FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 20, 2024

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Saturday 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 20, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 20, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |July 20, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 20, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 20, 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: Saturday, July 20, 2024
Reading 1, Micah 2:1-5
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14
Gospel, Matthew 12:14-21

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT APOLLINARIS, BISHOP AND MARTYR; SAINT MARGARET OF ANTIOCH, VIRGIN AND MARTYR AND SAINT ELIAS THE PROPHET ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 20TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr; Saint Margaret of Antioch, Virgin and Martyr and Elias the Prophet. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all expectant mothers and those seeking for the fruit of the womb; for the the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for those going through difficulties especially 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 APOLLINARIS, BISHOP AND MARTYR: St. Apollinaris is a Syrian saint, born in Antioch and became a disciple of St. Peter. He was ordained by the St. Peter,  Prince of the Apostles himself and sent as a missionary bishop to Ravena during the reign of the emperor Claudius (who ruled from 41 to 54). Renowned for his powers to heal in the name of Christ, he was frequently exiled, tortured and imprisoned for the faith, and finally martyred. He’s described as “a bishop who, according to tradition, while spreading among the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ, led his flock as a good shepherd and honoured the Church of Classis near Ravenna by a glorious martyrdom.”

According to a legend, stemming from the 7th century, Apollinaris cured an official’s wife, resulting in the couple’s conversion, cured a man who could not speak, and gained a good many adherents to the faith. As a result, he was scourged and sent away from Ravena. Going to Bologna, he converted the family of Rufinius, a patrician, leading to his ouster from that city. The holy man went to preach in Dalmatia and ended up being sent away from there also. St. Apollinaris returned to his See on three separate occasions, and each time he was subjected to torture and cast out again. On his fourth return, he was forced to go into hiding from the Emperor Vespasian (69-79), who issued a decree banishing all Christians. Ultimately, the Saint was recognized by a mob at Classis, a suburb of Ravena, beaten, and left for dead. He was carried away by the Christians, and seven days after, while exhorting them to constancy in the faith, he passed away from this life, to be crowned with the glory of martyrdom. His body was buried near the city walls. St. Peter Chrysologus (d. 450), one of the Saint’s successors at Ravena, called him a Martyr and said that God did not permit the persecutors to take his life. So St. Apollinaris may have been a Martyr solely by the torments he endured for the Lord. St. Apollinaris is the Patron Saint of epilepsy; gout; Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) Aachen, Burtscheid, Düsseldorf, Ravenna, Italy,  Remagen.

PRAYER: Lord, direct Your faithful in the way of eternal salvation, which St. Apollinaris Your Bishop pointed out by both his teaching and his martyrdom. By his intercession enable us to persevere in Your commandments so that we may merit to be crowned with him. Amen 🙏
 
SAINT MARGARET OF ANTIOCH, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: St. Margaret (289-304 A.D.) is also called “Marina”. St. Margaret is one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers” and one of the saints that appeared and spoke to St. Joan of Arc. She was born in Antioch, the daughter of a pagan priest in Pisidian Antioch, Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Her mother died when she was an infant, and she was raised by a Christian nurse who baptized her and gave her a Christian education. St. Margaret grew into a pious and virtuous young woman under her nurse’s care, to the delight of her father. When she came of age, Margaret returned to live with her father. She quickly angered him, however, when she refused to take part in offering sacrifices to idols. Furious at her steadfast refusals, he drove her out of his home. Margaret then returned to live with her nurse as a household servant.

One day, while she was engaged in watching the flocks of her mistress, a lustful Roman prefect named Olybrius caught sight of her, and attracted by her great beauty sought to make her his concubine or wife. St. Margaret declined, citing that she had consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ, a reply for which she was severely persecuted. When neither cajolery nor threats of punishment could succeed in moving her to yield to his desires, he had her brought before him in public trial at Antioch to be tried for her Christian faith, scourged, tortured, and thrown into prison by her suitor. In her moment of weakness, the devil appeared to her in the form of a dragon to intimidate her and break her faith. An attempt was made to burn her, she was left unharmed. She was then bound hand and foot and thrown into a cauldron of boiling water, but at her prayer her bonds were broken and she stood up uninjured. St. Margaret trusted in God and made the Sign of the Cross, and the dragon fled defeated. At this triumph over her enemy, St. Margaret’s cell was filled with light and her wounds were miraculously healed. Enraged to find her healed, her suitor had new tortures applied to her body, which did her no harm and caused many witnesses to convert to the Christian faith. Finally the prefect ordered her to be beheaded.

