SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 22, 2024
Greetings beloved family and Happy Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time!
Watch ” Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN on YouTube | May 22, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 22, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | May 22, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 22, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 22, 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: Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Reading 1, James 4:13-17
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11
Gospel, Mark 9:38-40
Today, 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🙏
SAINT OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT RITA OF CASCIA, RELIGIOUS ~ MAY 22ND: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia, Religious. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Rita of Cascia and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. We pray for all parents and all marriages, especially pray for those marriages going through challenges and spouses who are abused in their marriages, we pray for peace, love and harmony and God’s divine intervention.🙏
SAINT RITA OF CASCIA, RELIGIOUS: St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457) an Italian widow and Augustinian nun venerated as a saint is referred to as, “a disciple of the Crucified One” and an “expert in suffering” by late Pope John Paul II. She is known in Spain as “La Santa de los impossibiles” (the saint of the impossible), St. Rita has become immensely popular throughout the centuries. She is invoked by people in all situations and stations of life, since she had embraced suffering with charity and wrongs with forgiveness in the many trials she experienced in her life: as a wife, widow, a mother surviving the death of her children, and a nun.
St. Rita of Cascia was born Margherita Lotti in 1381 at Spoleto, Italy during an era of violent strife between cities and warring family tribes. As a child she repeatedly requested to enter the convent, but instead her parents arranged her marriage to a rich, ill-tempered, and violent man. He became physically abusive, in anger he often mistreated his wife, yet she met his cruelty with kindness and patience. He taught their children his own evil ways. St. Rita tried to perform her duties faithfully and to pray and receive the Sacrament frequently. During her eighteen years of marriage she bore two sons whom she loved deeply. After many years of persistent prayer she eventually won her husband over to greater civility and kindness. After nearly twenty years of marriage, St. Rita’s husband was stabbed by an enemy but before he died he repented because St. Rita prayed for him. When he was murdered, her sons plotted a bloody vendetta against the culprits. St. Rita labored to guide her children into forgiveness, without success. She earnestly prayed that God would change her sons’ murderous intentions, or allow them to die rather than commit a mortal sin. God heard St. Rita’s prayers, and soon both of her sons became ill and died and St. Rita was alone in the world. Prayer, fasting, penances of many kinds, and good works filled her days. St. Rita was then free to join the convent, however, she was rejected due to her family’s connection with the local violence. She finally obtained entry only after much prayer, humility, patience, and perseverance. She asked the intercession of Sts. Augustine, Mary Magadalene and John the Baptist. St. Rita joined an Augustinian community of religious sisters at Cascia in Umbria, where she lived the last 40 years of her life and was known both for practicing mortification of the flesh and for the efficacy of her prayers and service to the people of Cascia. St. Rita’s life in the convent was marked by heroic charity and penance as she closely united herself and her life of deep suffering to Christ. In a life-long and terrible malady her patience, cheerfulness, and union by prayer with almighty God, never failed her. Sister Rita had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. “Please let me suffer like You, Divine Savior, “ she said one day while praying before the Crucifix and suddenly one of the thorns from the crucifix struck her on the forehead. She mystically received the mark of a thorn on her forehead (stigmata) from Jesus’ Crown of Thorns. It left a deep wound that did not heal and that caused her much suffering for the rest of her life. In the last 15 years of her life, the stigmata-like thorn wound that she received in answer to her prayers made her more profoundly conformed to the passion of the Lord Jesus. St. Rita was bedridden for the last four years of her life, consuming almost nothing except for the Eucharist.
St. Rita died of tuberculosis at the age of 70 on May 22, 1457. St. Rita was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on 24 May 1900. Her feast day is celebrated on May 22nd. At her canonization ceremony, she was bestowed the title of Patroness of “Impossible Causes” and hopeless circumstances because of her difficult and disappointing life. Through her trials God used her in remarkable ways. In many Catholic countries, St. Rita came to be known as the patroness of abused wives and heartbroken women. Her incorrupt body remains in the Basilica of Santa Rita da Cascia. Various miracles are attributed to her intercession, and she is often portrayed with a bleeding wound on her forehead, which is understood to indicate the partial stigmata. She’s the Patron Saint of Lost, impossible causes and hopeless circumstances, sickness, wounds, sterility, abuse victims, loneliness, marital problems, abuse, widows, mothers, difficult marriages, parenthood, the sick, bodily ills and wounds.
