist that your priests & those who collaborate with them in the liturgical service make ever more & more progress. Let them enhance the dignity of the celebration, the quality of the readings, & the beauty of the singing."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997, feast day: 5 September)