ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 19, 2024
Greetings beloved family. Happy Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time and Happy Juneteenth (USA)
[Juneteenth commemorates the day on June 19, 1865 when a Union general read orders in Galveston, Texas stating that all enslaved people in the state were free according to federal law. Juneteenth was designated a federal holiday in 2021.]
On this special feast day, we pray for all those who are marginalized in our society, the poor and the needy. We pray for justice, peace and love in our world today. We continue to pray for all families and for the safety and well-being of our children and children all over the world. We pray for the Church, the Clergy, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Cardinals, Bishops, all Priests, that they be sanctified in their ministry to God’s people. We pray for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world suffering from political and religious unrest. May God protect us all and keep united in peace, love and faith… Amen 🙏
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | June 19, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 19, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |June 19, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 19, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 19, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |
Today’s Bible Readings, Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Reading 1, Second Kings 2:1, 6-14
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 31:20, 21, 24
Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT ROMUALD, ABBOT; SAINT JULIANA OF FALCONIERI, RELIGIOUS AND SAINTS GERVASE AND PROTASE, MARTYRS ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 19TH Today, we celebrate the Memorial of
Saint Romuald, Abbot, Saint Juliana of Falconieri, Virgin and Religious and Saint Gervase and Protase, Martyrs. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this special feast day, we humbly pray for the poor and the needy, for the sick and dying, particularly those who are sick with cancers and other terminal diseases, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, with special intention for all Priests, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏
SAINT ROMUALD, ABBOT: St. Romuald (956 – 1027) was the Founder of the Camaldolese monks – one of the Italian branches of the Benedictines – in which the eremitical life is combined with life in community. St. Romuald spent about 30 years traversing Italy, founding and reforming monasteries and hermitages.
St. Romuald was born at Ravenna about the year 956 to a a noble family. In spite of an innate desire for virtue and sanctity, his early life was wasted in the service of the world and its pleasures. Then one day, obliged by his father, Sergius, to be present at duel fought by him, he beheld him slay his adversary. The crime made such an impression upon him that he determined to expiate it for forty days, as though it were entirely his own. For this purpose he retired to a Benedictine monastery of San Apollinare, near Ravenna, where he became Abbot (996-999). After founding several monasteries he laid the foundations of the austere Order of Camaldoli in Tuscany.
Like all Saints, Romuald fought a lifelong battle against the assaults of devils and humans. In the beginning of his spiritual life he was strongly assailed by numerous temptations, which he conquered by vigilance and prayer. More than one attempt was made on his life, but Divine Providence enabled him to escape from the danger. Like many servants of God, he also became the victim of calumny, which he bore in patience and silence. In his old age he increased his austerities instead of diminishing them. St. Romuald died in the monastery of Castro, which he founded in Marquisate of Ancona, on June 19, about the year 1027, after a life of prayer and rigorous penance. He was canonized in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.
PRAYER: O God, who through Saint Romuald renewed the manner of life of hermits in your Church, grant that, denying ourselves and following Christ, we may merit to reach the heavenly realms on high. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever… Amen🙏
SAINT JULIANA OF FALCONIERI, RELIGIOUS: Saint Juliana Falconieri, Religious and Virgin (1270-1340) was born in 1270, in answer to prayer to a wealthy Florentine family. Her father was the builder of the splendid church of the Annunziata in Florence, while her uncle, Saint Alexis Falconieri, became one of the seven Founders of the Servite Order. Under his surveillance Juliana grew up more like an angel than a human being, as he said. Her great modesty was remarkable; never during her entire lifetime did she look at her reflection in a mirror. The mere mention of sin made her shudder and tremble, and once, on hearing of a scandal, she fainted. Her devotion to the sorrows of Our Lady drew her to the Servants of Mary or Servite Order, and at the age of fourteen, after refusing an offer of marriage, at the end of 1284, St. Philip Benizi, General of the Servite Order, received her among the Mantellatae, the female branch of the Order. She had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist and practiced to a rare degree the Servite devotion to the Sorrows of our Lady. Her sanctity attracted many novices, for whose direction she was bidden to draw up a rule, and thus she became foundress of the Mantellate. She was the servant of her Sisters rather than their mistress, while outside her convent she led a life of apostolic charity, converting sinners, reconciling enemies, and healing the sick. She was sometimes rapt for whole days in ecstasy, and her prayers saved the Servite Order when it was in danger of being suppressed.
