SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 15, 2024
MEMORIAL OF SAINT ISIDORE, THE FARMER AND SAINTS PETER, ANDREW, PAUL AND DENISE (DIONYSIA), MARTYRS
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT ~ DAY SIX: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost. Beginning, Friday, May 10-18, 2024 (link below)
Greetings beloved family. Happy Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter!
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN | May 15, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 15, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | May 15, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the Natio…
Good evening, Dr.
I attended a conference in Lagos and spent most of my time in transit, making it difficult to schedule a call. However, I am back in the office now and available for a voice call anytime starting tomorrow.
SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 16, 2024
MEMORIAL OF SAINT BRENDAN, ABBOT; SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE, PRIEST AND MARTYR; SAINT SIMON STOCK, AND SAINT UBALDUS, BISHOP OF GUBBIO
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT ~ DAY SEVEN: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost. Beginning, Friday, May 10-18, 2024 (link below)
Greetings beloved family and Happy Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter!
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN | May 16, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 16, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | May 16, 2024 |
SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 17, 2024
MEMORIAL OF SAINT PASCHAL BAYLON, RELIGIOUS AND BLESSED ANTONIA MESINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT ~ DAY EIGHT: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost. Beginning, Friday, May 10-18, 2024 (link below)
Greetings beloved family and Happy Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter!
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN | May 17, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 17, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | May 17, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 17, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 17, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteriels VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |
Today’s Bible Readings: Friday, May 17, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 25:13-21
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20
Gospel, John 21:15-19
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost. DAY EIGHT – Beginning, Friday, May 10, 2024 (link below): Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts | EWTN | The novena – May 10-18, 2024 | https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-for-the-seven-gifts-309
[This Novena begins on the day after the Solemnity of the Ascension, Friday of the 6th Week of Easter, even if the Solemnity of the Ascension is transferred to the 7th Sunday of Easter]
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
Prayed in preparation for Pentecost
DAY EIGHT: May 17, 2024, Friday, 7th Week of Easter
Bend the stubborn heart and will, melt the frozen warm the chill. Guide the steps that go astray!
THE GIFT OF WISDOM: Embodying all the other gifts, as charity embraces all the other virtues, Wisdom is the most perfect of the gifts. Of wisdom it is written ‘all good things came to me with her, and innumerable riches through her hands.’ It is the gift of Wisdom that strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of virtue in the highest degree. Wisdom enlightens the mind to discern and relish things divine, in the appreciation of which earthly joys lose their savor, whilst the Cross of Christ yields a divine sweetness according to the words of the Saviour: ‘Take up thy cross and follow me, for my yoke is sweet and my burden light.
PRAYER: Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to my soul the mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Help me to attain them and possess them for ever. Amen🙏
Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE; Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, ‘Speak Lord for Your servant heareth.’ Amen🙏
PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen🙏
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, Who did instruct the hearts of Thy faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation, through Christ, our Lord. Amen🙏
Novena to the Holy Spirit: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost (link below) Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts | EWTN: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-for-the-seven-gifts-309
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ MEMORIAL OF SAINT PASCHAL BAYLON, RELIGIOUS AND BLESSED ANTONIA MESINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR ~ MAY 17TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Paschal Baylon, Religious and Blessed Antonia Mesina, Virgin and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. We also pray for victims of Rape and all forms of sexual violence and we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world🙏
Loving and Generous God, it is You who call us by name and ask us to follow You. Help us to grow in the Love and Service of our Church as we experience it today. Give us the energy and courage of Your Spirit
to shape its future. Grant us faith-filled leaders who will embrace Christ’s Mission
of love and justice. Bless your Church by raising up dedicated and generous leaders from our families and friends who will serve Your people as Sisters, Priests, Brothers, Deacons and Lay Ministers. Inspire us to know You better
and open our hearts to hear Your call. We ask this through our Lord… Amen🙏
SAINT PASCHAL BAYLON, RELIGIOUS: St. Paschal Baylon (May 16, 1540 – May 17, 1592) was named after the day of his birth and death: Pentecost Sunday-Pascha Pentekostes. He was a Spanish Roman Catholic lay professed religious of the Order of Friars Minor. He hailed from the Spanish section of Valencia. St. Paschal was born at Torre Hermosa in the Kingdom of Aragon, on May 16, 1540. He was a simple, pious shepherd boy who later became an ardent spiritual son of St. Francis and the heavenly patron of adorers of the Most Blessed Sacrament. He belongs to that illustrious circle of saints who, by heroic holiness of life, refurbished the Church’s crown that had been desecrated by the heretics of the sixteenth century. St. Paschal Baylon spent his early childhood as a shepherd and often gave religious instruction to the shepherds on the hills of Aragon. So great was his desire for instruction that while tending his sheep he carried a book with him and begged those he met to reach him the alphabet. Thus, in a short time he learned to read. He served as a shepherd alongside his father in his childhood and adolescence, but desired to enter the religious life. St. Paschal led the solitary life of a shepherd until he was about twenty-four. He was refused once but later was admitted as a Franciscan lay brother. By meditation, prayer, and the reading of pious works, he advanced rapidly in perfection, so that he decided to embrace the religious state and petitioned the Franciscans to admit him into their Order, he had already reached an eminent degree of sanctity. When he decided to become a Religious, he purposely avoided rich monasteries, for he said, “I was born poor, and I am resolved to die in poverty and penance.” In 1564, St. Paschal entered among the Reformed Franciscans in the Kingdom of Valentia and insisted upon becoming simply a lay brother. For twenty-eight years he lived a perfect life in the austere Order he had chosen, a life of extreme poverty and of constant prayer, which even his labors did not interrupt. He was sent to counter the arguments of the Calvinists in France but was chased out and nearly killed by a mob. He became noted for his strict austerities, as well as his love for and compassion towards the sick.
