Saints + Scripture: Quadragesima

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

The Popish Plot
"The Pig Pig Plot"

Life without the Eucharist: Day 15
Thanks be to God Almighty, I ought to be able to partake of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a week's time, Wednesday, 8 April—the Wednesday of Holy Week.

'Tis the Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent (meaning "Spring;" the Latin name is Quadragesima, meaning "fortieth"): Quadragesima-link & Wikipedia-link Quadragesima.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The Book of Daniel, chapter three, verses fourteen thru twenty, ninety-one, ninety-two, & ninety-five;
The Book of Daniel, chapter three, (R/. fifty-two[b]) verses fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, & fifty-six;
The Gospel according to John, chapter eight, verses thirty-one thru forty-two.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel the Lord tells some Jewish leaders that they are enslaved to sin and that the truth will set them free.

Jesus was distinguishing between sins and sin, between the underlying disease and its many symptoms. When the Curé d’Ars (St. John Vianney) was asked what wisdom he had gained about human nature from his many years of hearing confessions, he responded, "People are much sadder than they seem." Blaise Pascal rests his apologetic for Christianity on the simple fact that all people are unhappy. This universal, enduring, and stubborn sadness is sin.

Now, this does not mean that sin is identical to psychological depression. The worst sinners can be the most psychologically well-adjusted people, and the greatest saints can be, by any ordinary measure, quite unhappy.
When I speak of sadness in this context, I mean the deep sense of unfulfillment. We want the truth and we get it, if at all, in dribs and drabs; we want the good, and we achieve it only rarely; we seem to know what we ought to be, but we are in fact something else. This spiritual frustration, this inner warfare, this debility of soul, is sin.

Reflect: Regardless of how sinful we are, we are all tainted by the "underlying disease" of sin. What is the connection between our fallen human nature and your own unhappiness or unfulfillment

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

"Easter of Hope" Reflection (Array of Hope):

In Today’s Gospel, we read that Christ is the Truth that will set us free. There is nothing else on this earth that will fulfill us the way He does. He loves us unconditionally and knows our hearts better than anyone else, even better than we know ourselves. He desires to be close to you and to have an intimate relationship with you.

What is your relationship with Jesus like? Lent is the perfect time to go even deeper with Him through prayer. Prayer is a safe place in which we can immerse ourselves in the love of God. Sometimes you may feel like your prayer is a monologue, where only you speak and God never answers or speaks back. But when cultivated, prayer becomes a dialogue between you and our Father in Heaven, where you speak and God replies, or God speaks and you act. The key is not just to pray when we need something or only when it’s convenient for us, but to pray through every circumstance. Personal growth and inner freedom develop in prayer, in both moments of desolation as well as moments of consolation and great joy.

Today’s Tip: Carve out 30 minus of silent prayer to deepen your relationship with Him. Although exteriorly you may be silent, speak to Him interiorly and thank Him for His presence in your life.

Scripture Study—Wisdom Books
The Book of the Psalms, psalm ninety-one (verses one thru sixteen).

Commentary: Assurance of God's Protection (Psalm 91). I was promoted to read Psalm 91 by my new pandemic-inspired T-shirt from the fine folks at the Catholic T-shirt Club:

PSALM 91
FEARLESS
I will not fear the pestilence
for the Lord is my refuge.

Scripture Study—Exodus 90: Day 80
The Book of Exodus, chapter thirty-four, verses twenty-nine thru thirty-five.

Commentary: The Shining Face of Moses (Exodus, 34:29-35).

Scripture Study—The 3:16 Project
The Book of Jonah, chapter one, verse sixteen.

Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, & they offered a sacrifice to the LORD & made vows.

Commentary: Though the Book of Jonah has four chapters, the only one with more then eleven verses is chapter one. I decided it was more in keeping with the spirit of the exercise to quote Jonah, 1:16 than Jonah, 3:10.

'Tis the commemoration of Saint Mary of Egypt, Hermit (circa 344-421): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine '18.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Tewdrig ap Teithfallt, Martyr (fifth-sixth century), king of Glywysing, martyred repelling pagan Saxon invaders: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Hugh of Châteauneuf, Bishop (1053-1132, A.K.A. of Grenoble), Bishop of Grenoble (1080-1132), patron of the formation of the Carthusian Order (1084, O.Cart.), & founder of the Monastère de Chalais (1101): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Grenoble, Order-link O.Cart. & Wikipedia-link O.Cart., & Wikipedia-link Chalais.

Commentary: Uncle of St. Hugh of Bonnevaux [1 April].

'Tis also the commemoration of Saint Hugh of Bonnevaux, Abbot, O.Cist. (circa 1120-1194), abbot of Bonnevaux Abbey (1166-1194), abbot of Léoncel Abbey (1162-1166): Saint-link & Encyclopedia-link; Wikipedia-link Bonnevaux.

Commentary: Nephew of St. Hugh of Châteauneuf [1 April].

'Tis also the commemoration of Blessed John Britton, Martyr (circa 1527-1598, also spelt Bretton), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, one of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.

Proverb o' the Day (Psalm 91:7-8)

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand;
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
& see the recompense of the wicked.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Lent renews in us the hope in the One Who made us pass from death to life."
—Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927, r. 2005-2013)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."
—St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226, feast: 4 October)

Chesterton Quote o' the Day

"Idolatry exists wherever the thing which originally gave us happiness becomes at last more important than happiness itself."
—G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)