SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 24, 2024

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Wednesday of the Sixteenth 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 24, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 24, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |July 24, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 24, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 24, 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: Wednesday July 24, 2024
Reading 1, Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17
Gospel, Matthew 13:1-9

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT CHARBEL (SHARBEL) MAKHLOŪF, PRIEST AND HERMIT; SAINT CHRISTINA OF BOLSENA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR AND SAINT CHRISTINA THE ASTONISHING ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 24TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Charbel (Sharbel) Makhloūf, Priest, Hermit; Saint Christina of Bolsena, Virgin and Martyr and Saint Christina the Astonishing. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for those with mental illness and disorders, mental health workers, psychiatrists, and therapists. We also pray for widows, 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 CHARBEL (SHARBEL) MAKHLOŪF, PRIEST AND HERMIT: St. Charbel was a Lebanese monk, born Youssef (Joseph) Antoun Makhlouf in a small mountain  in 1828 at Beqa-Kafra, Lebanon. His peasant family lived a strong faith, were attentive to the Divine Liturgy, and had a great devotion to the Mother of God. At the age of 23, Charbel (the name he chose when entering Novitiate) left his closely knit family to enter the Lebanese-Maronite Monastery called Notre-Dame de Mayfouk. Following studies and profession at St. Cyprian de Kfifane Monastery, he was ordained in 1859. For the next seven years, Sharbel lived in the mountainous community of d’Anaya. After that he spent the next twenty-three years in complete solitude at Sts. Peter and Paul Hermitage near d’Anaya. Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Charbel died there on Christmas Eve, 1898.

Despite temptations to wealth and comfort, Saint Charbel taught the value of poverty, self-sacrifice and prayer by the way he lived his life. He is known among Lebanese Christians as the “Miracle Monk of Lebanon.” His followers say they call him this because of the miraculous healings they receive in answer to prayers to him, especially those said at his tomb, and for his ability to unite Christians and Muslims. His tomb is located at the Monastery of Saint Maron. St. Charbel had a reputation for his austerity, penances, obedience, and chastity. At times, Charbel was gifted with levitations during prayer, and he had great devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament. In all things, Charbel maintained perfect serenity. He was beatified in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 9, 1977 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1977. St. Charbel is the Patron Saint of Lebanon.

PRAYER: God, You called St. Sharbel, the Priest, to join the singular combat of the eremitical life and endowed him with every kind of piety. Enable us, we beg You, to imitate the Lord’s Passion and so merit to share in His Kingdom. Amen🙏

SAINT CHRISTINA OF BOLSENA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: St. Christina of Bolsena, also known as Christina of Tyre, or Christina the Great Martyr is a Christian martyr of the third century. She was born in the 300s in Tyre, modern-day Lebanon on Lake Bolsena in Tuscany. She was the daughter of a rich and powerful magistrate named Urbain. Her father, was deep in the practices of heathenism. This virgin broke up her father’s idols of silver and gold and gave them to the poor because she believed in Christ. On her father’s orders her flesh was torn with lashes, she suffered other cruel tortures, and she was thrown into the sea weighted down with a great stone. She was saved by an angel, however. A second judge succeeded her father in ordering even more severe torments. Finally, under the prefect Julian, after five days in a burning furnace and after overcoming an attack of snakes with the aid of Christ, she achieved martyrdom when her tongue was cut out and she was pierced by darts. She died a martyr in the 3rd Century at Bolsena, Lazio, Italy and her relics are now at Palermo in Sicily. Her tomb was discovered in the 19th century at Bolsena, marked with an inscription dating from the 10th century. St. Christina of Bolsena’s feast day is July 24th.

PRAYER: O Venerable Christina, who calmly went through all sorts of torture, you made yourself visible as a shining dove, with a pair of golden wings alighting in the Highest Heavens. O Virgin and Martyr, we celebrate your righteousness and holiness at your feast and bow before the place that holds your relics. Intercede for us, that we may receive grace and healing for body and soul. Amen.  St. Christina of Bolsena, Virgin and Martyr  ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT CHRISTINA THE ASTONISHING: St. Christina (1150-1224) also known as Christina Mirabilis, was a Christian holy woman born in Brustem, Belgium to a peasant family. She was orphaned as a child and raised by her two older sisters. When she was 21 she had what was believed to be a severe seizure, and was pronounced dead. At her funeral she suddenly revived and levitated before the bewildered congregation. She said that during her coma she had been to heaven, hell, and purgatory and had been given the option to either die and enter heaven, or return to earth to suffer and pray for the holy souls in purgatory. Christina chose the greater act of charity.

