EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 31, 2024
FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART: Novena dates: May 29 – June 6, 2024
June 7, 2024: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart (Novena link below)
Greetings beloved family and Happy Feast of the Visitation!.
We thank God for the gift of life and for bringing us safely and successfully to the end of the month of May. May God’s grace and mercy be with us all now and always…. Amen🙏
We pray for the safety and well-being of our children, youths, students and children all over the world. With special intention for all students graduating this year. May God continue to grant them all wisdom, knowledge and understanding and may He empower them as they walk into the future with faith, hope, and love guided by the Holy Spirit through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary. Amen🙏
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN on YouTube | May 31, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 31, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | May 31, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 31, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 31, 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 31, 2024
Reading 1, Zephaniah 3:14-18
Responsorial Psalm, Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
Gospel, Luke 1:39-56
NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART: Novena dates: May 29 – June 6, 2024
June 7, 2024: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart | https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-prayer-to-the-sacred-heart-311
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY: MAY 31ST Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Mother Mary who was pregnant with our Lord Jesus visited her cousin, Saint Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Let us on this feast day reflect on our Mother Mary’s goodness and humility in serving her cousin Elizabeth. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this special feast day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we humbly pray for all expectant mothers and those seeking for the fruit of the womb. We pray for the safety and well-being of all mothers, our children and our families. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏
FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: The Feast of the Visitation celebrates the providential meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, when two of the Church’s greatest prayers were first spoken. After being told by the Archangel Gabriel that she would give birth to the Son of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, in the mountains about six miles west of Jerusalem, who was then pregnant with John the Baptist. In the presence of Jesus in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, Elizabeth exclaimed through the Holy Spirit, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!” ~ Luke 1:42. Mary, overflowing with joy, responded with her Magnificat (Mary’s Song): And Mary said: “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. ~ Luke 1:46-56
The Mass of today salutes her who in her womb bore the King of heaven and earth, the Creator of the world, the Son of the Eternal Father, the Sun of Justice. It narrates the cleansing of John from original sin in his mother’s womb. Hearing herself addressed by the most lofty title of “Mother of the Lord” and realizing what grace her visit had conferred on John, Mary broke out in that sublime canticle of praise proclaiming prophetically that henceforth she would be venerated down through the centuries. In his great Apostolic Letter on Devotion to Mary, Pope Paul VI summarized this feast as follows: “The Liturgy recalls the Blessed Virgin Mary carrying her Son within her, and visiting Elizabeth to offer charitable assistance and to proclaim the mercy of God the Savior.” “Mary set out and journeyed in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zachariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. But who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? Behold, the moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled.’ “Then Mary said: ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit finds joy in God my Savior’ ” (Luke 1:39-47).
The feast of the Visitation was instituted in 1389 by Urban VI to obtain the end of the Western schism, and it was inserted in the Roman Calendar on July 2, the date on which it had already been celebrated by Franciscans since 1263. The feast has now been assigned to the last day of May, between the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord and the Birth of St. John the Baptist, to conform more closely to the Gospel account. Patronage: St. Elizabeth: Expectant mothers.
PRAYER: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death… Amen🙏
Almighty and eternal God, under Your inspiration the Virgin Mary, pregnant with Your Son, visited St. Elizabeth. Grant that we may follow the guidance of the Spirit and praise You eternally with her in heaven… Amen🙏
SAINT OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT PETRONILLA (PETRONILLE), VIRGIN AND MARTYR: On this special feast day, we also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Petronilla, Virgin and Martyr. St. Aurelia Petronilla, who was guided in the Faith by St. Peter, the first pope. She died three days after refusing to marry a pagan nobleman, Flaccus.
