SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 18, 2024
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning today, Thursday, January 18, 2024, and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024. Link for prayers for the entire week below.
Greetings beloved family and Happy Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary” on January 18, 2024 on EWTN |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 18, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 18, 2024 |
Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 18, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 18, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Thursday, January 18, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 56:2-3, 9-10, 10-12, 13-14
Gospel, Mark 3:7-12
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning today, Thursday, January 18, 2024, and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024
Today marks the beginning of the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which is celebrated around the world from January 18th – 25th. As we begin this year’s week of prayer for Christian Unity with focus on Christians in the Northern Hemisphere, we join our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world in praying for peace, love, justice and unity in our divided and conflicted world so we can better build God’s Kingdom here on earth. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, look down with pity upon us and keep us all united in love and faith, so that we may all be truly one in Christ…Amen🙏
The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024: “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” ~ Luke 10:27
WPCU 2024 Daily Readings: Link for prayers for the entire week: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 | USCCB | https://www.usccb.org/committees/ecumenical-interreligious-affairs/week-prayer-christian-unity-2024
The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024 was selected by the Pontifical Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the World Council of Churches, and the Christian Churches in Burkina Faso, coordinated by the community of Chemin Neuf, a French Catholic and ecumenical community of vowed and lay people and its local community in Burkina Faso.
The theme, taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, reflects the connection between love of God and love of neighbor with a particular concern for challenging the boundaries of who is considered “neighbor”. In this pericope, Jesus is questioned as to the path to eternal life. His answer is not to only observe the commandments but to also imitate the love of God in the giving of self for another. It is a call for charity, mercy, justice, and unity.
DAY 1: “WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?”
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25)
SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Romans 14:8-9
Psalm 103:13-18
MEDITATION: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” This crucial question asked of Jesus by a lawyer challenges every believer in God. It affects the meaning of our life on earth and for eternity. Elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus gives us the ultimate definition of eternal life: “… that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). Knowing God means discovering and doing his will in our lives. Every person wants a life of fullness and truth, and God desires this for us too (cf. Jn 10:10). Saint Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” The existential realities of life, with divisions, selfishness, and suffering, often distance us from the quest for God. Thus, our quest for eternal life brings us closer to Jesus, and in so doing, brings us nearer to each other, strengthening our closeness on the path toward Christian unity. Let us be open to friendship and col- laboration with Christians of all churches, praying for the day when we can all stand together at the Table of the Lord.
PRAYER: God of life, You have created us to have life and life in all its fullness. May we recognize in our brothers and sisters their desire for eternal life. As we follow Jesus’ way with determination, may we lead others to you. We pray in His name. Amen🙏
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth, a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.
On this feast day, as we begin the week of prayer for Christian Unity, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏
PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil, and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen🙏
A PRAYER FOR PEACE: Lord Jesus Christ, You are the true King of peace. In You alone is found freedom. Please free our world from conflict. Bring unity to troubled nations. Let Your glorious peace reign in every heart. Dispel all darkness and evil. Protect the dignity of every human life. Replace hatred with Your love. Give wisdom to world leaders. Free them from selfish ambition. Eliminate all violence and war. Glorious Virgin Mary, Saint Michael the Archangel, Every Angel and Saint: Please pray for peace. Pray for unity amongst nations. Pray for unity amongst all people. Pray for the most vulnerable. Pray for those suffering. Pray for the fearful. Pray for those most in need. Pray for us all. Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear our prayers. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen 🙏
Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/
SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Prisca, Virgin and Martyr; Saints Volusian, Bishop and Deicolus, Abbot and Saint Margaret of Hungary, Religious.
SAINT PRISCA, VIRGIN, AND MARTYR: St. Prisca, who is also known as Priscilla, was a child martyr of the early Roman Church. The Roman Martyrology reads: “In the City of Rome, the holy Virgin and Martyr Prisca; after many tortures, she gained the Crown of Martyrdom under Emperor Claudius II (about 270).”