From then on she lived in extreme poverty: wearing rags, sleeping on rocks, and begging for her food. She is called “Astonishing” because she did the most bizarre things and suffered the pains of inhuman feats without being physically harmed by them. She would roll in fire and hide in hot ovens; she would stand in freezing water for hours in the dead of winter; she allowed herself to be dragged under water by a mill wheel; she spent much time in graveyards. She would also climb trees to escape the strong odor of sin in those she met. Many thought her to be possessed by demons or insane, but many devout people recognized and vouched for her sincerity, obedience, and sanctity. They believed that she was a living witness to the pains that souls experience in purgatory, willingly suffering with them and for them. St. Christina died on July 24, 1224, Sint-Truiden, Belgium. St. Christina the Astonishing is the Patron Saint of those with mental illness and disorders, mental health workers, psychiatrists, and therapists. St. Christina the Astonishing’s feast day is July 24th.

PRAYER: Saint Christina, your indefatigable courage and your piety and excruciating penance for the suffering souls in Purgatory, set you apart and forced recognition of your sainthood by those witnessing it. Pray for me that I, too, may one day glorify the Blessed Trinity in heaven. May I possess your lively faith, that I may consider all persons, things, and events in the light of Almighty God. Help me to generously make sacrifices of temporal things to gain an eternal heritage in heaven. Through your intercession and exceeding devotion to Mother Mary, keep me from mortal sin and obtain for me the grace of a happy death. Amen. Saint Christina the Astonishing ~ Pray for us🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

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

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 13:1-9

“The seed produced grain a hundredfold”

“On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus taught and preached to the people with the famous parable of the sower. In today’s parable, the Lord speaks to the people using the comparison with a sower that was spreading seeds on different places. The Lord liked to use these parables because many of the people back then were illiterate and uneducated, and they did not know much about the ways of the world outside that of their professions or related ones. Many of the people back then were farmers, shepherds and fishermen, and hence, the Lord used these parables to help them understand what He wanted to tell them. According to the parable, the sower placed the seeds in various places and the seeds faced different fates depending on where those seeds had landed. The seeds that landed on the roadside were snatched and eaten away by the birds of the air, representing those people who have received the seeds of faith from the Word of God, and yet, allowed Satan and the other evil ones to snatch these truth and virtues away from them, by not taking up these into their hearts and minds, ignoring what the Lord had generously presented and given to them. Then, those seeds that fell upon the rocky grounds and dried up before they could grow roots represent those who have received the Word of God and His truth, and yet failed to allow these to grow roots in their hearts and minds, as they did not provide good and suitable environment for their faith to grow and blossom in. And those seeds that landed among the brambles and thistles were choked to death as they grew, because those brambles and thistles competed with the plants for nutrients and other resources. These represent all those who allowed the distractions in life to pull them away from the path of righteousness and virtue, instead following the path of greed, desire, ego and ambition, which would lead them to their downfall. It was only those seeds that fell upon the rich soil that managed to germinate and grow well, healthy and strong, bearing lots of rich fruits and produces, in multiples of what had been planted before. This represents all those who have received the Word of God and truly acted on them, internalising and receiving them with genuine faith, doing their best to embody what they have believed in, so that their faith is not merely just a formality only, but a truly real and living faith. This has also been shown by the example of the prophet Jeremiah from the Old Testament, as well as the many other prophets and servants of God, who have allowed the Lord to guide and strengthen them in their lives so that in everything that they had said and done, they would indeed bear rich and plentiful fruits of their faithful actions and commitments to God.

