Saints + Scripture: XXVI Sunday in Tempus per annum

Simplex Complex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

'Tis the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

O God, Who manifest Your almighty power
above all by pardoning & showing mercy,
bestow, we pray, Your grace abundantly upon us
& make those hastening to attain Your promises
heirs to the treasures of heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives & reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever & ever.

Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Ezekiel, chapter eighteen, verses twenty-five thru twenty-eight;
Psalm Twenty-five (R/. six[a]), verses four & five, six & seven, & eight & nine;
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter two, verses one thru eleven
(or, the Letter to the Philippians, chapter two, verses one thru five);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-one, verses twenty-eight thru thirty-two.

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

Friends, today’s Gospel is the parable of the two sons, a story about obedience to God. To live the good life is not finally a matter of autonomy but of obeying commandments.

The obedience that Jesus desires is a surrender to the one who wants what is best for the surrenderer. The entire to-be of the Son is a listening to the command of the Father, and the creature, consequently, is meant to be nothing but a listening to the command of the Son.

This is why Jesus says in the Gospel of John, "You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer… I have called you friends." What was lost in the Garden of Eden was friendship with God, symbolized by the easy fellowship enjoyed by Adam and Yahweh.

The whole of the biblical revelation—culminating in Jesus—could be construed as the story of God’s attempt to restore friendship with the human race. In the Last Supper discourse we hear the conditions for this restoration: coinherence with God, which is tantamount to an insertion into the coinherence that God is.

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M. (U. S. C. of Catholic Bishops): Sunday Reflection.

Video reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire): Sunday Sermon.

Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Havel Highlands, Day 7
The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter two, verses twelve thru seventeen.

Commentary: Vanity of Folly & Toil (Ecclesiastes, 2:12-17).

†

Otherwise, 27 September would be the festival of Saint Adheritus, Bishop (floruit 79), second (II) Bishop of Ravenna (79-?): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link, Wikipedia-link Ravenna, & Wikipedia-link Bishops.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Baruc, Hermit (floruit sixth century; also spelt Barrog, Barry, etc.) namesake of Barry Island: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Island.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Ceraunus, Bishop (died circa 622, modernized as Céran), Bishop of Paris (606-622): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Paris.

'Twould also be the festival of Saints Adolphus & John of Córdoba, Martyrs (died circa 825), martyred in the reign of the Andalusian king Abd al-Rahman II: Martyr-link Alpha, Martyr-link Juliett, Wikipedia-link Aurea, & Wikipedia-link List.

Commentary: Brothers of fellow martyr St. Aurea of Córdoba [19 July].

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Elzéar of Sabran & Blessed Delphine of Glandèves, Virgin, T.O.S.F. (1285-1323 & circa 1283-1360), Count & Countess of Ariano: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link Echo, Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link Delta.

Commentary: Husband & wife; uncle & godfather of Pope Bl. Urban V [19 December].

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest, C.M. (1581-1660), founder of the Vincentians (1624, C.M.), formally the Congregation of the Mission (A.K.A. the Lazarists, etc.), & co-founder of the Daughters of Charity (1633, D.C.), formally the Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul; two members of the broader Vincentian Family: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, Saint-link trēs, Saint-link Array of Hope & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link C.M., Wikipedia-link D.C., & Wikipedia-link Family.

Commentary: Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:

Teach me compassion, O Lord. Make me like St. Vincent de Paul, who reached out to those most in need. Above all, let me remember what he always taught, that the poor owe us nothing when we help them, for the opporunity to help them is already our reward.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"With the eyes of faith, we can see the light which the Holy Spirit always radiates in the midst of darkness."
—Pope Francis (b. 1936, r. 2013-present)

Bonus! Papal Quote o' the Day

"Christ taught us not only how to suffer but also to help those who suffer. And to encourage our generosity, He identified Himself with the person who suffers."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"God created us to love & be loved, & so we hunger for chances to love & be loved. The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"If God is the center of your life, no words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts."
—St. Vincent de Paul, C.M. (1581-1660, feast: 27 September)