TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 28, 2024
Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Wednesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!
On this special day, the Feast Day of Saint Augustine, 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 28, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 28, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 28, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 28, 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 28, 2024
Reading 1, Second Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 128:1-2, 4-5
Gospel, Matthew 23:27-32
SAINT MONICA: The Novena to Saint Monica is 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
REFLECTION: “The circumstances of St. Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she didn’t give way to any of these temptations”. St. Monica cried to our God for help, her tears and persistent intercessory prayer for her son St. Augustine, whom we celebrate tomorrow was delivered from his evil ways. Through the intercession of St. Monica, may God in His infinite mercy hear our cry and grant our children His divine grace and favor and bless our marriages with love, peace, understanding, endurance and patience…Amen!🙏
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH AND SAINT HERMES, MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 28TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Doctor of the Church and Saint Hermes, Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints Augustine and Hermes on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are sick with the eye diseases, mental illnesses, and those 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.🙏
SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 A.D.) was born in Tagaste (now Souk-Ahras in modern day Algeria), North Africa to a pagan father, Patricius and a devout Christian mother, St. Monica on November 13, 354 A.D. He was the first of three children and grew to become one the most significant and influential thinkers in the history of the Catholic Church. His teachings were the foundation of Christian doctrine for a millennium. His life is one of the greatest sinner-to-saint stories in the history of the Church. St. Augustine eventually became a priest, bishop, theologian, writer, and the founder of a religious order of priests. He was declared a Doctor of the Church and is considered one of the most influential saints and theologians to have ever lived, one whose writings are widely read to this very day. The story of his life, up until his conversion, is written in the autobiographical Confessions, the most intimate and well-known glimpse into an individual’s soul ever written, as well as a fascinating philosophical, theological, mystical, poetic and literary work.
St. Augustine’s mother, St. Monica did her best to raise him in the Christian faith, but St. Augustine, a brilliant and promising young student, was carried away into wordly attractions, lust for women, and pagan philosophies. This put his faith and morals into a state of crisis for many years. In spite of the piety of his holy mother, St. Monica, he fell at an early age into the greatest disorders, and even at a later period became a heretic of the sect of the Manichaeans. Still unbaptized and burning for knowledge, he came under the influence of the Manichaeans, which caused his mother intense sorrow. His waywardness gave his holy mother great pain and anxiety as she watched her son pursue materialistic ambitions and keep company with heretical sects. Unfortunately, his father, Patricius, was then an idolator, so that the youth met with little or no restraint on his side. In the beginning of 370 he continued his studies at Carthage, and the following years his father died, after being converted to Christianity. Some time later, he took up his abode at Carthage and opened a school of rhetoric. Later he left Africa for Rome, deceiving his mother, who was ever anxious to be near him. She prayed and wept. A bishop consoled her by observing that a son of so many tears would never be lost. Yet the evil spirit drove him constantly deeper into moral degeneracy, capitalizing on his leaning toward pride and stubbornness. From Rome he then went to Milan, where he also began to teach rhetoric. Here God’s grace and through the constant prayers of his mother, who had followed him to Italy, as well as the instructions of saintly friends, particularly holy preaching of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, affected his conversion and St. Augustine came to recognize the truth of Christianity; but only after several spiritually tumultuous years of seeking God through his philosophical studies. He abandoned the sect of the Manichaeans, and after some time gave himself entirely to God. He underwent a profound conversion and was baptized, after which he lived a holy life of purity, prayer, and penance. St. Ambrose administered to him the Sacrament of Baptism on Easter eve, 387.
