MEMORIAL OF SAINT FELIX OF NOLA, RELIGIOUS AND SAINT NINA (NINO), VIRGIN

SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

Bible Readings for today, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 13, 2024

FEAST OF THE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Sunday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Today, we continue to pray for God’s grace and mercy upon us through this Ordinary Time, and may the Lord grant us the grace to serve Him in spirit and in truth🙏

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Sunday, January 14, 2024 |

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Today’s Bible Readings: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), January 14, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 3:3-10, 19
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
Gospel, John 1:35-42
Reading 2, First Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20

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, 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/

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Bible Readings for today, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 1:35–42

“They saw where he was staying and they stayed with him”

“John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi”—which translated means Teacher—, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” —which is translated Christ—. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas”—which is translated Peter.”

In today’s Gospel reading, we find John the Baptist directing his own followers towards Jesus. The words he spoke to them, ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God’ would have a profound impact on at least two of John’s disciples. Because of what John said, Andrew and another of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus and their lives would be changed forever. We might be able to think of people in our lives who pointed us in a direction that proved to be very significant for us. At a certain moment in our life journey they spoke a word to us or opened up some avenue for us that had an enormous impact for good on us. We may even have been that person for someone, without our always being aware of it at the time. Sometimes we only discover much later that something we said or did had a huge impact for good on someone. John the Baptist was that kind of significant person for others. According to the Gospel reading, it was while Andrew and his companion were following after Jesus that Jesus turned round, saw them and said to them, ‘What do you want?’ They had begun their journey of following Jesus but they were still following a relative stranger. Now Jesus wanted them to think more deeply about what they were doing, by asking them ‘What do you want?’ It was a very personal question. Jesus wasn’t asking them, ‘What does John the Baptist want for you?’ but ‘What do you want?’ They had begun to follow Jesus because John the Baptist wanted them to, but now Jesus was inviting them to reflect on why they themselves wanted to follow Him. Were they following Him only because John wanted them to do so, or was it coming from somewhere deeper in themselves? Most of us began the journey of following the Lord, because others set us on that journey. Our parents brought us for baptism; our teachers instructed us in the faith; our priests preached the Gospel to us and helped us to celebrate the sacraments. However, there comes a time on our faith journey when we need to explore for ourselves why we are taking this particular path rather than another path, why we are following Jesus rather than someone else. We need to answer Jesus’ question, ‘What do you want?’ for ourselves. It is a question that is addressed to each one of us personally. Jesus is asking us, ‘What is your deepest desire?’ Jesus asks us that probing question because He offers Himself to us as the one who can satisfy our deepest desire, the deepest hunger and thirst of our heart. He says to us what He said to the two disciples of John the Baptist, ‘Come and see’. He invites us to come to Him and to see Him, to discover Him as the one who can satisfy all our basic longings. In John’s Gospel, Jesus issues the invitation, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink’, and He also makes the promise, ‘Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’. At some point in our lives, we have to make our own personal response to the call of Jesus to ‘Come and see’. We then have to keep renewing that personal response, because the Lord continues to say to each of us ‘Come and see’. When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, there is always another step we can take on the journey; there is always more we can see with the eyes of faith. We never reach the end of this journey in this life because we will never see the Lord fully this side of eternity. Saint Paul in one of his letters says, ‘now we see as in a mirror, dimly’ and he goes on ‘then, we will see face to face’, in eternity. On this side of eternity, our faith will always be a searching, questioning, faith.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, the young Samuel was called by God in the night. Samuel thought that it was his mentor, the priest and Judge Eli who was calling him. At that time, the young Samuel had been entrusted and offered by his mother Hannah to be priest and servant of God, as she had promised to the Lord Himself for his miraculous conception and birth. The young Samuel was blessed by God and was filled with his grace, and God was with him, and hence, this was when the Lord first called him and speak to him. Eli realised that it was God Who was calling the young Samuel, and he told Samuel to respond to the Lord. Samuel had been called by God to do great things among His people, to lead and guide them all back towards Him. Unlike the the sons of Eli, who had been appointed as priests and guides over the people, which the Scriptures highlighted that they were wicked and corrupt in their ways and actions, Samuel was upright and just, and he obeyed the Lord in His commands and all that He has entrusted to him to do. The Lord was with him, and everything that he said became true, as a sign of Divine providence and favour, as he continued to labour hard for the glory of God and for the well-being and salvation of the people of God, which he led out of the darkness and corruption of the world, and into the light of God’s truth and love.

