HOLY WEEK
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MARCH 25, 2024
Greetings beloved family and Happy Monday of Holy Week! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this final week of our Lenten journey🙏
Please note: The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord normally falls on March 25, but since this date falls on the Monday of Holy Week this year, this feast is transferred to Monday, April 8th. It is not a holy day of obligation to attend Mass. The Annunciation celebrates the coming of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary and announcing to her that she is to be the mother of the Savior.
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion | March 25, 2024 on EWTN” |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 25, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 25, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 25, 2024 |
Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 25, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Monday, March 25, 2024
Reading 1, Isaiah 42:1-7
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14
Gospel, John 12:1-11
40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Thirty-Five: Devotion | Monday of Holy Week | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-thirty-five-devotion/
40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Thirty-Five – “It is Finished” | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-thirty-five-it-is-finished/
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/
We are at the beginning of Holy Week during which we reflect on the final journey of Jesus. Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Dismas, The Good Thief and Saint Margaret Clitherow, Martyr.
SAINT DISMAS, THE GOOD THIEF: St. Dismas (1st c.), sometimes spelled Dysmas Dimas or Dumas, also known as the “Good Thief” or the Penitent Thief, is the apocryphal name given to one of the thieves who was crucified alongside Jesus Christ on Good Friday according to the Gospel of Luke 23:39-43:
All we know about St. Dismas is what is mentioned of him in the Gospels: “Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.’ The other [St. Dismas] however, rebuking him, said in reply, ‘Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.’” Then St. Dismas, as an expression of his faith in Christ as the Messiah, said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied to St. Dismas, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-42). The feast day of St. Dismas is March 25 and he’s the Patron Saint of those condemned to death; Funeral directors, prisoners and repentent thieves.
GOOD THIEF PRAYER: My Crucified Jesus, wash me with your most Precious Blood. Look upon me as the good thief, who hung on the cross next to You at Calvary. A sinner, paying for his crimes but recognizes your divinity and begs for mercy and forgiveness and asks: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” Dear Lord, look upon me like the Good Thief and I should be so lucky, full of Peace. Amen🙏
SAINT MARGARET CLITHEROW, MARTYR: St. Margaret Clitherow was an English lay woman saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church, known as “the Pearl of York”. She lived in the 1500s and was a convert to the Catholic Faith. During St. Margaret’s lifetime, English Catholics were being persecuted under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. Margaret was eventually martyred for her Catholic Faith. She was pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea to the charge of harbouring Catholic priests. St. Margaret is considered the first woman martyred under Queen Elizabeth’s religious suppression. St. Margaret Clitherow was born in 1556 in York, England. She had four siblings, and her parents were Protestants. Her father, Thomas Middleton, was a candle maker, he died when she was fourteen years old. In 1571, Margaret married a well-to-do butcher named John Clitherow. John was an Anglican, but his brother was a Catholic priest. St. Margaret decided to convert to Catholicism in 1574. According to her confessor, Fr. Mush, St. Margaret became a Catholic because she “found no substance, truth nor Christian comfort in the ministers of the new church, nor in their doctrine itself, and hearing also many priests and lay people to suffer for the defense of the ancient Catholic Faith.” St. Margaret’s husband, John Clitherow, remained a Protestant but supported his wife’s decision to convert. They were happily married and raised three children: Henry, William, and Anne. She was a business woman who helped run her husband’s butcher shop business. She was loved by many people even her Protestant neighbors. St. Margaret practiced her faith and helped many people reconcile themselves back into the Catholic Church. She prayed one and a half hours every day and fasted four times a week. She regularly participated in mass and frequently went to confession. When laws were passed against Catholics, St. Margaret was imprisoned several times because she did not attend Protestant (Anglican) church services. In 1577, she was imprisoned for her lack of attendance at Anglican services. She was also arrested two more times for this charge. She gave birth to her third child while she was in prison. Other laws were passed which included a 1585 law that made it high treason for a priest to live in England and a felony for anyone to harbor or aid a priest. The penalty for breaking such laws was death. Despite the risk, St. Margaret was not deterred by threat of death, she helped and concealed priests. St. Margaret said “by God’s grace all priests shall be more welcome to me than ever they were, and I will do what I can to set forward God’s Catholic service.” Though her house was being watched by authorities, she allowed priests to hide and celebrate Mass in her home. She also rented another house to hide priests in and to have them say Mass in.
St. Margaret wanted her oldest son Henry to receive a Catholic education so she endeavored that her son be sent outside the Kingdom to Douai, France to a seminary to study for the priesthood. Such an act was considered a crime. The seminary had relocated from England to Reims because of the persecution in England. When the authorities discovered their intention, the Common Council had the Clitherow house searched. They initially found nothing but later retrieved religious vessels, books and vestments used for Holy Mass. They also found a secret hiding place, a scared child showed the authorities where the priest hole was but no renegade priests. Still, St. Margaret was arrested for the crime of harboring Catholic priests. She was brought before the court but refused to plead. She refused so that she could not be brought to trial, because she knew her children would be questioned and probably tortured if she were tried. Authorities attempted to make her renounce her Faith, but St. Margaret held fast. St. Margaret refused to plead and to be tried saying, “Having made no offense, I need no trial.” English law decreed that anyone who refused to plead and to be tried should be “pressed to death.” So on the morning of of Good Friday, March 25, 1586, after sewing her own shroud the night before and after praying for the Pope, cardinals, clergy, and the Queen, St. Margaret was executed. She lay sandwiched between a rock and a wooden slab while weights were dropped upon her, crushing her to death. She did not cry out but prayed “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, have mercy upon me.” She died within fifteen minutes of the start of her crushing. She was pregnant with her fourth child at the time. Her body was left under the weight for six hours. She died at age 30 at York, United Kingdom. Moved by her saintly life, all her children entered the religious life. Anne became a nun. Henry and William both became priests. St. Margaret was Beatified on December 15, 1929 by Pope Pius XI and Canonized and declared a Saint on October 25, 1970, Rome by Pope Paul VI. St. Margaret Clitherow was canonized in 1970 with many others who died during the English persecution of Catholics. These martyrs were known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. She’s the Patron Saint of businesswomen, converts, martyrs, Catholic Women’s League, Latin Mass Society.
