TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 23, 2024

Greetings beloved family and Happy Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time!

On this feast day, we pray for our children and children all over the world. 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 23, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 23, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 23, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy”| August 23, 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: Friday, August 23, 2024
Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:1-14
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Gospel, Matthew 22:34-40

NOVENA TO SAINT MONICA: Traditionally prayed every day from August 18–26 (Or any time of the 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: MEMORIAL OF SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, VIRGIN AND SAINT PHILIP BENIZI, PHYSICIAN AND SERVITE PRIEST ~ FEAST DAY ~ AUGUST 23RD: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin and Saint Philip Benizi, Physician and Servite Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Philip Benizi 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 sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. 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.🙏

SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, VIRGIN: The church celebrates the first saint of the New World, St. Rose of Lima (1586-1617). She was called Rose by her mother because of her red cheeks and confirmed with that name by St. Toribio de Mogrovejo. She was the “first blossom of sanctity that South America gave to the world.” Born Isabel Flores de Oliva in Lima, Peru on April 30, 1586, one of ten children belonging to a Spanish immigrant and his wife, a descendant of the Incas, Gaspar Flores and Maria de Oliva. St. Rose was baptized in the parish of San Sebastián in Lima by the priest, Fr. Antonio Polanco. She was confirmed in the village of Quives de Manos by the then Archbishop of Lima, St. Toribius de Mogrovejo. At a very young age, she chose to consecrate her life to God. St. Rose was beautiful and very pious. She was so sensitive to compliments on her physical appearance that, to combat vanity, she disfigured her face with pepper and lime. She practiced very intense prayer and penance daily, sometimes depriving herself of food and sleep.

When St. Rose father’s finances deteriorated, she used her skill at needlework to help support her family, growing flowers and doing embroidery and other needlework. Her parents desired that she marry, but she refused, and lived as a recluse in a hut in her parent’s garden. Inspired by the example of St. Catherine of Siena, Rose joined the Third Order Dominicans, dedicated her life to chastity and assisting the sick and poor, and inflicted severe penances on herself daily. For this extreme behavior she endured disapproval and persecution from her family, especially when she began to have visions and other mystical experiences. An evaluation by priests and physicians proved St. Rose’s experiences to be authentically supernatural. She also spoke out against the corruption of her day, as the Spanish grew rich from Peru’s natural resources while Peruvians became impoverished. St. Rose bore her many and great adversities with heroic patience and consoled the sick and suffering among the poor, Indians, and slaves. Consequently, she is regarded as the originator of social service in Peru.

St. Rose was ill for the last three years of her life, and was cared for by a government official and his wife. She died at the age of 31 on August 24, 1617, feast of St. Bartholomew, as she herself prophesied. She was greatly revered by the people, and at the time of her death. Her body could not be buried for several days due to the large crowds. After her death many miracles were attributed to her intercession. St. Rose was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671, and was the first native-born saint from the Americas to be canonized. Her shrine, alongside those of her friends, St. Martin de Porres and St. John Masias, is located inside the convent of St. Dominic in Lima. She’s the Patron Saint Against vanity; Americas; Central America; South America; embroiderers; florists; gardeners; India; Latin America; needle workers; New World; people ridiculed for their piety; Peru; Phillipines; diocese of Santa Rosa, California; South America; vanity; Villareal Samar, Phillipines; West Indies. Her feast day is August 23rd.

Quote of Saint Rose of Lima: “The gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase.”

PRAYER: God, You filled St. Rose with love for You and enabled her to leave the world and be free for You through the austerity of penance. Through her intercession, help us to follow her footsteps on earth and enjoy the torrent of Your delights in heaven. Amen 🙏

SAINT PHILIP BENIZI (OR BENOZZI), PHYSICIAN AND SERVITE PRIEST: St. Philip Benizi (1233-1285) sometimes St Philip Benitius, Benozzi and in Italian Filippo Benizzi was a general superior of the Order of the Servites, and credited with reviving the order. St. Philip was born on August 15, 1233 in Florence of the noble Benizi family on the feast of the Assumption and died on the octave of the Assumption in Todi, Italy on August 22, 1285. That same day St. Philip Benizi was born, the Order of Servites was founded. As an infant at the breast, St. Philip broke out into speech at the sight of these new religious, and begged his mother to give them alms. Amidst all the temptations of his youth, he longed to become himself a servant of Mary, and it was only the fear of his own unworthiness which made him yield to his father’s wish and begin to practice medicine. A man of unusual ability, he took a medical course in Padua and practiced medicine in Florence. But the medical profession left him dissatisfied. After long and weary waiting, his doubts were solved by Our Lady herself, who in a vision bade him enter her Order. Still St. Philip dared only offer himself as a lay brother, and in this humble state he strove to do penance for his sins. He joined the Servite Order as a lay brother, performing the most humble tasks in the monastery. He was ordained a priest out of obedience, he became master of novices and finally general of the Order. He restored peace in the civil wars of Italy and assisted at the Ecumenical Council of Lyons. Amid all these honors, he lived a life of great humility always considering himself as the worst of sinners and deserving the punishment of hell.

