TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 21, 2024
Greetings, beloved family and Happy Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time!
On this feast day, as our children and children all over the world begin the new school year, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe andh well. Amen 🙏
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5
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 21, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 21, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 21, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 21, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 21, 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:Wednesday August 21, 2024
Reading 1, Ezekiel 34:1-11
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
Gospel, Matthew 20:1-16
NOVENA TO SAINT MONICA: Traditionally prayed every day from August 18–26 (Or any time of year). Novena to Saint Monica is eqspecially prayed for wayward children. [Novena link – https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/novena-to-saint-monica/]
Memorial of Saint Monica is August 27
Memorial of Saint Augustine is August 28
Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine. She is credited for being a holy and faith-filled mother whose prayers brought about the conversion of her son, Augustine. This novena can be prayed for any intention, especially for wayward children.
Dear Saint Monica, you were once the mournful mother of a prodigal son. Your faithfulness to prayer brought you and your son so close to God that you are now with him in eternity. By your intercession and God’s grace, your son St. Augustine became a great and venerable Saint of the Church. Please take my request to God with the same fervor and persistence with which you prayed for your own son. (Mention your intentions here)
With your needs, worries and anxieties, you threw yourself on the mercy and providence of God. Through sorrow and pain, you constantly devoted yourself to God. Pray for me that I might join you in such a deep faith in God’s goodness and mercy. Above all, dear Saint Monica, pray for me that I may, like your son, turn from my sin and become a great Saint for the glory of God.
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be… Amen 🙏
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST OF OUR LADY OF KNOCK AND SAINT PIUS X, POPE ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 21ST: Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Knock and Saint Pius X, Pope. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Pius, Pope on this feast day, we humbly pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, 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.🙏
OUR LADY OF KNOCK: On August 21, 1879 an event took place that would forever have a profound impact on the tiny and relatively unknown town of Knock, Ireland. Our Lady is said to have appeared in Ireland to two women in the back of the town church. The Virgin Mary was clothed in white garments and wearing a brilliant crown. By her side was St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist. Behind them, an altar with a lamb and a cross on it, at the gable wall of the parish church of the village of Knock in County Mayo. The women called several others to the church who were also able to see this miracle. The miracle was witnessed by 15 people. Ten days after the apparition a young girl, born deaf, was able to hear. By the end of 1800, over 300 cures were recorded by the parish priest. One-and-a-half million people make a pilgrimage to Knock annually. In the 1970’s a new church was built, which Pope John Paul II visited in 1979. It was during the centenary celebrations that the pope raised the church to the status of Basilica of Our Lady Queen of Ireland. The Shrine at Knock draws almost two million people each year and many healings have been reported there. Our Lady of Knock appeared to a variety of people on that faithful night. Even though she never spoke a single word, her miraculous appearance comforted the people of Ireland and gave a renewed vigor to the faith of those of the Emerald Isle, and encouraged many to turn to the Virgin Mary and she has become the country’s “queen.”
The anniversary of this apparition is remembered each year at the Knock Shrine on August 21st with a special liturgy offered at the site of Mary’s appearance. However, the rest of Ireland celebrates Our Lady of Knock on August 17th. It is classified as a “memorial,” and parishes around Ireland may celebrate Our Lady’s apparition on that day. Currently this celebration is only on select calendars, primarily in Ireland, and not on the universal Roman calendar. According to Knock Shrine, “Although the Anniversary of the Apparition takes place on the 21st of August, the 17th of August was chosen as the Feast day of our Lady of Knock, as the 21st August is already assigned to St. Pius X, the Pope of the Eucharist.“ For the rest of Ireland (and most of the Roman Catholic world), August 21 remains dedicated to St. Pius X. The rationale behind the switching of liturgical days is to give more focus to a particular feast day, instead of supplanting one that is already being widely celebrated.
PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF KNOCK: Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland, you gave hope to our people in a time of distress and comforted them in sorrow. You have inspired countless pilgrims to pray with confidence to your divine Son, remembering His promise: “Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find”. Help me to remember that we are all pilgrims on the road to heaven. Fill me with love and concern for my brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those who live with me. Comfort me when I am sick or lonely or depressed. Teach me how to take part ever more reverently in the Holy Mass. Give me a greater love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Pray for me now and at the end of my death. Amen🙏
SAINT PIUS X, POPE: Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914) was born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto. He became the 259th Pope and was the first Pope elected in the 20th century. He came to the papal office in 1903 and died 11 years later in 1914, just as World War I was beginning. Two of the most outstanding accomplishments of this saintly Pope were the inauguration of the liturgical renewal and the restoration of frequent Communion from childhood. He also waged an unwavering war against the heresy and evils of Modernism, gave great impetus to Biblical studies, and brought about the codification of Canon Law. His overriding concern was to renew all things in Christ.