There are many obstacles to the growth of the seed that the sower sows with such abandon in today’s parable. Yet, in spite of those obstacles, some of the seed falls on soil that is receptive and the harvest from that soil is beyond all reasonable expectations, even a hundred fold. The Lord continues to scatter the seed of his word today. He does so with abandon, so that it reaches as many people as possible. There will be great obstacles in the lives of many that will prevent the word from taking root in their hearts and bearing fruit in their lives. Yet, if the Lord finds some hearts that are receptive to his word, as the heart of Jeremiah was, he will be able to work through them for the good of others in ways that go beyond all expectations. In the words of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, his ‘power at work within us’ will be able ‘to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). We need never get discouraged by the failure of so many to hear the word, including our own failure to hear and receive it fully, because of all the good that the Lord can do through those who do hear his word and take it to their hearts. Jesus once spoke of God as making His sun to rise on the evil and on the good. This was the God that Jesus revealed in His own ministry. As with the farmer in the parable, much of what Jesus scattered was lost; it met with little or no response. Indeed, His gracious word often met with hostility. Yet, Jesus knew that some people were receiving the seed of His word, and that would be enough to bring about the harvest of God’s kingdom. Jesus may have been speaking a word of encouragement to His disciples, saying to them, ‘Despite all the setbacks, the opposition and hostility, God is at work and that work will lead to something wonderful’. In other words, ‘the seed is good and powerful. Whatever the odds against us, we must keep sowing’. In life, every human life has its own hardships. So much of our good effort can seem wasted. The forces working against us can threaten to grind us down and undermine our resolve. Yet, Jesus is assuring us, that there is more to life than our hardships and obstacles. The Lord of life is always at work even in the midst of the most unpromising of situations. If we wait in joyful hope, we will not ultimately be disappointed.

In our first reading today, the Lord called on Jeremiah to be His servant, in becoming the prophet to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, which was then in its last years of existence. The people of Israel, God’s first chosen people back then had been divided into two groups, and they had mostly disobeyed the Lord and His commandments, disregarded and refusing to follow His Law despite the many reminders and help provided to them by the Lord through His prophets and messengers. The northern kingdom of Israel then had been crushed and destroyed by the Assyrians, sent into exile in distant lands. The people of God in the southern kingdom of Judah had similarly lived in the same way, and they would soon share a similar fate to their brethren in the north. It therefore fell upon Jeremiah to be the one whom God sent to His people to tell them of their impending doom and all that they would have to face as a consequence for their rebelliousness and refusals to follow the path of God. Jeremiah Himself was unsure of the responsibilities and the charge placed upon him, but the Lord reassured and encouraged him, saying that He would be with him throughout the way, and He would guide and inspire him in whatever he was to say to those whom he had been sent to. He empowered Jeremiah and strengthened him, so that through His guidance, this simple man would become one of the great prophets, through whom many would be called to return to God and His path.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded to answer the call which the Lord had made to us, in everything which He had done for us, in leading us all to the right path in life. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the various and unique gifts, talents, opportunities and capabilities which God had sown in us, so that hopefully we may make good use of them for the benefit of everyone around us, for those whom we are interacting with. Through us and our efforts, and our interactions with others, we may inspire many more people to come and follow the Lord as well. As we reflect on the inspirational stories of the life of the Saints, especially St. Charbel Makhlouf, who we celebrate today, as well as the words we have heard today from the Sacred Scriptures on the calling and commissioning of the prophet Jeremiah, and also the parable of the sower, we are therefore reminded that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s disciples and followers, have the important responsibility and part to play in ensuring that our lives are truly faithful to the Lord, and that we are always open to the Lord guiding and strengthening each one of us in our respective lives. All of us must be like those seeds that grow in the rich and fertile soil, and hence, we should ensure that our lives and environment, that is our hearts and minds, our whole beings are truly conducive to allow our faith in God and our love for Him to continue to grow and develop. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to help and strengthen us all, so that in all that we do, we will continue to be inspired and encouraged to do our best, to be ever more faithful and to strive to follow Him in all of our lives. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may He empower each one of us and be our source of Hope and encouragement, be our Light and inspiration, and bless us always, in all of our deeds and efforts, in all of our good endeavours, for His greater glory. 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 been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! 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 teaching Lord, You desire to speak to me and to reveal to me all that You are. Help me to hear Your Voice so that I will come to know You more. Make my heart truly fertile soil in which the seed of Your Word is sown, so that You can produce within me an abundance of good fruit. 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 Charbel (Sharbel) Makhloūf and Saint Christina of Bolsena and Saint Christina the Astonishing ~ 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💖