Born to Imperial Roman Christian parents of a noble family, Prisca was raised during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius. While Claudius did not persecute Christians with the same fervor as other Roman emperors, Christians still did not practice their faith openly. In fact, Prisca’s parents went to great lengths to conceal their faith, and thus, they were not suspected of being Christians. Prisca, however, did not feel the need to take precautions. The young girl openly professed her dedication to Christ, and eventually, she was reported to the emperor. Claudius had her arrested and commanded her to make a sacrifice to Apollo, the pagan god of the sun. According to the legend, Prisca refused and was tortured for disobeying. Then, suddenly, a bright, yellow light shone about her, and she appeared to be a little star. Claudius ordered that Prisca be taken away to prison in the hopes that she would abandon Christ. When all efforts to change her mind were unsuccessful, she was taken to an amphitheatre and thrown in with a lion. As the crowd watched, Prisca stood fearless. According to legend, the lion walked toward the barefoot girl and then gently licked her feet. Disgusted by his thwarted efforts to dissuade Prisca, Claudius had her beheaded. Seventh-century accounts of the grave sites of Roman martyrs refer to the discovery of an epitaph of a Roman Christian named Priscilla in a large catacomb and identifies her place of interment on the Via Salaria as the Catacomb of Priscilla.
PRAYER: Let us pray for the single-hearted devotion and courage of Saint Prisca towards our faith that we too may live and die for Christ and share her crown of glory… Amen🙏
SAINTS VOLUSIAN, BISHOP, AND DEICOLUS, ABBOT: According to tradition, SAINT VOLUSIAN was of senatorial rank He served as Bishop of Tours from 488 to 496. What little information exists about concerns the last years of his life. As a result of his rank, he was continually involved with the politics of his day and finally he was driven from episcopate by the Goths who believed that Bishop was planning to form an alliance with the Franks against them. St. Volusian made good his escape from Tours and traveled to Spain where he went into exile. He died about the year 498. According to some historians, St. Volusian was fallowed into Spain by the Goths, who captured him and cut off his head. This possible martyrdom was probably the basis for his canonization as a Saint.
SAINT DEICOLUS, also known as St. Desle, left his native land of Ireland in the company of St. Columban, and both men settled at Luxeuil. He established the Abbey of Lure, where he remained for the rest of his life as a hermit. Despite his hardships, his contentment was always evident. When St. Columban once asked him, “Deicolus, why are you always smiling?” this saintly soul simply replied: “Because no one can take God from me.” He died about 625.
PRAYER: Lord, may the intercession of Sts. Volusian and Deicolus comment us to You, so that by their patronage we may obtain what we do not deserve by any merits of ours. Amen🙏
SAINT MARGARET OF HUNGARY, RELIGIOUS: St. Margaret of Hungary (1242–1271) was the daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary, a granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor and niece of the famed St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She was the eighth daughter of ten children to the Ruler of Croatia. Her royal parents made a vow to God that if Hungary was saved from the Mongol invasion they would dedicate Margaret to religion. God heard their prayer and the country was saved. The king and queen then entrusted four-year-old Margaret to be raised and educated in a Dominican convent. At the age of ten Margaret was transferred to the Convent of the Blessed Virgin founded by her parents, built on an island her parents named after her. She spent the rest of her life there, dedicating herself to prayer and severe penances. She opposed her father’s attempts to arrange her political marriage with the King of Bohemia, even though her suitor obtained a dispensation from the pope to release her from her religious vows so that she could enter into matrimony. Margaret made her solemn vows as a Dominican nun at the age of eighteen. Although a beautiful princess, she took the most menial tasks in the convent and dedicated her life to serving the poor and sick. She was considered a saint during her life and after her death. Many miracles, especially the curing of illnesses, were attributed to her intercession. St. Margaret died at the age of 28 on January 18, 1271. Honored as a powerful intercessor and miracle worker, she was Beatified on July 28, 1789 by Pope Pius VI and Canonized on November 19, 1943 by Pope Pius XII.