PRAYER: St. Margaret, pray for me, that I may always be eager to do all I can to serve God and His Church. Pray that I may never allow difficulties to deter me from serving God. Please persevere in bringing my petitions before God! Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Margaret Clitherow as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the devotion to You she showed in her courageous service to You and Your Church. 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, Monday of Holy Week | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ John 12:1-11
Let her keep this for the day of my burial
“Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, does something extravagant for Jesus, anointing the feet of Jesus with very costly ointment and then wiping them dry with her hair. This was her way of expressing gratitude to Jesus for the service He rendered to her family in raising her brother, Lazarus, to life. Whereas Judas tried to make little of her extravagant gesture, a very negative spin is put on Mary’s action by Judas who interprets it as a waste of good money that could have been given to the poor. Jesus, however, comes to the defence of Mary, interpreting her action as a timely anointing in preparation for His death and burial, which was imminent, and, indeed, which Judas would help to bring about. Jesus graciously received Mary’s generous outpouring of gratitude. We all have something to be grateful for. We have all been graced in some way. The ultimate source of every good gift we receive in life is the Lord. It is to Him, above all, that we express our gratitude. This Holy Week we remember with gratitude how Jesus gave us the greatest gift anyone could give, the gift of His life. ‘No one has greater love than this’, said Jesus, ‘to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’. Jesus gave His life so that we may have life and have it to the full. This Holy Week we allow ourselves to be touched by that great and generous love, and like Mary in today’s Gospel reading, we give expression to our gratitude in our own personal way.
In our first reading today, from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord spoke through Isaiah the prophecy of the Messiah or Saviour that God has promised. It’s a proclamation about a certain Chosen One Whom God had appointed to be the One to bear His salvation and deliverance to the nations. He spoke of how the Messiah would come to bring all of His people back to Him, to proclaim the Good News of the salvation of God, ushering the blessed time of new life with God. The beloved people of God would no longer be separated from Him, and He will gather all of them into His Presence, reconciling each and every one of us to Himself, through none other than the very same Saviour, Jesus Christ, the One Whom Isaiah had spoken about. The Lord revealed His truth to the nations, of His love and compassion towards them, that He has sent into our midst His Servant, the One Who would be crushed and persecuted for us, to suffer and even die for our sake. This is the same Messiah that the prophets and messengers of the Lord have been prophesying about and which they had promised and proclaimed for many ages. The Lord has willingly sent His salvation into our midst, in the form of His own Beloved Son, born into this world and taking up our own human existence such that by His coming into this world, He may reunite us with God, our loving Father and Creator. That is what the Lord has done, by reaching out to us, coming down to dwell among us, so that all of us sinners may find our consolation and help through Him, as we are reminded yet again of His love and faithfulness to the Covenant that He has made and renewed again and again with us. God has never forgotten about His people and He has reached out to them, every time they had faltered and fallen into sin. He reminded them of His ever patient and most generous love, and called on them to reject the path of sin and disobedience. Through His Son, God made us all partakers of a New and Eternal Covenant sealed by the breaking of His own Most Precious Body and by the shedding and outpouring of His own Most Precious Blood, broken and poured out for us and our salvation, as the most worthy offering made on the Altar of the Cross, at Calvary.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are reminded first of all, of God’s ever enduring and patient love for us, which we should always keep in mind throughout this most solemn week commemorating our Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death. It was for our sake that He has willingly suffered all of that, so that by everything that He had to go through, He might deliver us from our fate of destruction and death, and offer us the sure path to eternal life through Him. Then, we are also reminded of the need for us to listen to the Lord and His patient calling for us to embrace His love and mercy, as we are all called to be humble like Mary, the sister of Lazarus, in realising our sinfulness and unworthiness before God, and in obeying the will of God like the Lord Jesus Himself, Who obeyed the Father’s will so perfectly, for our salvation. Let us also distance ourselves from the dangers of pride and worldly temptations, that we do not fall into the same trap as Judas Iscariot had experienced. May the Lord continue to help us in our journey of faith and life, especially throughout this season of Lent and this most solemn time of the Holy Week. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and continue to strengthen each and every one of us and help us to persevere through the many hardships, trials and challenges that we may have to face daily in life. May God bless each and every one of us and help us all to be ever more faithful and committed in our lives, in following Him at all times. Amen 🙏
Let us pray:
My glorious Jesus, You are worthy of all praise and honor. You are worthy of our deepest devotion and love. As I enter into this Holy Week, I pray that it will be a time in which I may express my deepest love for You. Help me to pour forth that love in abundance this week so as to show You the glory and praise You deserve. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Dismas, The Good Thief and Saint Margaret Clitherow, Martyr ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this day and as we begin this Holy week, may God, our Crucified Christ, Our most loving Saviour, be with us all as we journey through this Holy Week, that we may come to share ever more deeply in the mysteries of His Passion, His suffering, death and Resurrection….Amen. Have a blessed, safe, fruitful and grace-filled Holy Week🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖
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