TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 24, 2024

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

On this special feast of Our Lady, Health of the Sick, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to 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

On this day, 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 24, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 24, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 24, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 24, 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: Saturday, August 24, 2024
Reading 1, Revelation 21:9-14
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
Gospel, John 1:45-51

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: FEAST OF OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK AND SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 24TH: Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady, Health of the Sick, and Saint Bartholomew, Apostle. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Health of the Sick and Saint Bartholomew on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, and we pray for those who mourn. 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.🙏

OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK: Our Lady, Health of the Sick, embrace all who are emotionally and physically ill, that they may return to good health under her tender care. Our Lady was well used to the sick-bed, the deathbed. During the 17th century, the Church started to highlight Mary’s role as an intercessor for all the sick, invoking her under the title of “Health of the Sick.” This was in direct connection to the plague in Europe and how many people turned to her in their time of need. August 24th is the feast day of Our Lady, Health of the Sick, but it should go without saying that a prayer to the Blessed Mother under this title can be said any day. As part of the Traditional Missal, the Feast of our Lady Help of the Sick falls on Saturday before the last Sunday in August. This Feastday is kept by various religious orders in the Church as one of the Masses said in some places. Make an effort today to say 3 Our Fathers and 3 Hail Marys for the repose of the soul of all of the sick who will die today and appear before Christ in Judgment.

In biblical times: The origin of referring to Mary as “Health of the Sick” makes its first appearance in Mary’s care of St. Joseph, who was enveloped by a most “happy death” in the literal sense, being in the arms of both our Lady and our Lord Jesus Christ during his final hours. Because of this grace, St. Joseph is now commonly referred to as Patron Saint of the dying. Such a title could not be more accurate, as what greater love could one receive at the time of physical suffering than their Heavenly presence?

In later times: Similar titles for our Blessed Mother, such as “Hospital of sinners” and “the Joy of the sick,” originated from the words of Saint Ephrem, who lived in the 4th century and was more recently declared a Doctor of the church. “Health of the Sick,” however, continued to be another title, one which would become used in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Litany of Loreto, comprised during the Middle Ages. Subsequently, in modern times, the oldest hospital in North America is thought to be the Immaculate Conception Hospital, built as a tribute to Our Lady as “Health of the Sick” in 1524. Later, St. Camillus de Lellis founded a confraternity invoking the use of the black scapular of “Our Lady, Help of the Sick,” approved by Pius IX in 1860.

Today: Our Blessed Mother continues to care for Her children not just in times of physical suffering, but in caring for our spiritual health through eternal salvation. As Christ is the Divine Physician, sharing his Divine Mercy for souls that would otherwise be lost, so She is eternally present by his side, particularly by His passion and sorrowful mysteries. How fitting that during our most difficult trials, we can turn to Our Lady, Health of the Sick, for Her everlasting comfort and healing.

POPE FRANCIS PRAYER TO OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK: Pope Francis placed his hope in Our Lady, Health of the Sick, he recently composed a prayer asking her intercession to her most precious son, Jesus Christ, for healing across our world. Here is the prayer recited by Pope Francis in March 2020 invoking our Blessed Mother Mary under this title, during the coronavirus pandemic.

“O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick. At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain with steadfast faith.

You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need. We are certain that you will provide, so that as you did at Cana of Galilee, joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the Father’s will and to do what Jesus tells us: He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us through the Cross to the joy of the Resurrection…Amen🙏

We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.”🙏

PRAYER TO OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK: Virgin, most holy, Mother of the Word Incarnate, Treasurer of graces, and Refuge of sinners, I fly top your motherly affection with lively faith, and I beg of you the grace ever to do the will of God. Into your most holy hands I commit the keeping of my heart, asking you for health of soul and body, in the certain hope that you, my most loving Mother, will hear my prayer. Into the bosom of your tender mercy, this day, every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body. To you I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to your will and that of your Divine Son. Amen 🙏

Our Lady, Health of the Sick, I look to you for the comfort of a mother’s love, I pray to you on behalf of those who are suffering and for my own healing needs. Mary, your love strengthens me and brings me peace. Our Lady, Health of the Sick, embrace all who are emotionally and physically ill that they may return to good health under your tender care. And please intercede for my very special needs. (mention your needs here). Mary, your love strengthens me and brings me peace. Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us.  Amen 🙏

