MONDAY AFTER PENTECOST
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 20, 2024
MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
MEMORIAL OF SAINT BERNARDINE OF SIENA, PRIEST
Greetings beloved family. Happy Monday after Pentecost, Feast of Our Blessed Mother Mary, Mother of the Church and Happy Memorial Day!
On this Memorial Day, we pray for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, we particularly remember, honor and pray for all those in the military who sacrificed their lives to make the world a better place for all of us. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen🙏
Watch ” Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on Pentecost Sunday | EWTN on YouTube | May 20, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 20, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | May 20, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 20, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 20, 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: Monday, May 20, 2024
Reading 1, Genesis 3:9-15, 20 or Acts 1: 12-14
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 87:1-3, 5-7
Gospel, John 19:25-34
Today, a day after Pentecost Sunday we enter once again into the season of Ordinary Time, which will continue until the end of this current liturgical year in November this year. Please let us all continue to pray for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World🙏
On this special day, we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church or Mater Ecclesiae. This celebration began in the recent years commemorating what had been widespread acknowledgement of the role of Mary as the Mother of the faithful people of God and hence, also the Mother of the Church. Just as St. Joseph was made the Protector of the Universal Church, it is only right then that Mary is officially accorded the honor of being the Mother of the Church.
MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH: Our Beloved Mother Mary, by virtue of being the mother of Jesus Christ, has always been recognized as the Mother of the Church, which Jesus established during His Passion. Before He expired on the Cross, Jesus gave His final instructions to Mary and John, elevating the nature of their relationship within the Kingdom of God. He said to Mary, “Woman, behold thy son,” and to St. John the Beloved (who mystically represents all His disciples), “Behold thy mother.” (John 19 26-27)
The title “Mother of the Church” was formally bestowed on Our Lady by Pope Paul VI, and she was given a liturgical memorial under this title by Pope Francis in 2018. Pope Francis decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, be inserted into the Roman liturgical calendar. The liturgical celebration, B. Mariæ Virginis, Ecclesiæ Matris, will be celebrated annually as a Memorial on the Monday after the feast of Pentecost. The feast of Pentecost celebrates the birth of the church and today’s feast celebrates Mary as Mother of the Church. The feast of Mary, Mother of the Church celebrated following Pentecost, highlights the fact that the Mother of God was praying alongside her spiritual sons, the Twelve Apostles, at the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon them at Pentecost. St. Paul VI, at the conclusion of the Third Session of the Second Vatican Council in 1964, declared the Blessed Virgin Mary as “Mother of the Church,” that is to say of all Christian people, the faithful as well as the pastors, who call her the most loving Mother and established that “the Mother of God should be further honored and invoked by the entire Christian people by this tenderest of titles.” But it was not until February 11, 2018, that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments inscribed a new obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church, into the General Roman Calendar. This memorial celebrated every year on the Monday after Pentecost is appropriate as Mary was also present in that room for the birthday of the Church.
By issuing the Decree on the celebration of the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, Pope Francis wishes to promote this devotion in order to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.” The decree reflects on the history of Marian theology in the Church’s liturgical tradition and the writings of the Church Fathers. It says Saint Augustine and Pope Saint Leo the Great both reflected on the Virgin Mary’s importance in the mystery of Christ. “In fact the former [St. Augustine] says that Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church, while the latter [St. Leo the Great] says that the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body, thus indicating that Mary is at once Mother of Christ, the Son of God, and mother of the members of his Mystical Body, which is the Church.” The decree says these reflections are a result of the “divine motherhood of Mary and from her intimate union in the work of the Redeemer.” Scripture, the decree says, depicts Mary at the foot of the Cross (cf. Jn 19:25). There she became the Mother of the Church when she “accepted her Son’s testament of love and welcomed all people in the person of the beloved disciple as sons and daughters to be reborn unto life eternal.” The Church encourages the faithful to observe the day with special acts of devotion and thanksgiving prayers to the Blessed Mother, to pray the Holy Rosary in union with Pope Francis with the special intention of praying for the sick, for an end to wars, political and religious unrest in our world and to make an act of consecration to Mary, the Mother of the Church.
PRAYER: O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the people. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen🙏
THE MEMORARE TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.. Amen🙏
SAINTS OF THE DAY – SAINT BERNARDINE OF SIENA, PRIEST, FEAST DAY ~ MAY 20TH: As we celebrate Our Most Blessed Mother Mary, Mother of the Church, we also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Bernardine of Siena. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Bernardine of Siena on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from respiratory diseases, cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the poor and the needy all over the world, for gamblers, for advertisers, those in public relations, Evangelists and all those who proclaim the good news of our Lord. 🙏
SAINT BERNARDINE OF SIENA, PRIEST: St. Bernardine (1380–1444) is known as “the Apostle of Italy” for his efforts to revive the country’s Catholic faith during the 15th century. Born Bernardine Albizeschi in 1380 to upper-class parents in the Italian republic of Siena. Misfortune soon entered the boy’s life when he lost his mother at age three and his father four years later. His aunt Diana cared for him afterward, and taught him to seek consolation and security by trusting in God. Even at a young age, Bernardine demonstrated a remarkable concern for the poor as an outgrowth of his love for God. Having become accustomed to fasting, he preferred at times to go without any food in order to help someone in greater need. From the ages of 11 to 17 he focused on his studies, developing the eloquence and dedication that would serve his future work as an evangelist. Before becoming a preacher, however, Bernardine spent several years ministering to the sick and dying. He enrolled in a religious association that served at a hospital in the town of Scala, and applied himself to this work from 1397 to 1400. During that time, a severe plague broke out in Siena, causing a crisis that would eventually lead to the young man taking charge of the entire hospital. Inside its walls, up to 20 people were dying each day from an illness that also killed many of the hospital workers. The staff was decimated and new victims were coming in constantly. St. Bernardine persuaded 12 young men to help him continue the work of the hospital, which he took over for a period of four months. Although the plague did not infect him, the exhausting work left him weak and he contracted a different sickness that kept him in bed for 4 months After recovering, he spent over a year caring for his aunt Bartholomaea before her death.
