The Queue: Lenten Edition

"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

The closing paragraph of Dilexi Te (№ 121):

Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus' words are addressed personally to each of them: "I have loved you" (Revelation, 3:9)

"Recently"
Earl Swift, Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings
Josh Young, Expedition Deep Ocean: The First Descent to the Bottom of All Five of the World's Oceans
Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te: On Love for the Poor

Currently
Bishop Robert Barron, An Introduction to Prayer

Devotionally
Kevin Belmonte, editor, A Year with G.K. Chesterton: 365 Days of Wisdom, Wit, and Wonder
anonymous, Cultivating Virtue: Self-Mastery with the Saints

Presently
Kiel Phegley & Jacques Khouri, Strikers: A Graphic Novel
Andy Saunders, Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record *
Andy Saunders, Gemini and Mercury Remastered *
Joe Heschmeyer, The Eucharist Is Really Jesus: How Christ's Body and Blood Are the Key to Everything We Believe
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals: 1878-1902

*Coffee table books.

The Explorers' Club, № MCXXVIII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
11 December 1925: Pope Pius XI promulgated the encyclical Quas primas ("From the first…") in response to the Great War & the global wave of revolutions (1917-1923), reminding a secularizing world that true peace is only possible when Christ reigns as King in the hearts of men; the Feast of Christ the King was added to the Church calendar from 1926 & adopted by many Protestant groups.

Commentary: From 1926-1969, the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King was celebrated on the last Sunday before All Saints' Day (the last Sunday in October); since 1970, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe is celebrated on the last Sunday before the First Sunday in Advent (the last or second-to-last Sunday in November).

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № MCXXVII

Operation AXIOM: The 60th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, Part III
8 December 1965: Pope Paul VI closed the Council with Mass in Saint Peter's Square, with 300,000 in attendance; the day before, he & Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople read out the Joint Declaration & Pope Paul lifted the excommunication of the Orthodox that dated back to the Great Schism in 1054; simultaneously in Istanbul, the Orthodox excommunication of Catholics was lifted.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Vatican II
Alpheus, "Unify" from Unify (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The Catholic-Orthodox Joint Declaration of 1965 didn't fully heal the schism between East & West, but it was a significant step toward obeying the Lord's command of unity.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Second Vatican Council
"The Explorer's Club," № CMVII: The Second Vatican Council Opened (Part I)
"The Explorer's Club," № CMLIV: Pope John XXIII Died & Pope Paul VI Was Elected (Part II)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Optional Memorial of Saint John Paul II, Pope
Dan Potthast, "Pope" from Sweets and Meats (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"…It was like a parade at forty miles an hour,
And the pope zipped past in his see-through car,
And we laughed and we waved and I think he smiled,
It all happened so fast, all the people were chanting:
'John Paul Two, we love you!'…"

Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
"October Saints Who Wore Costumes: Part 3 (Blessed Chiara Luce Badano)"

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Callistus I, Pope & Martyr (died circa 222; also spelt Callixtus), sixteenth (XVI) Bishop of Rome (217-222), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Severus Alexander, superintendent of the Catacombs of Callixtus.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis the Tuesday of the Twenty-eight Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saints + Scripture

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

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Well, Lord, it's Your Church. I'm tired & going to bed."
—Saint John XXIII (1881-1963, r. 1958-1963; feast: 11 October)

Commentary: Pope Saint John XXIII was asked how many persons worked in the Vatican. He replied:

"About half."

Saints + Scripture

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

Saint Quote o' the Day

"In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, & to be perfect is to have changed often."
—Saint John Henry Newman, C.O. (1801-1890, feast: 9 October)

Commentary: Saint John Henry Newman is to be named a Doctor of the Church in November.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

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

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

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

The Popish Plot
"Remembering Pope Francis"

'Tis the Friday of the Second Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha, meaning "Passover"): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop & Doctor of the Church (circa 295-373; the Great, of Alexandria), the defender of Christian orthodoxy against the Arian heresy & a Church Father.

