FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 14, 2024

Saint Camillus de Lellis, Priest – Optional Memorial celebrated on July 14th, on the anniversary of his death in the general Roman Calendar (In the United States this memorial is transferred to July 18th).

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Sunday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time!

On this special feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we humbly pray for justice, peace and unity in our families and our divided and conflicted world. We continue to 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 | July 14, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 14, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |July 14, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 14, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 14, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

NOVENA TO THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS | https://novenaprayer.com/novena-to-the-precious-blood-of-jesus/ (When to begin: Any time – The whole month of July)

Today’s Bible Readings: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 14, 2024
Reading 1, Amos 7:12-15
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
Reading 2, Ephesians 1:3-14
Gospel, Mark 6:7-13

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 6:7–13

“He began to send them out”

“Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick— no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus sends out the Twelve, two by two. Rather than sending them out as twelve individuals, He sent them out as six groups of two. Some might say that twelve individuals would cover more ground than six pairs. Yet, Jesus knew the importance of disciples working together to bring the Gospel to others. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus sent out a larger group of seventy two, and, again, he sent them out two by two. The very first disciples He called were two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew, and James and John. It is together that we come to discover the Lord and it is together that we share Him with others. The journey of faith is never a solitary one. That is why we feel the need to gather together to celebrate our Sunday Eucharist. Our presence at Mass reminds us that we are interconnected in the Lord. We receive the body of Christ as members of His body. As Saint Paul says in one of his letters, ‘Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread’. Even when we cannot get to church physically for whatever reason, we are united in spirit with other believers, especially with the members of our parish community. We often give expression to our journeying together in faith in other ways. Some of us might come together to reflect on the Gospel readings and others may be part of a faith group. The greatest source of strength for our faith is when a person of faith is walking alongside us. The Lord comes to us through the faith of others, and He comes to others through our faith. In today’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that it has always been God’s purpose to bring people together around His Son, Jesus. Indeed, St. Paul declares in that reading that God ‘would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on the earth’.

In our Gospel reading, it is on mission that Jesus sends out His disciples two by two. Their mission is to be an extension of Jesus’ mission. They have received a great deal from Jesus and now they are to share what they have received with others. They are to bring Jesus’ healing presence to those who need it most, and they are to do this together. According to the Gospels, the disciples have shown themselves to be very flawed, somewhat unreceptive to Jesus. On one occasion, during the storm at sea, Jesus had to rebuke them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ Yet, Jesus dares to send out these flawed disciples on mission. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Jesus sent them out in pairs. The strengths of one could compensate for the weaknesses of the other, and vice verso. The Lord continues to send us out together on mission to share the treasures of the Gospel we have received. Like the first disciples, we too are flawed; we all have a long way to go in our relationship with the Lord. Yet, the Lord wants us to share in His mission together, knowing that together we are more likely to reveal His loving and healing presence to others that just as lone individuals. The Lord has gifted each of us in a unique way through the Holy Spirit. We each have something to give out of what the Lord has given us and something to receive from others out of what the Lord has given them. The Lord needs us all if his mission in today’s world is to be a dynamic one. He needs both our willingness to give from what we have received from him and our willingness to receive from what he has given to others. In the second reading, St. Paul speaks about ‘the richness of the grace which God has showered on us’. That richness of grace that God has showered on us through His Son becomes evident only when we journey together, when we share together in the mission of Jesus. Again in the words of that reading, individually, ‘we have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit’. The Spirit has stamped us in a way that is unique to each of us. When we come together to share in the Lord’s mission, the full richness of the Spirit’s life within us and among us will become evident to all.

In our first reading this Sunday from the Book of the prophet Amos is the interactions between King Amaziah of the northern kingdom of Israel and the prophet Amos, who hailed from the land of Judah. At that time, both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the two kingdoms where the people of Israel, the chosen people of God lived in, had been separated for a long time, for about a few centuries. The northern kingdom of Israel came to be because many of the Israelites rebelled against the House of David after the reign of King Solomon because they were taxed and exploited, which made them to declare independence under a new king, who then also led the people into sin because he established an independent centre of worship in Bethel. The king of the northern kingdom of Israel ever since the first one, Jeroboam, up to that of Amaziah had been carrying out the worship of idols in the temple built in Bethel, in opposition to God’s Law, which stated that the people of God, the Israelites, must go to Jerusalem, to the Temple of God there where the Lord’s Holy Presence resided, to worship Him. Jeroboam established instead a golden calf idol, which was reminiscence of what the Israelites did during their Exodus from Egypt, in rebellion against God. In addition to that, King Jeroboam also established a new order of priesthood not in accordance with God’s Law which decreed that the priests were to be selected only from among the Levites. As such, ever since, the people of Israel had disobeyed the Lord, committed great sins against Him. Yet, despite all of that, the Lord still loved His people and cared for them all nonetheless, as He continued to sent prophets after prophets to help and guide them all in their paths. The Lord continued to try to reach out to them even when they continued to close their hearts and minds against Him, like how King Amaziah of Israel attempted to harass the prophet Amos to go back to the land of Judah. But Amos stood his ground and told the king that God had sent him to the land of Israel to do His will, to bring His people back to Him.

