Saints + Scripture: Feast of Saint Bartholomew

The Popish Plot
"Please, Come Back to Mass"

'Tis the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle (first century, A.K.A. Nathanael): Apostle-link ūnus, Apostle-link duo, Apostle-link trēs, Wikipedia-link Bravo, & Wikipedia-link November; Apostles-link & Wikipedia-link Twelve Apostles.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of St. Bartholomew
The Book of Revelation, chapter twenty-one, verses nine(b) thru fourteen;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-five (R/. twelve), verses ten & eleven, twelve & thirteen, & seventeen & eighteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter one, verses forty-five thru fifty-one.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in a conversation with Jesus in today’s Gospel, Nathaniel (usually identified with the Apostle Bartholomew) makes the earliest New Testament profession of faith in Christ’s divinity: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God." Faith is the virtue upon which Christianity rests and is the capacity to see beyond the senses to a deeper or higher reality.

There is an anticipation of faith in Plato’s parable of the cave in which a man escapes from a cavern where he had been forced to see only flickering shadows on the wall. When he emerges from the darkness, he is blinded by the intensity of the sunlight. When his eyes adjust, he surveys a new world of depth and color.

In a similar way, Christianity holds that God’s revelation draws us beyond what we can know and introduces us to a dimension of being, vibrating at a higher pitch. To be a person of faith is to know that the universe of the senses is but the tip of the iceberg, a gateway. And it is to resist the idolatry of Enlightenment rationalism, which tells us that only superstition and obscurantism lie beyond what we human beings can measure.

Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Curtis Mitch (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Decapitation Rock, Day 22
The Second Book of Samuel, chapter nineteen, verses nine thru fifteen.

Commentary: David Mourns for Absalom (2 Samuel, 19:9-10) & David Is Recalled (2 Samuel, 19:11-15).

'Tis also the festival of Saint Audoin of Rouen, Bishop (circa 605-684; also spelt Ouen, Aldwin, etc.; A.K.A. Dado), Bishop of Rouen (641-684): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Rouen.

Commentary: Son of St. Authaire of La-Ferté [24 April].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Émilie de Vialar, Virgin, S.J.A. (1797-1856), foundress of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition (1832, S.J.A.): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Order-link & Wikipedia-link S.J.A.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Maksymilian Binkiewicz, Priest & Martyr (circa 1908-1942), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link (List, № 52); Martyrs-link Polska & Wikipedia-link Polska.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Edward Kaźmierski, Martyr (1919-1942), martyred in the reign of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, one of the One Hundred Eight Blessed Polish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Polska & Wikipedia-link Polska.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Veronica Antal, Virgin & Martyr, T.O.S.F. (1935-1958) martyred by her attempted rapist, Pavel Mocanu: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"I call. I call you. I know that this is bold of me, maybe even vain, possibly a bit inconvenient. But I must call out as Jesus did: come with me. This is to ask for a precious gift, the gift of yourself to the Lord, a sacrifice without limitations."
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"The holy King David tells us that one day spent in the service of God is of more value than a thousand others which the children of this world spend in their luxuries & pleasures."
—St. Jean-Marie Vianney (1786-1859, feast: 4 August)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"We fear the future because we are wasting the today."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"What makes a thing bad? Well, here is a pencil. This is a good pencil; it writes. That was why it was made. Is it a good can opener? It certainly is not. Suppose I use it as a can opener. What happens? First of all, I do not open the can. I do not attain the purpose for which I used the pencil. Second, I destroy the pencil. Now if I, for example, decide to do certain things which I ought not to do, I do not attain the purpose for which I was created. For example, becoming an alcoholic does not make me happy. Furthermore, I destroy myself, just as I destroyed the pencil in using it to open a can. When I disobey God, I do not make myself very happy on the inside, & I certainly destroy any peace of soul that I ought to have."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)