SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 26, 2024

WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY [The Catholic Church celebrates the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly each year on the Sunday closest to the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents. This year it is July 28, 2024]

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Friday 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 26, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 26, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |July 26, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 26, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | July 26, 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: Friday July 26, 2024
Reading 1, Sirach 44:1, 10-15
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 132:11, 13-14, 17-18
Gospel, Matthew 13:16-17

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE, PARENTS OF THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (GRANDPARENTS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST) ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 26TH

Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ. Despite the importance of their role as the maternal grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ, we do not know too much about them. The couple’s faith and perseverance brought them through the sorrow of childlessness, to the joy of conceiving and raising the immaculate and sinless woman who would give birth to Christ. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints Joachim and Anne on this special feast day, we humbly pray for all for those seeking for the fruit of the womb, may God bless them with the gift of children; we pray for safe delivery for all expectant mothers; we pray for all women, men, parents and grandparents and the elderly. We pray for 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.🙏 

SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE, PARENTS OF THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (GRANDPARENTS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST): Sts. Joachim and Anne (1st c. B.C.), both of the tribe of Judah of the royal house of David, are venerated by the Church as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was probably their only child and grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint Joachim, whose name means “Yahweh prepares”, was a Shepherd from Jerusalem and probably rich. He married St. Anne from Bethlehem and Mary was promised to them by an Angel. They are honored as role models for parents. They did not have any children, and they were a rather elderly couple. They began to devote themselves to rigorous prayer and fasting, in isolation from one another and from society. They regarded their inability to conceive a child as a surpassing misfortune, and a sign of shame among the tribes of Israel. When, one day, while St. Joachim was at work in the fields as usual, an angel appeared to announce the birth of a child, and St. Anne also had the same vision. The angel revealed this to Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.” Their moment of joy at this happy news is depicted with their embrace and kiss at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem. It was from their holy and chaste marriage that the Immaculate Conception was brought into the world.

Saints Joachim and Anne called their little girl Mary, which means “loved by God,” and then they moved to Nazareth, where they educated Mary, teaching her the law of the Lord. The Blessed Virgin Mary had good, faithful parents who raised her with a love and devotion to God like none other except Jesus Christ Himself. According to tradition, when the Child Mary was three years old, they dedicated her to God and presented her to live in the Jerusalem temple until the time of her betrothal to St. Joseph. St. Anne has been honored from early Christian times. Churches were dedicated to her honor, and the Fathers, especially of the Eastern Churches, loved to speak of her sanctity and privileges. She is often represented as teaching her little daughter to read the Scriptures. St. Anne is invoked as the protector of pregnant women, who turn to her to obtain from God three great favours: a happy birth, a healthy child, and sufficient milk to be able to raise the baby. And she is the patron of many jobs related to her duties as mother, including washerwomen and embroiderers. St. Joachim has been honored from time immemorial in the Churches of the East, and since the 6th century public devotion to him has been observed in all countries. However, as in the case of St. Anne, the Gospel tells us nothing about his life. St. Joachim only found space in the liturgical calendar in 1584: initially on March 20th, moving to Sunday in the octave of the Assumption in 1738, then to August 16th in 1913, before rejoining his holy wife on July 26th with the new liturgical calendar.

According to tradition, Sts. Joachim and Anne came from Galilee to settle in Jerusalem in their old age, and there they born and raised the Blessed Mother of God; there also they died and were buried. We do not know when St. Joachim and Anne died, and for many centuries their memory remained in the shadows. A church was built during the 4th century, possibly by St. Helena, on the site of the home of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Jerusalem. Sts. Joachim and Anne serve as role models for parents and both deserve to be honored and emulated for their devotion to God and Our Lady Mary, the Mother of God. They are Patron Saints of Holy Family; Grandparents; Marriages. Saint Anne is the Patron Saint against poverty; barren; unmarried women; wives; expectant mothers; pregnancy; women in labor; grandmothers; childless couples; and against poverty and sterility; broommakers; cabinetmakers; carpenters; childless couples; equestrians; grandmothers; grandparents; homemakers; housewives; lace makers; lace workers; lost articles; miners; mothers; old-clothes dealers; horse riders; seamstresses; stablemen; sterility; turners; Brittany; Canada; France; Quebec; archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; Santa Ana Indian Pueblo; Taos, New Mexico. Women praying to meet their future spouse often turn to St. Anne. Saint Joachim is the Patrion Saint of fathers, grandfathers, grandparents. Their feast day is July 26th.

PRAYER: O Lord, God of our Fathers, who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace, that of them should be born the Mother of your incarnate Son, grant, through the prayers of both, that we may attain the salvation you have promised to your people. 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, Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/0726-memorial-joachim-anne.cfm

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 13:16-17

“Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see”

“Jesus said to His disciples: “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims blessed the eyes that see and the ears that hear. He is referring there to the eyes and ears of faith, all those among His own contemporaries who recognized God’s powerful presence in His own ministry. Jesus declares that many of the prophets and holy people of the past longed to see and hear what His contemporaries had the privilege of seeing and hearing. We share in that same privilege. We give thanks for all we have been allowed to see and hear of God’s presence in Jesus and for all those people of faith who preceded us and have made it possible for us to see and hear with the eyes and ears of faith. Jesus makes reference to all the forces that can prevent the seed of faith from growing to its full potential. There is the presence of the evil one, the great tempter. There are our own personal weaknesses, our tendency to turn from the Lord when trials come, our capacity to allow the worries and the pleasures of life to undermine our faith. Yet, Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that nothing need come between us the love of God. The Lord works to overcome those forces that separate us from Him and He does so above all through other people of faith, through the community of faith. We call that community of faith the church. Within the church, there are smaller communities of faith that help to nurture the seed of faith in our own lives. Jesus’ parents and grandparents were such a small community of faith in His life. We are all called in our own way to help form such small communities of faith, and in that way to help each other to grow towards the Lord. In this regard, Joachim and Anne can be our inspiration.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, on this great feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, who were remembered as loving parents who loved their daughter Mary and who taught her well in obeying God and in the ways of the world. They were Mary’s role models in life, and they should be ours too. It was because of Sts. Joachim and Anne’s own faith that Mary was able to make her great response of faith to God’s call to her through the angel Gabriel. The parents of Mary,  grandparents of Jesus helped to create that environment of faith in which He would grow in wisdom and in stature before others and God. Today’s feast encourages us to remember the people of faith who supported us on our own faith journey. We might remember especially our own parents and grandparents and the faith by which they lived and which helped to light the flame of faith in our own lives. We are reminded today to be appreciative and grateful for our grandparents and our elders who have shown us their love, care and concern. In our world today, due to changing nature of the family and relationships, many families tend to neglect their elders and forget about them, and many people do not even live with their own grandparents and the elders anymore, and this led to many of the latter facing hardships, challenges and loneliness in the conduct of their daily living and actions. We must not forget all the love that they had shown to us, much as how the Lord our God Himself has loved us all patiently. Our elderly and grandparents often made many sacrifices and went the extra mile for us without us realising it, and we often realised it only when it is already too late for us to do so, when they are no longer by our side. Today therefore as we have been reminded to develop that strong and genuine relationship with God, let us also remember those around us especially our elders and grandparents, all those who have loved us and are now living through their twilight years. We should continue to love them all and develop a strong, genuine and loving relationship with our elders and grandparents, in all that we do in our lives. Let our love for our elders and grandparents be good examples and inspirations for everyone that more and more people will continue to grow in love for their family members particularly their elders, and grow ever stronger in their faith in God. Let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed faith and commitment, and do our best to live our lives in a true Christian manner, distancing ourselves from sin and wickedness, and being faithful in all things that we may become inspiration and role models for one another. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may St. Joachim and St. Anne, their faith and dedication to God, their love for their daughter Mary, the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to inspire us always. May God bless each and every one of us, now and always. 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. We pray for all mothers, wives, those going through challenges in their marriages, Victims of verbal and spousal abuse, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. 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:

Saints Joachim and Anne, you were given the incredible privilege and responsibility to give birth to and raise the Immaculate Conception, the Mother of God. Her presence in your lives touched you both deeply and left you in awe of God’s grace. Please pray for me, that I may come to love your daughter and your Grandson with the same love you bore for each of them, so that I will enjoy their company in Heaven one day, just as you do today. Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for me. 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 Joachim and Saint Anne ~ 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💖