Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
"Effective Evangelization"

'Tis the First Friday o' the month: Wikipedia-link First Friday & Wikipedia-link Sacred Heart.

'Tis the festival of Saint Hermione of Ephesus, Martyr (died 117), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Daughter of the deacon St. Philip the Evangelist [11 October].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Boniface I, Pope (circa 350-422), forty-second (XLII) Bishop of Rome (418-422): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, Saint-link trēs, & Wikipedia-link; Pontifex-link & Wikipedia-link Pontifex.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Ultan of Ardbraccan, Bishop & Abbot (died circa 657), Bishop of Ardbraccan: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Ardbraccan.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Ida of Herzfeld (circa 770-825): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Great-granddaughter of Bl. Charlemagne [28 January].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Rosalia, Virgin (circa 1130-1166, "La Santuzza" [the "little saint"]): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Descendant of Bl. Charlemagne [28 January].

'Tis also the festival of Saint Rose of Viterbo, Virgin, T.O.S.F. (circa 1233-1251), venerated annually by the procession of the magnificent Macchina di Santa Rosa through the streets of Viterbo: Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duæ, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Macchina di Santa Rosa.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Marie of Saint Cecilia of Rome, Religious, R.J.M. (1897-1929, the "Little Flower of Canada;" A.K.A. Dina Bélanger): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verses one thru five;
Psalm Thirty-seven (R/. thirty-nine[a]), verses three & four, five & six, twenty-seven & twenty-eight, & thirty-nine & forty;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter five, verses thirty-three thru thirty-nine.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, some Pharisees wonder why Jesus and his disciples do not fast when John and his disciples do. Jesus didn’t sequester himself like the Essenes; he didn’t insist on ritual and legal purity like the Pharisees; he didn’t fast and live a life of austerity like John and his followers. And he ate and drank with the worst elements in the society.

All of this made Jesus a somewhat scandalous figure. So they ask why he doesn’t encourage fasting (and more traditional religious austerities) among his followers. Jesus’ answer is wonderful: “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”

This great image of the wedding feast comes up frequently in the New Testament. And it is echoed in the tradition. Jesus is the wedding of heaven and earth, the marriage of divinity and humanity; he is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride. In him, the most intimate union is achieved between God and the world.

The mark of the Christian dispensation is joy. Exuberance. Delight. God and the world have come together. What could be better news?

Video reflection by Sister Sydney Moss, F.M.A. (U.S.C. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

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

Scripture Study—Day 91: Decapitation Rock, Day 33
The Second Book of Samuel, chapter twenty-three, verses one thru seven.

Commentary: Last Words of David (2 Samuel, 23:1-7).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The Cross of Christ! It is the last word of Divine Wisdom. It is the ultimate source of Divine Power over human history."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Compassion, my dear Brother, is preferrible to cleanliness. Reflect that with a little soap I can easily clean my bed covers, but even with a torrent of tears I would never wash from my soul the stain that my harshness toward the unfortunate would create."
—St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639, feast: 3 November)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"That terrible longing keeps growing & I feel as if something will break in me one day—& then that darkness comes, that loneliness, that feeling of terrible loneliness. Heaven seems closed from every side—& yet I long for God. I long to love Him with every drop of life in me—& I want to love Him with a deep personal love."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"When a miracle seems to be at variance with a law like the universal law of gravitation, a higher power has been introduced. The law of gravitation can actually be overcome by the right arm of a little child. According to the natural laws, the ball ought to fall to the ground when it is bounced, but the hand of the little child can stop the operation of the law of gravitation by catching the ball. When God, therefore, puts forth the strength of His arm, He can suspend the action of some of the laws that He has made in order to manifest some of His goodness & His justice & the fact that He is Lord of creation."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)