On his return to Africa, to his hometown of Tagaste, St. Augustine lost his mother at Ostia in the same year, and in 388 he arrived at Carthage. He distributed his goods to the poor and lived a common life with his friends, “having now cast off from himself the cares of the world, he lived for God with those who accompanied him, in fasting, prayers, and good works, meditating on the law of the Lord by day and by night.” On a visit to Hippo, in 391 he was ordained priest at Hippo, in 394 made coadjutor to bishop Valerius, and then from 396 to 430 bishop of Hippo at the age of 41 against his will. He later accepted it as the will of God and spent the rest of his life as the pastor of the North African town, where he spent much time refuting the writings of heretics. He became a great luminary of the African Church, one of the four great founders of religious orders, and a Doctor of the universal Church. From this period until his death St. Augustine’s life was one of ceaseless activity. He governed his church, preached to his people, and wrote voluminous works that have received the admiration of the ages. His humility prompted him to write his Confessions about the year 397, from which we have a detailed account of his early years. St. Augustine also wrote, The City of God, against the pagans who charged that the fall of the Roman empire, which was taking place at the hands of the Vandals, was due to the spread of Christianity. On August 28, 430, as Hippo was under siege by the Vandals, St. Augustine died, at the age of 76. His legacy continues to deeply shape the face of the Church to this day. St. Augustine is the Patron Saint of Brewers; sore eyes; printers; diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut; Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan; city of Saint Augustine, Florida; diocese of Saint Augustine, Florida; diocese of Superior, Wisconsin; theologians; diocese of Tucson, Arizona. His feast day is celebrated on August 28.
QUOTES OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: ☆”Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” ☆”Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” ☆”God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” ☆”It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”☆”The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” ☆Our hearts are made for you O Lord and they are restless until they rest in you.”
PRAYER: Lord, renew in Your Church the spirit that You inspired in St. Augustine, Your Bishop. Filled by this spirit, may we thirst after You as the true Source of wisdom and seek after You as the Author of Heavenly love. Amen 🙏
SAINT HERMES, MARTYR: St. Hermes was born in Greece, died in Rome as a martyr in 120, probably in Diocletian’s persecution. The Acts of Pope St. Alexander I depict St. Hermes as a wealthy freedman who with his companions was martyred in Rome, being killed on the orders of a judge named Aurelian. He is mentioned in the Depositio Martyrum of the year 354. He was buried in a cemetery on the Salarian Way. There was a large basilica over his tomb that was built around 600 by Pope Pelagius I and restored by Pope Adrian I. A catacomb in the Salarian Way bears his name. His existence is attested by his early cult. However, his Acts, included in those of Pope Alexander I, are legendary.
Some of the relics of St. Hermes were given to Spoleto by Pope Gregory the Great. Other relics went to Lothair I by Pope Leo IV; Lothair brought them first to Cornelismünster, near Aachen. The relics later came to Ronse in the 9th century. During those times, Viking raids forced the monks to flee the town more than once, and the monastery was burnt by the Normans in 880. The relics were recovered in 940 and housed in a Romanesque-style crypt in 1083. The church of Saint Hermes, which was later built on top of the crypt, was consecrated in 1129. A pilgrimage in honour of the saint, who had by then become known for curing mental illnesses, sustained the local economy. There is still a French saying today which translates as “Saint Hermes cures the area’s madmen but keeps the Ronse dwellers as they are”. Although he is recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church, the commemoration of Saint Hermes in the General Roman Calendar was removed in 1969 because of the paucity of information about him. Their cult was confined to local calendars in 1969. St. Hermes is a Patron Saint invoked against mental illnesses; Forte dei Marmi; Ronse; Acquapendente.
Saint Hermes, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 23:27-32
“You are the children of those who murdered the prophets”
“Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus criticizes those who look well on the outside but within leave a lot to be desired. He criticizes those same people for being more preoccupied with appearances, what is on the outside, than with what is within, what Scripture call the heart. Today, even more than in the time of Jesus, appearances, image, has become all important. People who have a certain image receive the most adulation, have the biggest following and, often, get the biggest salaries. We are easily taken in by appearances. We all know that appearances can be deceptive. There isn’t always a good fit between the person we present to others and the person we are in our heart of hearts. It is clear from the Gospel reading that Jesus is more interested in how people are in their heart than in how they appear. He wants His followers to attend to what is within first, their basic attitudes and values, and not to be worried about appearances. If what is within is right, then it will show itself in how we appear to others. Jesus praised Nathanael as a person who was incapable of deceit, or, in an older translation, a ‘man in whom there is no guile’. In other words, there was a harmony between what was within him and what was evident to others. Nathanael had plenty of work to do on what was within, as Jesus went on to point out, but, at least, he wasn’t pretending to be someone he was not. The Gospels suggest that Jesus had a very strong aversion to pretence. He looks for openness and honesty, a harmony between who we are in reality and how we appear to others, even if who we are in reality is not yet all that the Lord is calling us to be. The Lord recognizes that we are all on the way; we have not yet arrived; we are pilgrims. He just wants us to be honest pilgrims.
