THIRD WEEK OF LENT
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 9, 2024
NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Begins tomorrow, March 10–18, 2024 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2024. Novena Links below.
Greetings beloved family and Happy Saturday 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 9, 2024 on EWTN” |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 9, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 9, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 9, 2024 |
Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 9, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday, March 9, 2024
Reading 1, Hosea 6:1-6
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21
Gospel, Luke 18:9-14
Novena to St. Joseph – Full | EWTN – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-joseph-full-novena-13879
Novena for the Solemnity of St. Joseph – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | https://shorturl.at/tvKPT
40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty-Two: Joy | Saturday of the Third Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-two-joy/
40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty-Two – “Behold, Your King!” | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-two-behold-your-king/
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 Frances of Rome, Religious (Patron Saint of Benedictine oblates; Automobile drivers; Widows); Saint Dominic Savio (Patron Saint of choirboys, choristers the falsely accused, and juvenile delinquents) and Saint Catherine of Bologna, Religious (artists, the liberal arts, against temptations and of Bologna). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the safety and well-being well-being of our children, all automobile drivers, travellers and artist, we pray for God’s guidance and protection. We also pray for all widows and widowers and all those who are mourning, please Lord comfort them and help them to abide in you forever even as they go through this difficult time. Amen🙏
SAINT FRANCES OF ROME, RELIGIOUS: St. Frances (1384-1440) was born to a noble family in Rome. As a young girl her desire to become a nun was refused by her father, who instead arranged her marriage at the age of 12. St. Frances accepted this as God’s will for her life and in obedience to her parents, she entered into a marriage contract with a wealthy nobleman named Lawrence Ponziani. In the matrimonial state the St. Frances led a very pious life, she was married for 40 years and had three children. As St. Frances became acquainted with her in-laws she found that the wife of her brother-in-law felt the same calling to the religious life that she did. From this point on, the two women began to work to help the poor. St. Frances never allowed her spiritual exercises or charitable work to interfere with her family life or domestic duties. She had to endure many trials, particularly during the great schism, when her husband was banished; but she suffered all with exemplary patience, blessing the holy will of God. After the schism St. Francis’s husband recovered his estates.
In St. Frances’ time, Rome was at war and the city was in chaos from political disarray and widespread disease. After the plague swept through Rome, two of her three children died from the plague. After the death of her children from the plague, St. Frances began to turn again to charitable work. She responded by converting her home into a hospital for the sick and poor. She gave up all her wealth to the sick and poor and began to go door to door raising money to aid the sick and the poor. She drove with a wagon into the streets and collected the sick and stranded in order to care for them. She miraculously cured many people, and also began the city’s first orphanage. She inspired many women to join her in this life of prayer and good works. As St. Frances became more deeply involved in charitable work, she began to realize the great need for it in the world and began to seek permission from the Pope to form a charitable society of women to do this work. In 1425, she eventually founded a congregation of lay oblates, to which she gave the Rule of St. Benedict, attached to the Benedictine monastery known as the Oblates of St. Frances of Rome (the Oblate Congregation of Tor di Specchi). The women followed the ideals of the Benedictine order and carried on active charity and assistance of the poor. After setting up the foundation of this society, St. Frances continued to live with her husband until his death. After her husband’s death she entered religious life and received the habit in this community in 1437, and began to live as though she were the lowest of the sisters. Soon after, she was chosen superior of the group. God conferred upon her numerous favors in the supernatural order. One of the great mystics of her time, she dictated 97 visions and was visibly guided by her guardian angel throughout her life. She died March 9, 1440, at the age of fifty-six and was canonized in 1608 by Pope Paul V. St. Frances of Rome is the Patron Saint of many causes, including Benedictine oblates, motorists, pilots, women, widows, and against plague and the death of children. On her feast day many priests bless cars due to her patronage of cars and automobile drivers.
PRAYER: God, in St. Frances You have given us a singular example of both the monastic and the conjugal was of life. Help us to persevere in serving You so that in all the vicissitudes of life we may both look to You and follow You. Amen🙏
SAINT DOMINIC SAVIO, CONFESSOR: St. Dominic Savio (1842-1857) was only fifteen when he died but he had already attained a high degree of sanctity. A pupil of the great St. John Bosco who loved him like a son, St. Dominic organized the Company of the Immaculate Conception to help St. John in running the Oratory. Though St. Dominic’s life was one of poverty, work, and suffering, it was filled with the cheerfulness and joy of sanctity. This model for youths once wrote to a friend: “Here we make sanctity consist in being joyful all the time and in faithfully performing our duties.” St. Dominic Savio was born in Riva di Chieri, Italy, on April 2, 1842. He looked so frail and weak on the morning of his birth that his father rushed him that same evening to the parish church for Baptism. But St. Dominic survived and began serving Mass when he was five years old, one of his greatest joys. He was often seen at five o’clock in the morning in front of the church on his knees in rain or snow, waiting for the doors to be opened. When, at the age of seven, he made his First Holy Communion, he formed the motto, “Death, but not sin!”, the resolution to die rather than sin, as he had frequently expressed his determination and ambition to become a Saint. The village pastor at Mondonio, recognizing in Dominic a soul of predilection, arranged to have him enter Don Bosco’s Oratory at Turin. Don Bosco soon noted Dominic’s consuming quest for sanctity, and pointed out to the boy that the path to holiness is not necessarily among hair shirts and tortures of the flesh, but in the cheerful bearing and offering of each day’s small crosses. Steering the lad away from artificial practices, his loved master showed him that for a soul avid of penance, there is a superabundance to be had for the taking, through acceptance of the monotony and tribulations inseparable from the perfect fulfillment of the duties of one’s state of life.
