FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 15, 2024
Greetings, beloved family and Happy Monday 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 15, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 15, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |July 15, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 15, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 15, 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: Monday, July 15, 2024
Reading 1, Isaiah 1:10-17
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
Gospel, Matthew 10:34-11:1
SAINT OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT BONAVENTURE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 15TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Bonaventure on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from terminal diseases and we also pray for those suffering from bowel disorders, cancers and other terminal diseases, we pray for God’s divine healing upon them. 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. 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 BONAVENTURE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Bonaventure (1221–1274) widely known as “The Seraphic Doctor”, was born at Bagnorea in Tuscany, Italy in 1221. This frail child was originally given the name of John (Giovanni), at baptism but received the name of Bonaventure in consequence of an exclamation of St. Francis of Assisi. As a child he became seriously ill and was in danger of death until his mother brought him to St. Francis of Assisi, who was then living in the region as a mendicant friar. She promised God she would endeavor to have the child take the habit of the Franciscan Order, if he were cured. Her prayer was granted, the child was cured, and Saint Francis himself gave him his new name. It is said that St. Francis healed the child and afterward exclaimed, “O buona ventura (O good fortune)!” when he prophetically perceived how great the child would one day become, and this is how he began to be called Bonaventure. Saint Francis died a few months later, not without foreseeing the future of this little one, destined to be a seraph of love like himself. Saint Bonaventure is titled the Seraphic Doctor, from the fervor of divine love which breathes in his writings. At the age of twenty-two St. Bonaventure entered the Franciscan Order. Having made his vows, he was sent to Paris to complete his studies in Theology under the celebrated Doctor Alexander of Hales, an Englishman and a Franciscan. After the latter’s death he continued his course under his successor, John of Rochelle. In Paris he became the intimate friend of the great St. Thomas Aquinas. The two friends graduated together, each insisting that the other be the first to receive honors. St. Bonaventure is regarded as one of the great philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages, earning the name “Seraphic Doctor.” Like St. Thomas, he enjoyed the friendship of the holy King, St. Louis. Sanctity and learning raised Bonaventure to the Church’s highest honors, yet at heart he was ever the poor Franciscan friar, who practiced and taught humility and mortification. Saint Thomas Aquinas asked him one day from what source he drew his great learning; he replied by pointing to his crucifix. Another time Saint Thomas found him in ecstasy while writing the life of Saint Francis. The Angelic Doctor said, while retiring quietly, Let us leave a Saint in peace, to write of a Saint!
In 1257, at about the age of thirty-five St. Bonaventure was chosen General of his Order, the superior of the Friars Minor. In this position, which he filled for 17 years, he brought peace and order and restored a perfect calm where peace had been disturbed by internal dissensions. His impact was so great that today he is sometimes referred to as the second founder of the Franciscans. Taking on the position after a period of extraordinary expansion for the order, St. Bonaventure worked to preserve a spirit of unity. He calmed the threat of internal dissension that arose over differences in interpreting the message of St. Francis of Assisi. Central to this work was his understanding that the study of philosophy and theology did not oppose the call to poverty that was so central to Franciscan spirituality. St. Bonaventure proposed a unified and collected text regulating the daily life of the Friars Minor. The text was accepted and ratified in 1260 by the General Chapter of the Order in Narbonne. He did much for his Order and composed the life of St. Francis. Wishing to present an authentic image of the life and teaching of their founder, he zealously collected documents about St. Francis of Assisi and heard testimonies of those who had actually known him. From this information, he compiled a biography of the saint that was adopted as his official biography by the General Chapter of the Friars Minor in 1263. St. Bonaventure also wrote numerous mystical and ascetical treatises, most famously, “The Soul’s Journey into God.” He also assisted at the translation of the relics of St. Anthony of Padua.
He was nominated Archbishop of York by Pope Clement IV, but he begged not to be forced to accept that dignity. In 1273, he was appointed by Pope Gregory X obliging him to take upon himself a greater one, as Cardinal and Bishop of Albano, one of the six suffragan Sees of Rome. The Pope also asked him to help prepare the Second Ecumenical Council of Lyons, an ecclesial event aimed at re-establishing communion between the Latin and Greek Churches. St. Bonaventure worked to prepare the Ecumenical Council, but never saw its completion. Before his death he abdicated his office of General of the Franciscan Order. He died on July 15, 1274, while he was assisting at the Second Council of Lyons, which worked for the reunification of the Catholic Church with the Eastern Orthodox churches. Dante had already included him among the inhabitants of his “Paradise”. He was canonised on April 14,1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in the year 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He’s Patron Saint of bowel disorders. His feast day is celebrated on July 15th.
In his General Audience on March 3, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the life of St. Bonaventure. He called to mind the great works of literature, art, philosophy and theology that were inspired by the Christian faith during the time period in which the saint lived. “Among the great Christian figures who contributed to the composition of this harmony between faith and culture Bonaventure stands out, a man of action and contemplation, of profound piety and prudent government,” Pope Benedict said. The Pope called on the faithful to take note of “the central role that Christ always played in Bonaventure’s life and teaching,” and to imitate the way in which “the whole of his thinking was profoundly Christocentric.”
