SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 20, 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.
PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024
Link for 9 Days for Life Novena below.
Greetings beloved family and Happy Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary” on January 20, 2024 on EWTN |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 20, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 20, 2024 |
Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 20, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 20, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday, January 20, 2024
Reading 1, Second Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 80:2-3, 5-7
Gospel, Mark 3:20-21
PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024
9 Days for Life is a novena for the protection of human life. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. Link for 9 Days for Life: January 19-27, 2024: https://www.respectlife.org/9-days-for-life
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024
Today is day three of the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which is celebrated around the world from January 18th – 25th. As we continue 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 3: “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?”
“Who is my neighbor?” (Lk 10: 29)
SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Romans 13:8-10
Psalm 119:57-63
MEDITATION: The teacher of the law wanted to justify himself, hoping that the neighbor he is called to love is one of his own faith and people. This is a natural human instinct. When we invite people to our homes, they are quite often people who share our social status, our outlook on life and our values. There is a human instinct to prefer places of familiarity. This is also true of our ecclesial communities. But Jesus takes the lawyer, and his wider audience, deeper into their own tradition by reminding them of the obligation to welcome and to love all, regardless of religion, culture or social status. The Gospel teaches that loving those who are like ourselves is not extraordinary. Jesus steers us towards a radical vision of what it means to be human. The parable illustrates in a very visible way what Christ expects from us – to open wide our hearts and walk in his way, loving others as he loves us. In fact, Jesus answers the lawyer with another question: it is not “who is my neighbor,” but, “who proved to be a neighbor to the man in need?” This is the challenge of the parable today: to whom am I a neighbor?
PRAYER: God of love, Who writes love in our hearts, instill in us the courage to look beyond ourselves and see the neighbor in those different from ourselves, that we may truly follow Jesus Christ, our brother and our friend, who is Lord, for ever and ever. 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 continue 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 Fabian, Pope and Martyr; Saint Sebastian, Martyr and Blessed Cyprian Micbael Iwene Tansi, Priest. On this feast day, through the intercession of St. Fabian (Patron Saint of Rome) St. Sebastian (Patron Saint of athletes, soldiers, and victims of the plague.) and Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi (Patron of Nigerian priests), we humbly pray for peace and unity in our divided and conflicted world and pray for all places where the Church suffers persecution and for all who face death, danger, or isolation for their faith. Most especially for all who live where the Church is accepted and thrives in peace that this peace will not make their faith flabby and weak, we ask this through Christ our Lord…Amen🙏
SAINT FABIAN, POPE AND MARTYR: St. Fabian was Pope from 236 to 250, succeeding St. Anterus. Pope Pontian had resigned his post in 235 — making him the first pontiff in history to do so — when both he and Hippolytus were exiled to Sardinia by Roman officials. After him came St. Anterus, but Anterus lasted a mere 43 days, likely dying a martyr’s death under Emperor Maximinus Thrax’s heavy-handed reign. So, in early January of the year 236, the Roman Church gathered to find a new Successor of St. Peter. Fabian, a mere Roman layman at that point, had come in from the countryside to watch the proceedings. St. Eusebius, the Church’s earliest and best-known historian for that time period, recounts that many worthy candidates were proposed. Over the course of 13 days of deliberation, Fabian, “although present, was in the mind of none.” On the final day of the proceedings, however, it’s said that a dove “flying down lighted on his head, resembling the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Saviour in the form of a dove.” This sign united the votes of clergy and laity, and he was chosen unanimously. Eusebius, writing barely 75 years after Fabian’s death, went on: “Thereupon all the people, as if moved by one Divine Spirit, with all eagerness and unanimity cried out that [Fabian] was worthy, and without delay they took him and placed him upon the episcopal seat.”
St. Fabian served the Church from January 10, 236 to January 20, 250 as our 20th pope, at a time when Christianity was still very much illegal. Despite that, he was able to get along with the imperial government relatively well, and was known for many good deeds. The new pontiff’s reign mercifully coincided with a period of little violence, so Fabian had 14 solid years to govern and build up the Church in relative peace. He’s said to have divided Rome’s Christian communities into seven districts, most notably assigning a deacon to oversee each one and appointing subdeacons to collect stories and acts of the martyrs. He sent St. Dionysius and other preachers of the Gospel into Gaul, and condemned Privatus, the originator of a new heresy in Africa. St. Fabian’s storied reign ended at the midway point of the 3rd Century, when Decius came to power as Roman emperor. The ensuing Decian persecution, in which Christians were ordered to worship pagan gods or be killed, saw St. Fabian become one of its earliest victims, he received the crown of martyrdom. St. Fabian led the Church for 14 years and died a martyr’s death during the persecution of Decius on January 20, 250 A.D. Saint Cyprian, who related this latter fact, wrote to his successor that Fabian was an “incomparable” man whose glory in death matched the holiness and purity of his life. In the catacombs of Saint Callistus, the stone that covered St. Fabian’s grave may still be seen, broken into four pieces, bearing the Greek words, “Fabian, bishop, martyr.”
