TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 27, 2024

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

Greetings beloved family and Happy Feast of our Lady of Perpetual Help!

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 27, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 27, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |June 27, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 27, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | June 27, 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: Thursday, June 27, 2024
Reading 1, Second Kings 24:8-17
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 79:1-2, 3-5, 8, 9
Gospel, Matthew 7:21-29

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP AND MEMORIAL OF SAINT CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH AND SAINT  LADISLAUS I, KING OF HUNGARY ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 27TH Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help; Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church and Saint Ladislaus I, King of Hungary. Through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help 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, especially those suffering from political and religious unrest. May God protect us all and keep us united in peace, love and faith… Amen 🙏

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP: Our Lady of Perpetual Help is also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help represents the Christian mystery of Redemption. Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a Byzantine icon that is believed to have its origin sometime during the 13th -15th century. The devotion to this Marian advocation revolves around the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour,  painted on wood, with background of gold. It is Byzantine in style and is supposed to have been painted in the thirteenth century. It represents the Mother of God holding the Divine Child while the Archangels Michael and Gabriel presenting  Him the instruments of His Passion. Over the figures in the picture are some Greek letters which form the abbreviated words Mother of God, Jesus Christ, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Gabriel respectively. The icon  was brought to Rome towards the end of the fifteenth century by a pious merchant, who, dying there, ordered by his will that the picture should be exposed in a church for public veneration. It was exposed in the church of San Matteo in the famous Roman street of Via Merulana, which connects the basilicas of Saint Mary Major and Saint John Lateran. Crowds flocked to this church, and for nearly three hundred years many graces were obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. The picture was then popularly called the Madonna di San Matteo. The church was served for a time by the Hermits of Saint Augustine. These Augustinians were still in charge when the French invaded Rome (1812) and destroyed the church. The picture disappeared; it remained hidden and neglected for over forty years, but a series of providential circumstances between 1863 and 1865 led to its rediscovery in an oratory of the Augustinian Fathers at Santa Maria in Posterula. Pope Pius IX, who as a boy had prayed before the picture in San Matteo, became interested in the discovery. But at that time, the ruins of San Matteo were in the grounds of  a convent of the Redemptorists -the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer-,  founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori  (1696-1787). 

The Father General of the Redemptorists, Most Rev. Nicholas Mauron, decided to bring the whole matter to the attention of the Pope.  The Pope listened attentively and felt sure it was God’s will that the icon should be gain exposed to public veneration and the logical site was their church of St. Alphonsus, standing as it did between the Basilicas of St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran.  The Holy Father at once took a piece of paper and wrote a short memorandum ordering the Augustinian Fathers of St. Mary in Posterula to surrender the picture to the Redemptorists, on condition that the Redemptorists supply the Augustinians with another picture of Our Lady or a good copy of the icon of Perpetual Help. The Icon meant much to the Augustinians, but when the two Redemptorists came armed with the Pope’s signed memorandum, what could they do but obey?  On January 19, 1866, Fathers Marchi and Bresciani brought the miraculous picture to St. Alphonsus’ church.  Preparations were now made to inaugurate the new public reign of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. On April 26th, a great procession was staged in which the picture was carried throughout the Esquiline region of Rome.  Upon returning to the church, the picture was enthroned over the high altar, in a resplendent shrine-niche especially constructed for it. The report of  marvelous healings spread rapidly throughout the city of Rome and people came by the hundreds to visit the shrine.  Soon the whole area around the altar was filled with abandoned crutches and canes and several whole glass-covered cabinets were filled with gold and silver thanksgiving offerings in the shapes of miniature hearts, arms, legs and other votive offerings.  Scarcely two weeks after the solemn exposition of the picture, Pope Pius IX himself came to visit the shrine.  He stood quietly before it for a long time and then exclaimed: “How beautiful she is!”.