In our second reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, the Apostle reminded all of the faithful, and hence all of us that we are all the holy people of God, consecrated and dedicated to Him, and our whole beings, our bodies, hearts, minds and souls are all sacred, having been dedicated to God. Through baptism, all of us have been made members of the Church of God, partakers of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of Christ, and hence, we are all truly the Temples of the Lord’s Holy Presence just as St. Paul the Apostle had reminded all of us. This is because God Himself dwells in us and amongst us, and all of us are truly like His holy Tabernacles, the Living Church. Therefore, just as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle, all of us should strive to keep ourselves away from all sorts of evil, fornications and sin. We must always do our best that our every words, actions and deeds, our every interactions and our way of life should always be filled with righteousness, virtue and justice, living our lives in the manner that the Lord has taught us to do, with faith and dedication to Him, and with courage in living our lives at each moment with the desire and the commitment to walk in the path that the Lord has shown and taught us. Each and every one of us must make ourselves truly worthy of God’s presence and love, as He Himself has come into our midst and dwelled in our midst. Hence, we must not allow ourselves to fall into sin and evil, and we have to strive to live our lives to the fullest with faith.

According to our first reading today, Eli and Samuel were not related in any way, but the age gap between the aging priest Eli and the young Samuel was equivalent to that between a grandparent and his or her grandchild. Here the elderly Eli has much to teach the young Samuel regarding the ways of God. God was trying to communicate with Samuel, calling him by name, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ but Samuel did not recognize God’s call, thinking instead that Eli was calling him. Eventually, Eli recognized that God was trying to communicate with Samuel and to help Samuel to hear the call of God Eli gave him a very simple prayer to say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’. Having prayed that prayer, Samuel came to understand what God was asking of him. What Eli did for the young Samuel there, is what grandparents and parents often do for their grandchildren and children. They give them the words they need to communicate with God; they teach them prayers. Teachers also have that role in children’s lives through school. It is lovely to see children learn simple prayers at home and at school and then pray them together out loud, or on their own. Sometimes, the simplest and shortest prayers can be the most effective, like the simple, short prayer that Eli taught Samuel in today’s first reading, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. In our first reading, Samuel who was led to the Lord by Eli is described as a boy. However, the two disciples who were led to the Lord by John the Baptist and Peter who was led there by Andrew were all adults. It was as adults that they allowed themselves to be directed towards the person of Jesus. In our adult years, we too may have met people who helped us to grow in our relationship with the Lord. At any time in our adult life we can meet a John the Baptist who says to us, ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God’, and that can happen to us over and over again, right up to the very end of our lives. The Lord never ceases to call us through others. At no point does He say, this person no longer needs a John the Baptist. There may indeed come a time when the Lord asks any one of us to be a John the Baptist or an Andrew or an Eli for somebody else. We hear the call to share our faith in some way, to open a door to the Lord for others. Our response to such a call can take many different forms. For Eli it took the very simple form of saying the right word to Samuel when it was needed. The readings this Sunday invite us to be open to the many ways the Lord can draw us to himself, and also to the ways the Lord may be calling us to help Him in drawing others to Himself. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that He remains or stays in His Father’s love. He also says that He remains or stays in us. Through the Holy Spirit, He lives deep within us. As St. Paul says in today’s second reading, each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also invites us to stay in Him, to remain in Him as He remains in us, He calls us into an intimate communion with Himself. He wants to stay in us and for us to stay in Him so that our lives can bear rich fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. He wants us to stay in Him, as He stays in the Father, so that we can be empowered to love one another as He loves us. Then the Lord’s life-giving work can continue through us in our world today.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, all of us are reminded of what each and every one of us as Christians have been called to do what God has called and told us to do, in each and every missions and works that He has entrusted to us. All of us have the been called to follow the Lord and walk in His path, to be good and faithful Christians, as examples, role models and inspirations for everyone all around us. We are reminded that our lives and our actions throughout every moments must be truly good and worthy of God, because each one of us are called to be holy just as the Lord our God is all Holy and Perfect. All of us have been called and gathered from this world by the Lord, and He has entrusted to us His Church and the various missions which He gave to us, in bringing His light and truth, His Good News and the manifestation of His love to more and more people. Each and every one of us are the ones through whom God’s love and truth are made manifest in this world, spread and known to more and more people. Let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment to the Lord. Let us all strive to do what is right, virtuous and just according to God’s will at every possible opportunities. Let us all be like the young Samuel and the disciples of the Lord, who put their full trust and faith in God, leaving behind everything and following Him. Let us all do what God has called us to do in our respective lives, in whatever areas and parts of life, in our various vocations and calling in life, so that our lives may truly be exemplary and good, and be the shining beacons of God’s truth and love, proclaiming Him to everyone all around us at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, bless us all in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, in all that we say and do, now and always. Amen 🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the feast of the Infant Jesus of Prague and the Memorial of Saint Felix of Nola and Saint Nina (Nino), Virgin. On this special feast of Infant Jesus of Prague 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 pray for the repose of the gentle soul of all the faithful departed. 🙏

