Saints + Scripture: XV Sunday in Tempus per annum

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

'Tis the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Amos, chapter seven, verses twelve thru fifteen;
Psalm Eighty-five (R/. eight), verses nine & ten, eleven & twelve, & thirteen & fourteen;
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter one, verses three thru fourteen
(or, the Letter to the Ephesians, chapter one, verses three thru ten);
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter six, verses seven thru thirteen.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus sends the Twelve on their mission to announce the nearness of the kingdom. I want to say a few things about our embracing our mission and being equipped for it.

What do you need for your mission? You need a keen sense of God as the absolute center of your life. In a word, you require the spiritual gifts of piety and fear of the Lord. I realize that these terms can sound fussy and puritanical, but they are actually naming something strong and essential.

You need fear of the Lord, which does not mean that you are afraid of God. It means that nothing to you is more important than God, that everything in your life centers around and is subordinate to your love for God. And your equipping needs to include piety. That means that you honor God above everything else, that you worship him alone. These spiritual gifts enable you to find true balance; they allow you to know what your life is about.

Equipped with these gifts, you are ready for mission. Having received the fire of the Holy Spirit, you are ready to set the world on fire.

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M. (U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops): Sunday Reflection.

Video reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire): Sunday Sermon.

Video reflection by Doctor Tim Gray (Augustine Institute/Formed.org): Sunday Reflection.

Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.