St. Pius X was born and saw the light of earth at Riesi, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, then under the political control of Austrian Empire (now in the province of Treviso, Veneto, Italy) on June 2, 1835. He was the second of ten children, three brothers and six sisters from an impoverished family of Giovanni Battista Sarto (1792–1852), the village postman, and Margherita Sanson (1813–1894). He was baptised on June 3, 1835. Though poor, his parents valued education, and Giuseppe walked 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to school each day. He felt a calling to be a priest at a young age. Drawn to the priesthood, he received a scholarship to enter one of the best seminaries of his day, and was ordained in 1858. After 26 years, he was named bishop of Mantua, Italy, and in 1893, he became patriarch of Venice. After the death of Pope Leo III, who made him cardinal, he was elected Supreme Pontiff in 1903. Saint Pius X was a man of virtue, sanctity, and zeal, and a great defender of the Catholic faith against heresy. He ranks as one of the greatest reforming popes in history. In his eleven-year pontificate he contributed to reforms in papal elections, seminary life, Eucharistic practice, liturgy, biblical studies, the Divine Office, catechesis, revised the Breviary, reorganized the Roman Curia, and initiated the codification of canon law. He was also known as a pastoral pope for encouraging Catholic social action as well as the development of personal holiness, piety, and a daily lifestyle which reflected deep Christian values. He promoted the reading of the Bible, the Sacred Scripture by all the lay faithful, and reformed the liturgy, promoted clear and simple homilies, and brought back Gregorian chant. He harshly denounced the evil of Modernism as “the summation of all heresies.”
As Pope, St. Pius X lowered the age of First Holy Communion to the age of reason. He issued decrees making the age of First Holy Communion earlier (at the age of 7) and advocated frequent and even daily reception of the Eucharist. He was particularly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Confidence. Above all, St. Pius X’s holiness shone forth conspicuously. From him we learn again that “the folly of the Cross”, simplicity of life, and humility of heart are still the highest wisdom and the indispensable conditions of a perfect Christian life, for they are the very source of all apostolic fruitfulness. The Saint’s last will and testament bears the striking sentence: “I was born poor, I have lived in poverty, and I wish to die poor.” St. Pius X saw the light of heaven on August 20, 1914, died of natural causes reportedly aggravated by worries over the beginning of World War I. Pope Pius X was canonized by his successor Pope Pius XII on May 29, 1954. He’s the Patron Saint of Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia; diocese of Des Moines, Iowa: first communicants; diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Montana; pilgrims; diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri. His feast day is August 21st.
PRAYER: God, to preserve the Catholic faith and renew all things in Christ, You filled Pope St. Pius with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fortitude. Grant that we may follow his direction and example and be rewarded with eternal life with You. Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope | Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 20:1-16
“Are you envious because I am generous?”
“Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
In today’s Gospel reading according to St. Matthew, the Lord spoke to His disciples as He told them the parable of the workers in a vineyard, called and chosen by the master of the vineyard to be working in his field at different appointed times, right up to the very last moments. In that parable, different people responded to the master’s call at different times, some earlier while some later, and in the end, they all received the same pay and compensation from the master of the vineyard, a silver coin each as he had agreed with each and every one of them. But some of those people were unhappy because they had answered the master’s call earlier and worked for longer, and yet, they were not rewarded more. They had likely expected that they would be awarded more for their efforts. This is an important reminder for each and every one of us that we should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly desires, ambitions and the seeking of attainments and achievements in this world. God gives us all freely His love and salvation, assuring each and every one of us of His equal and most generous love, but He does not discriminate us by our efforts, nor that we can be more worthy or any better than our fellow brethren simply by us thinking that we have done more good things and deeds in our lives, or that we have observed more of God’s Law and commandments. This was in fact also a veiled criticism that the Lord directed towards the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of His time, many of whom had elitist attitudes and often looked down on those whom they viewed as inferior and unworthy of God’s salvation, love and grace. Instead of being jealous of one another or thinking that we are in any way superior than one another, we should help each other in our path towards the Lord. And rather than comparing ourselves with others, thinking that we are superior and better, or by being endlessly preoccupied with finding out whether we are more worthy or not, we should instead focus our thoughts, efforts and attention to reorientate our lives towards the Lord and to do our best at every opportunities that have been given to us so that we may remember to do our works, our every actions, efforts and deeds all for the sake and glory of God instead of for our own glorification, fame, power or benefits instead. If we allow the temptations of our ego, pride and desire to corrupt and turn us away from the focus that we ought to have in God, then we may end up falling through the slippery slope of sin instead of coming closer to God and His salvation.