In our second reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Ephesus, the Apostle spoke of the great love of God which He has always shown and poured down upon us as he wrote about all the grace, love, kindness, wisdom and all the things He has revealed to us, especially through His beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. St. Paul told the faithful people of God and hence reminded us all of the intentions which the Lord, our loving God and Master has always had for us from the very beginning. God has created all of us as the most perfect and beloved ones among all that He had created. He has intended for us to share in the fullness of His overflowing and ever generous love. Unfortunately, through our disobedience and refusal to listen to Him, we have spurned God’s love and squandered everything which He has prepared and intended to give to us. That is why we have been cast out of the Gardens of Eden, from God’s Holy Presence. It was not because God despised us or hated us, and it was not because God intended or wanted us all to suffer in this world from all the various sufferings and hardships, and less still from the unavoidable fate of death. Rather, it was our own disobedience and sins which had led us into this fate, our conscious rejection of God’s love and grace, choosing to allow Satan to tempt us and to persuade us to turn away from God and His path of righteousness and virtue. We chose to listen to his lies and sweet false promises, rather than to trust in God.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, we are all reminded first of all of the great and ever enduring love which the Lord our God has for each and every one of us, of His patience in seeking us out and in helping us to find our way back to Him. He has always been sending out His servants and disciples to reach out to us, to help and guide us in our journey back to Him. Through all that He has done for us, God has opened for us the path to eternal life and true happiness through Him, and all of us should then remember of every efforts that He had done in loving us despite all of our rebellious behaviours and disobedience against Him. May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and merciful God and Father continue to watch over us and be gracious to us. May He continue to be patient in loving and caring for us all, His often wayward children, who have often disobeyed and angered Him by our many sins and wickedness. Let us all commit ourselves to turn away from those sins and reject this path of evil, and commit ourselves anew to the path of righteousness and virtue from now on. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us all, and may He empower us all so that we can continue to be courageous to live our lives worthily as His disciples and followers, and as His beloved ones, now and always. Amen 🙏🏾

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT KATERI TEKAKWITHA, VIRGIN AND SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO, PRIEST ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 14TH

Saint Camillus de Lellis, Priest—Optional Memorial celebrated on July 14th, on the anniversary of his death in the general Roman Calendar (In the United States this memorial is transferred to July 18th).

Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha and Saint Francis Solano, Priest. The General Roman Calendar celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, priest on July 14th, but the particular calendar for the United States transfers Camilius to July 18th so as to not conflict with St. Kateri. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for those who have lost their parents, children or loved ones, we pray for those going through difficulties during these challenging times, for the poor and the needy, for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏 

SAINT KATERI TEKAKWITHA, VIRGIN: St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), also known as the ‘Lily of the Mohawks,’ is the first Native American to be canonized. St. Kateri lived a life of holiness and virtue, despite obstacles and opposition within her tribe, she incurred the hostility of her tribe because of her faith. She was devoted to the Eucharist, and to Jesus Crucified. St. Kateri was born in present-day New York, near the town of Auriesville, New York in 1656. She was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior, a pagan chief and her mother an Algonquin who had been converted to the Christian faith by Jesuit missionaries. Her mother was a Christian Algonquin, taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations. When St.  Kateri was four years old, a smallpox epidemic killed her entire family, parents and little brother and left her partially blind, disfigured, and crippled. Her uncle, who had now become chief of the tribe, adopted her and raised her. Her uncle detested the Christians, he hated the coming of the Blackrobes (missionaries), but could do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French required their presence in villages with Christian captives. She was moved by the words of three Blackrobes who lodged with her uncle, but fear of him kept her from seeking instruction. Her aunts began planning her marriage while she was still very young. As she grew up, Kateri longed for the Catholic faith of her mother, and was very drawn to the missionaries evangelizing near her village. At the age of twenty, St. Kateri was baptized by Jesuit missionary Fr. Jacques de Lambertville on Easter of 1676. St. Kateri’s baptismal name is “Catherine,”(which was translated as “Kateri”) after St. Catherine of Siena. Her uncle opposed her conversion to Christianity, and as a result she was ostracized by her people and treated harshly. When it was clear that her life was in danger, a priest helped her flee to a French Jesuit mission in Montreal, Canada. A Christian Native American village at Sault St. Louis, near Montreal, a journey of over 200 miles alone and on foot. There she lived a solitary life, devoting her life to prayer, penitential practices, and the care of the sick and aged in Caughnawaga near Montreal (where her relics are now enshrined). She rejected an opportunity for marriage. Every morning, even in bitterest winter, she stood before the chapel door until it opened at four and remained there until after the last Mass. She was devoted to the Eucharist and to Jesus Crucified. Her great sanctity, virtue, and love for Christ amazed everyone who knew her. She was also known as a miracle-worker.

