Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
"Searching Catholicism: Do Catholics…?, Part 2"

'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin, T.O.S.D.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to the Thessalonians, chapter one, verses one thru five, eight(b), nine, & ten;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-nine (R/. cf. four[a]), verses one(b) & two; three & four; & five, six(a), & nine(b);
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-three, verses thirteen thru twenty-two.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus launches a blistering attack on the scribes and Pharisees.

The Son teaches, heals, preaches to, and forgives those who feel far from the mercy of God. He is the hand that the Father stretches out to sinners and to those who are lost. And by the same token, he is the judge of a sinful world. When the light of God’s forgiving love appears, the shadows of sin become all the deeper and more obvious. In light of him, there is nowhere to hide. And Jesus, the Word of the Father, gives voice to this judgment: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites…."

The Son names all those powers that are opposed to the creative and loving intentions of his Father. He speaks a word of judgment on a world grown cozy with sin. He "channels" all of the feelings of the Father toward the world: intense, forgiving love to those who are lost, and equally intense hatred for the structures of darkness.

Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

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

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

Mass Readings—Optional Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter ten, verse seventeen(b) thru chapter eleven, verse two;
Psalm One Hundred Forty-eight (R/. twelve[a] & thirteen[a]; or, "Alleluia."), verses one(b/c) & two; eleven, twelve, & thirteen(a); & thirteen(c) & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter thirteen, verses forty-four, forty-five, & forty-six.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to Heaven."
—Saint Rose of Lima (1586-1617, feast: 23 August)