Then the 22-year-old St. Bernardine moved to a small house outside the city, where he began to discern God’s will for his future spending much time praying and fasting to know God’s will for his life. He discerned a call to Holy Orders and the religious life, and eventually chose to join the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1403 at the age of 22, embracing an austere life focused on poverty and humility. During this time, while praying before a crucifix, Bernardine heard Christ say to him: “My son, behold me hanging upon a cross. If you love me, or desire to imitate me, be also fastened naked to your cross and follow me. Thus you will assuredly find me.” After Bernardine was ordained a priest, his superiors commissioned him to preach as a missionary to the Italians who were falling away from their Catholic faith. The Dominican evangelist St. Vincent Ferrer, just before leaving Italy, preached a sermon in which he predicted that one of his listeners would continue his work among the Italians – a prophecy St. Bernardine heard in person, and went on to fulfill. He lived in solitude for over a decade before being sent to preach in the streets, which he did with incredible skill, so much so that he became the most renowned preacher of his day. He traveled on foot to strife-torn cities, attacking sin and paganism and encouraging all to a life of faith and virtue. Huge crowds numbering in the tens of thousands would come to hear him preach in the public square. His fame and effectiveness as a preacher caused the pope to compare him to St. Paul the Apostle. St. Bernardine’s personal devotion to God, which amazed even the strict Franciscans, made his preaching extremely effective. He moved his hearers to abandon their vices, turn back to God, and make peace with one another. He promoted devotion to the name of Jesus as a simple and effective means of recalling God’s love at all times. When other priests consulted him for advice, St. Bernardine gave them a simple rule: “In all your actions, seek in the first place the kingdom of God and his glory. Direct all you do purely to His honor. Persevere in brotherly charity, and practice first all that you desire to teach others.” By this means, he said, “the Holy Spirit will be your master, and will give you such wisdom and such a tongue that no adversary will be able to stand against you.”
St. Bernardine was especially known for his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and for promulgating devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. It was he who devised the IHS symbol over a blazing sun as a monogram and logo for the Holy Name of Jesus (in Greek) to replace the public display of insignias of rival family tribes which disturbed the peace. This symbol of Christ began appearing in churches and on public buildings, even to this day.
St. Bernardine’s own life attested to this source of strength in the face of trials. He patiently suffered an accusation of heresy – which Pope Martin V judged to be false – and refused to abandon his bold preaching when a nobleman threatened him with death. But St. Bernardine was also widely admired throughout Italy, and he was offered the office of a bishop on three occasions. In 1427, he refused the Bishopric of Siena; in 1431, that of Ferrara; and again, in 1435, that of Urbino. Each time, however, he turned down the position, choosing to fulfill the prediction of St. Vincent Ferrer through his missionary work. St. Bernardine preached throughout most of Italy several times over, and even managed to reconcile members of its warring political factions. Saint Bernardine was appointed Vicar General of his Order in 1438, which office he held for five years, and revived the practice of its strict rule of life, then preached again for a time until his last illness forced his retreat in 1444. He was instrumental in effecting many conversions. Then in 1444, forty years after he first entered religious life, St. Bernardine became sick while traveling. He continued to preach, but soon lost his strength and his voice. St. Bernardine of Siena died at Aquilea in the midst of his missionary labors, on May 20, 1444, on Ascension Eve of that year, while his brethren were chanting the antiphon, Father, I have manifested Thy Name to men. Only six years later, in 1450, a Jubilee year, Pope Nicholas V canonized him as a saint. When he began as the head of his Franciscan community there were 300 friars; when he died there were over 4,000. He’s the Patron Saint of advertisers; advertising; publicists; against hoarseness; communications; compulsive or uncontrolled gambling; gambling addicts; lungs; public relations; chest, respiratory, or lung problems; Aquila, Italy; diocese of San Bernardino, California; Italy.
