Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
"The Theology of 'Next to Me'"

'Tis the Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin & Doctor of the Church, O.C.D. (1515-1582, of Ávila; A.K.A. Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada), co-foundress of the Discalced Carmelites (1562, O.C.D.), formally the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel: Doctor-link ūna, Doctor-link duæ, Doctor-link tria, & Wikipedia-link; Doctors-link & Wikipedia-link Doctors; & Order-link & Wikipedia-link O.C.D..

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Aurelia of Strasbourg, Virgin (died circa 383): Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Severus of Trier, Bishop (died circa 455), Bishop of Trier (446-455): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Diocese-link & Wikipedia-link Trier.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Canus Natus of Marseille, Bishop (died 490, also spelt Cannatus), Bishop of Marseille; the commune of Saint-Cannat arose around his grave: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Marseille & Wikipedia-link Saint-Cannat.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Aurelia of Regensburg, Virgin (died 1027, A.K.A. of Ratisbon): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki, Martyr (circa 1611-1634), martyred in the reign of the Japanese warlord Tokugawa Iemitsu: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: St. Magdalene's parents are also martyrs.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter one, verses one thru ten;
Psalm Ninety-eight (R/. two[a]), verses one, two & three(a/b), three(c/d) & four, & five & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter eleven, verses forty-seven thru fifty-four.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the scribes and Pharisees make Jesus a scapegoat: they “began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.” René Girard, the great Franco-American philosopher and social commentator, is best known for his speculations on what he called the scapegoating mechanism. Sadly, Girard maintained, most human communities are predicated upon this dysfunctional and deeply destructive instinct. Roughly speaking, it unfolds as follows. When tensions arise in a group, people commence to cast about for a scapegoat, for someone or some group to blame. Deeply attractive, even addictive, the scapegoating move rapidly attracts a crowd, which in short order becomes a mob. In their common hatred of the victim, the blamers feel an ersatz sense of togetherness. Filled with the excitement born of self-righteousness, the mob then endeavors to isolate and finally eliminate the scapegoat, convinced that this will restore order to their roiled society. The Gospels appreciated the Girardian dynamic long before Girard.

Video reflection by Deacon Clarence McDavid (U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

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

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus
The Letter to the Romans, chapter eight, verses twenty-two thru twenty-seven;
Psalm Nineteen (R/. ten), verses eight, nine, ten, & eleven
(or, R/. the Gospel according to John, chapter six, verse sixty-three);
The Gospel according to John, chapter fifteen, verses one thru eight.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Havel Highlands, Day 25
The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter seven, verses nine & ten.

Commentary: Wisdom & Folly Compared (cont'd; Ecclesiastes, 7:9-10).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The presence of contemplatives in the midst of God's people fufills the same function as the heart in the human body. As the heart, though hidden, is the source of all the body's activities, so contemplation, though hidden, gives life & holiness to the Church."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"Suffering is an inevitable part of life. When suffering comes to us, let us accept it with a smile. This is one of the greatest gifts God has given us: the courage to accept with a smile whatever He gives, whatever He allows, whatever He takes."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Do not tire your brain by trying to work it during meditation. It is a higher grace from God that you should continually praise Him & wish that others may do so too, & a striking proof that your mind is fixed on Him."
—St. Teresa of Jesus, Doctor of the Church (1515-1582, feast: 15 October)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"Douglas Hyde, who was editor of the communist Daily Worker, told me that he & his wife (who was co-editor) were one night listening to the Soviet foreign minister, Litvinov, on British wireless. Suddenly she got up, shut off the wireless, & said, 'I don't think he wants peace. I think he wants war. He's just talking peace.'

"Her husband said, 'Don't talk that way. You're not talking like a communist.'

"She said, 'I don't care what I'm talking like, but I don't think he wants peace.'

"'If you continue to talk that way,' he said, 'I will report you to the Party & you will be disciplined.'

"'Report me; I don't care', she said.

"'Do you know what you're talking like?' he said. 'You're talking as if you might become a Catholic.'

"She said, 'I am.'

"He said, 'So am I.' Here were two people editing a communist newspaper & the Holy Spirit worked on them separately & changed them until they were both brought into the Church."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)