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE: St. Bartholomew (1st c.) is one of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles who, together with his friend and fellow Apostle Philip, came from Cana in Galilee. St. Bartholomew was a doctor in Jewish law. All we know of St. Bartholomew (also called Nathaniel) is what is mentioned of him in the synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts. Saint Bartholomew is mentioned sixth in the three Gospel lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and seventh in the list of Acts (1:13). The name (Bartholomaios) means “son of Talmai” which was an ancient Hebrew name and it was given to the Saint in the same sense that “Bar Jonah” was attached to St. Peter. He was chosen by our Lord Himself to be one of the Twelve Apostles. Besides being listed as an Apostle, he is not otherwise mentioned in the New Testament, at least not under the name Bartholomew: many ancient writers, and Catholic tradition have identified St. Bartholomew as Nathaniel in the Gospel of John (John 1:45-51, and 21:2). The Gospel passage read at Mass on the feast of Saint Bartholomew is precisely this passage from John (1:45-51) where Nathaniel is introduced to Jesus by his friend Phillip, and Jesus says of him “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him (1:47).” We are presented with the Apostle’s character in this brief and beautiful dialogue with the Lord Jesus. He is a good Jew, honest and innocent, a just man, who devotes much time to quiet reflection and prayer – “under the fig tree (1:48)” – and has been awaiting the Messiah, the Holy One of God. At Jesus’ mention that “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you (1:48),” Nathaniel responded “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel (1:49)!”  Being “a true child of Israel,” Nathaniel was a man well-read in the Scriptures and knew what they said of the Messiah and where he would come from. This is why he is skeptical of Phillip’s claim that Jesus is the Messiah, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth (1:46)?” But Nathaniel was lacking “duplicity” – that is, his heart was undivided, his intentions pure – his openness to reality was always ready to recognize and surrender to the truth when he encountered it. He remained open to his friend Phillip’s invitation to “Come and see (1:46).” In encountering Jesus and hearing His words, he found himself face to face with the Truth Himself, and, like John the Baptist’s leap in his mother’s womb at the Lord’s presence, Nathaniel’s words lept out of his own heart in a clear and simple confession of faith, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Jesus, in Matthew 5:8, says, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” In Nathaniel we have an example of the pure man who sees – recognizes –  God when confronted with Him, and on seeing Him believes in Him, and upon believing in Him, follows Him. After the Resurrection of Jesus he was favored by becoming one of the few apostles who witnessed the appearance of the risen Savior on the sea of Galilee (John 21:2). Nothing is known for sure about the life of Nathaniel/Bartholomew after the Ascension of Jesus, but tradition holds that he preached in the East and died a martyr’s death in Armenia, being flayed alive for having won converts to the Lord Jesus. According to Eusebius and other ancient writers, following the Ascension of Jesus he preached the Gospel in the most barbarous countries of the East, penetrating as far as India. Eusebius relates that when St. Pantaenus, in 3rd century, went to India, he still found the knowledge of Christ in that country, and copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew was shown to him, which he was told had been brought there by St. Bartholomew. St. John Chrysostom declares that St. Bartholomew brought the faith to the people of Lycaonia. According to St. Gregory of Tours, the last field of his labors was Great Armenia, where, preaching in a place obstinately addicted to the worship of idols, he suffered martyrdom. By some it is said that he was flayed alive, his skin was torn from his body while still alive for having won converts to the Lord Jesus. The Armenians honor him as the apostle of their nation. According to other accounts that he suffered crucifixion—both these opinions being reconcilable. The relics of the Saint are preserved in the church of St. Bartholomew on the island in the Tiber River near Rome. He’s Patron Saint of bookbinders; butchers; cobblers; Forentine cheese merchants; Forentine salt merchants; leather workers; nervous diseases; neurological diseases; plasterers; shoemakers; tanners; trappers; twitching; whiteners; Gambatesa, Italy; Armenia.