According to the Gospel, the complaint of those who worked for the whole day in the vineyard seems very reasonable to us, ‘you have treated those who only worked one hour the same as us’. This certainly doesn’t correspond to modern employment practice. It would be unheard of for two people doing the same work to be paid the same wage if one worked all day and the other worked for one hour. Such practice would have been just as unacceptable in the time and place of Jesus. Jesus must have known that his parable would leave people feeling uncomfortable. This is not the way the world works. Perhaps that is the very point of the parable. Life within God’s kingdom does not work as the world does. The parable ends with the vineyard owner’s question, ‘Why be envious because I am generous?’ It is a question that goes to the heart of the parable’s meaning. Jesus is declaring that God is generous in a way that goes way beyond the norms of human justice. God’s way of relating to us is not based on human merit. Jesus reveals God to be someone whose boundless mercy and generosity can appear scandalous to many, including those who thought of themselves as religious. This is God revealed by the father in the parable of the prodigal son. The son did not deserve the welcome he received, no more than those who worked an hour deserved a day’s wages. Jesus reveals a God who wants to be as generous as possible with the gift of salvation, the gift of life. God does not relate to us on the basis of what we have earned or deserved. God relates to us out of a generosity which is more than human; God gives us life in abundance as a free gift. What we have done to earn it is not ultimately decisive. Rather than being disturbed by such a parable, it can be heard as good news for us all. God relates to us in this generous way to inspire us to be as generous in our dealings with each other as God is with us. Jesus declares that God does not treat us on the basis of what we deserve. God’s favour is freely bestowed on those who are unworthy of it. It is an unmerited free gift. We are called to receive this gift in all humility and to allow this grace to shape our lives. We are to freely give to others as we have freely received from the Lord.
In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord issued strong rebuke and condemnation against those shepherds of Israel who have not done as they should in guiding and taking care of the people of God, the flock of Israel, God’s own beloved people. This was a reference to how the kings and the other leaders of the Israelites had not done what they were supposed to do in leading the people of God and shepherding them properly as they should have done. They instead misled them down the path of sin, by disobeying God’s Law and commandments, worshipping pagan gods and false idols that led the people away from the worship of God, the one and only True God Whom alone they ought to worship. In their lack of faith and obedience to God, that was why the Lord warned all those wicked shepherds, leaders and guides, reminding them all how misfortune and sufferings would befall them as a just consequence for their lack of virtue and commitment to the missions entrusted to them. And to us all, this is a reminder that we ourselves are also entrusted with similar tasks, missions and responsibilities in our own paths and journeys in life. And if we do not make the necessary efforts to live our lives worthily of the Lord and be the good role models and inspirations for one another, then we shall also be held accountable by the Lord as well. We must not let this happen to us, and we should always remind ourselves to be ever more committed and true to our faith in God at all times.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to embrace God’s call and listen to Him calling us to follow Him. And as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we have also been tasked with the various missions, responsibilities and opportunities through which we are expected to do our part as members of the Church of God, to do our actions and deeds in accordance to what God Himself has shown and taught us to do. Each and every one of us have these responsibilities and duties that God has entrusted to us, and we should not ignore or neglect them, because then the Lord will ask us to account for everything that we have done, and what we have failed to do, in the end, at the time of Judgment. We are all reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to live our lives to the fullest and focus ourselves on the Lord instead of upon our own selfish desires and ambitions, and inspired by the great examples of the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly the Saints we celebrate today, Pope St. Pius X, his dedication and commitment to God, in everything that he had done throughout his life from his early years up to his Pontificate and leadership of the Universal Church. Let us all hence do our part as holy and beloved people of God so that we may truly live our lives worthily of the Lord from now on if we have not done so. Each and every one of us have been called by the Lord to follow Him, to do what He has tasked and entrusted us to do, and let us all hence do our best to live up to what He has expected us to do in each and every moments of our lives henceforth. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us so that we may continue to draw ever closer to Him, and continue to focus our efforts and attention on Him, putting Him as the focus and centre of our whole lives and existence. May God be with us all His Church and His beloved disciples and followers, and may He empower us all to continue to be able to persevere and to be strong in our Christian faith and living, despite all the challenges and trials that we may have to face, now and always. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to strive to live the life of loving service to Jesus our Lord and Savior, now and forevermore. Pope St. Pius X, pray for us all! 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:
My most generous Lord, You bestow Your blessings upon all in superabundance. When I witness the ways that others are blessed by You, help me to foster a sincere gratitude for all that they have received. Help me truly rejoice in the many ways You bless all Your people. Free me from envy, dear Lord, so that I am not burdened down by that ugly sin. 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 Knock and Saint Pius X, Pope ~ 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💖