PRAYER: Lord God, You are the glory of priests. Through the prayers of the Martyr St. Fabian may we make progress in Faith and in fitting service. Amen🙏
SAINT SEBASTIAN, MARTYR: St. Sebastian (d. c. 288 A.D.) was born in Gaul, present-day France, to wealthy Italian parents. According to tradition he went to Rome to serve and encourage the Christians who were being persecuted under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. To do so effectively and without suspicion, he enrolled in the Roman army as an officer. In this position he did much to encourage the faith of the Christians in the face of brutal martyrdom, and in the process made many new converts through his gift of healing.
St. Sebastian had prudently concealed his religion, but he was at last detected as a Christian and accused before Diocletian, who condemned him to be shot to death by arrow. He was tied to a tree, and shot through with arrows. The sentence was executed to the extent that he was left for dead. Restored to health by the care of a pious widow, St. Irene of Rome. Being fully recovered, the Saint boldly appeared before the Emperor and reproached him for his injustice against the Christians. The Emperor, recovering from his surprise at beholding St. Sebastian alive, commanded that he be beaten to death with clubs. His body was thrown into a sewer; but a pious lady had it privately removed, and buried it in the catacombs. He’s Patron Saint of Archers; armourers; arrowsmiths; athletes; bookbinders; diseased cattle; dying people; enemies of religion; fletchers; gardeners; iron mongers; lacemakers; laceworkers; lead workers; masons; plague; police; racquet makers; Rio de Janeiro; soldiers; police officers; stone masons; stonecutters; victims of the plague and against enemies of religion.
“St. Sebastian, we ask your intercession to fortify all those who are weak in their faith. You gave heroic witness in leaving a high station to accept a near martyrdom, and then returned to suffer and die once and for all. Give us the grace to face our enemies when our weak nature wants to run the other way”
PRAYER: Lord, grant us a spirit of strength. Taught by the glorious example of Your Martyr St. Sebastian, may we learn how to obey You rather than men. Amen🙏
BLESSED CYPRIAN MICHAEL IWENE TANSI, PRIEST: Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi (1903-1964) is Nigeria’s Patron Saint. In the USA we don’t liturgically have Blessed Cyprian on the calendar, but we ought to know about him and follow his example. First a secular priest and then a Trappist monk Tansi has a unique vocation of looking at both the interior life and the apostolate with new eyes. Blessed Cyprian Michael was born in 1903 in Igboezunu near the ancient city of Aguleri, Anambra State in Southern Nigeria to non-Christian, lgbo farming couple, Tabansi and Ejikwevi, who, practising the “traditional religion”, named him Iwene. However, in 1909 he was sent to live with his uncle, a Christian in a Christian village named Ndua where he was educated and baptized 3 years later and Christened Michael by Irish missionaries. Studious, diligent, ever demanding of himself, Michael possessed a precocious personality and a deep piety. The “school leaving certificate” he obtained at 16 years of age, qualified him to teach. He thus taught in Onitsha for 3 years and then was headmaster at St. Joseph’s school in Aguleri for another 3 years. In 1925 against the wishes of his family, Bl. Michael entered St. Paul’s Seminary in Igbariam and having finished his philosophy and theology he was ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Onitsha on December 19, 1937 by Bishop Charles Heerey – only the second indigenous priest of Onitsha and the first ever in the Aguleri region! Bl. Michael’s pastoral ministry commenced as Parish Priest first in the Umudioka region of Nnewi and then at Akpu until 1949. Shortly thereafter, when Bishop Charles Heerey, a missionary, expressed the desire to have one of his priests embrace the monastic life with a view to establishing a contemplative monastery in his diocese, Fr Tansi instantly showed his willingness. He was thus sent to the Trappist Abbey of Mount St Bernard in Leicestershire, England, where, as a novice he took the name Cyprian and made his solemn profession on 8 December 1956. In 1963, with 13 years of valuable experience as a Trappist behind him, just when the time seemed ripe for laying the foundations of a monastery in Nigeria, political compulsions led his superiors to choose neighbouring Cameroon. Though he was initially upset by this setback, he eventually accepted it all as God’s will.
In January 1964, the intense pain in one of his legs was diagnosed as a result of acute thrombosis. However, admitted unconscious on 19 January to the Royal Infirmary of Leicester, tests revealed an aortic aneurysm, a condition that led to his death the next morning. Fr. Tansi’s mortal remains, which were laid to rest at Mount St Bernard, were exhumed in 1988 and reburied in the priests’ cemetery near the Cathedral of Onitsha and later transferred to his parish church in Aguleri. He was beatified by Saint Pope John Paul II on March 22, 1998 in Nigeria. Fr. Tansi lived the monastic life with great faith and humility. Absorbed in prayer, he was a living example of patience and charity. Fr. Tansi used to say, “if you are going to be a Christian at all, you might as well live entirely for God”. Backed by intense prayer, Cyprian’s life was marked by fruitful activity that involved teaching, preaching, catechizing, setting up prayer centres that eventually became parishes, as also shelters for young women and girls for the purpose of Christian formation with a view to preparing them for marriage. He also established with remarkable success, the League of Mary for the moral education of the young. As a man of God and a man of the people, putting the interests and welfare of others ahead of his own, Blessed Cyprian Michael was an inspiration to everyone in the Nigeria he loved so much. He’s Patron Saint of Nigerian Priests.
