Saints + Scripture

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Saints of the Day
'Tis the festival of Saint Marcellus of Tangier, Martyr (died circa 298, A.K.A. the Centurion), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian & Maximian: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Asterius of Amasea, Bishop (circa 350-410), Bishop of Amasea (380-410): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Amasea.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Talarican of Sodor, Bishop (floruit 720, A.K.A. Tarkin), Bishop of the Isles (A.K.A. Sodor): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Isles & Wikipedia-link Bishops.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Gerard of Potenza, Bishop (died 1119, A.K.A. Gerard La Porta), Bishop of Potenza (1111-1119), patron of Potenza's Cathedral of San Gerardo: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Potenza & Wikipedia-link San Gerardo.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Benvenuta Bojani, Virgin, T.O.S.D. (1254-1292): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blesseds John Bodey & John Slade, Martyrs (died 1583), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, two of the one hundred fifty-eight Martyrs of Douai: Martyr-link Juliett Bravo & Wikipedia-link Juliett Bravo, Martyr-link Juliett Sierra & Wikipedia-link Juliett Sierra; Martyrs-link Douai & Wikipedia-link Douai.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Terence Albert O'Brien, Bishop & Martyr, O.P. (1600-1651), Bishop of Emly (1647-1651), martyred in the reign of the English warlord Oliver Cromwell, one of the Irish Martyrs: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Emly, & Martyrs-link Éire & Wikipedia-link Éire.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Philippians, chapter one, verses one thru eleven;
Psalm One Hundred Eleven (R/. two; or, "Alleluia"), verses one & two, three & four, & five & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter fourteen, verses one thru six.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus heals a man on the sabbath, thus demonstrating his authority over the Law. The Jesus portrayed in the Gospels consistently speaks and acts in the very person of [YHWH], the God of Israel.

On another occasion, defending his disciples against the charge of picking grain on the sabbath, Jesus reminds his interlocutors that priests serving in the temple can, under certain circumstances, violate the sabbath and still remain innocent; then he adds with breathtaking laconicism, "I say to you, something greater than the temple is here." The only one who could reasonably claim to be "greater" than the temple would be the one who was worshiped in the temple.

In a number of places in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states, "You have heard it said… but I say…" This almost casual dismissal of the Torah, the revelation given by [YHWH] to Moses himself and hence the court of final appeal to any pious Jew, would have overwhelmed any first-century Jew. Once more, the only one who could legitimately overrule the Torah with such insouciance would be the one who was himself the author of the Torah.

Video reflection by Father Praveen Lakkisetti (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

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

Scripture Study—Day 91: Havel Highlands, Day 40
The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter eleven, verses seven thru ten.

Commentary: Youth & Old Age (Ecclesiastes, 11:7-10).

Scripture Study—Pierced Hands Bible Reading Plan: Day 57
The Book of Leviticus, chapter eleven (verses one thru forty-seven);
The Book of Leviticus, chapter twelve (verses one thru eight);
The Book of Leviticus, chapter thirteen (verses one thru fifty-nine);
The Book of the Psalms, psalm fifty-seven (verses one thru eleven);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-seven, verses one thru twenty-six.

Commentary: Clean & Unclean Foods (Leviticus, 11:1-12), Unclean Creatures (Leviticus, 11:13-47), Purification of Women (Leviticus, 12:1-8), & Skin Diseases (Leviticus, 13:1-59); Praise & Assurance under Persecution (Psalm 57); & Jesus Brought before Pilate (Matthew, 27:1-2), Judas Hangs Himself (Matthew, 27:3-10), Pilate Questions Jesus (Matthew, 27:11-14), Barabbas or Jesus? (Matthew, 27:15-23), & Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified (Matthew, 27:24-26).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"A new era is unfolding of faithfulness to the Holy Spirit, of love of the crucified Christ, of dedication to one's brothers & sisters, of the building up of a more human & just society. We do not want to lag behind. Forward, in the Name of the Lord."
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"When I pick up a hungry person from the street, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread. But a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out of society—that spiritual poverty is much harder to overcome."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"God would not make me wish for something impossible, & so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, O.C.D., Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast: 1 October)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"I had been preaching on Good Friday at St. Patrick's one year, a woman came back to the main altar, her hair disheveled, a haunted look on her face, & cursed me violently. I said, 'Why did you come in here?' She said, 'To steal purses.' I said, 'Did you get any?' 'No,' she said, 'that second word of yours got me—the word to the good thief.' Then she said, 'Why am I talking to you, you blankety-blank? You'll just tell the cops.' I said, 'Why do the cops want you?' She pulled out clippings from the Los Angeles Times & FBI folders. Three of her confreres were in San Quentin, & the FBI was looking for her. I asked her if she had ever been a Catholic, & she said yes, she had, up until the age of fourteen. So I heard her confession, & she became a daily communicant. But she was unable to work. I supported her for about twenty years until she died. Well, I was harboring a criminal, so after some time I said to her, 'I must make known to the FBI that I know about you.' She agreed, & I told the FBI. I said, 'You're looking for this woman.' 'Do we want her badly?' they said. I said, 'Oh, yes. Her name is so-and-so. She's a daily communicant at St. Patrick's.' They said, 'You have done far more for her than we or the prisons could have done, so we're letting her go.' So this chance incident of coming in to a church on Good Friday to steal purses made all the difference."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)