Saints + Scripture

'Tis the festival of Saint Ariadne of Phrygia, Martyr (died circa 130), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Eustrogius of Milan, Bishop (died circa 349), Archbishop of Milan (343-349): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Milan.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Eumenes the Thaumaturgus, Bishop (died circa 680), Archbishop of Crete (667-680): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Crete.

Commentary: "Thaumaturgus" is an epithet meaning "Wonder-worker" (miracle-worker).

'Tis also the festival of Saint Hygbald, Abbot, O.S.B. (died circa 690; also spelt Hybald, etc.), abbot of Bardney Abbey: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Bardney.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Richardis of Andlau, Religious, O.S.B. (circa 839-895; A.K.A. of Swabia, of Alsace; also spelt Richgard), Holy Roman Empress, foundress of Andlau Abbey (880): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Andlau.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Joseph of Cupertino, Priest, O.F.M. Conv. (1603-1663, the "Flying Friar;" A.K.A. Giuseppe Maria Desa): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, Saint-link trēs, & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Józef Kut, Priest & Martyr (1905-1942), 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.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses twelve thru twenty;
Psalm Seventeen (R/. fifteen[b]), verses one(b/c/d); six, seven, & eight(b); & fifteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eight, verses one, two, & three.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, we learn that some women accompanied Jesus and provided for him and the Twelve from their resources. Jesus invited women into full participation in the life of discipleship.

All of those women sat in eager discipleship at the feet of Jesus. Now, don’t get me wrong! I’m not advocating the contemporary feminist agenda, which often runs rough-shod over the real differences that obtain between men and women.

But I am urging you to see the radicality of Jesus’ call to discipleship, which cuts through so many of the social conventions of his time and ours. I am urging you to see that everyone—rich and poor, those on the inside and those on the outs, men and women—are summoned to discipleship and that this summons is the most important consideration of all.

Given all of this, can we see these women disciples as forerunners of all of the great women who have followed Jesus over the centuries? Can we see them as prototypes of Teresa of Avila, Joan of Arc, Clare of Assisi, Thérèse of Lisieux, Mother Teresa of Kolkata, Katharine Drexel, Edith Stein, and Dorothy Day?

Video reflection by the Reverend Jason Martini (U. S. C. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

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

Scripture Study—Pierced Hands Bible Reading Plan: Day 45
The Letter to the Romans, chapter one (verses one thru thirty-two);
The Letter to the Romans, chapter two (verses one thru twenty-nine);
The Book of the Psalms, psalm forty-five (verses one thru seventeen);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-one, verses thirty-three thru forty-six.

Commentary: Salutation (Romans, 1:1-7), Prayer of Thanksgiving (Romans, 1:8-15), the Power of the Gospel (Romans, 1:16-17), God's Wrath against Man's Wickedness (Romans, 1:18-32), the Righteous Judgment of God (Romans, 2:1-16), & the Jews & the Law (Romans, 2:17-29); Ode to a Royal Wedding (Psalm 45); & the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew, 21:33-41) & the Stone Which the Builders Rejected (Matthew, 21:42-46).

Scripture Study—Pierced Hands Bible Reading Plan: Day 46
The Letter to the Romans, chapter three (verses one thru thirty-one);
The Letter to the Romans, chapter four (verses one thru twenty-five);
The Book of the Psalms, psalm forty-six (verses one thru eleven);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verses one thru fourteen.

Commentary: The Jews & the Laws (cont'd; Romans, 3:1-8), None Is Righteous (Romans, 3:9-20), Righteousness through Faith (Romans, 3:21-31), the Example of the Faith of Abraham (Romans, 4:1-12), & God's Promise Realized through Faith (Romans, 4:13-25); God's Defense of His City & People (Psalm 46); & the Parable of the Marriage Feast (Matthew, 22:1-14).

Scripture Study—Pierced Hands Bible Reading Plan: Day 47
The Letter to the Romans, chapter five (verses one thru twenty-one);
The Letter to the Romans, chapter six (verses one thru twenty-three);
The Book of the Psalms, psalm forty-seven (verses one thru nine);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verses fifteen thru thirty-three.

Commentary: Results of Justification (Romans, 5:1-11), Adam & Christ (Romans, 5:12-Z), Dying & Rising with Christ (Romans, 6:1-14), & Slaves of Sin or of Righteousness (Romans, 6:15-23); God's Rule over the Nations (Psalm 47); & the Question about Paying Taxes (Matthew, 22:15-22) & the Question about Man's Resurrection (Matthew, 22:23-33).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The voice of the Church is like the voice of a mother: it may seem monotonous at times. However, it has a tone of tenderness & of strength that keeps us from evil & saves us."
—Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963, r. 1958-1963; feast: 11 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"Confess your win & be finished with it. God's mercy is greater than your sin. Don't be afraid, scrupulous, or anxious. You are a sinner full of sin when you go to Confession, & when you come out you are a sinner without sin. But alwaus, before everythign else & after everything else, you are a child of God."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"O my Lord Jesus, whose love for me has been so great as to bring Thee down from heaven to save me, teach me, dear Lord, my sin—teach me its heinousness—teach me truly to repent of it—and pardon it in Thy great mercy!"
—St. John Henry Newman, C.O. (1801-1890, feast: 9 October)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"Besides apathy & antipathy, there was empathy, the few chosen souls at the foot of the cross. You see, the cross unites not only the friends of our Lord, the cross unites enemies. We will begin to see as the world goes on, a new kind of bigotry. We will be opposed not because we believe, for example, in the supremacy of the Holy Father, but because we are standing in the way of the demoralization of the world. We stand for life against death. We stand for the family against divorce. We stand for purity against fornication. We stand for goodness instead of vice. We are the great obstacle to the world. The new bigotry will see that cross & will hate us. So we have to be prepared for it, & we have to take our stand underneath it."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)