St. Philip had special talents for leadership and organization; he was the second founder of the Servites and a great missioner. Of him the Breviary says: “His love and sympathetic consideration for the poor was truly remarkable. On one occasion he gave his own clothing to a destitute leper at Camiliano, a village near Siena, and immediately the poor, sick beggar was healed. The report of the miracle spread far and wide, and many of the cardinals who had assembled at Viterbo after the death of Clement IV (1268) for the election of Christendom’s chief shepherd were minded to choose Philip, whose angelic life and mature wisdom were universally acknowledged. But as soon as the saint became aware of this, he went into hiding upon a hill until Gregory X (1271-1276) had been elected; for he sought to be spared that burdensome dignity.” St. Philip died at Todi in Tuscany on August 22, 1285 at age 52. Pope Leo X recognised his cult 24 January 1516 essentially beatifying him (although this was not a formal category at the time); and Pope Clement X canonized him as a saint April 12, 1671. During his last hours he requested the attending Brother to bring him his book. The Brother did not understand what he meant. “The crucifix,” the saint added. That was the book the saint had studied all the days of his life. St. Philip Benize is the Patron Saint of Sergio Osmena, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines.

Saint Philip Benizi Physician and Servite Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

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

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 22:34-40

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself”

“When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus was speaking to a teacher of the Law who went to ask Him which of the commandments and rules of the Law of God was the greatest among them. The question the Pharisees asked Jesus was a question to disconcert Him. In other words, their question was not really a genuine question; it was a kind of a trick question intended to put Jesus on the spot. Yet Jesus appears to have treated the question, ‘Which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ as a serious question because He gave it a very considered reply. He didn’t exactly answer the question He was asked. He was asked for the greatest commandment of the Law, but He gave the greatest and the second greatest commandment of the Law, implying that both were inseparable. The commandment to love God with all one’s heart, soul and mind and the commandment to love the neighbour as oneself belong together in the mind of Jesus. They belong together but they are not on the same level, one is more important than the other, one is first and the other is second. The love of God with all our being is prior to and somehow undergirds our love of neighbour. Jesus seems to be saying that we cannot really love our neighbour fully unless we give first place to God in our lives. Yet, our failure to love our neighbour is a sign that God is not our first and most complete love. The combining of the commandment to love our neighbour seems distinctive to Jesus. For Jesus to love God with all one’s heart and soul and mind is inseparable from the love of neighbour in the way that God loves them. According tothe Gospels, Jesus defines ‘neighbour’ in a very inclusive way as embracing all of humanity, including even our enemy. Jesus declares that the whole Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. Love is the key to interpreting all the requirements of the Law and the prophets. Jesus shows us by His life and death what loving God with all our being and loving the neighbour as ourselves looks like. He not only shows us what such love looks like, He also pours the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we may be empowered to love in the way that He does. And we are all called to practice this love in our lives, to be truly genuine in loving God and our fellow men, and doing whatever He has told us to do.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel details the vision of Ezekiel who saw a great valley full of dried bones in vast numbers, and how God told him to speak to those great bones, which resulted in those dry bones regaining their previous shape and structures, restoring their muscles and skin, and all the parts which was likely very remarkable to behold and to be seen by the eyes of Ezekiel, how those many bones eventually turned back into a vast host of people, albeit those without the presence of life and spirit in them. It was then that the Lord sent His Spirit to those vast throngs of the multitudes of people, returning them all back to life, a truly vast multitudes of God’s people. This vision is a representation of what the Lord Himself would do for the sake of His beloved people, to rescue them from the darkness and to restore them back to His light. What the vision showed us is God’s desire to restore His people to righteousness and grace, showing His love and compassion to all those who have fallen into disobedience and sin, and hence fell into the darkness and suffer from the consequences of death. He has created us all good and perfect, wonderful and amazing, and yet, in our disobedience and through the sins which we have committed, we have brought the punishment for our many sins. And death came to us because of our sins as due to sin, we have been sundered and separated from God’s love and grace, from Him Who is the Master and Lord of life. That is why we have to suffer from death, to endure the consequences of our rebellion and disobedience against Him. And yet, God does not abandon us, as He loves each and every one of us, and that is why, He wants to restore life to each and every one of us. 

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scripture today, we are all reminded to do our part as Christians to truly obey the Lord in all things and to follow Him ever more wholeheartedly in our way of life so that through our commitment to God and our obedience, our faith and love for Him, we will continue to be strengthened and renewed in our lives, to be blessed always with His Holy Spirit and be ever thankful for the lives which He has given to all of us. That is why we must always remember our two most important priorities in life just as contained in His many laws and commandments, to love Him first and foremost before anything else, and then to show that same love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, to our neighbours and everyone whom we encounter in our respective lives. May the Lord, our ever loving, compassionate and merciful God continue to bless us and guide us in our journey, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us so that we may always be faithful to Him in all things. Let us all do our best so that our lives, our existence and our every actions and efforts will always bring glory to God and we will continue to inspire everyone around us through our obedience and faith in God, to be faithful like how the Saints and Holy men and women, had been faithful to God, particularly St. Rose of Lima and the other Saints who we celebrate today. May all of us be restored by God’s love and may His Holy Spirit continue to inflame our hearts so that we will continue to grow ever stronger in our love and commitment towards Him, now and always. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to strive to become ever closer to the Lord and to His salvation, and may all the Holy Saints intercede for us all, helping us sinners to come ever closer to God, now and always, evermore. 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 loving Lord, You love all people with a perfect love, and You call us all to love You with our whole heart, soul and mind. And You call us to love others with the love You have for them. Fill my heart with love of You and all people, especially those who are most difficult to love. Give me wisdom, dear Lord, to know how to love others in You so that they will experience Your perfect love in their lives. 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 Rose of Lima, Virgin and Saint Philip Benizi, Physician and Servite Priest ~ 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💖