Saints + Scripture: Adventus

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

'Tis the Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent: Advent-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint John of Kanty, Priest (1390-1473, also spelt John Cantius): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Polish priest, scholastic, philosopher, physicist, & theologian. John spent many hours copying manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures, theological tracts, & other scholarly works.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Dagobert, Martyr (circa 650-679, King Dagobert II of Austrasia), martyred by his godson John: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Frithbert of Hexham, Bishop (died 766, also spelt Frithubeorht), eighth (VIII) Bishop of Hexham (734-766): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link Hexham & Wikipedia-link Hexham.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Hartmann of Brixen, Bishop (circa 1090-1164), Bishop of Brixen (1140-1164): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Brixen.

'Tis also the festival of Saint John Stone, Religious & Martyr, O.S.A. (died circa 1539), martyred in the reign of the English king Henry VIII, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Dissolution of the Monasteries, Martyrs-link England & Wales, & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Anthony of Saint Ann, Priest, O.F.M. (1739-1822, "Frei Galvão," A.K.A. Antônio Galvão de Franca), co-founder of the monastery of Our Lady of the Conception of Divine Providence: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
The Book of Malachi, chapter three, verses one thru four, twenty-three, & twenty-four;
Psalm Twenty-five, verses four & five(a/b), eight & nine, & ten & fourteen
(R/. the Gospel according to Luke, chapter twenty-one, verse twenty-eight);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses fifty-seven thru sixty-six.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel tells the story of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. John’s father Zechariah had been rendered speechless after his vision in the sanctuary, but we hear that "his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God." What follows this passage is the wonderful Canticle of Zechariah, which puts Jesus and John in the context of the great story of Israel. I would like to explore two lines of that great prayer today.

The God of Israel, Zechariah prays, "has visited and brought redemption to his people." This is what God always wants to do. He hates the fact that we’ve become enslaved by sin and fear, and accordingly, he wants to liberate us. The central event of the Old Testament is an event of liberation from slavery. We are, as sinners, enslaved to our pride, our envy, our anger, our appetites, our greed, our lust—all of which wrap us up and keep us from being the people that we want to be.

Zechariah continues: "He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant." God will effect this liberation through the instrumentation of a mighty Savior. This should be read against the background of Israel’s long history of military struggle against its enemies. A great warrior has come, and he is from the house of Israel’s greatest soldier, David. God had promised that he would put a descendant of David on the throne of Israel for all eternity, and Zechariah is prophesying that this will take place.

Reflect: How are you "enslaved"? What do you have to do to become free?

Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Advent of Hope" reflection (Array of Hope):

The story of John’s birth reminds us of the importance of names. In Jewish culture, a name is thought to express the identity of a person and often a child is named after a holy or significant relative in the hopes that the child will share in their good qualities. Whereas those gathered wanted to name the child after his father, Zechariah, Elizabeth insisted that he be given the name announced by the angel, because what a person is called matters and obviously God wanted her child to be named John, which in Hebrew is Yochanan, meaning “God is gracious.”

Among all of the titles given to Jesus, “Emmanuel” comes from the Hebrew root 'Immanu'el meaning "God is with us" and Emmanuel is a reminder that God has truly entered into our human experience. No other faith tradition has a God who is both fully divine AND fully human. Jesus has two natures - one human (body and soul) and one divine - in one Divine Person (this is known as the hypostatic union).

Today’s O antiphon implores, "O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God", but rather than clothing himself in regal attire, this King reaches down into our human experience and clothes himself with our poverty, weakness, hunger, tiredness, and suffering. Here is a God who knows our pain from the inside because He has experienced it. Spend time in prayer today and confidently approach the humble crib of Christ, wrapped in poverty, for He has come to save us as our Emmanuel, our “God-with-us”!

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. John of Kanty
The Letter of James, chapter two, verses fourteen thru seventeen;
Psalm One Hundred Twelve (R/. one; or, "Alleluia"), verses one(b/c) & two, three & four, five & seven, six & eight, & nine;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter six, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-eight.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"All of us must be believers in peace, for ourselves & for the world, the peace that begins in our own hearts when we renounce hatred & evil & seek to overcome evil with good. When it comes to peace we must be true believers; we must not lose hope in the message of Christmas."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"A Jewish scholar who became a Christian & who knew the Old Testament very well & all of the tradition of the Jews, said that at the time of Christ the rabbis had gathered together four hundred fifty-six prophecies concerning the Messiah, the Christ, the conqueror of evil who was to be born & to enter into a new covenant with mankind. Suppose the chances of any one prophecy being fulfilled by accident, say the place where he would be born, was one in a hundred. Then, if two prophecies were fulfilled, the chances would be one in a thousand. If three prophecies were to coincide in Christ, that would be one in ten thousand. If four, one in a hundred thousand. If five, one in a million. Now if all of these prophecies were fulfilled in Christ, what would be the chance of them all concurring at the appointed moment, not only in place but also in time, as was foretold by the prophet Daniel? Take a pencil & write on a sheet of paper the numeral 1, & draw a line beneath it. Under the line write 84, & after 84, if you have time, write one hundred twenty-six zeros. That is the chance of all of the prophecies of Christ being fulfilled. It runs into millions & millions, trillions & trillions."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Chesterton Quote o' the Day

"The best festivals of all are those held in the heart of fog or snow, like Christmas Day."
—G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)