Pope Leo XIII, the next pontiff, had a copy of the picture on his desk so that he might see it constantly during his working day.  St. Pius X sent a copy of the icon to the Empress of Ethiopia and granted an indulgence of 100 days to anyone who repeated the phrase: “Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us.” Pope Benedict XV had the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help placed immediately over his chair of state in the throne room.  Here it could be seen by all just over his head, as if to say: “Here is your true Queen!”. Pope Pius IX told the Redemptorists, in speaking to them of the treasure he had committed to their care: “Make her known!”  It seems as though they hardly needed the exhortation.  In the United States, they built the first Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in the Roxbury section of Boston, and it was eventually raised to the honor of a “Papal Basilica” by Pope Pius XII. The icon is known for being miraculous; over the centuries countless healings and special graces have been attributed to it, so much so that the image has been honored and venerated by many Popes. The image and the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help invite Christians to remember Mary’s maternal and protecting love and her unfailing intercession on behalf of those in need. To this day, the Church of St. Alphonsus in Rome displays the original icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. They are the guardians and promoters of the holy icon, the only religious order entrusted with the task of doing so with a venerated image of Our Lady. Patron Saint of Redemptorist Order; Haiti; Almoradi , Spain; Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan, Philippines; Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds

“As the Council teaches, the Mother of God is the Christian’s model in faith, love and perfect union with Christ; and in a special way she is the Mother and model of those who live the consecrated life.” ~ Pope Saint John Paul II

SYMBOLISM OF THE ICON OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP: The influence of Eastern icons in the West, around the XII and XIII centuries brought a class of icons called Cardiotissa, from the Greek word kardia, meaning heart.  Cardiotissa means “having a heart” or showing sympathy and mercy and compassion.  In them the face of Our Lady appears full of sorrow, yet supremely dignified in her contemplation of the sufferings of her Son.  His passion is represented by angels holding instruments of His passion, most often the cross, the lance, the sponge, and the nails.

The Our Mother of Perpetual Help icon is of this type. The angels holding the instruments of the Passion have their hands covered with a protecting veil as a sign of reverence in handling sacred objects.

The Child Jesus is shown with an adult face and a high brow, indicating His divine Mind of infinite intelligence.  As God, He knew that the angelic apparition was prophetic of His future passion.  Yet in His human nature as a small child, He is frightened and runs to His Mother for protection. Our Lady hastily picks Him up and clasps Him to her bosom.  This action is indicated by the fact that the Lord’s right foot is nervously curled about the left ankle and in such haste that His right sandal has become loosened and hangs by a single strap.  Further action is indicated by the way the Child Jesus clasps His Mother’s right hand with both of His, holding tightly to Our Lady’s thumb.

Our Lady is clothed in a dress of dark red which was long reserved in the Byzantine world for the Empress alone, indicating the Queenship of Mary.

Some commentators on color claim that bluish purple became the color of penance in the Western Church (during Lent and Advent) because purple is a combination of blue and red.  The blue reminds us of heaven, to which we wish to arrive by our penance, and the red recalls martyrdom, because all penance requires a dying to oneself, especially mortifying inordinate desire for food and pleasure.  The archangels Gabriel and Michael were tunics of purple since they carry the instruments of the passion and death of Christ.  The figures of the icon are identified with abbreviations of their names and Mary is designated by her chief title to glory: Mother of God.

Our Lady’s face is of unspeakable majesty and calm and yet her large eyes, partly closed, express ineffable sorrow and sympathy.  Our Lady is not looking at Jesus, but rather to us,  to express compassion for us in our fears and sorrows. The feast is celebrated on June 27 by the universal Church.

