MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA AND SAINT ILDEFONSUS, BISHOP AND SAINT MARIANNE COPE, RELIGIOUS

THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 23, 2024

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere, beginning 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 Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time!

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on January 23, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 23, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 23, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 23, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 23, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Today’s Bible Readings: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Reading 1, Second Samuel 6:12-15, 17-19
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 24:7, 8, 9, 10
Gospel, Mark 3:31-35

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 six 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 6: “THEN HE PUT HIM ON HIS OWN ANIMAL….”

Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (Lk 10:34)

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Genesis 18:4-5
Psalm 5:11-12

MEDITATION: The man who fell into the hands of robbers was cared for by a Samaritan. The Samaritan saw beyond prejudice or bias. He saw someone in need and brought him to an inn. “The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend’” (Lk 10:35). In any human society, hospitality and solidarity are essential. They require the welcoming of strangers, foreigners, migrants and homeless people. However, when faced with insecurity, suspicion and violence, we tend to mistrust our neighbors. Hospitality is an important witness to the Gospel, particularly in contexts of religious and cultural pluralism. Welcoming ‘the other’, and being welcomed in turn, is at the heart of ecumenical dialogue. Christians are challenged to turn our churches into inns where our neighbors can find Christ. Such hospitality is a sign of the love that our churches have for one another and for all.

PRAYER: Father of love, in Jesus, you showed us the meaning of hospitality, by caring for our fragile humanity. Help us to become a community that welcomes those who feel abandoned and lost, building a house where all are welcome. May we come closer to one another as we offer the world your unconditional love. This we pray in the unity of the Holy Spirit. 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 John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria and Saint Ildefonsus, Bishop and Saint Marianne Cope, Religious.

SAINT JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA: St. John the Almagiver also known as St. John the Merciful was John Eleemon Cypriot by birth. He was born in 555 on the island of Cyprus in the city of Amathus as the son of Epiphanius, governor of Cyprus, and was of noble descent. In early life he was married and had children, but his wife and children soon died, after which he entered religious life. He was the Chalcedonian Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century (from 606 to 616). On the death of the Patriarch Theodore, the Alexandrians besought Emperor Phocas to appoint John his successor, which was accordingly done. St. John the Almsgiver was a widower probably over 50 when he was  appointed or acclaimed Patriarch of Alexandria. One of the first steps he took was to make a list of several thousand needy persons, whom he took under his especial care. He always referred to the poor as his “lords and masters”, because of their mighty influence at the Court of the Most High. He assisted people of every class who were in need. He sought to serve his masters, the poor, through the direct giving of alms and the establishing of hospitals. He is said to have sat openly available in church on Wednesdays and Fridays so that the poor could speak with him.

St. John opposed Monophysitism and employed Sophronius  (later Patriarch of Jerusalem) and John Moschus in his battle against the followers of Severus of Antioch. A man of exemplary uprightness, in his zeal for the faith he strove mightily to fight the many heresies among the Christians in Egypt; but above all, he was famous for his singular generosity, humility, and sympathy towards all, especially the poor. His mercy was so great that the report of it reached the Persian invaders of Jerusalem, who desired to see him because of it. When the Persians invaded Alexandria, St. John returned to Cyprus where he died peacefully in c. 619 at the age of sixty-four. Sophronius and Moschus authored vitae of their friend and mentor. The body of St. John was kept at Constantinople until the XV Century, when the sultan gave it to King Matthias of Hungary. The relics were translated to Bratislava in the XVII century. He is the Patron Saint of Casarano, Italy and of Limassol, Cyprus.

Saint John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT ILDEFONSUS, BISHOP: St. Ildefonsus is highly regarded in Spain and closely associated with devotion to the Blessed Virgin, which he fostered by his famous work concerning her perpetual virginity. Born around 607 in Toledo, Spain, Ildefonsus came from a distinguished and
noble family and was the nephew of St. Eugenius, his predecessor in the See of Toledo and he was probably a pupil of St. Isidore of Seville.