FEAST OF THE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE: The Feast of the Infant Jesus of Prague celebrates the mystery of the Incarnation. The original statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague was created as a royal wedding gift from a Spanish Princess to her Austrian royal cousin. Legend has it that the statue was created by a monk who based it on an apparition he once saw of the Infant Jesus, and tradition holds that the original statue was once possessed by St. Teresa of Ávila. It was then given to María Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, a Spanish noblewoman in 1555 who in turn gave it to her daughter Princess Polyexa von Lobkowicz as a wedding gift in 1603. Their daughter, Princess Lobkowicz, gifted the statue to the Discalced Carmelite friars in Prague in 1628 as a loving offering to help the destitute order. She is said to have told the religious that she was giving them her most prized possession and, furthermore, that as long as they venerated the image, they would never be in want. And, sure enough, once the statue was given special devotions at the monastery attached to the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Prague, fortuitous events for the order started taking place.

The Statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague: The statue of the Infant is a slender and beautifully-modeled figure and is carved of wood thinly coated with wax, standing nineteen inches tall, with the left foot barely visable under a long white tunic. In His left hand, the Infant Jesus holds a miniature globe, surmounted by a cross, signifying the world-wide kingship of the Christ Child. The right hand is extended in blessing with the first two fingers being upraised to symbolize the two natures of Christ, Christ’s divine and human nature, while the folded thumb and last two fingers touch each other representing the unity of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit in the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. The face has a strange power of evoking sentiments of deep gratitude of the mystery of God-made-Man. For all His majestic posture and regal attire, the little King of Prague is more striking for His outward expression of human littleness than by the impression of hidden greatness. The wardrobe of the Infant is similar to the priest’s alb: one is of white linen, the other is of lace. Covering these is a dalmatic made of silk or velvet over which is worn a cape. It represents the Infant Jesus dressed in royal robes, wearing a crown. He is King of the Universe.

The home of the Infant Jesus of Prague is in the city of Prague, which is the capital of the Czech Republic. The original statue has been restored and preserved in the Carmelite church of Our Lady of Victory. The Church was returned to the Carmelites after the fall of Communism. According to history, later, the statue had been discarded in war and His hands destroyed. Found by a Carmelite, he fixed the hands and placed the statue in a place of honor in the Carmelite Church in Prague, Czech Republic. In 1637, as Fr. Cyril prayed before the Infant, he was filled with wonder, contemplating the loving God Who became a child for His people. Suddenly, the statue spoke to the stunned Carmelite: “Have mercy on Me and I will have mercy on you. Give Me hands and I will give you peace. The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.” Many miracles have occurred through intercession to the Divine Infant. During one invasion, all the children of the city were taken to the Church for protection—praying to the Infant, they were all saved. For almost four centuries, this promise of protection and blessing has inspired devotion and love of the Infant Jesus of Prague. The statue provides spiritual uplift for millions of people who have adopted the Holy Infant’s call to humility, simplicity, and sincerity and to become little in order to become great and pleasing before Christ the King.

The Significance of the Infant Jesus of Prague: Devotion to the Miraculous Infant Jesus celebrates the “Child of God”—the great mystery of the Incarnation. The child in all of us believes in the humanity and divinity of Christ and rejoices in God’s caring and protective love for us. The Infant reminds us that God is holding us in the palm of His hand. By depicting Jesus as a child, the tradition of the Infant of Prague also emphasizes His humanity, and how we are children of God because of the salvation that He brings us. As Pope Benedict XVI said: “The figure of the Child Jesus, the tender infant, brings home to us God’s closeness and His love. We come to understand how precious we are in his eyes, because it is through Him that we in our turn have become children of God. Every human being is a child of God and therefore our brother or sister, to be welcomed and respected. May our society grasp this truth! Every human person would then be appreciated not for what he has, but for who he is, since in the face of every human being, without distinction of race or culture, God’s image shines forth.” The effective spiritual meditation is the reason why the Infant Jesus of Prague is so continuously appealing to human hearts all over the world, which he has so firmly in His hands. You can find His statue in almost any church, convent, monastery and house, representing a Divine Protection toward His devotees. He is the Patron Saint of children, family life, missions and those facing financial concerns.