PRAYER: O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke thy most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let thy name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on thee, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on thee, ever repeating thy sacred name, Mary, Mary. Amen🙏

O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion fill my soul when I pronounce thy sacred name, or even only think of thee. I thank God for having given thee, for my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely pronouncing thy name: let my love for thee prompt me ever to hail thee, Mother of Perpetual Help… Amen🙏

HAIL MARY: 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🙏 

THE MEMORARE: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by 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🙏

Our Lady of Perpetual Help ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria was an Egyptian bishop and theologian, born in Alexandria, Egypt, about 374. He is best known for his role in the Council of Ephesus, one of the metropolitan sees of the Christian Church in the east, where the Church confirmed that Christ is both God and man in one person. He was one of the great defenders of the faith against the heresy of Nestorius who denied the oneness of person in Jesus Christ. He fought to defend the Church’s teachings of the two natures of Christ. He strenuously defended the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin against Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, who maintained that Jesus Christ, as man, only, was born of Mary, and that His Divinity was acquired after His human birth because of His great merits. From his writings, it appears he received a solid literary and theological education. Along with his uncle, Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, he played a role in an early fifth-century dispute between the Egyptian and Greek churches. There is evidence he may have been a monk before becoming a bishop. When Theophilus died in 412, St. Cyril was chosen to succeed him at the head of the Egyptian Church. He continued his uncle’s policy of insisting on Alexandria’s preeminence within the Church over Constantinople, despite the political prominence of the imperial capital. The two Eastern churches eventually re-established communion in approximately 418. Ten years later, however, a theological dispute caused a new break between Alexandria and Constantinople. Cyril’s reputation as a theologian, and later Doctor of the Church, arose from his defense of Catholic orthodoxy during this time. In 428, a monk named Nestorius became the new Patriarch of Constantinople. It became clear that Nestorius was not willing to use the term “Mother of God” (“Theotokos”) to describe the Virgin Mary. Instead, he insisted on the term “Mother of Christ” (“Christotokos”).

During the fourth century, the Greek Church had already held two ecumenical councils to confirm Christ’s eternal preexistence as God prior to his incarnation as a man. From this perennial belief, it followed logically that Mary was the mother of God. Veneration of Mary as “Theotokos” confirmed the doctrine of the incarnation, and Christ’s status as equal to the God the Father. Nestorius insisted that he, too, held these doctrines. But to Cyril, and many others, his refusal to acknowledge Mary as the Mother of God seemed to reveal a heretical view of Christ which would split him into two united but distinct persons: one fully human and born of Mary, the other fully divine and not subject to birth or death. Cyril responded to this heretical tendency first through a series of letters to Nestorius (which are still in existence and studied today), then through an appeal to the Pope, and finally through the summoning of an ecumenical council in 431. Cyril presided over this council, stating that he was “filling the place of the most holy and blessed Archbishop of the Roman Church,” Pope Celestine, who had authorized it. The council was a tumultuous affair. Patriarch John of Antioch, a friend of Nestorius, came to the city and convened a rival council which sought to condemn and depose Cyril. Tension between the advocates of Cyril and Nestorius erupted into physical violence at times, and both parties sought to convince the emperor in Constantinople to back their position. During the council, which ran from June 22 to July 31 of the year 431, Cyril brilliantly defended the orthodox belief in Christ as a single eternally divine person who also became incarnate as a man. The council condemned Nestorius, who was deposed as patriarch and later suffered exile. Cyril, however, reconciled with John and many of the other Antiochian theologians who once supported Nestorius. St. Cyril of Alexandria died on June 27, 444, having been a bishop for nearly 32 years. Long celebrated as a saint, particularly in the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, he was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1883 and the Church venerates him as one of her great doctors. His commentary on the Gospel of St. John is one of the richest doctrinally of those left us by the Fathers of the Church.

PRAYER: God, You made St. Cyril, Your Bishop, the invincible champion of the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Grant that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God may be saved through the Incarnation of Christ Your Son. Amen🙏

SAINT  LADISLAUS I, KING OF HUNGARY: St. Ladislaus (c. 1040-1095), also known as St. Laszlo and St. Ladislas I of Hungary, was a Christian Saint and elected the King of Hungary, born to a royal family in Krakow, Poland on June 27, 1040. His father became King Bela I of Hungary, and his mother was the daughter of the King of Poland and his brother was Andrew I. He was raised as a Christian, spending his childhood in the court of the Polish king. After the death of his father and brother, Geisa I, passed over Solomon, the son of Andrew I, and chose Ladislaus to be the king of Hungary in 1077 and also later the King of Croatia in 1091. He was a beloved king, highly regarded as a moral and pious man and a great leader. A King of Hungary who greatly expanded the boundaries of the kingdom and consolidated it internally; no other Hungarian king was so generally beloved by the people. He is remembered for his accomplishments in bringing peace and stability to his country following the strife of civil war, for his success in defending the kingdom of Hungary against the invading Cumans, and for politically and financially supporting the spread of Christianity in his kingdom.