PRAYER: God, strengthen in us that faith by which your Apostle St. Bartholomew adhered to Your Son with sincerity of mind. Through his intercession, grant that Your Church may become a sacrament of salvation for all nations. Amen🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Feast of Our Lady, Health of the Sick and Saint Bartholomew, Apostle | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 1:45-51

“Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him”

“Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

In today’s Gospel reading, St Bartholomew whom we celebrate his feast today is mentioned in the list of the twelve apostles in all of the Gospels. He is traditionally identified with Nathanael in today’s Gospel reading from John. Nathanael was initially very dismissive of Jesus, wondering if anything good could come from the village of Nazareth. When Philip shared with Nathanael his emerging faith in Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael dismissed it with the remark, ‘can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Yet, this dismissive, sceptical attitude would not go on to define Nathanael. There was some little openness in him, because when Philip went on to say to him, ‘Come and see’, Nathanael did come and he saw for himself. When Jesus saw Nathanael, He drew attention not to his initial dismissive attitude but to his openness, ‘an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit’. Jesus admired his honesty; there was no pretence in him. As a result of his meeting with Jesus, Nathanael goes on to make his confession of faith in Jesus of Nazareth, ‘you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel’. Nathanael had moved from scepticism to faith. Yet, Jesus assures him that he is still only at the beginning of his journey; he has only begun to see. Jesus promises him, ‘You will see greater things… you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the Angels of God ascending and descending’. He will come to recognize Jesus as the meeting point of heaven and earth, as God in human form. The Lord is relating to us even when we are not relating to him. Our initial resistance to the Lord’s call need never have the last word. He continues to call us to come and see. If we respond in any way to the Lord’s call, he will affirm us in our journey and he will continue to open up new horizons on for us our journey of faith, until we come to see and appreciate him as God with us, the one through whom God’s love comes to us. Like Nathanael, we are all on a journey. The Lord invites us to ‘come and see’, no matter where we are on that journey, and, if we do manage to see something of the Lord, He promises us that one day we will see greater things than what we now see.

Our first reading today from the Book of Revelations of St. John talks about the vision of St. John the Apostle who saw the vision of the great city of New Jerusalem, the City of God that has come down from Heaven. This vision of the heavenly and new Jerusalem is the symbol of the coming of the eternal Kingdom of God, the restoration of everything that had fallen into disarray by our disobedience and sins. Everything would be restored to how God had intended it to be at the beginning of time and creation. God had always meant for us all to enjoy the fullness of His love and grace, to share in everything that He had created and prepared for us, the eternal joy and happiness which He has meant for us to have with us. And St. John saw the vision of the twelve gates of the city decorated richly with precious stones, with the names of the Twelve Apostles written on them. From what we have heard in this account of the heavenly vision of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the ultimate destination which we all have in our lives, that is to be reunited completely and fully with God, with our loving Father and Creator. The heavenly and new Jerusalem present at the end of time, after all the tribulations, trials and sufferings which St. John witnessed in his visions, showed us all the end of all of our journeys and hardships, as we endure all those in our path to seek God’s salvation and to be reunited with Him. We must not give up easily on this journey, as in the end, all of us will have a share in the eternal glory of God, and we are meant to live and exist with Him in an eternity of joy, free from all hardships and sufferings. The Apostles themselves have also received this same assurance, and they would indeed be the ones by the side of the Lord, honoured greatly as the pillars of His Church.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, let us all strive to be missionary and evangelising disciples and followers of the Lord, in everything we say and do, in our every vocations in life, be it as married couples, as family members, youth or elderly, be it as laypeople or members of the presbyterate, or be it as members of religious orders and other institutions. Each and every one of us have our own unique roles to play as part of the Lord’s Church to fulfil what He has called us to do, to obey Him wholeheartedly and to be exemplary and sources of inspiration for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters at all times. May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen all of us, in our every works and actions, in every moments of our lives. May He inspire and empower all of us so that we may serve Him ever more faithfully and with greater courage, in the manner that St. Bartholomew, and the other Holy Apostles, saints and martyrs had done. Let us remember that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we have the shared responsibilities to continue the good works and ministry which the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, our predecessors have started. We should continue to do our best in whatever opportunities that have been given to us so that we may always be exemplary and good role models for our fellow brethren, and that our whole lives may truly shine with God’s ever present and wonderful light. All of us are part of the Lord’s Church and each one of us are integral part of the missions which God has entrusted to us. Let us all strive to commit our every time and effort to glorify God and to seek the betterment of all mankind. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to become more aware of how the Lord regards us, so that we would grow in faith. May God continue to empower and strengthen us and bless us all in all of our endeavours, and may St. Bartholomew, Holy Apostle of the Lord and all the Saints continue to intercede and pray for us sinners still struggling and persevering daily in this world today. 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 invite all of us to come to You, to see You and to have faith in You. You truly are the Son of God and the King of all. Please open my mind to all that You wish to say to me so that I may shed my doubts and come to a transforming faith in all things. 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, Health of the Sick and Saint Bartholomew, Apostle ~ 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💖