St. Paschal was best known for his strong and deep devotion to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. One day St. Paschal heard the bells of a convent announce the approaching consecration at Mass. Such an ardent longing for God overcame him that, prompted by yearning and love, he involuntarily cried out: “O God, most worthy of all adoration, please let me see You!” Hardly had he uttered the prayer when a glowing star appeared in the sky. As he watched, the heavens opened; the star disappeared and was replaced by a chalice with the Host, flanked by two adoring angels. Christian art has selected this vision to show his chief virtue, viz., love for the most holy Eucharist. Toward the end of his life he frequently spent a great part of the night in prayer before the altar. God often favored him with ecstasies and raptures, but so great was his humility that he carefully avoided whatever might redound to his honor or praise. St. Paschal also had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. His piety drew people from all over seeking his counsel, and at his death caused miracles that were reported at his tomb. He died on May 17, 1592 at the age of 52. As he lay dead upon the bier, he opened and closed his eyes twice when the sacred species were elevated at the consecration. Pope Leo XIII declared him the heavenly patron of all Eucharistic leagues and societies. The process for his canonization opened and in 1618 he was beatified; Pope Alexander VIII canonized him a saint on October 16, 1690. He’s the Patron Saint of Eucharistic congresses and Eucharistic associations (proclaimed by Pope Leo XIII); Cooks; Shepherds; Male Children; Priesthood Vocation; Obado, Bulacan, Phillipines.
“God is as really present in the consecrated Host as He is in the glory of Heaven” ~ St. Paschal Baylon
PRAYER: God, You filled St. Paschal with a wondrous love for mysteries of Your Body and Blood. May we draw from this Divine Banquet the same spiritual riches he received… Amen🙏
BLESSED ANTONIA MESINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: Bl. Antonio Mesina (June 21, 1919 – May 17, 1935) was an Italian Roman Catholic and part of Catholic Action. Bl. Mesina was murdered in mid-1935 after she attempted to fend off a would-be rapist and suffered 74 strikes with a stone before she died. Blessed Antonia Mesina was the second of ten children born on June 21, 1919; Orgosolo, on the Island of Sardinia, Kingdom of Italy to a poor family. Being the second oldest child, she had to leave school to help with the family chores after her mother became bedridden, a task which she accepted with obedience, humility, and joy. Bl. Antonia’s mother referred to her daughter as “the flower of my life.” Despite her heavy responsibilities at home, Bl. Antonia was also active in her parish, a very active member of Young Women of Catholic Action, an Italian Catholic organization for the laity, at the age of 10 and encouraging others to do the same.
On May 17, 1935, while in the forest with a friend gathering firewood after Mass, Bl. Antonia was assaulted by a teenage boy who attempted to rape her. Her friend ran for help while Antonia bravely defended herself against her attacker. The young man, unable to achieve his goal due to her continuous resistance, brutally attacked Bl. Antonia with dozens of blows with a rock. She fought him off to her last breath and she suffered 74 strikes with a stone before she died. By the time help arrived, it was too late. Bl. Antonia died at the age of sixteen on May 17, 1935 at Orgosolo, Sardinia, Kingdom of Italy. The entire town accompanied her body to the site of her burial. On October 5, 1935 the Catholic Action member Venerable Armida Barelli – who had met Antonia once – met with Pope Pius XI and informed him of Antonia’s activism and her murder. She is considered a martyr of sexual purity, and was Beatified on October 4, 1987, Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City by Pope St. John Paul II. Her story has been likened to that of St. Maria Goretti. Blessed Antonia Messina is the Patron Saint of Rape victims; Youth; Nuoro; Orgosolo. Her feast day is May 17th.
