NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 13, 2024

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: REMINDER – The 2024 Novena for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven begins, Tuesday, August 6 and ends 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 Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time.

On this feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the safety and well-being of our children and children all over the world, especially those beginning the new school year. We pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We also pray for all teachers and other workers. And we continue to pray for peace, love and unity in our family and our world. May God keep us all safe and well. Amen 🙏

We continue to pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we 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 13, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 13, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 13, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 13, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 13, 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: Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Reading 1, Ezekiel 2:8-3:4
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
Gospel, Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: REMINDER – The 2024 Novena for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven begins, Tuesday, August 6 and ends 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: https://www.virgosacrata.com/novena-to-our-lady-of-the-assumption.html

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT PONTIAN, POPE AND SAINT HIPPOLYTUS, PRIEST,  MARTYRS; SAINT CASSIAN OF IMOLA, BISHOP; SAINT RADEGUNDE, QUEEN OF FRANCE; SAINT JOHN BERCHMANS, SEMINARIAN AND BLESSED MICHAEL McGIVNEY, PRIEST ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 13TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Pontian, Pope and Saint Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs; Saint Cassian of Imola, Bishop; Saint Radegunde, Queen of France and Saint John Berchmans, Seminarian and Blessed Michael McGivney. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all Altar Servers and Seminarians, may God’s guidance and blessings be upon them as they serve Him and we continue to pray for the safety and well-being of our children, students, youths, teachers and staff all over the world as they begin the new school year. We  pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the poor and needy, for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. And we 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.🙏

SAINT PONTIAN, POPE AND SAINT HIPPOLYTUS, PRIEST, MARTYRS: St. Pontian became Pope in the year 230. He was elected Pope in 230 to 235. Shortly afterwards, the Roman emperor began persecuting Christians. Five years later, after succeeding Pope Urban I, he was exiled by the Emperor Maximus to the mines of the Italian island of Sardinia, which was known for its harsh conditions during the period of Christian persecution. Before his arrest, Pope Pontian decided to resign from his papal office, he stepped down from his role as pope so that the Christian community could select another leader in his absence. He bore his suffering and persecution patiently for Christ and attained the crown of martyrdom for the faith in that same year.

Saint Hippolytus was a learned priest and well-respected theologian in the early third century. He was one of the most important writers and thinkers in the Church before the fourth century. St. Hippolytus was born about 170, he was already a priest and a personage of note when Origen heard him preach at Rome in 202, he was renowned for his eloquence. He became overzealous, however, and spoke out against several popes for being too lax with people who strayed from the faith, or for not denouncing a certain heresy forcefully enough. He thought the faithful should be an undefiled body of people. After becoming involved in unfortunate controversies and even regarded as a kind of antipope, because he was elected as a rival pope. St. Hippolytus returned to the fold and continued to defend the Church against all her enemies. But in 217 he rebelled against the Church when Callistus became Pope. He, too, was exiled in 235 to the Sardinian mines, where he met Pope Pontian. Pope Pontian helped Hippolytus reconcile with the Church before he died, and Hippolytus, too, died as a martyr. St. Hippolytus’ writings were important, during the first part of his life he produced the Scriptural writings that constitute the best part of his works (he wrote the earliest commentary on Scripture, that of the Book Daniel), and defended the faith. About 215 he wrote the “Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus” (for which he is probably best known), which contains the earliest known ritual of ordinations and is the equivalent of a Roman Ritual. “A Refutation of All Heresies”and the “Song of Songs”.

Both men labored in the Sardinian mines and finally gave their lives for the faith, they died there due to exhaustion about year 236. The bodies of both men were retrieved and returned to Rome for burial and veneration as martyrs for the faith. Relics of both saints rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. The Saints are Patron Saint of Montaldo Scarampi, Italy (St. Pontian) and prison guards (St. Hippolytus).

PRAYER: Lord, may the outstanding constancy of Your Martyrs increase our love for You and fill our hearts with ever greater firmness of faith. Amen. Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus, you were bitter rivals who reconciled before your exile and death—pray for us! 🙏

SAINT CASSIAN OF IMOLA, BISHOP: St. Cassian of Imola (4th c.) was the Bishop of Brescia near Milan, Italy. When a wave of persecution erupted under the Roman Emperor, St. Cassian fled to Imola, Italy, where he found work as a schoolmaster teaching children how to read and write. He was a disciplined and effective educator. In addition to instructing his students in the Christian faith, he also taught them a form of shorthand that allowed them to write as fast as they could speak. A city official discovered that St. Cassian was a Christian and denounced him to the government authorities. St. Cassian was arrested and ordered to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, which he refused. As punishment the local judge ordered that he be stripped, bound, and tied to a stake. He was then turned over to his pagan students, numbering about 200, to be tortured to death. His students used their iron styli (writing instruments) to mercilessly carve into his skin and slowly stab him to death. St. Cassian died from the many wounds inflicted all over his body. St. Cassian of Imola is the Patron Saint of students, school teachers, shorthand writers, court reporters, stenographers, and parish clerks. His feast day is August 13th.

Saint Cassian of Imola, Bishop ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT RADEGUNDE, QUEEN OF FRANCE: St. Radegunde (520-587) was a sixth century Frankish princess, queen of the Merovingian king Chlotar I at Poitiers and her life was renowned for miracles and virtues. She left her husband to become a nun and later founded a monastery at Poitiers, Convent of Our Lady of Poitiers. She was one of the first of the Merovingian saints. Although St. Radegunde identified with the Romans, she was herself a member of a barbarian tribe, the Thurginians, who settled in eastern Germany around present-day Erfurt. St. Radegunde was born a pagan in 520, the daughter of King Berthar, one of the three kings of Thuringia (located in present day Germany). When she was a little girl her uncle, Hermanfrid, killed her father, King Berthar in battle, leaving St. Radegunde an orphan. Then the Franks conquered Thurginia and carried off 12-year-old Radegunde as a prize. In France St. Radegunde became a Christian, but she was still essentially a captive. At age 18 the king of the Franks, Clothaire, forced St. Radegunde to marry him. Although the king was nominally a Christian, it was probably a bigamous relationship since Clothaire had gone through at least five wives by this time, and it is unlikely that they had all died or that the church had granted him five annulments. St. Radegunde became one of King Clotaire six wives. She bore him no children. It was a wretched marriage. No matter how many wives he had Clothaire was always on the lookout for his next conquest. He was violent and beat St.  Radegunde, blaming her because they had no children. Clotaire was “a man of shocking character.” As queen, despite her rank, she displayed great humility. St. Radegunde spent her time doing charitable work with the poor and the captives. She ministered to lepers and founded a hospital for them.

The antagonism between the royal couple came to a head in 550 when King Clothaire murdered St. Radegunde’s brother, then they had been married for six years. After Clothaire had her brother assassinated, she turned to God, she ran away, took vows as a nun, and sent St. Germanus, the bishop of Paris, to convince Clothaire to leave her in peace. Clothaire, who had always complained that he felt he was married to a nun rather than a queen, was happy to let Radegunde go. He even sent parting gifts to her convent. St. Radegunde founded a double monastery in Poitiers called Holy Cross. As the name of her convent suggests, she had a deep devotion to the Holy Cross and longed to have a fragment of the True Cross to venerate in her church. In 569 the Byzantine Emperor Justin II sent her a relic of the Holy Cross set in a reliquary of gold studded with jewels. To commemorate the arrival of so important a relic Venantius wrote a poem, “Vexilla regis prodeunt,” (The banners of the King go forth). The poem was set to music and is one of the loveliest hymns in the repertoire of Gregorian chant. St. Radegund was extensively written about by the poet, Venantius Fortunatus, and the bishop, hagiographer, and historian, Gregory of Tours. 

Women looking for a secure, serene escape from the violence of their age flocked to Holy Cross; many of them were from noble families, and a significant number were royalty. St. Radegunde designed a routine of prayer, contemplation, study, silence, austerity and works of charity. When Clotaire decided to bring her back to court, St. Germanus interceded on her behalf, and the repentant Clotaire sent Germanus back to St. Radegunde to ask her forgiveness and prayers. After her death, Radegunde’s face shone “with a brightness surpassing the beauty of lilies and roses.”St. Radegund died on August 13, 587 (aged 66–67), Abbey of the Holy Cross, Poitiers, Aquitaine, Kingdom of the Franks. According to legend, not long after St. Radegunde died in 587, one of her servants was deep-sea fishing when a storm came up suddenly and giant waves swamped his boat. Before the poor man even had a chance to start bailing, his boat filled with water and sank. As the terrified fisherman went under, he invoked St. Radegunde. A moment later he and his boat bobbed to the surface, the storm vanished, the sky was clear and the sea was calm. It was said that St. Radegundes performed numerous miracles and that Christ appeared to her a year before her death on August 13, 587. She is the Patron Saint of several English churches and of Jesus College, Cambridge, which was founded on the site of the monastery of Saint Mary and Saint Radegunde.

Saint Radegunde, Queen of France ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT JOHN BERCHMANS, SEMINARIAN: St. John (1599 – 1621) was born in 1599 in Diest, Brabant, Belgium, the son of a shoemaker. At a very young age he wanted to become a priest. At the age of six he served as an altar boy with great enthusiasm and passion. The child would wake early each day and serve two to three masses. His love for the Church, Christ, and the Blessed Mother only intensified over time and his only goal was to do even the simplest or most difficult task with love and devotion to Christ. He studied for three years under a parish priest who prepared boys for the priesthood and after his mother’s death, he entered the newly-opened Jesuit College at Mechlin in 1615, and a year later joined their novitiate. And his father and 2 brothers entered religious life; his father later became a priest.  St. John was known for his purity, obedience, and charity toward others. Popular among his friends, family and church officials. John studied to be a priest and eventually in 1618 he went to Rome for further education, he journeyed to Rome on foot to continue his studies at the Roman College.

After studying Philosophy for three years and having just graduated from his Jesuit studies, St. John was selected by his superiors to take part in public philosophy debate. While returning to Rome from the debate he contracted a cough and fever which eventually killed him. As this model Jesuit Seminarian lay on what turned out to be his deathbed, he clasped his rosary, his crucifix, and his book of rules and said: “These are my three treasures; with these I shall gladly die.” The very next day, August 13, 1621, St. John passed on to his heavenly reward. He died from dysentery and fever at the age of 22. He had a strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Our Lady. He composed a Chaplet in honor of her Immaculate Conception. He also composed a poem called ‘To an Altar Boy’. So numerous are the miracles attributed to his intercession that his popularity became almost cult-like after his passing. He was  beatified on May 28, 1865 and canonized on January 15, 1888 by Pope Leo XIII. He’s the Patron Saint of Altar Servers; Altar boys; Jesuit scholastics; Seminarians and Students.

PRAYER: God, You inspired St. John Berchmans to strive for perfect charity and so attain Your Kingdom at the end of his pilgrimage on earth. Strengthen us through his intercession that we may advance rejoicing in the way of love. Amen 🙏

QUOTES OF SAINT JOHN BERCHMANS:
☆ “Our true worth does not consist in what human beings think of us. What we really are consists in what God knows us to be.” ☆ “If I do not become a saint when I am young, I shall never become one.” ☆ “To merit the protection of Mary, the smallest act of veneration would be enough, provided that it is performed with constancy.” ☆ “My penance is to live the common life… I will pay the greatest attention to the least inspiration of God.”

  TO AN ALTAR BOY / ALTAR SERVER
 
A Poem by St. John Berchmans

To be Christ’s page at the altar, To serve Him freely there. Where even the Angels falter, Bowed low in reverent prayer.

To touch the throne most holy, To hand the gifts for the feast, To see Him meekly, lowly, Descend at the word of the priest.

To hear man’s poor petition, To sound the silver bell, When He in sweet submission, Comes down with us to dwell.

No grander mission surely Could Saints or men enjoy; No heart should love more purely, Than yours my altar boy.

God bless you, lad, forever, And keep you in His care, And Guard you that you never Belie the robes you wear.

For white bespeaks untainted A heart both tried and true; And red tolls love the sainted, The holy martyrs knew.

Throughout life, then, endeavor God’s graces to employ; And be in heart forever A holy altar boy.

Saint John Berchmans, be my Patron!
 
BLESSED MICHAEL McGIVNEY, PRIEST: Bl. Michael McGivney was eldest son of an immigrant Irish family in Connecticut,  young Michael left school at 13 to work in a brass factory making spoons. At 16 he began studies for the priesthood in Quebec, but was obliged to leave to help support the family when his father died. Bl. Michael completed his education in Baltimore, Maryland, and was ordained for the diocese of Hartford in 1877. Assigned to St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven, Fr. McGivney was very active in parish and civic affairs, serving as director of public plays and fairs. He volunteered to become the guardian of Alfred Downes, a minor whose father had died leaving a large family in poverty. This situation as well as his own family’s circumstances and that of other immigrants impressed on Fr. McGivney the need for lay Catholic men to establish a mutual aid society to provide financial assistance for their families if the primary wage earner died. Protestant fraternal groups already provided this type of life insurance protection for their members.

In 1882, Fr. McGivney formed the Knights of Columbus among a small group of St. Mary’s parishioners to promote charity, unity, and fraternity, assisting widows and orphans. Because of the Knights’ emphasis on serving Church, community and family, the organization grew and did not remain strictly parish-based. Patriotism was added as a founding principle in 1900. Father McGivney died from pneumonia in 1890 and was buried in Thomaston, Connecticut. Later his body was moved back to St. Mary’s in New Haven where it remains today. He was beatified in 2020.

Blessed Michael McGivney, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

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

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones”

“The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ disciples ask Him, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ In response to their question after their debates and their struggles with each other to determine who among them was truly the greatest and the first among the disciples of the Lord, Jesus does not say the greatest are the most successful, the strongest, those who outdo others in skill and power. Rather, He took a child, one of the least significant in the culture of the time, and declared that children are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Those who, in Jesus’ time, had no status or power or influence or expertise or skill are the greatest in the kingdom of God. What makes them great in God’s kingdom is their openness to receive God’s presence in Jesus. Today we can still recognize that openness to the Lord in children. Jesus then goes on to call on His disciples and on all of us to become like little children, and declares that unless we do so we will not enter the kingdom of God. Children can be our teachers. As Jesus said, all of us ought to have the faith like that of little children because it is this kind of faith which is truly pure and genuine, not tainted and corrupted by the desires of the world, truly loving God and committing oneself to follow Him wholeheartedly instead of being so immersed and preoccupied by worldly matters and desires that we end up forgetting our true and most important mission in life as Christians, that is to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and might, and to love one another in the same way as well. As adults we need to be as open to the Lord’s presence as children are. Then we will be great in the kingdom of God.

According to the Gospel reading today, the Lord then also reiterated this love which He has for each and every one of us. He told His disciples using the comparison with that of a shepherd and owner of the flock who would leave behind his ninety-nine safely accounted flock of sheep to seek for the one that had been lost to him. This is a representation and reminder to every one of us of just how beloved we are by the Lord and how precious we truly are to Him, that God will not let any one of us to be lost to Him. He will always show us His patient love and mercy, reaching out to us ever consistently and patiently to bring us out of the darkness into the light of His salvation and grace. That is why we all should heed His love and appreciate just how blessed all of us are to have been beloved in such a manner by our loving God, our Shepherd and Father.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel is the continuation of the vision of the prophet Ezekiel which he received from God. In that vision, the prophet Ezekiel was tasked to speak to the people of Israel, the people of God, in order to remind them of the words that the Lord wanted to share with those people, the lamentations, the groaning and the woes which He had for them, for all of their stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to His words, despite everything that He had done for them. It was their own wickedness and disobedience, their refusal to follow the path that God has set before them which led them to their then predicament and hardships, as they were enduring exile and sufferings far away from the lands that they had been uprooted from, the lands of their ancestors. Yet, God still cared for them and loved them nonetheless, and He reached out to them through His many prophets and messengers with this specifically in mind. God loved His people, each and every one of them, and He sent them prophets like Ezekiel and many others so that they might recognise their errors and wickedness, and embrace once again the path of God’s righteousness and virtues. And not only that, but He even sent us all, His most beloved Son, His only Begotten One, Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Divine Word Incarnate to manifest to us His ever enduring and present love, and as our loving and Good Shepherd, He wants us all to be found and gathered from this world, each and every one of us, the lost sheep of the Lord’s flock.

As we reflect on the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us should be willing to listen to God, to heed His words and the calling which He had made to us in each and every moments of our lives, as He has constantly done so, in reaching out to us and calling on us to return to Him and to embrace His love and grace once again. It is by our disobedience that we have fallen into sin and therefore been sundered from the fullness of God’s grace and love, and therefore that is why we have to wander and suffer in this world, as consequences of our rebelliousness and disobedience. But God truly did not wish for our destruction and damnation, and He truly wants each and every one of us to be reconciled and reunited with Him, and that is why He has always provided us with the means, help and guidance in order to do so, and we should heed what He has told and reminded us of. As we reflect on the great examples and inspiration shown by the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus and all the other Saints we celebrate today, let us all as Christians continue to strive to be faithful and committed to God, rejecting the evils and wickedness of this world, and follow Him in all of the ways of our lives. Let us all be willing to work with one another, overcoming our differences and seek forgiveness for one another just as Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus had shown us. Each and every one of us as Christians should be great role models and examples for our fellow brethren in everything that we say and do, in our every efforts and endeavours in our lives. May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey of faith in life, and may He continue to strengthen and empower us so that in everything that we do, we will always continue to glorify the Lord by our every actions, words and deeds in life. May God in His infinite grace and mercy,  grant us the grace  and the resources, we need to live as He is calling us to live and desires us to live. May He bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, 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, Nigeria, 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:

Jesus, my Good Shepherd, Your love and compassion are incredible. You are a God of the utmost mercy. Please open my eyes to see You as You are, and dispel all fear from my heart. Please forgive me of my sin, lift me up, and carry me back to Your fold. 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 Pontian and Saint Hippolytus; Saint Cassian; Saint Radegunde; Saint John Berchmans and Blessed Michael McGivney ~ 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💖