“Whenever the divine favour chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfil the task at hand.” ~ St. Bernardine of Siena
PRAYER: “St. Bernardine of Siena, you were healed of respiratory illness and preached the love and mercy of God everywhere you went. I come to you now seeking your prayers for all who suffer respiratory illnesses. Plead their cases in union with Mary, the Mother of God, and seek healing for them if that is God’s holy will. Pray, dear saint, that they suffer with joy, persevere with hope, and that they join their afflictions with Jesus’ for the salvation of souls. I ask your intercession on their behalf in Jesus’ holy Name… Amen”🙏
O God, You gave St. Bernardine Your Priest an exceeding love for the Holy Name of Jesus. Through his merits and prayers grant that we may ever be inflamed with the spirit of Your love…. Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS
Bible Readings for today, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
“Gospel Reading ~ John 19:25-34”
“Behold, your son. Behold, your mother”
“Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Mary was present at the foot of the cross as Jesus gave up His spirit, in the sense of His bodily spirit, but also the Holy Spirit. According to the Gospel reading, as Jesus hung from the cross, just before His death, He gave His mother as a mother to the beloved disciple, and to all His present and future disciples whom the beloved disciple represented at the cross. Jesus had a unique relationship with Mary, as son to mother, but He wanted all His disciples to share in this relationship. Just as He wanted us to share in His relationship with God, calling Him ‘Abba, Father’, as He did, so He wanted us to share in His relationship with His mother, Mary, calling her ‘mother’ as He did. The only male disciple at the foot of the cross is the disciple whom Jesus loved, often referred to as the beloved disciple. He is never given a name in this Gospel of John, perhaps to encourage us all to place our own names upon him. The beloved disciple represents us all, because we are all beloved disciples. What Jesus said to His disciples at the last supper in this Gospel of John, He says to disciples in every generation, ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you’. The beloved disciple stands in for us all at the foot of the cross, and Jesus’ words to this disciple are addressed to us all, ‘This is your mother’, and Jesus’ words to His mother concern us all, ‘Woman, this is your son (or daughter)’. Jesus shares His mother with all His disciples, making Himself a brother to us all. According to the Gospel reading, the beloved disciple made a place for Mary in his home. We are all called to make a place for Mary in our lives, to allow her to fulfil her role as mother of Jesus’ disciples, mother of the church. Jesus has given her to us as a gift to support us on our journey as His disciples. Her role in our lives is not to draw attention to herself but to lead us to her Son. We find her fulfilling this role at Cana, saying to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you’. We look to her to help us to do whatever Jesus tells us, to keep His word in our lives, as she did. That is why we call on her to pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death. We are all invited to relate to Mary as our spiritual mother, as one who can lead us to her Son and help to keep us open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus gives us Mary as a wonderful spiritual resource. As she stood by the cross as her Son was dying, so she stands by us as we travel the way of the cross in its various forms. As she joined in prayer with the disciples prior to Pentecost, so she prays with us and for us. It is with confidence that we can turn to her, saying, ‘Pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death’. Mary is the Lord’s gift to us, one of the greatest gifts He could possibly give us. On this feast of Mary, mother of the church, we renew our appreciation of this gift of Mary, and we receive this gift of the Lord more fully into our lives.
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles, along with several women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, are in an upper room of a house in Jerusalem waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The risen Lord had instructed His followers not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promised Holy Spirit. Our Blessed Mother Mary was there at the very beginning of the church, in a motherly role.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded to seek the Lord with renewed heart, faith and commitment, following His own Mother, Mary, the Mother of the Church, who is also our own Mother. May Our Blessed Mother Mary intercede for us and lead us down the path of righteousness, to always inspire and remind us whenever we err or make any mistakes in life, so that we will not be easily be swayed by the many temptations all around us, all the evils and wickedness of the world. Let us all follow the Lord and His Mother, and do whatever it is that we have been called to do, to be worthy in all things and to commit our lives anew as Christians, those whom God had called and chosen to be His own beloved people. Let all of our actions, works and deeds from now on continue to inspire many others and help many of our fellow brethren to be able to come ever closer to God together with each one of us. Let us all therefore also entrust ourselves to her, and remind ourselves to follow her good examples in faith, her dedication and love for God, in our own lives. Let us also continue to do the good works of the Church, in evangelisation of the whole world, revealing the truth that God has shown us, and guided by His Holy Spirit, to continue to spread the light and hope of God’s truth to more and more people. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace to remind us that our Mother Mary is there as mother for us all throughout our lives, and that her primary role is to lead us to her Son, who is our way, our truth and our life. Mary, our loving Mother and the Mother of the Church, pray for us all sinners and pray for the Church that your Son, Our Lord and Saviour, had established in this world. Intercede for us all whenever we need your help, and be with us always in our journey towards your Son. May God be with us all and with His Church, now and always. And may Our Mother Mary, our mother and the Mother of the Church, pray for us sinners always, and guide us all towards her Son’s light and salvation. 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: As we begin this season of the Ordinary Time, 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 dearest Mother, you stood by your Son with unwavering fidelity and love. You cared for Him, nurtured Him and never left His side. I also am your dear child. I thank you for your loving fidelity toward me and open my heart to the grace of your Son that you bestow upon me throughout life. Help me to be more attentive to your motherly care and to daily grow in gratitude for your presence in my life. Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Apostles an̈d Saint Bernardine of Siena ~ 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, grace-filled and fruitful week🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