Blessed Antonia Mesina, Virgin and Martyr ~ Pray for us🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051724.cfm
Gospel Reading ~ John 21:15-19
“Simon, son of John, do you love me? Feed my lambs, feed my sheep”
“After Jesus had revealed Himself to His disciples and eaten breakfast with them, He said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that He had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to Him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus gives St. Peter the opportunity to begin afresh after his very public denial of Him a few days previously. In spite of St. Peter’s failure, Jesus still wanted him to be a shepherd of His flock. Yet, before he could shepherd others as Jesus’ representative, St. Peter first had to renew his relationship with Jesus. This was the purpose of Jesus’ three-fold question to St. Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ Jesus asks many questions in the course of all four Gospels, but this is one of the most significant questions He asks. A loving relationship with the Lord is the precondition for being a shepherd to the Lord’s flock. We are all called to shepherd each other in the Lord’s name, in different ways, in accordance with our different gifts. We are called to serve each other, to build each other up in faith, hope and love, to reveal the Lord to each other. If we are to engage in this work we first need to have a loving, personal, relationship with the Lord. As Jesus said earlier in John’s Gospel, we are to abide in His love, as Jesus abides in His Father’s love. Only then can we be channels of the Lord’s love to others. There will be times when, like St. Peter, we will drift away from the Lord’s love and cease to abide in it. Today’s Gospel assures us that whenever that happens, the Lord stands before to invite us to renew our love of him and to begin again to abide in His love, so that we can serve His flock, serve each other, in His name.
Our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles details the conversion of King Agrippa of Judea and Festus, the new Roman Governor and Procurator of Judea in charge of the case surrounding St. Paul. All these happened due to the opposition that the Apostle St. Paul faced due to his work and ministry, in proclaiming the Christian truths and evangelising to many people, Gentiles and Jews alike that earned him the ire of many among the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, which then persecuted him and handed him over to the Romans to be judged for the accusations they levied on him. This was pretty much just like what the Lord Jesus Himself experienced earlier on, but St. Paul was following the guidance and lead of the Holy Spirit, Who told him that he was destined to travel to Rome and to die there, in martyrdom just like the other Apostles and many other disciples. However, this would not happen before he brought the word of God, His truth and love to the people in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, planting the seeds of the faith there, at the very heart of the Empire and superpower of that time, which would soon become the greatest persecutor of Christianity.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we’re all reminded to be strong and faithful, to steel our resolve to be good and dedicated Christians at all times despite persecutions and hardships. We should not let the challenges and hardships we encountered and will face in the future from changing this faith and commitment we have in God. Let us all look upon the examples of the Apostles, the Saints and Martyrs and courageous servants of God and beloved disciples of Our Lord and Saviour. Let us all thus be inspired to follow the Lord ever more faithfully following in the footsteps of the Saints, who we celebrate today and the other Apostles like St. Peter and St. Paul, as well as many other among our holy predecessors, whose examples in faith and way of life should inspire each one of us to carry out our lives most worthily as Christians, that is as the disciples of the Lord. Let us all seek the Lord ever more faithfully and show greater commitment to Him, and entrust ourselves to Him and to His providence from now on, that we may always be worthy in our way of life and actions, and be inspiration for many others who desire to follow the Lord as well. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to be steadfast and remain faithful to Him and may the Risen Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen us in our faith and commitment. Amen🙏
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MAY: MONTH OF OUR LADY: In addition to the myriad feast days honoring Our Lady under her many titles and virtues, the entire month of May is especially given to her praise. In the words of Pope Paul VI, May is “a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God … For this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne.”
THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MAY – FOR THE FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS AND SEMINARIANS: We pray that religious women and men, and seminarians, grow in their own vocations through their human, pastoral, spiritual and community formation, leading them to be credible witnesses to the Gospel.🙏
https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024
PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen🙏
During this Easter season, 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 🙏
On this special feast day, as we continue to celebrate our risen Lord, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the Clergy and religious as they serve in the Lord’s Vineyard. We also 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 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
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🙏
Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/
PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of Easter, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. 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 soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. 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 Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. 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:
My most compassionate Jesus, in Your great love for us all, You desire that we unite our sufferings to Your Cross so that all suffering shares in Your redemptive love. Give me the grace I need to not only embrace my own sufferings in life out of love for You but to also help those whom I love to live sacrificially by embracing the crosses they carry out of love. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Paschal Baylon and Blessed Antonia Mesina ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this day 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 and for vocations to priesthood and consecrated life. Have a blessed, safe, relaxing weekend and grace-filled Seventh Week of Easter!🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