Jesus invites us to look at little deeper, which is how God looks. According to one of the books of the Jewish Scriptures, ‘we look at appearances, God looks at the heart’. The ‘heart’ in the Jewish Scriptures and in the New Testament is the seat of the emotions, the intellect and the will. What matters to God is the heart, how we feel, how we think, how and what we desire. We are to bring our feeling, our thoughts, our desires into line with how God feels, how God thinks, what God desires for us. Our hearts are to reflect, in some way, God’s heart, which means Jesus’ heart. As Jesus says elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel, ‘Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart’. It is the Holy Spirit who comes to us from God and the risen Lord who can mould our hearts into images of the Lord’s heart. We pray today that this work of the Spirit will be brought to completion in us.
In our first reading today, St. Paul the Apostle continuing with the exhortation to the people of God and the faithful Christians in the city and region of Thessalonica in what is now part of Greece. The Apostle exhorted the faithful people of God to obey the Lord and to do whatever they can so that they would do their part as members of the Church of God, to live their lives virtuously and righteously in the manner that the Lord has shown and taught us. At that time there were those who thought that since the Lord was coming soon, then they did not need to do anything and since they had been saved, then they could just enjoy and await the Lord’s coming, which is contrary to what the Lord had entrusted to them that is the mission to proclaim His truth and Good News, to evangelise to the whole world. And there were also others who did not do their part as Christians because they were afraid of persecutions, trials and challenges that they were facing amidst their lives among the mainly still pagan populations of the Roman Empire. St. Paul strengthened them and reminded them and others that to be disciples of Christ, sufferings and hardships are part of the journey, and that they must not easily lose heart because the Lord would be with them throughout their journey, and they would not be alone. That is why, like St. Paul and the other Apostles themselves had shown them by example, they all should support one another, helping each other to remain firmly faithful in the Lord, resisting the temptations of worldly wickedness and sins, while living righteously as God’s holy and beloved people.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded and called again to be truly faithful to God in all things, in our every words, actions and deeds, in every moments throughout our whole lives so that we may indeed be fully committed in all of our ways, in everything that we carry out in life so that we may always inspire others around us to be ever more faithful and committed to the Lord. As Christians we have to be truly sincere in our faith, obedience and dedication to God, to do whatever we can so that by our lives we may truly proclaim the Lord our God to everyone whom we encounter in life, and be the shining beacons of His truth and Good News, at all times. Through the examples of the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly St. Augustine of Hippo, our great and holy predecessor, our brilliant role model, who we celebrate today, we can see how we can truly change our lives when we have the right focus in mind. St. Augustine found his refuge and satisfaction in the Lord, which no worldly pleasures or philosophical discourses he sought for earlier in his life could afford to give him. We are all inspired to live our lives with true faith and dedication to the Lord as well. Therefore, since we have heard of his examples, let us all therefore be inspired to follow in his footsteps and continue to do our part in contributing to the works and missions of the Church. Let us all put the Lord back at the centre of our lives, and let us all inspire many others to come ever closer to God, through our actions and efforts which hopefully become good inspiration for others around us. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to distance ourselves from the dangerous temptations of pride and greed, excise from us that pride and greed, that ego and ambition, and instead, may we serve the Lord humbly at all times, and do our best to glorify God by our lives at each and every opportunities. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, and bless our every 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:
My passionate Lord, You hate sin but love the sinner. You perfectly desire to rid me of all sin and all attachment to sin. Please open my mind and heart to hear Your rebukes of Love so that I may respond to Your invitation to repent with all my heart. I love You dear Lord. Free me from sin so that I may love You more. 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 Blessed Mother Virgin Mary; Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Hermes ~ 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💖