'Tis the Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church, O.S.B. (circa 540-604; Gregory I, A.K.A. the Dialogist), sixty-fourth (LXIV) Bishop of Rome (590-604), who dispatched the Gregorian Mission to the Anglo-Saxons (596), also a Father of the Church: Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, Doctor-link trēs, Doctor-link quattuor, Doctor-link The Bible & the Church Fathers, & Wikipedia-link; Pontifex-link & Wikipedia-link Pontifex; Wikipedia-link Gregorian Mission; Doctors-link & Wikipedia-link Doctors; & Fathers-link & Wikipedia-link Fathers.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Great-grandson of Pope St. Felix III [1 March], son of St. Silvia of Rome [3 November], & nephew of Ss. Emiliana [5 January] & Trasilla [24 December].
Video reflection by Ken (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Saintly Reflection.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Phoebe of Rome, Deaconess (floruit first century): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Mansuetus of Toul, Bishop (died circa 375, the "Apostle of Lorraine;" also spelt Mansuy), inaugural Bishop of Toul (365-375): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Toul.
'Tis also the festival of Blesseds John of Perugia & Peter of Sassoferrato, Religious & Martyrs, O.F.M. (died 1231), martyred in the reign of the Almohad king Idris al-Ma'mun: Martyr-link Juliett, Martyr-link Papa, & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Blessed Bartolomé Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Priest & Martyr, O.S.A. (circa 1580-1632), martyred int he reign of the Japanese warlord Tokugawa Iemitsu, one of the Two Hundred Five Martyrs of Japan: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link Martyrs-link Nihon & Wikipedia-link Nihon.
'Tis also the festival of Blesseds Bibiane & Angèle-Marie, Religious & Martyrs (died 1995, A.K.A. Dénise Leclerc & Jeanne Littlejohn), martyred by jihadist Muslims of the Armed Islamic Group, two of the nineteen Martyrs of Algeria: Martyr-link Bravo, Martyr-link Alpha-Mike & Wikipedia-link (List); Wikipedia-link Algeria.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter three, verses eighteen thru twenty-three;
Psalm Twenty-four (R/. one), verses one(b/c) & two, three & four(a/b), & five & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter five, verses one thru eleven.
Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus climbs into Peter’s boat without asking permission. He simply commandeers this vessel that is central to the fisherman’s life and commences to give orders. This represents something of enormous moment: the invasion of grace.Video reflection by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (U.S.C. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
Though God respects our relative independence, he is not the least bit content to leave us in a “natural” state. Instead, he wants to live in us, to become the Lord of our lives, moving into our minds, wills, bodies, imaginations, nerves, and bones.
This commandeering of nature by grace does not involve the compromising of nature but rather its perfection and elevation. When Jesus moves into the house of the soul, the powers of the soul are heightened and properly directed; when Jesus commands the boat of the natural human life, that life is preserved, strengthened, and given a new orientation.
This is signaled symbolically by the Lord’s directive to put out into the deep water. On our own, we can know and will within a very narrow range, seeking those goods and truths that appear within the horizon of our natural consciousness, but when grace invades us, we are enticed into far deeper waters.
Video reflection by Becket Ghioto (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.
Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Gregory the Great
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verses one, two, five, six, & seven;
Psalm Ninety-six (R/. three), verses one & two(a), two(b) & three, seven & eight, & ten;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter twenty-two, verses twenty-four thru thirty.
Scripture Study—Day 91: Decapitation Rock, Day 32
The Second Book of Samuel, chapter twenty-two, verses twenty-nine, thirty-one thru thirty-four, forty-seven, fifty, & fifty-one.
Commentary: David's Song of Thanksgiving (cont'd; 2 Samuel, 22:29, 31-34, 47, 50-51).
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Let us at long last place human life itself among those precious assets that deserve our every protection. Doctors & social workers, lawmakers, journalists, & teachers ought to be in conscience bound to call publicly for the legal protection of human life."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables, weeding a garden & waiting on the sick could be a prayer, if it were offered to God."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—St. Martin de Porres, O.P. (1579-1639, feast: 3 November)
"When we speak of the poorest of the poor, who comes to mind? Who are the poorest of the poor? Nobody but you & me! We are the poorest of the poor."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"If you expel miracles from the life of Christ, you destroy the identity of Christ & the gospels. Even a neutral attitude toward the miraculous element in the gospels is impossible. The claim to work miracles is not the least important element of our Lord's teachings. Nor are the miracles wrought by Him merely an ornament to His life. They are interwoven with His entire life. The moral integrity of our Lord's character is dependent upon the reality of His miracles, because if He were a deceiver, He would not be what He claimed to be. Therefore, we cannot put asunder two things which God has joined together, namely, the beauty of Christ's character & the reality of the miracles that He worked."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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