PRAYER: God, who called your handmaid blessed Margaret of Hungary to seek you before all else, grant that, serving you, through her example and intercession, with a pure and humble heart, we may come at last to your eternal glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen🙏
PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we continue to pray for all those who are sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world… Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:7-12
“The unclean spirits shouted, “You are the Son of God,” but Jesus warned them sternly not to make Him known”
“Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush Him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon Him to touch Him. And whenever unclean spirits saw Him they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly not to make Him known.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus interceded for all who come to God through Him. Today’s Gospel reading gives us a very vivid picture of the popularity of Jesus during the early stages of His Galilean ministry. Great crowds from a very large area came to Him, from as far north as Tyre and Sidon in modern day Lebanon, and as far east as Transjordania, modern day Jordan. They came to Him in their need. In the words of the Gospel reading, they were ‘afflicted’, and they recognized in Jesus one who could heal their affliction. In particular, all who were afflicted in any way came forward to touch Him. It was the people who were suffering, who were distressed, who had least going for them, that came to Jesus in the biggest numbers. They sensed that He had come to heal their brokenness, that He had come in a special way for the suffering, the broken, the lost. We too come to the Lord with the greatest urgency when we are struggling, when we are in some kind of distress. Like the crowds in the Gospel reading, we reach out to touch the Lord in our brokenness, recognizing him as the source of healing and life. The Lord is as available to us as He was to the crowds of Galilee; He remains strength in our weakness, healing in our brokenness, life in our various experiences of death. We can approach Him with the same confidence of being well received as the people in today’s Gospel reading. The contrast between the two responses to Jesus is very striking. Some wanted to break Him; others looked to Him to heal them of their brokenness. Those who had no sense of their own poverty despised Him; those who were aware of their poverty flocked to Him. Every human being Jesus met was poor and broken to some degree; yet, it was only those who recognized their own poverty and brokenness who responded to Jesus. The Gospel reading suggests that it is above all the sense of our own need, the awareness of our own poverty, that opens us up to the Lord’s presence to us.
Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, continues with the story of the time of the first kings of Israel, starting from Saul, whom God had first chosen to be the ruler and king over His people, and yet, that same king Saul disobeyed the Lord as he likely gave in to the temptations of worldly glory, power and ambitions. The Lord therefore gave the kingdom of Israel to be under the charge of another person, David, who would be more faithful, obedient and worthy than Saul. And in our first reading today, Saul expressed his anger and jealousy when he heard of all the exploits and works of David, favoured and blessed by God in all that he had done. Thus, Saul allowed himself yet again to be tempted by the temptations of worldly glory and evil, and all the wickedness that he had committed, gave in to the temptation of greed and jealousy, and hence, plotting murder and death for the young David. Thankfully, Jonathan, one of Saul’s own sons, was a good friend of David, and he helped David out of the predicament when he knew of what his father had plotted against David in his anger and jealousy. Jonathan attempted to talk Saul out of committing such a heinous and wicked deed, reasoning and arguing with him why he should not do so, and managed to get Saul to swear an oath not to harm or kill David. Nonetheless, later on, when Saul was tempted by the devil, he would still attempt to harm David.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of what it truly means for us to be Christians, in following God and doing God’s will, and we are also reminded that we must be vigilant against the many temptations of the world, which could lead us astray and away from the path towards God and His salvation. If we are not careful and allow those corruptions to mislead us down the wrong path, then we will end up disobeying God and committing sins and wickedness in the sight of God and our fellow brothers and sisters. This is why as Christians all of us must always focus our attention first and foremost on the Lord, and commit ourselves and each and every moments of our lives to follow Him wholeheartedly. Let us all be humble in life and reject the path of sin and evil. Let us all resist all the trap and false promises of earthly wonders, of temporary pleasures and comforts found all around us, and instead let us return our focus once again towards the Lord, our loving God and Master. Let all of us be called and inspired to be the worthy and faithful beacons of God’s Light and truth, His Good News and love for all. Let our every words, actions and deeds, our every interactions with those around us, and our every way of life be truly Christ-like, and let us be committed to whatever vocation and missions which the Lord has entrusted to us all in our respective lives. Let our whole lives be truly filled with the light of Christ, in all things. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and continue to guide and bless us, and may He bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, so that through all of them, we may continue to do His will and be ever more committed to this path of righteousness and justice which He has led us through, following the examples that He Himself had set, and those of the Holy Saints and other great men and women, our holy predecessors, all for His greater glory. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
My saving God, I turn to You, this day, and seek to be single-minded in my love and devotion to You. Help me, first and foremost, to listen to Your transforming Word and to allow that Word to become the central focus of my life. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Prisca, Saints Volusian and Deicolus and Saint Margaret of Hungary ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous, and grace-filled New Year and a blessed week! Amen🙏
Blessings and love always, Philomena💖
Leave a Reply