After a few months of life in the environment of the Oratory and under the saintly care of Saint John Bosco, Dominic’s soul was fired with the zeal of his master, whose rule of life, Give me souls, Lord; You take the rest, the boy adopted for his own. Following the example of Don Bosco, who in season and out of season sought those souls wherever they were to be found, Dominic also went after them in his own little world. In the Oratory he founded and directed the Immaculate Conception Sodality, a group of boys who by prayer, word and example carried on an apostolate among their classmates and proved to be of valuable assistance to Don Bosco in his work. On one occasion Dominic broke up a vicious duel with stones. Standing between the boy-duelists with dramatic suddenness, he flashed a crucifix and said: This is Friday. Today Christ died for love of us. Can you look at Him and still hate each other? When Dominic’s health began to fail he was forced to leave the Oratory. Don Bosco and the boys were very sorry to see him leave; he had been a good friend to all. Don Bosco said of him: His cheerful character and lively disposition made him extremely popular even among those boys who were no great lovers of their faith. His death at his home on March 9, 1857, was sweet and peaceful. As he was dying, he burst out into an ecstatic exclamation, ”Oh, what a beautiful sight I see!” Saint Dominic Savio is the youngest Confessor in the Church’s calendar of saints, and stands out as a hero of school-boy virtue, the shining model of holiness. He was Beatified on March 5, 1950 by Pope Pius XII and Canonized on June 12, 1954 by Pope Pius XII. He’s the Patron Saint of choirboys, choristers the falsely accused, and juvenile delinquents. St. Dominic Savio’s feast is now celebrated on May 6th.
PRAYER: Lord God, You alone are holy and no one is good without You. Through the intercession of St. Dominic help us to live in such a way that we may not be deprived of a share in Your glory. Amen🙏
SAINT CATHERINE OF BOLOGNA, RELIGIOUS: St. Catherine (1413-1463)
was an Italian nun and artist born as Catherine de’ Vigri on September 8, 1413 in Bologna, Italy. She was the member of an aristocratic family and the daughter of a diplomat to the Marquis of Ferrara. St. Catherine was raised in the court of the marquis as a companion to the Princess Margarita. At the court she received a good education in reading, writing, and the arts. She was particularly skilled in painting, playing the viola, and Latin. The marquis’ daughter, Princess Margarita soon married, Roberto Malatesta, Prince of Rimini, and wanted St. Catherine to continue serving her. But St. Catherine felt called to religious life and chose to leave the court. In 1426, at 13-years-old, she entered the convent of Corpus Domini at Ferrara and became a Franciscan Tertiary. During this time, her convent disagreed in whether to continue following the Augustinian rule or to instead adhere to the Franciscan rule. A Rule is a specific expression of the Christian life which calls the men or women of a particular religious order to a daily pattern of prayer, work and charity. St. Catherine was determined to live a life of perfection, and was admired by her companions for her holiness. In 1432, St. Catherine and other young women of Ferrara founded a monastery of the Order of Poor Clares, an order founded by St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. St. Catherine was openly willing to serve the more humble roles in the convent. She was a laundress, a baker and a caretaker for the animals. Through her efforts with Pope Nicholas V, the Poor Clare convent at Ferrara erected an enclosure, and St. Catherine was appointed Superioress. That office made her responsible for providing pastoral care and spiritual oversight to all of sisters. The reputation of the Community for its holiness and austerity became widespread. In 1456, St. Catherine returned to Bologna with her superiors and the governors there requested she found a second monastery of the same Order and be the Abbess of the convent.
St. Catherine continued to paint and to write beautiful spiritual guides and poetry. She wrote the Treatise on the 7 Spiritual Weapons Necessary for Spiritual Warfare. And, her painting of St. Ursula remains on display in a Venice gallery. Throughout her life, St. Catherine experienced visions of both Jesus Christ and Satan, which she documented in her treatise. In one instance, she had the baby Jesus placed in her arms by the Blessed Virgin Mary. During the Lenten season of 1463, St. Catherine became seriously ill, and on March 9th she passed away. She was buried without a coffin and her body was exhumed eighteen days later because of many cures attributed to her at her graveside and the sweet scent coming from her grave. Her body was discovered incorrupt and remains so today. That means it has not decayed. St. Catherine is dressed in her religious habit seated upright on a golden throne behind glass in the chapel of the Poor Clares in Bologna. Her skin has since been blackened due to exposure from oil lamps and soot. Saint Catherine was beatified in 1524 by Pope Clement VII and canonized on May 22, 1712 by Pope Clement XI. She is the Patron Saint of artists, the liberal arts, against temptations and of Bologna.