Saint Juliana in her old age suffered various painful illnesses. She was wasting away through a disease of the stomach which prevented her taking food, and bore her silent agony with constant cheerfulness, grieving only for the privation of Holy Communion. At last, when in her seventieth year she was at the point of death, she begged to be allowed once more to see and adore the Blessed Sacrament. It was brought to her cell and reverently laid on a corporal, which was placed over her heart. At this moment she expired, and the Sacred Host disappeared. After her death the form of the Host was found stamped upon her heart, at the exact spot over which the Blessed Sacrament had been placed. Saint Juliana died in her convent in Florence, Italy on June 19, 1341. Miracles have been frequently effected through her intercession. She was Canonized on June 16, 1737, Rome, Papal States by Pope Clement XII. She’s the Patron Saint of Bodily ills; sick people; sickness.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Juliana Falconieri as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the love of You she showed in choosing to consecrate her life to You”…Amen🙏
SAINTS GERVASE AND PROTASE, MARTYRS: Sts. Gervase and Protase (2nd century) were twin brothers born in the Roman Empire to Christian parents, sons of St. Vitalis and St. Valeria. Their parents were killed for their Christian faith, and the brothers likewise suffered martyrdom. They were imprisoned, scourged, and martyred in Milan, Italy under the brutal persecutions of the Roman Emperor. St. Gervase was beaten to death, and St. Protase, after having been scourged, was beheaded. In the year 386 A.D. St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan discovered their bodies, the location of their relics was revealed in a dream to St. Ambrose, just as he completed the building of the magnificent Milan basilica. He had the sacred relics moved to the new basilica, today called the Basilica of St. Ambrose, for veneration by the faithful. They rest now, with the body of St. Ambrose himself on the altar of the crypt of St. Ambrose church at Milan. The relics established that the brothers were indeed beheaded as tradition had handed down. Many miracles occurred at their finding, confirmed by St. Ambrose and his disciple St. Augustine. Sts. Gervase and Protase are invoked in the Litany of the Saints. They are Patron Saints of discovery of thieves; haymakers; Milan, Italy. Their feast day is June 19.
PRAYER: O God, who year by year dost gladden us by the solemnity of Thy holy martyrs Gervase and Protase, mercifully grant that we, who rejoice in their merits, may be inspired by their examples… Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
“And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you”
“Jesus said to His disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is concerned with the tendency of religious people to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were important Jewish practices, which Jesus values. However, He warns against doing them for the wrong reason, in order to attract the notice of others, thereby receiving recognition and honour for oneself. Practices which seem God-centred and other-centred can be, in reality, self-serving. The Gospel reading begins with Jesus saying, ‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before others to attract their notice’. Yet, a little earlier in the same Sermon on the Mount, Jesus appears to have said the very opposite of that, ‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven’. There seems to be a tension between both of these sayings. Yet, there is truth in both. We are not to hide the light of our faith, keeping it under a bushel. Rather, we are to publicly proclaim our faith, our relationship with the Lord, by the lives that we lead, by the deeds that we do. On the other hand, we don’t publicly proclaim our faith in order to attract notice, in order to draw attention to ourselves, to bring praise or glory on ourselves. Rather, our public living of our faith is with a view to bringing glory to God. Today’s Gospel reading invites us to ask, ‘Who is being honoured by my public living of my relationship with the Lord? Is it myself or is it God?’ Another way of asking that question is, ‘Who is being served by my good deeds? Is it myself or is it the Lord?’ The opening petitions of the Lord’s Prayer points us in the right direction, ‘Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come’.
Our first reading today from the Second Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, details the moment when the prophet Elijah, who had spent a long time in arduous works among the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, was taken up into Heaven on a great flaming chariot, and then Elisha began his own ministry as the successor of Elijah among the Israelites. Elijah and Elisha obeyed God’s call and commands, and God worked His miracles and signs through those two great prophets. God had called them to do His will, and they dedicated themselves wholeheartedly and completely to His cause.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of the need for each and every one of us to listen to the Lord and embrace God’s calling in our lives. Each and every one of us have been given the mission and the various responsibilities depending on what the Lord had led us through, the paths He has shown us into, and everything that He has presented to us. The Lord has called us all to go forth to the people of all the nations, to proclaim His truth and love, His Good News and salvation, to bring more and more people ever closer to Him and to embrace all of us once again, delivering us from the destruction and darkness due to our sins. Through the examples and inspirations from the great life and works of our holy predecessors, the prophets Elijah and Elisha, as well as the great and holy martyrs, especially those Saints we celebrate today, let us all therefore as the holy and beloved children of God, as His disciples and followers, continue to strive and do our best in our respective lives to do what we can to glorify the Lord by our lives, and to put Him first and foremost in all things, and to carry out His will and commands in our world today, in whatever that He has called us to do, and whatever He has entrusted to us. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may the Lord continue to bless us in everything we say and do, and be with us all His Church, now and always. Amen 🙏
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JUNE: The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion.” These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.
THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE – FOR MIGRANTS FLEEING THEIR HOMES: We pray that migrants fleeing from war or hunger, forced to undertake journeys full of danger and violence, find welcome and new opportunities in the countries that receive them.
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 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
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 & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏
Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/
PRAYER INTENTIONS: During 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 sacrificial Lord, You denied Yourself of many earthly delights, especially when You fasted for forty days in the desert. Help me to take seriously this obligation to fast and to mortify my appetites. And help me to do so in a hidden way. May my life continually imitate Your perfect sacrifice so that I may become more like You every day. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Most Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Romuald, Abbot, Saint Juliana of Falconieri, Virgin and Religious and Saint Gervase and Protase, Martyrs ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of the Holy Spirit 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled, and fruitful week 🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