St. Ladislaus eventually made peace with Solomon, when the latter gave up all claims to the throne of Hungary, however, later on he rebelled against St. Ladislaus, who took him prisoner and held him in the fortress of Visegrád. On the occasion of the canonization of Stephen I, St. Ladislaus gave Solomon his freedom, but in 1086 Solomon, with the aid of the heathen Cumans, revolted against St. Ladislaus a second time. Ladislaus, however, vanquished them again, and in 1089 gained another victory over theTurkish Cumans. In 1091 St. Ladislaus marched into Croatia at the request of his sister, the widowed Queen Helena, and took possession of the kingdom for the crown of Hungary where, in 1092, he founded the Bishopric of Agram (Zágráb). In the same year (1092), he also founded the Bishopric of Grosswardein (Nagy-Várad) in Hungary, which, however, some trace back to Stephen I. He adding Dalmatia and Croatia to his territory. Thought to be responsible for the progress of Christian ideas among the Magyars. According to legend, while in battle he witnessed a Cuman warrior abducting a Hungarian girl. He pursued the enemy, defeated him, and liberated the girl. Because of his skills in military and diplomacy, as well as his religious devotion and chivalry, St. Ladislaus (Laszlo) was chosen to lead the first Crusade to the Holy Land, but died before the mission commenced. He died on July 29, 1095, Nitra, Slovakia and was buried in the cathedral of Grosswardein. St. Ladislaus was canonized by Pope Celestine III. St. Ladislaus governed the religious and civil affairs of his assembly of the Imperial States at Szabolcs, that might almost be called a synod. He tried vigorously to suppress the remaining heathen customs. He still lives in the sagas and poems of his people as a chivalrous king.

St. Ladislaus I, King of Hungary ~ Pray for us🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB| https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 7:21-29

“It was founded on rock”

“Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

In today’s Gospel reading, the Sermon on the Mount that has been read for the past couple of weeks is brought to a close. There are three activities mentioned in the Gospel reading that followers of Jesus engage in, speaking, listening and doing. All three activities are important. When we gather for public prayer we speak; in the words of the Gospel reading, we address Jesus as ‘Lord, Lord’. When we gather for public worship and at times of private prayer we listen; we listen to the word of the Lord and allow it to sink into our hearts. Neither speaking nor listening is enough, although when it comes to our relationship with the Lord we have to do both. These two activities of speaking and listening will always be central to the life of a disciple. However, Jesus says in the Gospel reading that unless our speaking and our listening flow over into concrete action their value is undermined. It is not enough to say ‘Lord, Lord’, we are to do the will of the Father in heaven. It is not enough to listen to the words of Jesus, we have to then act on them. We must act in accordance with what we say and what we hear. When our speaking to the Lord and our listening to His word bear fruit in good works, the kind of works that characterized the life of Jesus, then our lives will be solidly grounded, like a house built on rock. According to our Gospel reading, if our words to the Lord and His words to us shape our behavior, then we will more easily withstand the storms that come our way in life. We are called to listen to His words and to give expression to our faith in words, as when we pray in public. Listening and speaking are important expressions of faith. Yet, the litmus test for Jesus is doing. We must do God’s will, which Jesus equates with doing His words. The words Jesus has in mind are the words of the Sermon on the Mount because today’s Gospel reading concludes the Sermon on the Mount. It is above all in doing the words of the Sermon on the Mount that our lives will be built on solid ground, the kind of ground that does not collapse when the storms of life come battering on our door.