PRAYER TO INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE FOR A SICK PERSON FOR HEALING: O most dear and sweet Infant Jesus, behold me, a poor suffering person who, sustained by a lively faith, invokes your divine aid to cure my infirmity. I put all my trust in you. I know that you can do all things and that you are most merciful, indeed you are yourself Infinite Mercy. O great little Infant, for the sake of your divine virtue and the immense love you bear for all the suffering, the oppressed and the needy, hear me, bless me, help me, console me. Amen🙏

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be (three times).

SAINT FELIX OF NOLA, RELIGIOUS: St. Felix of Nola a helper of the poor lived in the third century. He was the son of Hermias, a Syrian who had been a Roman soldier. He was born on his father’s estate at Nola near Naples, Italy. On the death of his father, St. Felix distributed his inheritance to the poor, was ordained by Bishop St. Maximus of Nola, and became his assistant. When Maximus fled to the desert at the beginning of Decius’ persecution of the Christians in 250, St. Felix was seized in his stead and imprisoned. He was reputedly released from prison by an angel, who directed him to the ailing Maximus, whom he brought back to Nola. Even after Decius’ death in 251, St. Felix was a hunted man but kept well hidden until the persecution ended. When Maximus died, the people unanimously selected Felix as their Bishop, but he declined the honor in favor of Quintus, a senior priest. St. Felix spent the rest of his life on a small piece of land sharing what he had with the poor, and died there on January 14, 260. His tomb soon became famous for the miracles reported there, and when St. Paulinus became bishop of Nola almost a century later (410), he wrote about his predecessor, the source of information about him, adding legendary material that had grown up about St. Felix in the intervening century. St. Paulinus of Nola (feast June 22), who cherished a special devotion toward St. Felix, composed fourteen hymns (carmina natalicia) in his honor. In his day (fifth century) the saint’s tomb was visited by pilgrims from far and wide and was noted for its miraculous cures. St. Felix is the Patron Saint Against eye disease; against eye trouble; against false witness; against lies; against perjury; domestic animals; eyes and a helper of the poor.

Saint Felix of Nola, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT NINA (NINO), VIRGIN: St. Nina (fl. III/IV Century) was a Virgin and the Apostle of Georgia, also listed as Christiana. Christianity was first brought to Georgia, Iberia, at the end of the 3rd century, and ancient tradition attributes this fact to the witness and apostolate of St. Nina. Saint Nina was born in Cappadocia. Tradition says she was a relative of St. George who travelled to Iberia (Georgia) to convert the people to Christianity. Scholars believe she was a slave to whom the name Nino (the Georgian form of Nina) was given; she has also been identified as Christiana. The quiet piety of her life and her preaching converted many people, and she won the respect of many locals with her patience and goodness and by the miracles she supposedly performed by her power to cure diseases in the name of Christ her God. Her prayers obtained the cure of a dying child. Brought to the royal palace, she cured Queen Nana of a seemingly incurable disease and enabled the King—when lost while hunting—to find his way again by calling on Christ. Saint Nina converted the queen and the king. Both rulers received instruction and Baptism from St. Nina. Saint Nina was free to teach and preach and she continued to preach throughout Georgia and she helped to found the Church in Georgia. Under Saint Nina’s direction, a church was erected in such wondrous fashion that the people began to clamor to become Christians also. Hence, the King sent a legate to Emperor Constantine, asking for Bishop and priests to continue and extend St. Nino’s work, and so the Faith came to this region along the Black Sea. St. Nina retired to the life of a hermitess, spending the rest of her life in prayer until her death at Bodke. A church dedicated to the memory of St. George was built on the site of her grave.

PRAYER: God, through St. Nina, Your Virgin, You enabled those without the Faith to pass from darkness to the light of truth. Grant us through her intercession to stand fast in the Faith and remain constant in the hope of the Gospel that she preached. 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. We pray for peace, love and unity in our marriages, our families and our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the 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. 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🙏

Let us pray:

Most glorious Lord, You are abundantly generous in Your grace and mercy and desire to bestow Your love on all people. Thank You for calling us all to follow You without hesitation. Thank You for the joy of being Your disciple. Give me the grace to always know Your will for my life and help me to respond to You with total abandonment and trust. Please use me for Your divine mission of evangelizing the world. I say “Yes” to You, dear Lord. Use me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Infant Jesus of Prague, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Felix of Nola and Saint Nina (Nino) ~ 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 Sunday and New Year! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