At an early age, despite the determined opposition of his father, he embraced the monastic life in the monastery of Agalia, near Toledo. While still quite young, he enterd the Benedictine monastery of Agalia, he was ordained a deacon, around the year 630 and went on to become its Abbot. In that capacity he attended the Councils of Toledo in 653 and 655. He was called by King Reccesvinth, near the end of 657 to fill the archiepiscopal throne of Toledo. The clergy and people elected this holy man to succeed his uncle, St. Eugenius, as Archbishop of Toledo. He performed his episcopal duties with diligence and sanctity and governed the Church of Toledo for just over nine years until his death on January 23, 667.

This Saint was a favorite subject for medieval artists, especially in connection with the legend of Our Lady’s appearance to present him with a chalice. Ildephonsus had a strong devotion to the Blessd Mother, and it is said that one day he was praying before the relics of Saint Leocadia, when the martyr arose from her tomb and thanked the saint for the devotion he showed towards the Mother of God. It was also related that on another occasion the Blessed Virgin appeared to him in person and presented him with a priestly vestment, to reward him for his zeal in honoring her. St. Ildefonsus was a prolific writer, but unfortunately only four of his works have survived. Among these are the one already mentioned and an important document of the history of the Spanish Church during the first two-thirds of the 7th century, entitled “Concerning Famous Men”.

PRAYER: God, Light and Shepherd of souls, You established St. Ildefonsus as Bishop in Your Church to feed Your flock by his word and form it by his example. Help us through his intercession to keep the Faith he taught by his word and follow the way he showed by his example. Amen🙏

SAINT MARIANNE COPE, RELIGIOUS: St. Marianne Cope (1838–1918), also known as St. Marianne of Molokai, was a German-born American immigrant. St. Marianne Cope was born in western Germany in 1838. She worked in a New York factory before entering the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse. She entered religious life in Syracuse, N.Y. in 1862. She served as a teacher and principal in several schools in the state and established two of the first hospitals in the central New York area: St. Elizabeth Hospital in Utica and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. She spent her early years serving as a leader in health care and education.

In 1883, when the Hawaiian government was searching for a religious order to run a station for victims of leprosy, the Syracuse sisters volunteered immediately. Mother Marianne’s community was the only one of fifty to respond positively to an emissary from Hawaii who requested Catholic sisters to provide health care on the Hawaiian Islands, especially to those with leprosy. Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii in 1883. She devoted 35 years to caring for those afflicted with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) in Molokai, Hawaii. Over the next five years, St. Marianne set up a system of long-term education and care for her patients. She ministered to patients at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. Her time of service overlapped with the last years of St. Damien of Molokai, a priest who served victims of Hansen’s disease and himself died of leprosy. She also opened a hospital and a school for girls on the island of Maui, and took charge of the home St. Damien of Molokai established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, dignity, and fun into the colony.

Despite her direct contact with leprosy patients over many years, she was not afflicted by the disease, which some consider miraculous. St. Marianne promised her sisters that none of them would ever contract the disease. To this day, no sister has. Her care earned her the affectionate title “beloved mother of the outcasts.” St. Marianne died in 1918 and was beatified on May 14, 2005 and canonized on October 21, 2012, both by Pope Benedict XVI. “At a time when little could be done for those suffering from this terrible disease, Marianne Cope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm,” Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily during the Mass for her canonization. “She is a shining and energetic example of the best of the tradition of Catholic nursing sisters and of the spirit of her beloved Saint Francis.” St. Marianne feast day is January 23.

Saint Marianne Cope, Religious Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏

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 Reading for today, Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

“Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:31-35”

“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”