PRAYER: Dear saintly Poor Clare, Saint Catherine of Bologna, so rich in love for Jesus and Mary, you were endowed with great talents by God and you left us most inspiring writings and paintings for wondrous beauty. You did all for God’s greater glory and in this you are a model for all. Make artists learn lessons from you and use their talents to the full.
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, Saturday of the Third Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 18:9-14
“O God, be merciful to me, a sinner”
“The tax collector went home justified, not the Pharisee”
“Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In today’s Gospel reading, the parable relates to prayer. ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray’. Both men did pray. One man prayed a prayer of thanksgiving and the other a prayer of petition. We all pray in petition and thanksgiving at different moments in our lives. The Pharisee prayed a prayer of thanksgiving, ‘I thank you, God, that…’. The tax-collector prayed a prayer of petition, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’. Yet, only one prayer was acceptable to God. Only one person ‘went home at rights with God’. The difference between the two men who prayed was what was in their heart when they prayed. The prayer of the Pharisee revealed a heart that looked down in judgement on a fellow worshipper. He thought of himself as morally better than the tax collector. The prayer of the tax collector revealed a heart that was humble and contrite before God. He knew that he had nothing to offer God and everything to receive from God, especially mercy. The journey to the Temple was an act of love for God, for both men. However, the heart of the Pharisee revealed a lack of love for the worshipper who stood close to him in the Temple. He considered him less acceptable to God than himself. The Pharisee was right to regard the tax collector a sinner, but he failed to recognize that he too was a sinner. Both men went up to the Temple in need of God’s mercy, but only one of them recognized that reality. We all stand before the Lord as sinners. We all come before Him in our poverty. No one of us can get into the business of deciding who is less, or more, of a sinner than me. That is best left to God. All we can do is open ourselves to the Lord in our poverty and allow Him to enrich us in His love, in other words, to pray the prayer of the tax collector.
In our first reading today, prophet Hosea reminds the people of God to turn away from their sins and to embrace once again God’s love and grace, to change their ways for the better and reject their old ways of sin and disobedience. The Lord has always been kind and patient with us, and He has always provided for us in our time of need. He calls us all to return to Him so that we may find our way and be saved through Him. Yet it was often our pride, ego and hubris, our inability to resist the temptations to sin which became great obstacles in our journey back towards the Lord. In the first reading, the people bring sacrifices and holocausts to God in the Temple, but in response God, speaking through the prophet Hosea, says, ‘what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts’. God desired not our empty love and lack of true faith, but desiring that we all have a genuine conversion of heart, and a wholehearted commitment and dedication to His path, remembering His Law and commandments, His teachings and truth. God wants the love of us His people, a love that finds expression in the love of others.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, in both readings today, there is a contrast between what God wants and what people bring Him. The parable reminds us that when we come before the Lord in prayer, there is to be no room for comparing ourselves favorably with others, or looking down on others. Rather, we come before the Lord in prayer always aware of our own spiritual poverty and need, entrusting ourselves to the Lord as one who, in the words of today’s first reading, can ‘bring us back to life’. Let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples set by the Saints, and strive to follow the good examples and inspiration shown to us by the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly the Saints we celebrate today, St. Frances of Rome, and St. Catherine of Bologna, who have dedicated themselves and their whole life to serve the Lord and the people around them, that we may also live our lives with great faith in God, and ever always filled with generous love for one another. In this time and season of Lent, let us all continue to live our lives with ever stronger desire to follow the Lord our God, to commit ourselves to Him and to do His will. Let us all continue to do what we can so that our whole lives may continue to be good examples for everyone around us. During this season of Lent, all of us are called to deepen our relationship with God and be more attuned with ourselves and we are all called to live our lives with greater fidelity to God, and to humble ourselves more before Him, as sinners all coming to seek His mercy and forgiveness, depending on His ever generous love and compassion. Let us all turn away from sin and from all evil, and let us resist the temptations surrounding us so that we may be truly worthy of God in all the things we act, say and do. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us through our Lenten journey, and may He help us that we may draw ever closer to Him and find righteousness through following His path, and be fully reconciled with Him. May God bless us all and have mercy on us, now and always. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
My merciful Lord, I thank You for loving me with a perfect love. I thank You for Your incredible depth of mercy. Help me to see all of my sin and to turn to You with honesty and humility so that I can be freed of these burdens and become justified in Your sight. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Frances of Rome, Saint Dominic Savio and Saint Catherine of Bologna ~ 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 and relaxing weekend and grace-filled Lenten Season ~ Amen🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
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