The Greek Church honors her under the name Marine on July13, and the Latin, as Margaret on July 20. Her Acts place her death in the persecution of Diocletian (A.D. 303-5), but in fact even the century to which she belonged is uncertain. St. Margaret is represented in art sometimes as a shepherdess, or as leading a chained dragon, again carrying a little cross or a girdle in her hand, or standing by a large vessel which recalls the cauldron into which she was plunged. Relics said to belong to the saint are venerated in very many parts of Europe; at Rome, Montefiascone, Brusels, Bruges, Paris, Froidmont, Troyes, and various other places. Curiously enough this virgin has been widely venerated for many centuries as a special patron of women who are pregnant. She’s Patron Saint against sterility; childbirth; dying; escape from devils; exiles; expectant mothers; falsely accused people; kidney disease; loss of milk by nursing mothers; Lowestoft, Suffolk, England; martyrs; nurses; peasants; people in exile; Queens College Cambridge; women; pregnancy; women in labour; and childbirth. Her feast day is July 20th. 

Saint Margaret of Antioch, Virgin and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT ELIAS THE PROPHET: St. Elias [also known as Elijah in English] of great fame was from Thisbe or Thesbe, a town of Galaad (Gilead), in what is now the country of Jordan. He was of priestly lineage, a man of a solitary and ascetical character, clothed in a mantle of sheep skin, and girded about his loins with a leather belt. His name is interpreted as “Yah is my God.” His zeal for the glory of God was compared to fire, and his speech for teaching and rebuke was like a burning lamp. From this too he received the name Zealot. Aflame with such zeal, he spoke against the impiety and lawlessness of Israel’s King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. By his prayers he shut up heaven and it did not rain for three years and six months. Ravens brought him food for his need when, at God’s command, he was hiding by the river of Horrath. He multiplied the little flour and oil of the poor widow of Sarephtha of Sidon (Lebanon) who had given him hospitality in her home, and when her son died, he raised him up. He is revered as the spiritual Father and traditional founder of the Catholic religious Order of Carmelites. In addition to taking their name from Mt. Carmel where the first hermits of the order established themselves, the Calced Carmelite and Discalced Carmelite traditions pertaining to Elijah focus upon the prophet’s withdrawal from public life. St. Elias brought down fire from Heaven upon Mount Carmel, and it burned up the sacrifice offered to God before all the people of Israel so they might know the truth.

At the river of Kisson, St. Elias, the Prophet killed 450 false prophets and priests who worshipped idols and led the people astray. He received food miraculously at the hand of an Angel, and being strengthened by this food he walked for forty days and forty nights. He saw God on Mount Horeb, as far as this is possible for a human. He predicted the destruction of the dynasty of Ahab, and the death of his son Ohozias. He divided the waters of the river Jordan, and he and his disciple Elisha passed through as if on dry land; and finally, while speaking with him, St. Elias was suddenly snatched away by a fiery chariot in the year 895 B.C., and ascended as into heaven, where God most certainly translated him alive, as He did Enoch (Gen. 5:24; IV Kings 2: 11). But from there also, after seven years, by means of a message he reproached Joram, the son of Josaphat, as it is written: “And there came a message in writing to him from Elias the Prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, “Because thou hast not walked in the way,” and so forth (II Chron. 21:12). Interpreters believe this happened either through his disciple Elisha, or through another Prophet when Elias appeared to them, even as he appeared on Mount Tabor to the disciples of Christ. It was widely believed that St. Elias would appear before the arrival of the Messiah and Jesus himself was identified by some as being Elias returned. However, Jesus identified St. John the Forerunner (Baptist) as the Elias that was to come and proceed Him. St. Elias the Prophet is the Patron Saint of the Carmelite Order and vehicle blessings.