SAINT PETRONILLA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: St. Aurelia Petronilla also known as St. Petronille (1st c.) is an early Christian Saint, venerated as a virgin martyr in the Church in Rome. She is remembered for being beautiful, for refusing marriage to a pagan king due to her vow of chastity, and for suffering martyrdom for her unwavering faith. According to tradition, it is probable that Aurelia Petronilla was of the imperial family of the Flavii and she was connected to St. Peter the Apostle; she may have been either his natural daughter, servant, convert (spiritual daughter), or co-laborer in the faith. She was guided in the Faith by St. Peter, the first pope. It is also a tradition that St. Petronilla was cured of palsy by St. Peter. The early traditions of the Church speak of her as being the spiritual daughter of the Prince of the Apostles; and though she did not, like Domitilla, lay down her life for the faith, she did offer to Jesus that next richest gift, her virginity. According to tradition, a Roman Patrician, by name Flaccus, having asked her in marriage, she requested three days for consideration, during which she confidently besought the aid of her divine Spouse. Flaccus presented himself on the third day, but found the palace in mourning, and her family busy in preparing the funeral obsequies of the young virgin, who had taken her flight to heaven, as a dove that is startled by an intruder’s approach. She died three days after refusing to marry the pagan nobleman, Flaccus.
In the 8th century the chapel containing her relics became the burial place of French kings. This is due to the fact that she was the supposed daughter of St. Peter, and the French kings were considered the “adopted sons” of St. Peter; therefore, St. Petronille was invoked as an intercessor for all treaties between the Holy See and the French crown. Later in the eighth century, the holy Pope Paul I had the body of Petronilla taken from the cemetery of Domitilla, on the Ardeatine Way. Her relics were found in a marble sarcophagus, the lid of which was adorned, at each corner, with a dolphin. The Pope had the relics of St. Petronilla enshrined in a little church, which he built near the south side of the Vatican Basilica. This church was destroyed in the sixteenth century, in consequence of the alterations needed for the building of the new Basilica of St Peter; and the relics of St Petronilla were translated to one of its altars on the west side of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was but just that she should await her glorious resurrection under the shadow of the great Apostle who had initiated her in the faith, and prepared her for her eternal nuptials with the Lamb. On her feast day Mass at St. Peter’s is offered for France and attended by French residents living in Rome. St. Petronille is the Patron Saint of the dauphins of France; mountain travellers; treaties between Popes and Frankish emperors; invoked against fever. Her feast day is May 31st.
PRAYER: “Thy triumph, O Petronilla, is one of our Easter joys. We lovingly venerate thy blessed memory. Thou didst disdain the pleasures and honors of the world, and thy virginal name is one of the first on the list of the Church of Rome, which was thy mother. Aid her now by thy prayers. Protect those who seek thine intercession, and teach us how to celebrate, with holy enthusiasm, the solemnities that are soon to gladden us”… Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/053124.cfm
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 1:39-56
“And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
“Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.” Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.”
In today’s Gospel reading, our Blessed Mother Mary sets out from Nazareth in Galilee into the hill country of Judah to visit her cousin Elizabeth. She set out in response to the message of the Angel Gabriel that Elizabeth was six months pregnant. Even though she herself was with child, Mary set out on a journey of love to give support to her older cousin. Mary brought herself to Elizabeth but she also brought Jesus, the Lord, whom she was carrying in her womb. Mary graced Elizabeth by her journey. As a result of Mary’s visit, we are told that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth declares Mary blessed. In her response to Elizabeth’s greeting Mary acknowledges that ‘all generations will call me blessed’. In other words, Elizabeth’s recognition that Mary is blessed is only the beginning of a long line of believers who will declare Mary blessed. Elizabeth declared Mary blessed because of the child she is carrying, whom Elizabeth refers to as ‘my Lord’, and because of Mary’s faithful response to God’s word of promise, God’s call. We declare Mary blessed today for the same two reasons. She is the mother of our Lord and she exemplifies a faithful response to God’s word. In a sense, the latter is more important than the former. It is because of her faithful response to God’s word that she became the mother of the Lord. She is the mother of the Lord because she is firstly the Lord’s disciple, the one who does the will of the Father in heaven. It is her faithful response to God’s word that we can all imitate. Her surrender to what God wants, ‘let it be to me according to your word’, anticipated Jesus’ own surrender to what God wants, ‘not my will but yours be done’. She shows us what surrendering to God’s purpose looks like. When we pray in the Our Father, ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’, we are praying as she did.
Just as Mary was initially perplexed that the Lord should visit her through Gabriel, Elizabeth is perplexed that the Lord should visit her through Mary. Both Mary and Elizabeth were humbled by the Lord’s visit to them. The story of Gabriel’s visit to Mary and Mary’s visit to Elizabeth reveals an important truth about our own lives as the Lord’s disciples. The Lord visits each of us, as He visited Mary and Elizabeth. He comes into our lives in different ways, sometimes in very ordinary ways, such as through the visit of a friend, at other times in more mystical ways, such as during a time of prayer. We are called to receive the Lord’s visit with the same openness and humility that Mary and Elizabeth showed. Having received the Lord’s visit, we are then called to bring the Lord to others, as Mary brought the Lord to Elizabeth. The Lord who visits us always wishes to visit others through us.