On the 100th anniversary of her canonization in 2000, Pope John Paul II noted her remarkable qualities as a Christian woman: “Rita interpreted well the ‘feminine genius’ by living it intensely in both physical and spiritual motherhood.”
PRAYER: Father in heaven, You granted to St. Rita a share in the Passion of Your Son. Give us courage and strength in time of trial, so that by our patient endurance we may enter more deeply into the Paschal Mystery of Your Son. Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time | Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Mark 9:38-40
Whoever is not against us is for us
“John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”
In today’s Gospel reading, from the Gospel of St. Mark, the Lord and His group encountered a person who was driving out demons by using His Name, and the disciples complained about the person to the Lord, Who told them that they should not go against the person, or make complaints, as in the end, if the person was doing good works of the Lord, in accordance to the manner that God had done and taught us all, then all those works are equally valid and worthy, and God may have indeed called the person to do His will too, without us knowing about it. What is significant from this event is that the Lord made it clear that salvation is truly meant for everyone, even if not necessarily those belonging to the group, as there might be cases and occasions when there are people whom not by their fault or deliberate action, not fully belonging to the group of the Lord’s followers. Back then, the disciples of the Lord must have been jealous and unwilling to let the others to have the same gifts, abilities and opportunities to do what they themselves had been entrusted to do. Essentially, the attitude and actions of the disciples were based on worldly desires and jealousy, and that was wrong. This is therefore a reminder to each and every one of us that we should not allow all sorts of worldly temptations, our ego and pride, our desires for pleasure and for worldly things to sway our decisions and distract us in our path towards God. We must always be resolute in our efforts to resist those temptations and pressures, which are usually always ever present around us, so that we may continue to walk faithfully in God’s path and be the worthy and ever faithful bearers of God’s truth and Good News at all more. We can be partners in mission with those who are ‘not one of us’ in the strict sense. In these times we need the generous vision that Jesus displays in today’s Gospel reading rather than the much narrower one displayed by His disciples. Through our lives and examples, we should always strive to proclaim the Lord to everyone whom we encounter in our journey throughout life.
In today’s first reading, from the Apostle St. James in his exhortation to the faithful people of God, told those who’re making all sorts of plans for the future, ‘You never know what will happen tomorrow… the most you should say is, “If it is the Lord’s will, we shall still be alive to do this or that”’. St. James told them all that they must not be so busy worrying and preparing for their plans in the world, with all their preoccupations and all the busy things they carried out to prepare for the next day, for the next week, the next month, and even for the next few years. All these things can prevent us from truly following the Lord faithfully and wholeheartedly, as they may end up dragging us down the path of the pursuit of worldly ambitions, fame and glory. When we focus so much on our lives in this world and our desires for all sorts of worldly goods and matters, it is easy for us to get distracted and to abandon our faith in God, as we may end up putting our trust more in those worldly things and attachments that we have, such as money, wealth, possessions, worldly pleasures, glory, fame among many other things. Throughout history, it has been proven that many in the Church and among the faithful fell into the path of evil and wickedness because they gave in to those temptations, even those high in position within the Church, corrupted by the worldly desires and temptations. We need to keep growing more fully into the Lord’s generous vision and way of being.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that as Christians, God’s people and followers, we must always strive to put our faith and trust in the Lord above all the other things, and we must not let ourselves to be swayed or distracted by the many temptations of worldly glory, ambitions and desires, all of which can lead us astray and bring us away from the path of God’s righteousness and grace. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by those temptations, we may end up falling into the path towards eternal damnation and destruction. Through the examples and commitment showed by all the Saints. Holy men and women, especially St. Rita of Cascia, who we celebrate today, we can see how we can also commit ourselves so that we can continue to live worthily in the path that the Lord has shown us, by distancing ourselves from worldly ambitions and pursuits, and placing our focus in life on the Lord and on doing His will rather than pursuing glory and greatness, which as we have seen from the life of the Saints like St. Rita of Cascia, to be rather pointless, meaningless and futile, and which often lead us only down the path of destruction and damnation instead of the path of righteousness and virtue. May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey, and may He continue to bless us all, empowering us to live faithfully as His good and devout servants, proclaiming His Good News and salvation to everyone. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may the Lord bless our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He guide us always in our paths through life, now and always. 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:
Lord of power and might, You accomplish countless good through the generosity and fidelity of Your people. You constantly use all who follow You to bring forth Your will. Please use me, dear Lord, as an instrument of Your will, and help me to always rejoice in the ways that You bring Your grace forth through others. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Rita of Cascia, Religious ~ 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 💖