For three years she grew in holiness under the direction of a priest and an older Iroquois woman, giving herself totally to God in long hours of prayer, in charity and in strenuous penance. At twenty three she took a vow of virginity, an unprecedented act for a Native American woman, whose future depended on being married. She found a place in the woods where she could pray an hour a day and was accused of meeting a man there! Her dedication to virginity was instinctive: She did not know about religious life for women until she visited Montreal. Inspired by this, she and two friends wanted to start a community, but the local priest dissuaded her. She humbly accepted an “ordinary” life. She practiced extremely severe fasting as penance for the conversion of her nation. She was said to have reached the highest levels of mystical union with God, and many miracles were attributed to her while she was still alive. She died the afternoon before Holy Thursday on April 17, 1680 at the age of 24. Witnesses reported that within minutes of her death, the scars from smallpox completely vanished and her face shone with radiant beauty and the touch of a smile came upon her lips. Devotion to Kateri began immediately after her death and her body, enshrined in Caughnawaga, is visited by many pilgrims each year. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980, and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican City on October 21, 2012. St. Kateri is the Patron Saint of Ecologists; ecology; environment; environmentalism; environmentalists; exiles; loss of parents; people in exile; people ridiculed for their piety; Native Americans and World Youth Day.

PRAYER: Lord, You called the Virgin, Blessed Kateri, to shine forth among the Native American people as an example of purity of life. Grant, through her intercession, that all peoples of every tribe, tongue, and nation, may be gathered into Your Church and proclaim Your greatness in one song of praise. Amen 🙏

SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO, PRIEST: St. Francis Solano, also known as Francis Solanus (1549 – 1610) was a Franciscan missionary in Lima, Peru. He was born in Andalusia, Spain, on March 10, 1549 to Mateo Sánchez Solano and Ana Jiménez. The diocese of Cordova, in Spain, was the birthplace of St. Francis, who won many thousands of souls to God. From his earliest years he was characterized by a modest behavior, prudent silence, and edifying meekness. His education was entrusted to the Jesuit Fathers, and later he entered the Order of St. Francis and became a Franciscan in 1569. Soon he excelled every one in the house in humility, obedience, fervor in prayer, and self-denial. St. Francis labored for two decades in Spain and sailed to Peru in 1589. He sailed for South America to preach the Gospel to the Indians in Peru. While near shore the ship struck rocks, and there was danger of drowning. The captain hurried the officers and principal passengers into the only boat there was, and tried to induce the missionary to accompany them; but he refused to do so. Consoling the remaining passengers, he prayed fervently and alone kept up his hope in God’s mercy. At last rescuers arrived and all were taken off in safety.

The missionary, St. Francis did not confine his ministry to Lima. He visited the forests and deserts inhabited by the Indians, and by degrees he won their trust and in this way baptized nine thousand Indians. He was then recalled to Lima, which at that time was like a godless Ninive. St. Francis preached to the hardened sinners, and the whole city became converted. He worked until his death in Lima and elsewhere in South America. Finally after a painful sickness his last words being, “God be praised!” his soul departed this earth on July 14, 1610. He was renowned for his preaching, miracles and virtues. He was declared Blessed by Pope Clement X on June 20, 1675, Rome, Papal State and canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. He’s the Patron Saint of Argentina; Bolivia; Chile; Paraguay; Peru. Saint Francis’ feast is July 14th and held on July 24th traditionally in Hispanic Countries.

St. Francis Solano, Franciscan ~ Pray for us 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JULY:

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS: The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood. The feast of the Precious Blood of our Lord was instituted in 1849 by Pius IX, but the devotion is as old as Christianity. The early Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood.

“The Precious Blood which we worship is the Blood which the Savior shed for us on Calvary and reassumed at His glorious Resurrection; it is the Blood which courses through the veins of His risen, glorified, living body at the right hand of God the Father in heaven; it is the Blood made present on our altars by the words of Consecration; it is the Blood which merited sanctifying grace for us and through it washes and beautifies our soul and inaugurates the beginning of eternal life in it.”

PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYER: Almighty, and everlasting God, who hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer of the world, and hast been pleased to be reconciled unto us by His Blood, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate with solemn worship the price of our salvation, that the power thereof may here on earth keep us from all things hurtful, and the fruit of the same may gladden us for ever hereafter in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen 🙏🏾

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF JULY – FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE SICK: We pray that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick confer to those who receive it and their loved ones the power of the Lord and become ever more a visible sign of compassion and hope for all.

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 providential Lord, You always provide for us in every way. You know our every need and always meet those needs. Please help me to trust in You in every way and to learn to rely upon Your providential grace. Please use me as You will and work powerfully through me so that my life produces an abundance of good fruit for Your Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Most Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha and Saint Francis Solano ~ 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. Have a blessed, safe, and grace-filled Sunday and week🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