PRAYER: A prayer to the Blessed: Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi, during your life on earth you showed your great faith and love in giving yourself to your people and by the hidden life of prayer and contemplation. Look upon us now in our needs and intercede for us with the Lord. May he grant us the favour we ask through our prayers. 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, Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012024.cfm
Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:20-21
They said, “He is out of His mind”
“Jesus came with His disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize Him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ relatives set out to take charge of Jesus and bring Him back to Nazareth because they were convinced that He was out of His mind. By this time, according to Mark’s Gospel Jesus had incurred the hostility of the religious authorities by His teaching and His behaviour, by His eating with tax collectors and sinners, by declaring Himself to be the Son of Man who has authority to forgive sins, by working on the Sabbath to heal the sick, and so on. Perhaps Jesus’ family felt that He was not being very wise, that He was behaving in ways that were foolhardy and risky, and they wanted to preserve and protect him. Indeed, Jesus’ teaching and behaviour would eventually put Him on a Roman cross. Yet, Jesus remained faithful to His calling to proclaim God’s kingdom in word and deed, regardless of the personal consequences for Himself. He would not be deflected from that, not even by well meaning relatives. He placed God’s purpose for the well-being of others, both material and spiritual, before all else. This is what is referred to in the beatitudes as purity of heart, that purity of intention which seeks God’s will and God’s kingdom before all else. He calls on us to follow Him in putting the purpose of God and the well being of others before our own comfort and preservation. That does not come easy to us; our instincts can be more like those of Jesus’ relatives than of Jesus Himself. We need the help of the Spirit if we are to be as pure in heart as Jesus was. Jesus did not always go where His family wanted Him to go because He was subject to a greater authority in His life, and that was God’s authority. God’s purpose drove Him and He was faithful to that purpose even when it brought Him into conflict with those for whom He had the strongest feelings of natural affection. We, His followers, are called to remain true to the Lord’s direction, His guidance, His vision and values, even if that means for us what it meant for Him, finding ourselves at odds with those who are nearest and dearest to us.
Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel details the story of the death of King Saul of Israel and some of his family members. David, Saul’s successor, the rightful king over all of Israel, was distraught and sorrowful upon having heard of the bad news. At that time, Saul and David had gone through some period of conflict and disagreements, over the right to rule Israel, because God had chosen David to replace Saul as the rightful King of Israel. Saul attempted to kill and destroy David in several occasions, but God protected David from harm. Eventually, Saul vowed not to kill David, and stopped his efforts in chasing after David, after David spared his life when he had the perfect opportunity to kill Saul if he had wanted to. David never felt any kind of hatred or anger against Saul, and he still honoured the fallen king. Saul met his end and downfall, and kingship was taken from him and his family ultimately because of his disobedience and failure to listen to the will of God. He chose to follow the whim of his own desires and personal ambitions rather than to obey the Lord and His commandments. Meanwhile, David obeyed the Lord, he was humble and faithful, forgiving and kind, unlike Saul who was proud and ambitious, and who was easily tempted by jealousy and anger, when he saw that David was becoming more popular and beloved than him by the people.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to be filled with faith in the Lord, as well as love and care for our fellow brethren, at all times. We must trust in Him and not in the ways of the world, and ensure that our lives must always be focused on God and His path, or otherwise, in the end, we may meet our end in sorrow and regret, for having disobeyed the Lord and turned our ways away from the path of God’s righteousness and grace. This is what we as Christians should not be doing. From the lives and examples of the Saints, holy men and women, especially those who we celebrate today, Pope St. Fabian, St. Sebastian, and Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, among many others, we gained greater insight, inspirations and good examples on how we all should be living our lives faithfully as Christians. All of us should always do whatever we can so that by our commitment and contributions, in whatever we say and do, we will always be great source of inspiration and faith for our fellow brothers and sisters, and that we may proclaim the Lord’s truth to more and more people all throughout the world. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us always, and may He bless us all in our every good efforts, works and endeavours, all for His greater glory, and also for the salvation of many more souls. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
My compassionate Lord, You endured much in this world, including the rejection and ridicule of those in Your own family. I offer to You my own family and especially the hurt that has been present. Please come and redeem all family struggles and bring healing and hope to me and to all those who need it the most. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Mother Mary, Saints Fabian, Sebastian and Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi ~ 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 continue this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year. Have a safe, blessed and relaxing weekend! Amen🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
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