Saints + Scripture

The Popish Plot
"Fat Tuesday"

'Tis the festival of Saint Nestor of Magydos, Bishop & Martyr (died 250, A.K.A. of Side, of Perge), Bishop of Magydos, martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Decius, a victim of the Decian Persecution (250-251): Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Magydos, & Persecutions-link & Wikipedia-link Decian Persecution.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Riginos, Bishop & Martyr (died 362, also spelt Reginos), Bishop of Skopelos, martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Skopelos.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Walpurga, Abbess, O.S.B. (circa 710-779; also spelt Walburga, Valderburg, etc.; A.K.A. Guibor), abbess of the double monastery at Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm (751-779): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm.

Commentary: Daughter of St. Richard the Pilgrim [7 February], niece of St. Boniface [5 June], & sister of Ss. Willibald [7 June] & Winebald [18 December].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Gerland of Agrigento, Bishop (died circa 1104, A.K.A. of Besançon; also spelt Giullannu), Bishop of Agrigento (1093-1104): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link Agrigento & Wikipedia-link Agrigento.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio, Religious, O.F.M. (1502-1600, the "Angel of Mexico"): Blessed-link ūnus, Blessed-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saints Luigi Versiglia, Bishop, & Callistus Caravario, Priest, Martyrs, S.D.B. (died 1930), martyred defending girls from Bolshevik slavers, the last two of the one hundred twenty Martyr Saints of China, A.K.A. Saint Augustine Zhao Rong & Companions: Martyr-link Lima Victor, Martyr-link Charlie Charlie, & Wikipedia-link (List, № 115 & № 116); Martyrs-link China & Wikipedia-link China.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter of James, chapter four, verses one thru ten;
Psalm Fifty-five (R/. twenty-three[a]), verses seven & eight, nine & ten[a], ten[b] & eleven, & twenty-three;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter nine, verses thirty thru thirty-seven.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus presents a child as an archetype to his disciples who were arguing about who was the greatest.

How so? Children don’t know how to hide the truth of their reactions. They haven’t learned yet how to impress others. In this, they are like stars or flowers or animals, things that are what they are, unambiguously. They are in accord with God’s deepest intentions for them.

Children haven’t yet learned how to look at themselves. Why can a child immerse himself so eagerly and thoroughly in what he is doing? Because he can lose himself; because he is not looking at himself, conscious of the reactions, expectations, and approval of those around him.

The problem is that, from a very early age, we learn not to be ourselves, and this is a function of the sinful human construct of the ego. We convince ourselves that joy will come only when we become like someone else, only when we receive the applause of the crowd, only when we live up to the expectations of our group, family, or society. This causes that terrible cramping of the soul which is pride, the deadliest of the deadly sins.

Video reflection by Sister Sharon Erickson, R.S.M. (U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 44
The Book of Exodus, chapter eighteen (verses one thru twenty-seven).

Commentary: Jethro's Counsel to Moses (Exodus, 18).

Scripture Study—The 3:16 Project
The Book of Leviticus, chapter chapter three, verse sixteen.

"And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the LORD's."

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The meek endure conflict & jealousy, rivalries that arise within families & among neighbors. They do not, however, passively accept situations of injustice. They are anything but indifferent, but they do not respond to violence with violence, to hatred with hatred."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Now we come to what our Lord said about heaven. It was the night of the Last Supper. Jesus gathered about Him all His apostles—poor, weak, frail men. He washed their feet. He was facing the agony in the garden, & that terrible betraying kiss of Judas, & even the denial of Peter himself. One would think that all the talk would be about Himself. Certainly, when we have trials, that is what we think about. But our Lord thought about the apostles. He saw the sadness in their faces, & He said, 'Be not troubled, do not be sad, I go to prepare a place for you. In My Father's house there are many mansions.' How did He know about the Father's house? He came from there. That was His home. Now preparing to go back home, He tells them about the Father's house & He says, 'I go to prepare a place for you.' God never does anything for us without great preparation. He made a garden for Adam, as only God knows how to make a garden beautiful. Then, when the Jews came into the promised land, He prepared the land for them. He said He would give them houses full of good things, houses which they never built. He said that He would give [them] vineyards & olive trees which they never planted. Just so, He goes to prepare a place for us. Why? Simply because we were not made for heaven; we were made for earth. Man, by sin, spoiled the earth, & God came down from heaven in order to help us remake it. After having redeemed us, He said that He would now give us heaven, so we got all this; the earth, & heaven too."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Catholic Quote o' the Day

"Christians gathered together for worship may find themselves praising God like the blind men exploring the elephant. One person is touched by God’s tenderness, another by His majesty, another by His beauty, still another by His simplicity. In our shared, varied worship, we are a little like a living psalmody, sounding the range of loves we creatures offer in response to the one, perfect love our Creator offers us."
—Leah Libresco Sargeant (fl. 2020)