“The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

In our Gospel reading today, our Lord Jesus was speaking to the people who were all gathered to listen to Him teaching and preaching to them, and it was in that occasion, that someone told Him that His relatives and family members were all looking for Him and waiting for Him. The Lord then told the people that everyone who obey the will of God and follow Him are His brothers and sisters, members of His family, His beloved ones. According to today’s Gospel, the mother and brothers of Jesus arrived at Capernaum asking to see Jesus to ‘restrain’ Jesus, to seize Him, because people were saying about Jesus that He had gone out of His mind. Mary and other family members were portrayed as acting out of genuine concern for Jesus. However, the fact that we do something out of concern for someone doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the right thing to do. On this occasion, according to the Gospel of St. Mark, Jesus kept His distance from His mother and the other members of His family, in spite of their very good intentions. When word came to Him that His mother and brothers and sisters were outside the house looking for Him, Jesus identified those inside the house, His disciples, as His real family. ‘Whoever does the will of God’, Jesus said, ‘that person is my brother and sister and mother’. There was an implicit invitation here to His mother and family members to come inside the house and to fully become His disciples. His Mother, Mary and the other family members had to learn to set aside their will for Jesus and surrender to God’s will for His life. It is reassuring to be reminded by the Gospel of St. Mark that even Mary struggled to live out the implications of the prayer, ‘thy will be done on earth as in heaven’. It is a daily struggle for all of us to give priority to what God wants over what we want. This is the Christian struggle; it was the struggle of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. In that struggle we are assured of the help of Jesus, who declared, ‘I have come… not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me’.

Our first reading today details the story of how King David of Israel brought the Ark of God, the Ark of the Covenant from the House of Obed-Edom into Jerusalem, the city that he has conquered and chosen to be the new capital of the united Kingdom of Israel. King David brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem, welcoming it with great celebrations and festivities, glorifying God with the king himself taking part in the celebrations, dancing before the Lord with passion and vigour. This was the glorious moment as not only that David had his kingdom secure and united, but he has also established a new and mighty capital city in Jerusalem, to be the centre of his kingdom, the kingdom of the people of God, the Israelites. David has obeyed the commandments and Law of the Lord, and he lived his life and his reign in doing what is righteous and just, worthy and appropriate for being a follower of God, and especially as the king appointed to rule over the people of God. God blessed David and made his reign secure, and David in turn brought the Ark of God to dwell once again among the people of God, in the city which he has established to be the centre of the kingdom, as a symbolic representation of how God is always amongst His beloved ones. That is because ever since the Ark of the Covenant was crafted from the finest materials known to mankind during the time of the Exodus, it has always been at the centre of the community of the people of God, placed in the Holy Tent where the High Priest and Moses were to go in and commune with God, Who came down and settled among the Cherubim crafted atop the Ark of the Covenant itself. Within the Ark of the Covenant was the two tablets upon which were written the Ten Commandments that God gave to His people, as well as the manna, the heavenly bread with which God had fed His people, the Israelites, during their long sojourn in the desert, and lastly the staff of Aaron, with which God had led His people through Moses and Aaron, and performed many miracles and wonders.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scripture today, we are clearly reminded that we are all God’s people, whom He loves most dearly, and how He desires to dwell in our midst, at all times. However, it is our disobedience and sins against Him, every moments and times when we refused to listen to Him that we ended up turning against God and rejecting His salvation, love and grace. If we continue to allow the temptations and ways of this world, the pleasures and the darkness present around us from continuing to mislead us down the wrong path, we will likely fall ever deeper into the darkness of sin, and hence into our downfall. Let us all therefore remind ourselves to be ever more faithful to the Lord in all things, and to commit ourselves ever more wholeheartedly in each and every moments of our lives, so that by our every actions and commitment, our every words, deeds and interactions with one another, we will draw ever closer to God and to His grace. Let us all be like David, King of Israel, who has always done his best in trying to do the will of God, in following the Law and commandments of God, and in repenting and turning away from the path of sin whenever he fell into temptation and the allures of worldly glory and pleasures. May all of us as Christians, as God’s beloved people, continue to be good role models in all of our lives, our every moments and actions, so that by our lives we may truly be the living examples and the shining beacons of God’s light, love and truth, illuminating this world darkened by sin and evil. May all of us continue to persist in our efforts and works, in doing what we can so that by our lives, God’s Name may truly be glorified, and many more souls may be saved by their return to the Lord. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace and empower each one of us to walk in His light, that we may inspire many more people to follow our examples and to walk in our footsteps, for the salvation of many more souls. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

My dear Lord, I desire deeply to become more fully a member of Your most intimate family in grace. Help me to always dedicate myself to the complete fulfillment of the will of our Father in Heaven. And as I conform my will more fully with that of the Father’s, draw me deeper and deeper into union with You. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Mother Mary, Saint John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria and Saint Ildefonsus, Bishop and St. Marianne Cope ~ 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 fruitful week! Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