TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 25, 2024
Greetings, beloved family and Happy Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time!
On this special feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to 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🙏
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | June 25, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 25, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |June 25, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 25, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 25, 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: Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Reading 1, Second Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-35, 36
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 48:2-3, 3-4, 10-11
Gospel, Matthew 7:6, 12-14
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT WILLIAM OF VERCELLI, ABBOT; SAINT PROSPER OF REGGIO, BISHOP AND SAINT DOMINIC HENARES, PRIEST AND SAINT PROSPER OF AQUITAINE, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 25TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint William of Vercelli, Abbot; Saint Prosper of Reggio, Bishop; Saint Dominic Henares, Priest and St. Prosper of Aquitaine, Doctor of the Church. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the poor and needy, for justice, peace and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Cardinals, Bishops, all Priests, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world especily those suffering from political and religious unrest. May God protect us all and keep united in peace, love and faith… Amen 🙏
SAINT WILLIAM OF VERCELLI, ABBOT: St. William of Vercelli (1085 – June 25th 1142 A.D.), also known as St. William of Monte Vergine or St. William of Monte Virgine, was Abbot and Founder of the Congregation of Monte-Vergine. He was born in Vercelli, a city of Lombardy, in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. He was born into a noble family, though he was orphaned very early on in his life, he lost his father and mother in his infancy and was brought up by a relative in great sentiments of piety. At fifteen years of age, having an earnest desire to lead a penitential life, he left his native region and made a long and austere pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain to the shrine of the Virgin founded by Saint James at Saragossa. While on the pilgrimage, he wore a ring of iron around his waist as an additional penance. After his return to Italy, St. William decided to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and traveled as far as southern Italy. St. William would have made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem but he was accosted by brigands on the road and was beaten and robbed. St. William took this as a sign that God was calling him to a solitary life and wished him to stay in Italy and spread the Gospel there. He retired into the kingdom of Naples and chose for his abode an uninhabited mountain. He settled on the top of Monte Vergiliana near Naples, and lived there as a hermit, changing the name to Montevergine (Mount of the Virgin). He lived in perpetual contemplation and the exercises of rigorous penitential austerities. His holiness and piety attracted many followers. Many miracles were attributed to him including a miracle of healing a blind man by his prayers. He was discovered and his fame throughout southern Italy grew. His contemplation was interrupted, so he decided to move to another mountain, where he built a very beautiful church in honor of Our Lady. With several former secular priests who joined him there, in 1119 he began the establishment of the Congregation of Monte Vergine, or Mount of the Virgin. This site is between Nola and Benevento in the same kingdom of Naples.
These sons of Our Lady lived in great austerity. Seeing the progress in holiness of the good religious being formed there, the devil sowed division and criticism; but God drew good from the evil when Saint William went elsewhere and founded several more monasteries, both for men and women, in various places in the kingdom of Naples. He assisted the king of Naples, who greatly venerated him, to practice all the Christian virtues of a worthy sovereign, and the king in gratitude had a house of the Order built at Salerno opposite his palace, to have him near him more often. When Saint William died on the 25th of June, 1142, he had not yet written a Rule for his religious; his second successor, Robert, fearing the dissolution of a community without constitutions, placed them under that of Saint Benedict, and is regarded as the first abbot of the Benedictine Congregation of Monte-Vergine with a Rule based on the Benedictines. A portrait of the Virgin venerated there has been an unfailing source of holy compunction; pilgrims continue to visit it. Five other houses were formed during his lifetime, but only the original survives today. St. William of Vercelli is honored as a saint who was a leader in monastic life—both because he established a number of monasteries and because his rigorous discipline, prayer, and fasting were an example for many monks. He died June 25, 1142 of natural causes.
He’s the Patron Saint of Irpinia, Italy.
PRAYER: Grant us, O Lord, that amid the uncertainties of this world we may cling with all our heart to the things of heaven, for through the Abbot blessed William of Vercelli, you have given us a model of evangelical perfection. 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🙏
SAINT PROSPER OF REGGIO, BISHOP: St. Prosper of Reggio, was a 5th/6th-century Saint shrouded in obscurity; beginning with the 9th century he was venerated in the Italian province of Emilia, although he may have been a native Spain originally. He was Fifth century bishop of Reggio in Italy. Tradition holds that he was a bishop of Reggio Emilia for twenty-two years and was much loved for his kindness and modesty. He cared so little about his own glory that he specially asked to be buried in the small church outside the city walls, rather than the city’s large cathedral.
