Saints + Scripture: Adventus

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

'Tis the Friday of the First Week of Advent: Advent-link & Wikipedia-link.

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest, S.J. (1506-1552, the "Apostle to the Far East," A.K.A. Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta), co-founder of the Jesuits (S.J.), formally the Society of Jesus.

Commentary: Wayback Machine '19.

'Tis the First Friday o' the month: Wikipedia-link First Friday & Wikipedia-link Sacred Heart.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the First Week of Advent
The Book of Isaiah, chapter twenty-nine, verses seventeen thru twenty-four;
Psalm Twenty-seven (R/. one[a]), verses one, four, & thirteen & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter nine, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-one.

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

Friends, today in our Gospel two blind men beg Jesus to heal them.

Blindness in the Bible is very often a symbol of spiritual blindness: the incapacity to see what truly matters. Focused on the worldly goods of wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, most people don’t see how blind they are to the truly important things: giving oneself to the grace of God and living a life of love. If you have not surrendered to the grace of God, you are blind. How wonderful it is, then, that these men in the Gospel can cry out to Jesus in their need.

They are, of course, making a petition for physical healing, but it’s much more than that for us. It’s asking for that one thing that finally matters: spiritual vision—to know what my life is about, to know the big picture, to know where I’m going. You can have all the wealth, pleasure, honor, and power you want. You can have all the worldly goods you could desire. But if you don’t see spiritually, it will do you no good; it will probably destroy you.

REFLECT: When you pray, do you truly believe, as the blind men did, that God will answer your prayer?

Video reflection by Deacon Bernard Nojadera (U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops): Advent Reflection.

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

Mass Readings—Memorial of St. Francis Xavier
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter nine, verses sixteen thru nineteen, twenty-two, & twenty-three;
Psalm One Hundred Seventeen (R/. the Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verse fifteen), verses one(b/c), two;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verses fifteen thru twenty.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"The call to prayer must precede the call to action, but the call to action must truly accompany the call to prayer. In prayer we discover the needs of our brothers & sisters & make them our own, because in prayer we discover that their needs are the needs of Christ."
—Pope Saint John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, & always start with the person nearest you."
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"But in a conflict between truth & darkness, truth cannot lose."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Through her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through her, man became pleasing to God; through her, streams of grace flowed down upon us."
—Saint Maria Faustyna Kowalska, O.L.M. (1905-1938, feast: 5 October)