The Popish Plot
"The Good Theology of 'Connection'"
'Tis the Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent: Advent-link & Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Final Advent Days (21 December)
The Song of Songs, chapter two, verses eight thru fourteen;
or, the Book of Zephaniah, chapter three, verses fourteen thru eighteen(a);
Psalm Thirty-three (R/. one[a] & three[a]), verses two & three, eleven & twelve, & twenty & twenty-one;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses thirty-nine thru forty-five.
Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today’s Gospel tells the marvelous story of the Visitation. At the Annunciation, the angel had told Mary that the child to be conceived in her would be the new David.Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
With that magnificent prophecy still ringing in her ears, Mary set out to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was married to Zechariah, a temple priest. No first-century Jew would have missed the significance of their residence being in the hill country of Judah.
That was precisely where David found the ark, the bearer of God’s presence. To that same hill country now comes Mary, the definitive and final Ark of the Covenant.
Elizabeth is the first to proclaim the fullness of the Gospel: "How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"—the Lord, which is to say, the God of Israel. Mary brings God into the world, thus making it, at least in principle, a temple.
And then Elizabeth announces that at the sound of Mary’s greeting, "the infant in my womb leaped for joy." This is the unborn John the Baptist doing his version of David’s dance before the ark of the covenant, his great act of worship of the King.
Reflect: Can you feel the joy in this Gospel passage? When have you experienced such joy in your life of faith?
Video reflection by Curtis Mitch (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.
The Second Letter to Timothy, chapter four, verses one thru five;
Psalm Forty (R/. eight[a] & nine[a]), verses two & four, seven & eight(a), eight(b) & nine, ten, & eleven;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter five, verses thirteen thru nineteen.
Scripture Study—Bishop's Year of the Bible: Day 23
The Gospel according Matthew, chapter twelve (verses one thru fifty);
Commentary: Plucking Grain on the Sabbath (Matthew, 12:1-8), the Man with a Withered Hand (Matthew, 12:9-14), God's Chosen Servant (Matthew, 12:15-21), Jesus & Beelzebul (Matthew, 12:22-32), a Tree & Its Fruit (Matthew, 12:33-37), the Sign of Jonah (Matthew, 12:38-42), the Return of the Unclean Spirit (Matthew, 12:43-45), & the True Kindred of Jesus (Matthew, 12:46-50).
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Do not be afraid to commit your life for others. Do not shy away from problems. Do not try to compromise wirth mediocrity or conformity. It is time to assume your responsibilities, to become involved, not to run away."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"Life is full of paradoxes. I have found that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"God loves each of us as if there were onely one of us."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church (354-430, feast: 28 August)
"There are two verses in scripture, one from Isaiah & the other from the Epistle to the Hebrews, which seem to be contradictory. Isaiah says that our Lord was reckoned with the transgressors, or sinners. The Epistle to the Hebrews says that He was separated from sinners. He was one with them & at the same time not with them. He was reckoned with sinners, inasmuch as in His human nature He took upon Himself all the penalties of sin. He was separated simply because He was God & also because, even in His human nature, He was like us in all things, save sin."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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