When a rich young man asked Jesus: “What have I to do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus told him: “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.” According to tradition, Saint Prosper took this command so seriously he gave away all his possessions and goods to the poor in order to fulfill our Lord’s precept to the rich young man. He became a Bishop and his beneficent Episcopate lasted twenty-two years. In due time, Prosper passed on his heavenly reward, surrounded by his priest and deacons. He died on June 25 in 466 at Reggio Emilia and he was buried in the church of St. Apollinaris, which he had built and consecrated, outside the walls of Reggio. In 703, his relics were transferred to a great new church erected in his honor by Bishop Thomas of Reggio. And fittingly enough he is the principal Patron of that city. He is remembered for his sense of charity. He is the Patron Saint of Reggio Emilia, Italy; The Poor.
PRAYER: God, You made St. Proper an outstanding exemplar of Divine love and the faith that conquers the world, and added him to the roll of saintly pastors. Grant by his intercession that we may persevere in faith and love, and become sharers of his glory. Amen 🙏
SAINT DOMINIC HENARES, PRIEST: St. Dominic Henares (1764-1838) was born to a poor family in Spain. He joined the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest in 1790. Ten years later he was sent as a missionary to the Far East. He went from Mexico to the Philippines, and finally to North Vietnam. He became Bishop of Phunhay, Vietnam, in 1803. In 1831 the Vietnamese emperor officially prohibited Catholicism and severely persecuted the Church. Whole villages were sent into exile; priests were arrested and subjected to the most terrible tortures before they were killed. Those who helped capture them were richly rewarded. Bishop Henares was arrested and beheaded in Nam Dinh on June 25, 1838; the soldiers and villagers who participated in his arrest received generous compensation. St. Dominic Henares is one of an estimated 130,000 to 300,000 Catholics martyred for the faith in Vietnam between the 15th and 20th centuries. They were canonized together by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988. St. Dominic Henares’ feast day is June 25, and the collective memorial for 117 of the Vietnamese Martyrs is November 24.
Saint Dominic Henares, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINT PROSPER OF AQUITAINE, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Prosper of Aquitaine (390 – c. 455 AD), was a Christian writer and disciple of St. Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome’s Universal Chronicle. Saint Prosper was born in the Roman province of Aquitaine in the year 390. He is known chiefly through his writings, which reveal that in his youth he had applied himself to all branches both of sacred and secular learning. Because of the purity and sanctity of his manners, the writers of his time testify that he was a holy and venerable man. By his labors in France against the semi-Pelagian heretics, he was a strong collaborator of Saint Augustine in Africa. He was in correspondence with the African doctor, who wrote two of his works to refute and give light to the semi-Pelagians: On the predestination of the Saints and On the gift of perseverance. The enemies of Saint Augustine turned against Saint Prosper also, publishing fifteen errors which they attributed to the latter, then sixteen propositions supposedly clarifying Augustine’s true sentiments, and spread them widely. The Saint with gentleness answered all these writings without acrid reprisals.
Saint Prosper, insofar as is known, was not an ecclesiastic; but being of great virtue and possessing extraordinary talents and learning, he dealt with delicate questions with remarkable insight. Saint Leo the Great, when chosen Pope in 440, invited him to Rome, made him his secretary, and employed him in the most important affairs of the Church. It was primarily Saint Prosper who finally crushed the Pelagian heresy definitively, when it was raising its head in the see of Peter. Its complete overthrow is said to be due to his zeal, learning, and unwearied endeavors. The date of his death remains uncertain, but he was still living in 455, the date at which his Chronicle concludes.
Saint Prosper of Aquitaine, Doctor of the Church ~ Pray for us 🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062524.cfm
Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 7:6, 12-14
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you”
“Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces. “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
In today’s Gospel reading, in the words of the Lord to His disciples, he tells them all not to give what is holy to the dogs and throw the pearls to the pigs, using the connotations commonly known then to highlight how they should not profane the Holy Name of God, His Law and commandments, just as the King of Assyria had done in mocking Him and His power, and just as how the people of Israel disobeyed Him and refused to obey His Law and commandments, spurning His love and kindness, all of which eventually led to their destruction and tragic fates. It is an important reminder for us not to allow worldly temptations and corruptions from distracting and misleading us down the wrong path which can lead us to our downfall and destruction. All of us are also reminded by the Lord Himself in today’s Gospel reading that the path towards salvation in God, while it is always open and available for us, courtesy of His ever enduring and wonderful love for each and every one of us, but this path is truly a narrow one, and it is not an easy path for all of us to follow and walk through. Jesus is suggesting that the way of life He has set before His disciples is a difficult and challenging way. Entering through a narrow gate requires a clear focus and a certain concentration of effort. Jesus is also suggesting that His way will often run counter to the way taken by the great majority. The call of the Gospel, in that sense, will often be experienced as counter to the prevailing culture. For that reason, it will require a conscious decision on our part. The way of the Lord, with all it entails, is a way that needs to be chosen. That choice is always a response to a call, the Lord’s call, but it remains a human choice. We may have been baptized into this way of the Lord as infants but as we go through life we have to choose this way for ourselves. Every day we have to choose to go through the narrow gate, to take the Lord’s way. There are indeed many obstacles, challenges, distractions and pressures all around us, all of which can lead us down the wrong path in life. Sin is born out of our disobedience against God, and unfortunately often, time and again, we and many of our predecessors have been swayed by the temptations, allures and corruptions present in this world. Although the gate is narrow and the way may be difficult, Jesus assures us in the last line of the Gospel reading that His way is the way that leads to life. It not only leads to life beyond this earthly life, eternal life, but it leads to life here and now. As St. Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians, ‘now is the day of salvation’. The Lord is calling on us to be Jesus figures for others. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can all be Jesus figures in our world today, to some degree.