Our first reading today from the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah is the continuation of the story of the people of God and the kingdom of Judah, in which we heard today of the last days of the existence of the independent kingdom of Judah, having once again disobeyed the Lord and left the righteous path which the previous King, King Josiah of Judah in our first reading yesterday had highlighted to us, in his efforts and endeavours to bring the people of God back towards obedience and commitment to God. Those efforts were ultimately in vain, as after the passing of King Josiah, the people of God and their kings went back to the path of disobedience and sins against God, and therefore, the kingdom went on its path to its eventual destruction. Back then, the kingdom of Judah were in between the powerful kingdoms of Egypt and Babylon, with the former having attacked and overcome Judah after defeating King Josiah and his forces in battle earlier in the years prior to the parts mentioned in today’s first reading passage. Egypt subjugated the kingdom of Judah for a while and placed it under its sphere of influence, before as we heard today, the rising power of the Babylonians led to the forces of the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar to strike at Judah and Jerusalem, taking over the control and overlordship over Judah from the Egyptians to themselves. The king of Judah, Jehoiachin and many of the people of Judah were brought off into exile from Jerusalem and Judah after the King of Babylon besieged and attacked Judah and Jerusalem. All these were likely caused by the people’s lack of faith in God, as they trusted more in worldly powers and in the worldly means, in the play of power and politics, all of which led to the eventual mistakes and repercussions which would end up in the divisions and destructions of the kingdoms of God’s people, as had once happened to the northern kingdom of Israel. The people and king of Judah depended on the Egyptians to protect themselves from the Babylonians, and on other occasions, on the Babylonians to protect themselves against the Egyptians, thinking that by depending on these powers of the world, on their alliances and intricate political links and arrangements that they could get themselves out of trouble and escape their predicament. Little that they know that all these would not avail them at all. This is why we are all reminded that putting our trust and faith in worldly things and in all of our worldly means and powers will not give us true happiness and satisfaction, and while it may give us temporary reprieve, relief or joy, but in the end, it is with the Lord alone there is true fulfilment, satisfaction and joy, and in the end, if we remain truly faithful to God and trust in Him wholeheartedly, we shall have true joy and glory with Him, and we shall be freed from all the bonds and hardships facing us, and God shall bless us forevermore with the true and lasting peace, happiness and wonders, all of which He has promised to us, and which our holy and worthy predecessors have received and experienced, and which we too should be looking forward to.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that we must always put our faith and trust in the Lord, and building our lives upon a firm foundation in Him. Otherwise, if we place our trust and faith in the world and whatever things that we depend on in this world instead of putting our faith in the Lord, we will sooner than later realise that our trust in the things and matters of this world, in any of our worldly means and powers will not avail us through the difficult and challenging moments, and it is in the end, the Lord alone is our firm hope and foundation, through Whom we shall receive consolation, strength and providence, and it is He alone Who will not disappoint any one of us. Let us all therefore reflect upon the Scriptures and from the life and works of the Saints a s Holy men and women, especially St. Cyril of Alexandria, holy servant of God and bishop, who we celebrate tiday. Let us all continue to commit ourselves to the Lord, doing whatever we can so that by our exemplary lives and works, we may always live lives that are worthy of God, truly holy and righteous in all things. May all of us be blessed and be strengthened, guided and empowered by God, our Lord and Master in all that we do, and be those who place their trust in God and build the foundation of our lives and faith firmly in Him, now and always. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to have a trusting faith in Jesus in the face of great suffering, a faith that Jesus recognizes and affirms. May His love continue to watch over us and inspire us that we may ever be His better disciples and most dedicated Christians, now and always, to be His witnesses and messengers to our world and communities today. 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 glorious Lawgiver, You taught as One with authority. Today, as Your holy Word is read and proclaimed, You continue to exercise Your new and glorious authority of love and mercy. Please help me to listen to You and to always submit myself to Your authority so that I am governed by Your New Law of grace. 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, Our Lady of Perpetual Help; Saint Cyril of Alexandria and Saint Ladislaus I, King of Hungary ~ 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 special  feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and we continue to pray 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 💖