Saints + Scripture

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

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Wednesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter twelve, verse thirty-one thru chapter thirteen, verse thirteen;
Psalm Thirty-three (R/. twelve), verses two & three, four & five, & twelve & twenty-two;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter seven, verses thirty-one thru thirty-five.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus observes that the people of his generation criticize him as "a friend of tax collectors and sinners."

Jesus came as God’s own self into our dysfunctional world. He came to bring the light of God’s presence and love to the far country of sin and death. Accordingly, he went to the poor, the disabled, the marginalized, the forgotten, those crippled by sin.

He came to bring the ordo of God into a disordered world. He came as the keynote to tune up a cacophonous universe. And thus the proponents of disorder and the producers of the cacophony sought to destroy him.

The Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus, the living organism that makes present Christ’s mind and will in the world. It is his love made flesh throughout the ages, his hands and feet and eyes and heart. We are all, through Baptism, members of that Body. Our purpose is his purpose—to carry the nonviolent and forgiving love of God to a hungry world, to go to the darkest places, to the far country in quest of sinners; to be both judge (sign of contradiction) and bearer of salvation.

Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D. (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Doctor John Bergsma (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.

Mass Readings—Memorial of Ss. Cornelius & Cyprian
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verses seven thru fifteen;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-six (R/. five), verses one(b/c) & two(a/b), two(c/d) & three, four & five, & six;
The Gospel according to John, chapter seventeen, verses eleven(b) thru nineteen.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Have no enemies. Conquer hostility with the power of love. Cultivate a mentality & practice of nonviolence. Be open to the needy, the poor, the marginalized. May they be the specially invited guests at the table of your lives."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"We are all called to live contemplative lives. Contemplation is not to be shut up in a dark place, but to allow Jesus to live His passion, love, & humility in us, praying with us, being with us, sanctifying us & others through us."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"[Christ] died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. [Mary] died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His."
—St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church (1090-1153, feast: 20 August)

Commentary: I wish the good folks @ Word on Fire would propagate these prayer graphics according to a different schedule than they do. This lovely quote for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (15 September) was not available 'til after yesterday's "Saints + Scripture" post was published.