Daily Reflection – January 19th
Minute Meditation
To live with healthy Tradition is not an individual experience—it is a communal one. Perhaps this is why Catholicism emphasizes liturgy so much. It is the one thing that pulls us into a communal space where we can ask different questions, look at reality from a different perspective, and be told different truths, beyond the small truths of the private “I.” The endless telling of “this is me” stories eventually becomes self-validating, self-imprisoning, and, frankly, boring. Personal anecdotes become too small and aimless, unless they are a part of some larger life narratives. That is the genius of family stories, mythologies, and the biblical mind.
—from The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder
by Richard Rohr, OFM
Saint of the Day – January 19th
St. Canute IV of Denmark (1042 – 1086 A.D.), also known as Canute the Holy, was one of thirteen sons born to the king of Denmark. Canute later succeeded his brother to the throne and reigned as king from 1080 to 1086. He was a devout Catholic, a zealous propagator of the faith, and a brave warrior, in addition to being a man of prayer, penance, austerity, and charity towards the poor and weak among his people. The happiness of his people and the interests of the Church were his motivation, often putting him in opposition to the aristocracy. He fought against the barbarian nations and worked to strengthen the power of the monarchy, but some of his laws were unpopular and caused unrest among the people. Canute sought to expand Denmak’s territory and believed he had a claim to the English throne. In 1085 he gathered his fleet and planned an invasion of England to overthrow William the Conquerer, a plan which was never realized. Instead, a revolt broke out against Canute, causing him to take refuge inside St. Alban’s Priory in Odense. Canute, his brother, and seventeen of his men were pursued and killed by rebels in front of the altar. He was named a martyr for the faith, and many miracles were reported at his tomb. He was canonized in the year 1101, the first Danish saint. St. Canute is the patron saint of Denmark. His feast day is January 19.
Daily Meditation
“Francis [de Sales] insists that true devotion must touch every area of our life. True devotion is not just a matter of spiritual practices but of bringing all our life under the lordship of Christ. Francis is known for his slogan: ‘Live, Jesus! Live, Jesus!’ What he means by this is an invitation to Jesus to ‘live and reign in our hearts forever and ever’ . . . In other words, for Francis, to live the devout life is to reach the point in our love for God and neighbor that we eagerly (‘carefully, frequently, and promptly’) desire to do His will in all the various ways in which it is communicated to us: in the duties of our state in life, in the objective teaching of God’s Word, in opportunities and occasions presented to us, in response to our interior inspirations.”— Ralph Martin, p. 107
Morning Offering
“The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God.”
– St. Anthony of Padua
The Bible in a Year – Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics
The Bible in a Year – Introduction to the Early World
Welcome to the official start of the Bible in a Year Podcast! We’ll begin reading the Bible in the episode “Day 1: In the Beginning”, but before we dig into scripture, Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike Schmitz to lay out the context for the Early World period (Genesis 1-11). They discuss the type of scripture we’ll encounter (Hebrew poetry) and how that affects our understanding of the Word. This episode is not part of the 365 day reading plan, but is important to help understand the readings from this period.
Click on the link: https://youtu.be/P_bo2GubC9g
The Bible in a Year – Day 1 – In the Beginning
The Bible in a Year – Day 2 – The Fall of Adam & Eve
Day 2: The Fall of Adam and Eve
Click on link:
