EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 5, 2024

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: REMINDER – The 2024 Novena for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, August 6 and end on August 15. The novena is a prayer that commemorates the death of Mary and her assumption into Heaven, which is celebrated on August 15. 
[Novena link below]

Greetings beloved family and Happy Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time! 

On this special feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for justice, peace and unity in our families and our divided and conflicted world. We 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 | August 5, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 5, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 5, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 5, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 5, 2024 |

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

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Monday, August 5, 2024
Reading 1, Jeremiah 28:1-17
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102
Gospel, Matthew 14:13-21

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: REMINDER – The 2024 Novena for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, August 6 and end on August 15. The novena is a prayer that commemorates the death of Mary and her assumption into Heaven, which is celebrated on August 15. 
[Novena link – https://www.virgosacrata.com/novena-to-our-lady-of-the-assumption.html]

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST OF THE  DEDICATION OF THE BASILICA OF SAINT MARY MAJOR; SAINT EMYGDIUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR AND SAINT OSWALD, KING AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 5TH: Today, we celebrate the Feast of the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Dedication of The Church of Our Lady of The Snow), we also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Emygdius, Bishop and Martyr and Saint Oswald, King and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast of Our Lady of the Snow, we humbly pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray against earthquakes and other calamities. We also pray for those going through difficulties especially during these challenging times, for the poor and the needy. And we continue to pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world.🙏

FEAST OF THE  DEDICATION OF THE BASILICA OF SAINT MARY MAJOR: Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major previously known as Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Nives (Dedication of The Church of Our Lady of The Snow). This is one of the four great Papal Major Basilicas, and the greatest of all the Marian churches and basilicas dedicated to Mary, the Blessed Mother of God. It Commemorates the Dedication of the restored Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, by Pope Sixtus III, just after The First Council of Ephesus. This Major Basilica, located on the summit of The Esquiline Hill, in Rome, Italy, is called the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Latin: Sancta Mariae Majoris) because it is the largest Church in Rome that is Dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast commemorates the miracle of the snowfall that occurred during the night of August 4-5 in the year 358 on the site where the basilica now stands. According to tradition, the miracle, which inspired the construction of the papal Marian basilica, involved a miraculous snowfall in Rome on August 5 in the year 358. The name came from the ancient legend that during the pontificate of Liberius, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to two wealthy childless faithful Roman Christians, patrician John and his wife as well as to Pope Liberius (352-366), asking that a church be built in her honor on the site where snow would fall on the night of August 4-5. The couple had no heirs, they prayed to know how their fortune should be used for God. Our Lady answered them in a dream and asked that a church be built in her honor. As a result, they vowed to give all their possessions to the Virgin Mary, and prayed that she would show them how to dispense of their treasures. She also appeared in a dream to the Holy Father with the same request. Then, on the night of August 5, 358, in the middle of the hot Roman summer, snow fell on the summit of the city’s Esquiline hill. All of Rome proclaimed it a miracle, and a basilica was built on the spot according to the outline of the pattern of snow in obedience to a vision of Mary the couple had that night. Pope Liberius traced the outlines of the church in the snow and the first basilica was built on that site. It was completed about a century later by Pope Sixtus III (432-440), after the Council of Ephesus in 431 during which Mary was declared to be the Mother of God. Sixtus III enlarged and consecrated it under the title of the Virgin Mary about the year 435. The principal facade was added in 1741 by Benedict XIV. It bears the title of St.Mary Major, or the Greater, because it is in dignity, if not in antiquity, the first church in Rome among those dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. Saint Mary Major is one of only four Basilicas that, today, hold the Title of Major Basilica. The other three Basilicas are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter’s and Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls.

The church, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), is the largest church in the world, and one of the first, dedicated to Our Lady. Among the four major papal basilicas in Rome, St. Mary Major is the only one that maintained its original structure. Mosaics dating back to the 5th century can be seen in the central nave of the basilica, which also houses the relic of the Holy Crib from the birth of Christ. From the fact that the holy crib of Bethlehem is preserved in this church, it also bears the title of Sancta Maria ad Praesepe (at the Crib). St. Mary Major is one of the three patriarchal churches in which the Pope officiates on certain occasions, and in which there is an altar reserved only for him, St. Peter’s and St. John Lateran being the others. The Church universal commemorates the consecration of the four great Roman basilicas. By means of these feasts the Church seeks to link all Christians with the Holy See. In honor of the special day, a shower of white flowers is dropped from the ceiling of the Basilica, now known as Saint Mary Major, to commemorate the “Miracle of the Snow” in 358. This great celebration of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major should serve as a moment for us all to recall the role of the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, in the history of our salvation. Through her, we have received the Saviour of the world, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Forgive the sins of your people. May we who cannot please You by our unaided efforts attain salvation through the intercession of the Mother of Your Son. Amen 🙏

SAINT EMYGDIUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR: St. Emygdius, also called Emidius, lived in the 3rd and 4th century and he was a pagan of Trier, Germany, who became a Christian bishop in Ascoli Piceno in Italy. Tradition states that he was killed during the persecution of Diocletian. He converted many people to Christianity with his displays of miracles. His legend states that he was a pagan of Trier who became a Christian. He traveled to Rome and cured the paralytic daughter of his host Gratianus, who had let him stay with him at his house on Tiber Island. Gratianus’ family then converted to Christianity. St. Emygdius also cured a blind man. The people of Rome believed him to be the son of Apollo and carried him off by force to the Temple of Aesculapius on the island in the Tiber, where he cured many of the sick. St. Emygdius declared himself a Christian, however, and tore down the pagan altars and smashed into pieces a statue of Aesculapius. He also converted many to Christianity; this enraged the prefect of the city. Because of a number of miracles performed including curing the sick, Pope St. Marcellus I or Pope Marcellinus made him a bishop and sent him to Ascoli Piceno. On his way to Ascoli, St. Emydgius made more conversions, and performed a miracle where he made water gush out of a mountain after striking a cliff.

When St. Emygdius arrived, Polymius, the local governor, attempted to convince St. Emygdius to worship Jupiter and the goddess Angaria, the patroness of Ascoli. Polymius also offered him the hand of his daughter Polisia in marriage. Instead St. Emygdius baptized her as a Christian in the waters of the Tronto, along with many others. Enraged, Polymius decapitated him on the spot now occupied by the Sant’Emidio Red Temple, as well as his followers Eupolus (Euplus), Germanus, and Valentius (Valentinus). St. Emygdius stood up, simply carried his own head to a spot on a mountain where he and his followers had constructed an oratory (the site of the present-day Sant’Emidio alla Grotte). After Emygdius’ martyrdom, his followers attacked Polymius’ palace and pulled it down. St. Emygdius’ relics are in Ascoli, where he suffered martyrdom with Eupolus, Germanus, and Valentius. The translation of his relics from the catacomb of Sant’Emidio alla Grotte to the crypt of the cathedral happened probably around the year 1000 under Bernardo II, bishop of Ascoli Piceno. St. Emygdius is considered to have protected Ascoli from other dangers. A dazzling vision of St. Emygdius is said to have deterred Alaric I from destroying Ascoli in 409. The troops of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor passed through the region in 1038 carrying the plague; Bernardo I, bishop of Ascoli, invoked St. Emydgius’ aid and the plague stopped. When, in 1703, Ascoli Piceno was spared destruction during an earthquake, people put it down to the hand of Saint Emygdius. He has ever since been invoked against the effects of earthquakes. During World War II, on October 3, 1943, St. Emygdius is said to have protected the city against German movements against the Italian partisans. He is a Patron Saint against earthquakes.

Saint Emygdius, Bishop and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT OSWALD, KING AND MARTYR: St. Oswald, the holy Martyr and King was born in the year 604, being the son of the pagan King Aethelfrith of Bernicia. In 616, following on the death of his father who was defeated and killed by Raedwald, he was forced to flee with his six brothers and sister St. Ebba to exile in Scotland, where they were received with honor by King Donald Brecc. There he received the faith of Christ and was baptized on the holy island of Iona. When his uncle, King St. Edwin of Northumbria, was killed in battle against pagan King Penda of Mercia and Welsh King Cadwallon in 633, Oswald assembled an army and in 634 defeated a superior force under Cadwallon, who was killed in a battle near Hexham, and Oswald became King of Northumbria.

St. Oswald attributed his victory to a vision he had had of St. Columba promising him victory and to a huge cross he had erected the night before the battle. The cross was said to have survived for over a century, and St. Bede reported that small pieces of the cross were immersed in water and the water used to heal both cattle and humans of illness. St. Bede the Venerable commemorates his deeds. He brought St. Aidan to his kingdom to preach Christianity, gave him the island of Lindisfarne for his see, and acted as his interpreter. He built churches and monasteries, brought in monks from Scotland to bring his people back to Christianity, and was known for his personal piety and charity. He married Cyneburga, daughter of Cynegils, first Christian king of Wessex, and died a few years later, on August 5, while fighting against the superior forces of Penda at Maserfield. He was only thirty-seven at his death. St Oswald was celebrated for his heroism, his generosity and his piety.

Saint Oswald, the holy Martyr and King ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

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

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 14:13-21

“The feeding of the five thousand; They all ate as much as they wanted”

“When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over– twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus planned to go away with His disciples to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. However, a crowd of people got there ahead of them, wanting to be in the presence of Jesus. Far from getting upset or annoyed, He had compassion on the crowd and began to heal their sick. The needs of others always come first for Jesus; His own plans will always come second to their needs. The Lord is always there for each one of us. When we come before Him, we are never disturbing Him. He lives to serve us just as much today as during His public ministry. As the day wore on, Jesus disciples recognized that people were getting hungry. The obvious solution to this problem for the disciples was to send the crowds away to buy food in the neighbouring villages. However, Jesus saw a different solution to their need for food; He would feed them Himself, with the help of the disciples. The disciples brought the little food the crowd had to Jesus and, in some mysterious way we don’t understand, Jesus fed the crowd so that everyone was satisfied. Having served the crowd by healing their sick, He now served them by feeding them, satisfying their hunger. The actions of Jesus over the bread – taking, blessing, breaking, giving – remind us of what Jesus would go on to do at the last supper and of what happens at every Mass. At every Mass, Jesus in His compassion continues to feed us, not with bread and fish, but with Himself, the Bread of Life. If the Lord is always there for us, He is there for us in a very special way at every Eucharist. He then sends us out from Mass to feed others with His presence, as the disciples fed the crowd with the food Jesus provided. Today’s Gospel reading suggests that the Lord will always encourage us to take on some service of others, even when we may feel that our resources are inadequate. If we are generous with those few resources, the Lord will then work with them and through them in ways that will surprise us. The Lord can work wonders through the very ordinary and sometimes unpromising looking resources and gifts that we possess. We have to do our bit, like the disciples in the Gospel reading, but the Lord always does much more. Yet, if we are not willing to do the little we can with what we have, the Lord’s own capacity for ministry to others is curtailed. The Lord needs our resources, small and inadequate as they may seem, to continue His good work among us and in the world.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah talks about the moment when there was a confrontation between Jeremiah and one called Hananiah before the king of Judah, Zedekiah, who also happened to be the last king of Judah before its destruction. Hananiah was a false prophet because he was not sent by God and did not speak according to whatever He has willed and desired, but instead presented his own thoughts and false ideas to the king and people of Judah. There were also others like him, the other false prophets who had led Judah and its people astray ever further from God, even as the Lord had constantly reminded His people through Jeremiah and many of his predecessors. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s truth, telling them how Judah’s days were numbered and the kingdom would soon be destroyed by the Babylonians, the city and the Temple, the House of God would soon be destroyed as well. On the other hand, Hananiah spoke to the king and to the people of Judah the message that they wanted to hear, the message of false comfort and consolation as he spoke of how the yoke of Babylon would be destroyed and that the kingdom and people of Judah would be freed from their enemies. Hananiah and the other false prophets were pandering to try to gain favours with the king and the people by telling them whatever they wanted to listen to, all the good things and happy things which were indeed nice to be listened to, but which could not be further from the truth. According to historical and Scriptural evidences, they were also aligned with many within the kingdom of Judah then who were trying to align the kingdom with the forces of the Egyptians, hoping that their politics and alliances would be able to regain Judah its independence and freedom from Babylon. Unfortunately, it was exactly this which led to the ultimate downfall and destruction of Judah, just as Jeremiah had told the people.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, on this feast of the dedication of the basilica of Saint Mary Major (Our Lady of the Snows), we are all reminded that we are all God’s children, and His mother is also our mother. All of us should follow the examples that our Lord Himself and His blessed Mother have shown us, and refrain ourselves from continuing to live in the state of sin and disobedience against God. The Lord and His mother Mary have called us all to leave behind our past wickedness and sins, and come once again into the loving embrace and His saving grace, and through Mary’s help we truly can make this a reality. We are told of the story of God’s enduring love and kindness for each and every one of us, while at the same time He also wants us to turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils, all the sins which we have committed in our respective lives. We must not easily be swayed and tempted by all the temptations and falsehoods present all around us in this world, which many of our predecessors had been tempted by, and led to them falling into the path of wickedness of sin, distancing themselves from God’s grace and love. We are all reminded that God has always loved each and every one of us, and He desired for all of us to be reunited and reconciled fully with Him, and that was why, He has reached out to us through His loving Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and also His Blessed Mother, Mary, whom we commemorate today. Let us all therefore first remind ourselves of God’s great love, and consider just how fortunate we are to have been loved in such a manner by the Lord. And then, let us all continue to propagate and showcase this great love of God in our world today, by living our own lives worthily in the path that God has shown and taught us. May the Lord, our most loving God and Master, be with us always, and may His blessed Mother Mary, our Patroness and Protectress, our blessed mother and gentle guide, continue to help us and intercede for us sinners. May the Lord be with us all His Church and faithful ones, may we all be strengthened and encouraged to live our lives with ever greater faith from now on. And may God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to remain steadfast in our faith, even in our weakness, may our Mother, Holy Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Mother of God, pray for us your children, we who are sinners and unworthy, now and always. Amen.🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST:

MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church dedicates the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, she was conceived without the corruption of sin through the foreseen and infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. Over the centuries, as saints and theologians reflected on how Mary pondered and treasured the sacred events from the life of Christ in her holy heart, as attested in Scripture, her pure heart was recognized as something to be imitated. Devotion to Our Lady’s purity of heart began to flower—so much so that in the 17th century, St. John Eudes promoted it alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion rose to a new level after the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, when Mary revealed an image of her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST – FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

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:

Most generous Lord, You pour forth Your grace and mercy in superabundance. As I receive all that You bestow, please fill my heart with generosity so that I will never hesitate to offer Your mercy to others. Please use me as Your instrument, dear Lord, so that, through me, You may abundantly feed others. 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, Our Lady of the Snow; Saint Emygdius and Saint Oswald ~ 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 month of August and week🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