'Tis the festival of Memorial of Saint Martha (died circa 80, of Bethany, the "Wonder Worker of Southern Gaul"): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, Saint-link tria, & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Sister of Ss. Lazarus & Mary of Bethany [29 July].
Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:
Lord Jesus, You taught St. Martha a lesson in the true meaning of love. Help me to realize that You have called me to be Your friend & enable me to respond to that call with all my heart, soul, & strength.'Tis also the festival of Saint Mary of Bethany (first century): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Sister of Ss. Martha & Lazarus of Bethany [29 July].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Lazarus of Bethany, Bishop & Martyr (died circa 96; A.K.A. Lazarus of the Four Days, the Resurrected), inaugural Bishop of Marseille, martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, a victim of his persecution (89-96): Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Marseille, & Persecutions-link & Wikipedia-link Persecution.
Commentary: Brother of Ss. Martha & Mary of Bethany [29 July].
'Tis also the festival of Saint Sulien, Abbot (sixth century; also spelt Sulian, Silin), founding abbot of the abbey at Luxulyan: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Luxulyan.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Olaf, Martyr (circa 995-1030, A.K.A. King Olaf II of Norway [1015-1028], the Fat, the Stout, the Big; also spelt Olave, Ólafr Haraldsson), martyred by pagan Vikings, celebrated as the Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae ["Perpetual King of Norway"]: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Urban II, Pope, O.S.B. (1040-1099; A.K.A. Odo, also spelt Otho, Eudes; of Châtillon, of Lagery), one hundred fifty-ninth (CLIX) Bishop of Rome (1088-1099), who called the Council of Piacenza (March 1095), the Council of Clermont (November 1095), & the First Crusade (1096-1099); Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia (1078-1088): Blessed-link ūnus, Blessed-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Ostia; Pontifex-link & Wikipedia-link Pontifex; & Wikipedia-link Piacenza, Wikipedia-link Clermont, & First Crusade-link & Wikipedia-link First Crusade.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Lek Sirdani, Priest & Martyr (1891-1948), martyred in the reign of the Communist dictator Enver Hoxha, one of the thirty-eight Martyrs of Albania: Martyrs-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Albania.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter fifteen, verses ten & sixteen thru twenty-one;
Psalm Fifty-nine (R/. seventeen[d]), verses two & three, four, ten & eleven, seventeen, & eighteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter eleven, verses nineteen thru twenty-seven;
or, the Gospel according to Luke, chapter ten, verses thirty-eight thru forty-two.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die."Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D. (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
Jesus came primarily as a warrior whose final enemy is death. It is easy to domesticate Jesus, presenting him as a kindly moral teacher. But that is not how the Gospels present him. He is a cosmic warrior who has come to do battle with those forces that keep us from being fully alive.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus deals with the effects of death and a death-obsessed culture: violence, hatred, egotism, exclusion, false religion, phony community. But the final enemy he must face down is death itself. Like Frodo going into Mordor, he has to go into death’s domain, get into close quarters with it, and take it on.
Coming to Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus feels the deepest emotions and begins to weep. This is God entering into the darkness, confusion, and agony of the death of sinners. He doesn’t blithely stand above our situation, but rather takes it on and feels it at its deepest level.
Video reflection by Doctor John Bergsma (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.
Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Martha
The First Letter of John, chapter four, verses seven thru sixteen;
Psalm Thirty-four (R/. two or nine), verses two & three, four & five, six & seven, eight & nine, & ten & eleven;
The Gospel according to John, chapter eleven, verses nineteen thru twenty-seven;
or, the Gospel according to Luke, chapter ten, verses thirty-eight thru forty-two.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Lord Jesus, grant that those You have called Your friends may come to know in fullness the joy You have promised. May they know the joy of praising You, the joy of serving their brothers & sisters, the joy of abiding in Your love."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"St. Joseph has the power to assist us in all causes, in every necessity, in every undertaking."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P., Doctor of the Church (1225-1274, feast: 28 January)
"Prayer is necessary as air to breathe, as necessary as the blood in our bodies, as necessary as anything. We think so many things are necessary, but we are wrong. We have been deceived & we deceive ourselves. So few things are necessary, & prayer is one of them."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"There are two ways of knowing: knowing from the outside & knowing from the inside, knowing by study & knowing by communion. Hence, sacred scripture always speaks of the union of husband & wife as 'knowledge.' For example, 'Adam knew Eve, & she conceived.' Mary, 'I know not man.' Paul said, 'Husbands, possess your wives in knowledge.' The Old Testament said, 'Solomon knew her not.' There is a knowledge that comes from the intimate, personal union of husband & wife that transcends any other kind of knowledge. And so in the Eucharist there is another kind of knowledge by communion that is not given to us by study. This is the incorporation to the higher life."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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