PRAYER: O great Prophet Elijah,/ seer of God’s mighty works,/ who didst halt the torrential rain by thy word,/ pray for us to the Lover of Mankind. Amen🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072024.cfm

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 12:14-21

“He warned them not to make him known to fulfill what had been spoken”

“The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

In today’s Gospel reading, the Pharisees plot evil against Jesus, ‘discussing how to destroy Him’. While the Pharisees plot evil against Jesus, Jesus Himself is the beloved servant of God who will not break the crushed reed, nor put out the smouldering wick, until He has led the truth to victory’. Jesus confronted evil and was very attentive to and careful of the crushed reeds and smouldering wicks of His time and place. His heart was moved by the most vulnerable. He sought to protect those most at risk from the plotting of others. What the psalmist says to God in today’s responsorial psalm can be said of Jesus, ‘The helpless trusts himself to you; for you are the helper of the orphan’. At those moments in our own lives when we feel ourselves to be like crushed reeds and smouldering wicks, we can entrust ourselves to the risen Lord, drawing His strength into our weakness. The Lord also wishes to work through each one of us to strengthen the weary and bring hope to the discouraged. The Lord’s life-giving love expressed in our lives will ensure that the plotters of evil do not have the last word.

In our first reading today, from the Book of the prophet Micah, the Lord told His people through Micah of His anger and the coming punishments and consequences awaiting His wicked and disobedient people, all of whom had chosen to disobey Him, walking down the path of rebellion and wickedness, choosing to obey the lies of the devil rather than to trust in the Lord, their God and Master. The prophet Micah was sent to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, during the time of the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel and the Assyrian invasion and domination of the kingdom of Judah by King Sennacherib. He was one of the prophets who were active at the time, and he brought God’s words to His people in Judah. Detailed in our reading are all the things that would soon happen to the people and kingdom of Judah, the downfall of those who have long disobeyed His commandments and preferring to follow the wicked paths of the false idols and pagan gods rather than to trust and have faith in their Lord and Master Who had taken care of them all, all throughout the years of their prosperous existence in Judah and Israel. The consequences for those sins have to be faced by the people themselves, and that was why the Lord gave them all this warning and premonition through Micah. Of course, He did so while also telling them of His love and mercy, and showing them the prophecy of the coming liberation and salvation that they would receive from God. Through this, the Lord wanted to show His people that He truly loved each and every one of them, and He did not truly want to punish them or make their lives difficult, but it was rather their hardened hearts and minds, their stubbornness and their continued rebellion against God which had condemned them and led them to their predicaments. They did not trust in the Lord and refused to obey by His Law and commandments, and as a result, they suffered, they became lost and they were muddled in their paths and thoughts. But the Lord never gave up on them, and He continued to send His help and guidance through His prophets, and promised them the ultimate salvation that He ultimately fulfilled and accomplished through the sending of His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded to be ever more faithful to the Lord in all things, to do His will and not to give in to the temptations of worldly glory and power, all of which can lead us astray down the path of disobedience, evil and sin. We must always strive to be upright and good in all things, doing whatever we can so that by our good examples and actions grounded and anchored upon our firm foundation of faith in God, we will always be the worthy and faithful bearers of our Christian faith and truth in our world today. All of us should always be the guardians of the truth and of all that our Christian faith teaches us and shows us. From the examples shown by the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly one of the great Saints who we celebrate today, St. Apollinaris, his life and courageous martyrdom, all of us are reminded that as Christians we have been entrusted with the mission to proclaim the salvation of the Lord and His Good News which we have received and believed in, so that in all the things that we say and do, in our every moments in our respective lives, we will continue to be great role models and inspirations in faith for one another just like how St. Apollinaris and the many other saints, holy men and women of God have inspired us all as well. May all of us continue to be inspired and strengthened to do what God had taught, commanded and entrusted to us to do, now and always. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to overcome our challenges, struggles and failures, trusting that our failure need never be the end of the road for us, but that God can work powerfully in and through us, in spite of failures. May the good Lord bless us in all of our every good works and deeds, in our every good efforts and endeavours. 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:

My Suffering Servant, I thank You for Your suffering and death and for the redemption that flows from Your sacrifice of love. Help me to shed all false expectations that I have of You, dear Lord, so that I will be guided by You and Your mission of salvation alone. 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 Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr; Saint Margaret of Antioch, Virgin and Martyr and Elias the Prophet ~ 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 relaxing weekend🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