“Meditation on Christ in His humanity is corporeal in deed, in fact, but spiritual in mind. . . . By adopting this habit, you will steady your mind, be trained to virtues, and receive strength of soul….Let meditation of Christ’s life be your one and only aim, your rest, your food, your desire, your study.” ~ St. Bonaventure
PRAYER: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, just as we celebrate the heavenly birthday of the Bishop Saint Bonaventure, we may benefit from his great learning and constantly imitate the ardor of his charity. 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🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time | Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 10:34-11:1
“I have come to bring not peace, but the sword”
“Jesus said to His Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple– amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus declares, ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth; it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword’. Jesus recognizes that His presence on earth will be divisive; some will welcome Him and others will reject Him and those who reject Him will persecute those who welcome Him. He goes on to elaborate on how we can welcome Him. He says to those He sends out as His ambassadors, ‘anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me’. All of us who have been baptized are always being sent out by Jesus as His ambassadors. In welcoming each other, we are welcoming Jesus, and in welcoming Jesus we are welcoming God the Father. Jesus identifies Himself very closely with each one of His followers, to such an extent that how we relate to each other determines how we relate to Him. Even the smallest act of kindness to another disciple of Jesus, such as the giving of a cup of cold water, will not go unnoticed by the Lord. The Lord whom we are to prefer more than even our closest family members nonetheless comes to us in and through each other. The ground which we share with our fellow pilgrims is holy ground, sacred space, where the Lord is present. According to the Gospel reading, Jesus speaks of the value of giving a cup of cold water to one of His disciples. Giving a cup of cold water to someone who needs it might be a small gesture. Yet, Jesus holds up this small act of kindness as having immense value. Even the simplest acts in which we lose ourselves for others have eternal significance. The giving of a cup of cold water can stand for any number of small acts of kindness which give life to others. Jesus also indicates in the Gospel reading that when we give the equivalent of the cup of cold water to someone, there is more going on than we might realize at the time. ‘Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me’. The way we relate to each other is an expression of how we are relating to Jesus and to God the Father, whether we are aware of that or not. In our dealings with each other, we are dealing with the divine. We are standing on holy ground all the time.
In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord alluded to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah when referring to His own chosen people, the remnants of the Israelites living in the southern kingdom of Judah. In using that reference to the example of Sodom and Gomorrah, He reminded them all of what had happened to those two cities that were infamous for their debauchery, sinful ways and wickedness, and likely their refusal to repent from their wicked ways, their stubborn attitudes which eventually led to the two cities being destroyed with great fires and brimstone from the sky itself. Thus, the Lord was in fact warning His people that if they continued to walk down the path of sin and evil as they had done up to then, a similar fate would be theirs as well. As mentioned, this does not mean that God despised or hated His people, but rather, it was their sins and wickedness which He despised and was angry with. As mentioned, they were not truly faithful to the Lord, but were only going through the motions with their celebrations, festivals and worship, which they carried out without true sincerity and love for God. They still committed sins and wicked deeds, and even worshipped other pagan idols and gods, which added on to their list of sins and all the things which further distanced them away from the Lord and His path. The Lord wanted them all to know that if they kept on doing that, and if they continued to disregard the words and the guidance of the many prophets and messengers that He had sent to them to help and guide them, then in the end, there will be nothing but destruction and doom awaiting them.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded that while God is always ever loving and kind towards us, we must also remember that our sins and wickedness, all the things we do which are not in accordance with God’s ways, all of these are things that He does not condone and in fact despises. And while He is always ever ready and willing to forgive us from those sins, we must not take it for granted, because by the sins which we have left unrepented and unforgiven, we may be judged and condemned by those sins which we have committed. The Lord does not seek our destruction and annihilation, but it is our own conscious refusal of His love, mercy and grace which had brought us deep into this condemnation and destruction. May the Lord be with us all, and may He continue to help and guide us through His ever patient love and kindness, in helping to inspire us through the great examples of St. Bonaventure and the innumerable other holy men and women, the holy saints and martyrs of God, all of whom had dedicated themselves to the Lord and showed great faith and virtues in their lives. May we continue to strive to do God’s will and live our lives righteously in accordance to His Law and commandments at all times, so that we may truly be good and worthy examples and role models for one another, and through us, God’s truth and love may be revealed more and more to all the people around us. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen and guide us in our path always with the courage to do more, in our lives, in glorifying Him at all times. Amen 🙏
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:
Lord of All, You call all people to love You with all of their mind, heart, soul and strength. You call us all to adhere to every truth that You have spoken. Give me the courage and love I need to not only love You above all but to also love others with Your love alone. Help me to embrace Your Cross when this is difficult so that I will be a better instrument of the love You have for all. 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 Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church ~ 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, grace-filled and fruitful week🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