Commentary: Wayback Machine '18.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

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

'Tis the Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha, meaning "Passover"): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Pius V, Pope O.P. (1504-1572; A.K.A. Antonio Ghislieri, Michele Ghislieri), two hundred twenty-fifth (CCXXV) Bishop of Rome (1566-1572), Bishop of Mondovì (1560-1566); who implemented the reforms of the Council of Trent (1545-1563, the nineteenth [XIX] ecumenical council) & excommunicated the English queen Elizabeth I through the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis (1570); & who organized the Holy League that won the Battle of Lepanto (1571), which he celebrated by instituting the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Commentary: Wayback Machine '20.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

The Optional Memorial of Saint John Paul II, Pope
Dan Potthast, "Pope" from Sweets and Meats (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"…It was like a parade at forty miles an hour,
And the pope zipped past in his see-through car,
And we laughed and we waved and I think he smiled,
It all happened so fast, all the people were chanting:
'John Paul Two, we love you!'…"

Saints + Scripture

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

'Tis the Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"When work is done in common—when hope, hardship, ambition, & hope are shared—it brings together & firmly unites the wills, minds, & hearts of men. In its accomplishment, men find themselves to be brothers."
—Pope Saint Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)

Saints + Scripture

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

'Tis the Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

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

'Tis the Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha, meaning "Passover"): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

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

'Tis the Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha, meaning "Passover"): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.

Bonus! Papal Song o' the Day

Dan Potthast, "Pope" from Sweets and Meats (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"…It was like a parade at forty miles an hour,
And the pope zipped past in his see-through car,
And we laughed and we waved and I think he smiled,
It all happened so fast, all the people were chanting:
'John Paul Two, we love you!'…"

Saints + Scripture: XXII Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

The Popish Plot
"Pope's Prayer Intention for August 2023 (For World Youth Day)"

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

Commentary: Wayback Machine '21 & Wayback Machine '20.

Saints of the Day
Otherwise, 3 September would be the festival of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church, O.S.B. (circa 540-604; Gregory I, A.K.A. the Dialogist), sixty-fourth (LXIV) Bishop of Rome (590-604), who dispatched the Gregorian Mission to the Anglo-Saxons (596), also a Father of the Church.

Saints + Scripture

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

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope (1835-1914, the "Pope of the Blessed Sacrament;" A.K.A. Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto), two hundred fifty-seventh (CCLVII) Bishop of Rome (1903-1914), Patriarch of Venice (1893-1903), & Bishop of Mantua (1884-1893).

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Tis the Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saints + Scripture

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

Saints of the Day
'Tis the Optional Memorial of Saint Sixtus II, Pope, & Companions, Martyrs (died 258, also spelt Xystus; A.K.A. the Martyred Deacons of Rome), twenty-fourth (XXIV) Bishop of Rome, martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Valerian, victims of his persecution.

Commentary: Wayback Machine '21 & Wayback Machine '19.

'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Saint Cajetan, Priest, C.R. (1480-1547, the "Hunter of Souls," A.K.A. Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene), member of the Oratory of Divine Love, founder of the Theatines (C.R.), formally the Congregation of the Clerics Regular of the Divine Providence, & a mount of piety that became the Bank of Naples.

'Tis the Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Tempus per annum, "time through the year"): Wikipedia-link.

Saints + Scripture

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

The Popish Plot
"Pope's Prayer Intention for July 2023"

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

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Exodus, chapter one, verses eight thru fourteen & twenty-two;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-four (R/. eight[a]), verses one(b), two, & three; four, five, & six; & seven & eight;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter ten, verse thirty-four thru chapter eleven, verse one.

Commentary: Daily Readings.

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

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord explains what it means to become a disciple. Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, then every other claimant to supremacy must fall away. Every one of us has something that we consider greatest. Perhaps it is money, material things, power, the esteem of others, your country, your political party, or your ethnic identity. Or perhaps it is your family, your kids, your wife, your husband.

Now mind you, all of these are good things. However, when you place any of them in the absolute center of gravity, things go awry. When you make any of them your ultimate or final good, your spiritual life goes haywire. When you attach yourself to any of them with an absolute tenacity, you will fall apart.

This is what Jesus means in our Gospel for today: not that you should hate your family or country or wealth, but rather that you should detach yourself from them lest they become idols. And only if we do this are we truly ready for mission. If we try to do this work while we are stuck to any number of attachments, we will fail. Period.

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

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

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Be the defenders of human life, whenever it is threatened. Be such particularly of those who are helpless, or when recourse to war does not seem justified by an absolute necessity of justice."
—Pope Saint Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Anyone who seeks truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it."
—Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, O.C.D. (1891-1942, feast: 9 August)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. Today."
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"Before the sin, Satan assures us that it is of no consequence; after the sin, he persuades us that it is unforgivable."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)