Saints + Scripture

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

'Tis the festival of Saint Richard the Pilgrim (died circa 722, also spelt Ricarius; A.K.A. the King, the Saxon, of Wessex, etc.): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Brother-in-law of St. Boniface [5 June] & father of Ss. Willibald [7 June], Winebald [18 December], & Walpurga [25 February].

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Thomas Sherwood, Martyr (circa 1551-1578), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, one of the one hundred sixty Martyrs of Douai: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Douai & Wikipedia-link Douai.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Egidio Maria of San Giuseppe, Religious, O.F.M. (1729-1812, the "Consoler of Naples;" Anglicized as Giles Mary of Saint Joseph, A.K.A. Francesco Postillo): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Pius IX, Pope (1792-1878, A.K.A. Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti), two hundred fifty-fifth (CCLV) Bishop of Rome (1846-1878), who convoked the First Vatican Council (1869-1870, the twentieth [XX] ecumenical council); revived Peter's Pence (1871), formally Denarii Sancti Petri ("Alms of Saint Peter"); & was the original "Prisoner in the Vatican": Blessed-link ūnus, Blessed-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Pontifex-link, & Wikipedia-link Pontifex; & Wikipedia-link Vatican I, Wikipedia-link Peter's Pence, & Wikipedia-link Prisoner in the Vatican.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Adalbert Nierychlewski, Priest & Martyr (1903-1942, A.K.A. Wojciech Nierychlewski), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link (List, № 77); Martyrs-link Polska & Wikipedia-link Polska.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Peter Verhun, Priest & Martyr (1890-1957), martyred in the reign of the Soviet Communist dictator Nikita Khrushchev: Martyr-link ūnus & Martyr-link duo.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Sirach, chapter forty-seven, verses two thru eleven;
Psalm Eighteen (R/. see: forty-seven[b]), verses thirty-one, forty-seven & fifty, & fifty-one;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter six, verses fourteen thru twenty-nine.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel gives an account of Herod’s murder of John the Baptist. John is a proto-martyr, anticipating the martyrdom of many Christians.

Martyrdom has always been an important chapter of the Christian story, from believers in the early Church who refused to sacrifice to Rome’s pagan gods, to great saints of the Middle Ages such as Thomas Becket [29 December] and Thomas More [22 June] who refused to compromise their beliefs for the sake of the state, to modern martyrs killed in what St. John Paul II [22 October] called odium caritatis, "hatred of charity," such as Archbishop Oscar Romero [24 March] of El Salvador.

In the early twenty-first century, martyrdom remains a stunningly common fact of Christian life. One high-end estimate for the number of Christian martyrs killed each year is one hundred thousand, while the low end is around eight thousand—ranging from one new martyr every five minutes to one every hour.

The example of the martyrs draws people to wonder what it is that would induce so many to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Church Father Tertullian said that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church," and it’s a rare case of a theological maxim for which there’s actually empirical confirmation.

Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D. (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 26
The Book of Exodus, chapter eleven, verses one thru ten.

Commentary: Warning of the Final Plague (Exodus, 11:1-10).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"As a manifestation of the human spirit, music performs a function that is noble, unique, & irreplaceable. When music is truly beautiful & inspired, it speaks to us more than all the other acts of goodness, virtue, & peace."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast day: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"If a man takes a poison & is given an antidote, it makes no difference whether he throws the antidote out of the window or whether he just neglects it. Because the poison is operating in his system, death is certain. Scripture asks us, 'How shall we escape if we neglect?'—just neglect. How often in the gospels, for example, it is said, 'Thou didst not, thou didst not, thou didst not'—the refusal to walk the extra mile. The mole once had eyes to see, but it groveled down in the bowels of the earth, & nature, as if seated in judgment, said, 'Take the talent away!' And the talent that is not used is taken away. This is the first reason we have to begin to act differently, to resist the forces of evil."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)