Our first reading today from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah details the story of the time when the forces of King of Assyria, Sennacherib came to Jerusalem and besieged it after this same King struck at Judah and its cities likely with the intent to conquer and destroy it as he had done with many other cities and states in the region. At that time, Assyria was an ascending great power that had conquered many nations, including that of the Aramaeans and the northern kingdom of Israel, which was destroyed not long before the circumstances of today’s first reading. King Sennacherib brought with him a mighty army to do the same to Judah and Jerusalem, and how He mocked God and His people for trusting in Him. But God reassured His people in Judah that He would not abandon them and that He would stand by them just as He has always promised them when King Hezekiah of Judah led the people in praying to God and asking for His Divine providence and intervention. The prideful boasts and mockery of Sennacherib, the King of Assyria God turned into a sorrowful and anguished cry of defeat when He sent His Angels and destroyed all of the whole massive army of the Assyrians, supposedly numbering a hundred and eighty-five thousand, a truly large army. God rescued His people and destroyed all those who mocked Him and those who were faithful to Him, and sent this Assyrian king in shame back to his own homeland, and according to the Scriptures, the same king would soon be killed by his own sons. A truly terrible ending for a prideful and sinful man. According to today’s reading, it is clear indeed that God truly has the authority over all things, and He has the power over all nations and all earthly forces, over life and death. God was with His people and He did not leave them at the hour of their need, fighting and journeying with them as He has always done throughout time and history. He is the one and only True God, Who has defended and protected His people, marching before them and destroying their enemies. While the other gods and pagan idols of the many countries and states, cities and places which King Sennacherib ransacked and destroyed did nothing to stop all that, the Lord alone stepped in and defended His beloved and faithful people when they were in need of His help.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are reminded that we are all called to remain true and faithful to the Lord in all things. We must not be dissuaded, swayed or tempted away from God and His path because of all the oppositions, hardships, challenges, trials and obstacles which we may encounter in our paths in life. Instead, we must always encourage one another and remain strong in our faith despite the many difficulties and obstacles that we may have to face in this path we face, and we should gain inspirations from our holy predecessors and also from supporting one another in the face of those challenges and trials so that we may remain strong in our faith.This is why each and every one of us must always remind ourselves that we have to remain firmly anchored in faith in God, adhere closely to His teachings and truth. Each and every one of us as Christians must always strive to be the worthy and faithful bearers of the truth and Good News of God, obedient to His Law and commandments, and ever righteous, just and good in all of our words, actions and deeds. All of us should be exemplary and committed in our desire to serve the Lord in each and every moments of our lives. We should be good role models and inspirations for our fellow brothers and sisters, in resisting the allures of worldly glory and temptations, and in doing what God has commanded and willed us to do in our respective lives. May the Lord continue to strengthen us all in faith and remind us all to stay true and strong in our faith in Him, and not be swayed or tempted to give up in exchange for the comforts and pleasures of the world. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may He guide us all in our path and journey of faith through our lives, and may He continue to guide and bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, in everything that we say and do, so that by all these, we may continue to glorify the Lord by our lives, 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 🙏
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 most magnificent Lord, You and You alone are worthy of all glory, honor and praise. May everything I do in life lead to Your glory and may I avoid everything that harms my relationship with You. I love You, dear Lord. Help me to love You and glorify You with all my heart. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Most Blessed Mother Mary, Saint William of Vercelli, Saint Prosper of Reggio; Saint Dominic Henares and St. Prosper of Aquitaine ~ Pray for us🙏
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us. Amen🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this day and 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, and fruitful week 🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