MEMORIAL OF SAINT COLETTE OF CORBIE, VIRGIN

THIRD WEEK OF LENT

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 6, 2024

Greetings beloved family and Happy Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 6, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 6, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 6, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 6, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 6, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Wednesday March 6, 2024
Reading 1, Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Gospel, Matthew 5:17-19

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Nineteen: False Presumptions | Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-nineteen-false-presumptions/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Nineteen – The Agony in the Garden | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-nineteen-the-agony-in-the-garden/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls 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 their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 Colette of Corbie, Virgin (Patron Saint of women seeking to conceive, expectant mothers, and sick children). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Colette and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all those seeking for the fruit of the womb, may God grant them gift of children, for all expectant mothers, we pray for safe delivery and for all children who are sick, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal illnesses, we pray for God’s divine healing and intervention upon them…Amen🙏

“I dedicate myself in health, in illness, in my life, in my death, in all my desires, in all my deeds so that I may never work henceforth except for your glory, for the salvation of souls, and towards the reform for which you have chosen me. From this moment on, dearest Lord, there is nothing which I am not prepared to undertake for love of you.” ~ Saint Colette of Corbie, Virgin

SAINT COLETTE OF CORBIE, VIRGIN: St. Colette was a French Abbess, reformer of the Franciscan order of Poor Clares, and unifier of the Church. She is also the founder of the Poor Clare Colettines. St. Colette was a miracle baby, born to parents over sixty years of age, who had been praying for a child to St. Nicholas of Myra. St. Colette was the daughter of a carpenter named De Boellet who served the local Benedictine abbey at Corbie in Picardy, France. She was born on January 13, 1381, christened Nicolette, and called Colette. Nicolette Boellet was named in honor of St. Nicholas and was known by her nickname, Colette. Quiet and hard-working, Colette was a pious child who demonstrated a sensitive and loving nature. When Colette was 17, both of her parents died and she was left in the care of a Benedictine abbot. Orphaned at seventeen, she distributed her inheritance to the poor and initially joined the Beguine and Benedictine orders, but neither one worked out for her. Instead, she became a third order Franciscan. As a Franciscan tertiary, she lived at Corby  as a solitary. At age 21, she renounced the world in order to spend her life alone in penance and prayer as an anchoress – walled into a cell whose only opening was a grilled window into a church. She soon became well known for her holiness and spiritual wisdom, but left her cell in 1406 in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Clares. She entered the order of Poor Clares, was appointed superior general and she received the Poor Clares habit from Peter de Luna, whom the French recognized as Pope under the name of Benedict XIII of Avignon (the anti-pope) with orders to reform the Order and appointing her Superior of all convents she reformed.

Despite great opposition from within the Poor Clares, St. Colette persisted in her efforts. She began a successful reform of the Poor Clare convent at Beaume, Switzerland, which spread rapidly through France, Savoy, Germany, and Flanders. She revived the primitive rule and spirit of St. Francis. Her rule prescribed that the nuns go barefooted, observe perpetual fast and abstinence, and practice extreme poverty. She was well-known for her wisdom, sanctity, ecstasies, and visions of the Passion. She was also known for her appreciation and care for animals. St. Colette helped Saint Vincent Ferrer heal the papal schism and she founded seventeen convents with the reformed rule and reformed several older convents. She was reknowned for her sanctity, ecstacies, and visions of the Passion, and prophesied her own death in her convent at Ghent, Belgium. She died on March 6, 1447 at age 66 at the community she had founded in Ghent. She Through her life’s work, St. Colette’s reformation breathed new life into the Poor Clares and created a lasting model of spirituality. St. Colette was  Beatified on January 23, 1740 by Pope Clement XII and Canonized on May 24, 1807 by Pope Pius VII. A branch of the Poor Clares is still known as the Colettines. The Colettine Sisters are found today, outside of France, in Belgium, Germany, Spain, England, and the United States. She the Patron Saint of expectant mothers, of childless couples who long to conceive, and of sick children.

Saint Colette’s Quotes

“If there be a true way that leads to the Everlasting Kingdom, it is most certainly that of suffering, patiently endured.”

“We must faithfully keep what we have promised. If through human weakness we fail, we must always without delay arise again by means of holy penance, and give our attention to leading a good life and to dying a holy death. May the Father of all mercy, the Son by his holy passion, and the Holy Spirit, source of peace, sweetness and love, fill us with their consolation. Amen.”

“My eyes, I have filled with Jesus upon Whom I have fixed them at the Elevation of the Host at Holy Mass and I do not wish to replace Him with any other image.”

