'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Henry, Obl.S.B. (circa 972-1024, the Exuberant; A.K.A. Heinrich II), Holy Roman Emperor (1014-1024): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, Saint-link trēs, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Imperator Romanorum.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Husband of St. Cunigunde of Luxembourg [3 March].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Dogfan, Martyr (fifth century, A.K.A. Doewan), martyred by pagan Anglo-Saxons: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Arno of Würzburg, Bishop & Martyr (died 892, also spelt Arn; A.K.A. Arno von Endsee), ninth (IX) Bishop of Würzburg (855-892), martyred by pagan Slavs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Würzburg & Wikipedia-link Prince-Bishopric.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Thomas Tunstall, Priest & Martyr (died 1616; A.K.A. Thomas Holmes, Thomas Dyer), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish King James VI & 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 Clelia Barbieri, Religious (1847-1870), foundress of the Little Sisters of the Mother of Sorrows (1868): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Little Sisters.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Isaiah, chapter one, verses ten thru seventeen;
Psalm Fifty (R/. twenty-three[b]), verses eight & nine, sixteen(b/c) & seventeen, twenty-one & twenty-three;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verse thirty-four thru chapter eleven, verse one.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord explains what it means to become a disciple. Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, then every other claimant to supremacy must fall away. Every one of us has something that we consider greatest. Perhaps it is money, material things, power, the esteem of others, your country, your political party or your ethnic identity. Or perhaps it is your family, your kids, your wife, your husband.Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
Now mind you, all of these are good things. However, when you place any of them in the absolute center of gravity, things go awry. When you make any of them your ultimate or final good, your spiritual life goes haywire. When you attach yourself to any of them with an absolute tenacity, you will fall apart.
This is what Jesus means in our Gospel for today. Not that you should hate your family or country or wealth, but rather that you should detach yourself from them lest they become idols. And only if we do this are we truly ready for mission. If we try to do this work while we are stuck to any number of attachments, we will fail. Period.
Video reflection by Curtis Mitch (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.
Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of St. Henry
The Book of Micah, chapter six, verses six, seven, & eight;
Psalm One (R/. two[a]), verses one & two, three, & four & six
(or, R/. Psalm Forty, verse five[a])
(or, R/. Psalm Ninety-two, verses thirteen & fourteen);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter seven, verses Z.
Scripture Study—Day 91: Contentness Plateau, Day 22
The Second Book of Samuel, chapter six, verses sixteen & twenty thru twenty-three.
Commentary: David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel, 6: 16, 20-23).
Papal Quote o' the Day
"The Christian will for peace has its weapons too. Its principal arms are those of prayer & love: constant prayer to the father of heaven; brotherly love among all, since all are children of the same Father."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Ven. Pius XII (1876-1958, r. 1939-1958)
"No one heals himself by hurting another."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—St. Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of the Church (340-397, feast: 7 December)
"Every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"When anyone says that he is forsaken by God or he denies God, he must realize that he has a brother who endured the bitterness of separation to the very last extremity of Golgotha. If He showed the way, then we can find the way out too. This was the loneliness of Christ in the garden & the loneliness on the cross. Like a sponge, the silence of our Lord soaked up all the evil. Because He soaked it up, evil lost all of its strength. After all, when an atheist complains about the ugliness & evil of the world, does he not know in his inmost heart that this is not the way the world was intended to be? He is affirming the very existence of God by the intensity of his complaint. Without God, there would be no One to Whom to complain. And in his complaint he has Christ to whom he can go."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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