'Tis the Memorial of Saint Monica (circa 322-387, of Hippo): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, Saint-link tria, Saint-link The Bible & the Church Fathers, & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Mother of the bishop & Doctor of the Church St. Augustine of Hippo [28 August].
'Tis also the festival of Saints Rufus, Deacon, & Carpophorus, Martyrs (died circa 295), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian & Maximian: Martyr-link Romeo, Martyr-link Charlie, & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Caesarius of Arles, Bishop (circa 468-543, A.K.A. of Chalon), fifteenth (XV) Archbishop of Arles (503-543), presider over the Council of Agde (506) & the Second Council of Orange (529): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Arles, & Wikipedia-link Agde & Wikipedia-link Orange.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Decuman, Hermit & Martyr (died circa 706, A.K.A. Dagan), martyred by a pagan Celt, a cephalophore: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Cephalophore.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Roger Cadwallador, Priest & Martyr (circa 1566-1610), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish king James VI & I, one of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.
'Tis also the festival of Saint David Lewis, Priest & Martyr, S.J. (1616-1679, A.K.A. Charles Baker), martyred in the reign of the Anglo-Scottish king Charles II, a victim of the perjurer Titus Oates's "Popish Plot" hoax; one of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Popish Plot-link & Wikipedia-link Popish Plot; & Martyrs-link England & Wales & Wikipedia-link England & Wales.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter one, verses one thru nine;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-five (R/. one), verses two & three, four & five, & six & seven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-four, verses forty-two thru fifty-one.
Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus praises the faithful servant who served his master in a theo-drama. We are called to serve our Master in the same way. A theo-drama is written and directed by God. On the great stage that is the created universe and according to the prototype that is Christ, we are invited to “act,” to find and play our role in God’s theater.Video reflection by Father Roger Lopez, O.F.M. (U.S.C. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
The problem is that the vast majority of us think that we are the directors, writers, and above all, stars of our own “ego-dramas,” with other people functioning as either our supporting players or the villains in contrast to whom we shine all the brighter.
Of course, our dramas are always uninteresting, even if we are playing the lead role. The key is to find the role that God has designed for us, even if it looks like a bit part. Sometimes, in a lengthy novel, a character who has seemed minor emerges as the fulcrum around which the entire narrative turns.
When we de-center the ego and live in an exciting and unpredictable relationship to God, we realize very clearly that our lives are not about us. And that’s a liberating discovery.
Video reflection by Becket Ghioto (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.
Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Monica
The Book of Sirach, chapter twenty-six, verses one thru four & thirteen thru sixteen;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-one (R/. "In You, Lord, I have found my peace"), verses one (b/c/d/e), two, & three;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter seven, verses eleven thru seventeen.
Scripture Study—Day 91: Decapitation Rock, Day 25
The Second Book of Samuel, chapter nineteen, verses thirty-two thru forty.
Commentary: David Blesses Barzillai (2 Samuel, 19:32-40).
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Change your thoughts, your tastes according to the will of God. Correct those faults that we often boast of as our principles & qualities. Search for a continual interior uprightness of feelings & resolutions. Let yourselves really be guided by the love of God & by the love of your neighbor."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)
"Nothing is far from God."
—St. Monica of Hippo (322-387, feast: 27 August)
Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
"What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight: Build anyway."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"Look at the limitations of our reason: how poor it is! Even those with very good powers of reason have admitted in the end that they have captured just a little of truth. The great scientist Isaac Newton said that he felt as if he were standing on the seashore of infinite truth & the vast waters of knowledge stretched endlessly before him. Socrates, one of the wisest of the Greeks, said, 'There is only one thing that I know & that is that I know nothing.' Thomas Aquinas, who was the greatest mind that ever lived, said at the end of his life that all he had written seemed to him as so much straw in comparison to a dim vision that he received of heaven."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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