Prayer for a Special Intention

O  glorious SAINT COLETTE, I beseech you through the burning love which inflamed your heart for Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament, through the marvelous graces with which He enriched you and the loving compassion you did bear to Him in His bitter sufferings, obtain from Him for me my requests. . . .,which I hope to receive through your powerful intercession. Amen🙏

PRAYER: O Lord Jesus Christ, who have enriched Your spouse, SAINT COLETTE, with heavenly graces, grant, we beseech You, that we may imitate her virtues here on earth, and with her enjoy the eternal happiness of heaven. 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 and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, 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 the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle 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 their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. 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, Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 5:17-19

“Whoever keeps and teaches the law will be called great”

“Jesus said to His disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus Himself spoke to the people assembled to listen to Him, declaring that He has not come to abolish or override the Law of God or the Prophets but instead to complete them. He came to reveal the true meaning, intention and purpose of the Law of God to the people, teaching them what the Law of God is truly all about, and calling upon all of them to do God’s will and to obey His Law and commandments in the manner that they should have done. This is because by that time, many of the people of God had lost sight of the true intention and purpose of the Law of God, and hence, has become ignorant of the path that God has called all of them to walk through and follow in their respective lives. God has given them all His Law so that they may all come to know Him and to love Him, and yet, they allow themselves to be swayed and tempted into the path of sin and disobedience. Jesus recognized all that good and valuable in His own Jewish tradition; He came to enhance and complete that goodness and value through His teaching and His way of life. Jesus was always open to the good in every institution. Rather than abolishing something because it was less than perfect, He worked to bring the good that was there to completion. Rather than condemning people because they had failed to live up to their calling, Jesus saw the good in them and worked to bring it to perfection. There is a lesson for all of us in Jesus’ way of relating to institutions and people. Our intolerance of imperfection can blind us to the good that is also there. Our calling is to recognize the good wherever it is to be found, even when it is hidden or clouded by other realities, and, having recognized the good, to call it forth by our loving attentiveness. If the Jewish Law embodied a great wisdom, Jesus’ teaching embodied an even greater wisdom because Jesus Himself was the Wisdom of God. If the Jewish Law was the way to life, Jesus’ teaching was life-giving to an even greater extent, because it is the way that leads to eternal life beyond this earthly life.

Our first reading today from the Book of Deuteronomy, details the words of the Lord that He spoke to His people through Moses, who reminded all of them of just how blessed and fortunate they are to have been beloved in such a way by the Lord, their Lord and God. Moses told the people to listen to their God and to follow Him wholeheartedly, and not harden their hearts and minds against Him any longer. He reminded them all that the Law of God, the commandments and the path the Lord has shown them have been presented to them and therefore they should walk in the path of God and to pass down the knowledge of the Law and the truth of God through the generations to come. Moses hence exhorted and called on all the people of God to be truly holy just as the Lord Himself is holy, and to be good just as their Lord and Master is good. God still loved His people and us all very much despite all those wickedness that they had committed. He even gave His people the reassurances that He would not abandon them and He will guide them all to the path towards salvation and eternal life. In the end, He fulfilled His promises and gave us the most perfect gift of all, that is none other than Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. If according to our first reading today, the people of Israel are blessed, we are even more blessed. As Jesus declares in today’s Gospel reading, those who keep Jesus’ words and teach others to do the same will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven. We thank God for what we have received through His Son, and we pray that we would always treasure it and seek to pass it on to others.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are called to dedicate more of our time, effort and works to the Lord and do whatever we can to be righteous, good and faithful in all things, following and obeying God’s Law and commandments at all possible opportunities. Let us all come towards the Lord with renewed hearts and minds, full of the desire to love the Lord our God, and to follow Him ever more wholeheartedly from now on. Let us all seek the Lord with all of our strength and might, and let us commit ourselves to walk virtuously and righteously in God’s path henceforth, to be good role models and examples in all things, to be the good examples and inspirations to all the people all around us. Let us all be the bearers of God’s truth, His light and salvation to everyone around us, so that more and more people may come ever closer towards the Lord through us. Let us all resist the evils and temptations of sin present all around us. Let us be ever more dedicated to the Lord and commit ourselves to His cause with ever greater zeal and faith from now on. May the Lord be with us always, and strengthen us amidst all the challenges and trials that we may have to face in the path of our obedience and journey of faith towards Him. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace to be faithful and dedicated and may this Lent be a great season and time of renewal of our faith and be ever stronger in our love for our Lord. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My most high Jesus, You have called us to a new height of holiness. You have called us to perfection. Enlighten my mind, dear Lord, so that I may understand this high calling and pour forth Your grace, so that I may embrace my moral duty to the fullest extent.  Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Colette of Corbie ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe, fruitful and grace-filled third week of Lent ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