In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah, we are reminded that this day is truly a joyful celebration because of the great things that the Lord had done for His faithful servants, for Mary and Elizabeth, in performing great and miraculous deeds through them and their respective conceiving of their children. The prophet Zephaniah was conveying the great joy that the people of God ought to experience because of everything that the Lord had shown them, in the faithfulness and steadfastness that He had shown towards His Covenant with all of His beloved people, and in many other things that He has done for us. And most importantly, as mentioned, through Mary and Elizabeth, the light of God’s salvation and Good News was finally revealed to us, through our Lord and Saviour Himself, and through His Herald, St. John the Baptist.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, as we celebrate this Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us all remind ourselves of the faith that we should have in the Lord, and how Mary, the Mother of God showed us this faith. Let us recall how the Lord had performed His great and wonderful deeds through those two great and holy women, Mary, Mother of God and Mother of us all, and St. Elizabeth, the Mother of St. John the Baptist, all of us are reminded that each and every one of us also share in their grace and the love which God has shown both of them. All of us are also beloved children, the sons and daughters of God by adoption through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Therefore, all of us, having been made sharers in our Lord’s plan of salvation and the New Covenant that He has established with us, the Church that He has established in this world as the tangible and real Communion of all those who are faithful to Him, all of us have also received the same assurance of salvation and eternal life, and we should emulate both Mary and Elizabeth in their response and faith. Each and every one of us have been blessed and provided by the Lord with a variety of gifts, talents, abilities and opportunities, unique to each one of us and our various circumstances. Therefore, all of us are called and sent out to do God’s will in our various capacities and opportunities, and we should do whatever we can to glorify God in all things, and in our every actions and works, in even the smallest and least significant of the things we do. We should live our lives with zeal and commitment, entrusting ourselves to the Lord and doing whatever we can to carry out His will and to follow Him as best as we are able to. We should not be idle or ignorant of what we can contribute to the good works of the Church, but do our best always, at all times to serve the Lord and to inspire each other by our own lives and actions. Let us emulate the faith that Mary and Elizabeth had in the Lord and let us do what we can to make good use of the blessings and opportunities provided for us so that we may help to lead more and more souls back towards the Lord and that we may proclaim God and His Good News among more people and in more places, that we do not waste these opportunities provided for us. Each one of us can serve our role and parts as members of God’s Church and as an integral part of the work of the Church’s mission in evangelising the world. Each one of us should help others to fulfil their parts and roles in loving God and loving one another, that the Lord’s works become ever more tangible in this world, and more and more may come to experience God’s great love and glory. May the Lord continue to guide us in our path, and may He empower all of us to walk ever more faithfully in His ways, providing us the courage and strength to do His will, and the perseverance and commitment to endure the challenges and trials that may come our way. May the Lord give us the Spirit to walk ever more faithfully like Mary and Elizabeth had done, so that we may be more and more like them and through His Blessed Mother Mary, and all the great saints, holy men and women who had dedicated their lives to God, all of us may also be more inspired to live in the same way that they had done, be ever more worthy of God in all of our actions, words and deeds. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us always, now and evermore. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners and help us to live our lives in the manner you have lived yours. 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 beķķen in vain. Now, Lord, come to our ajnid! 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 Ordinary Time, 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 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
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:
Dearest Mother Mary, I love you and consecrate my life to You, trusting in your motherly care and mediation. Help me, dear Mother, to be open to all that you desire to bring to me from your Son, Jesus. I am honored and humbled that you would care for me and desire to bring to me the mercy of the Heart of your Son Jesus. Mother Mary, pray for us.
My holy infant Jesus, as You dwelt in the sacred womb of Your own dear mother, Your presence caused much rejoicing in her heart and in the hearts of Elizabeth and John. Help me to see Your presence in our world and in my life, so that I, too, will be filled with the joy of You constantly coming to me. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Most Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Petronilla ~ 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 relaxing weekend!🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