'Tis the Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter three, verse fifteen thru chapter four, verse one & verses three thru six;
Psalm Eighty-five (R/. cf. ten[b]), verses nine(a/b) & ten, eleven & twelve, & thirteen & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter five, verses twenty thru twenty-six.
Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, our Gospel for today is again taken from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has symbolically established himself as the new Moses, giving a law upon a mountain. His “you have heard that it was said… but I say…” has revealed that he has authority even over the Torah.Video reflection by Deacon Clarence McDavid (U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
To be clear, the Law is not being abrogated here; it is being intensified. The Law was always meant to bring humanity into line with divinity. In the beginning, this alignment was at a fairly basic level. But now that the definitive Moses has appeared, the alignment is becoming absolute, radical, complete.
And so Jesus teaches, “You have heard it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” Killing is an action, but that action is rooted in a more fundamental dysfunction: a hateful attitude, a disordered soul, a basic misperception of reality. To be utterly like God, we obviously have to eliminate cruel and hateful actions; but we have to go deeper, eliminating cruel and hateful thoughts and attitudes. For God is love, right through.
Video reflection by Curtis Mitch (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.
Video reflection by Doctor Tim Gray (Augustine Institute/Formed.org): Easter Reflection.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"The real Church is being born today in the faithfulness & boldness of the Spirit, in the unity of Christ's Body. We do not ask you to praise her a priori, but to give these positive facts the place they deserve. Like the Lord, we say to you: Come & see."Bonus! Papal Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)
"Certainly, the high road to truth & goodness is not a comfortable one. It challenges man. Nevertheless, retreat into self, however comfortable, does not redeem. The self withers away & becomes lost. But in ascending the heights of the good, man discovers more & more the beauty that lies in the arduousness of truth, which constitutes redemption for him."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927, r. 2005-2013)
"Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home. Make them long to be with their families. So much sin could be avoided if only people really loved as family."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of love. You are my refuge & my sanctuary."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Gertrude the Great, O.S.B. (1256-1302, feast:156 November)
"Foster devotion to the Spirit but, as the Holy Father said, be careful that you do not confuse the psychic & the spiritual. He was referring to this passage in Hebrews: 'For the word of God is alive & active. It cuts more keenly than any two–edged sword, piercing as far as the place where life & the spirit, joints & marrow divide.' In other words, the Word of God makes a very keen distinction between joints & marrow (& we know how closely they are united), between the spirit & the mind, the psychical—that's the word that's used—& the spiritual. The two can be very close. We can have psychical, emotional manifestations, but as the Holy Father warned, they may only be psychical. They may not be spiritual. So test the spirit."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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