TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 30, 2024

Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!

On this feast day, we humbly pray for the poor and those in need, for persecuted Christians, for those who fight for truth, peace and justice, 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 30, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 30, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 30, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 30, 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 30, 2024
Reading 1, First Corinthians 1:17-25
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 33:1-2, 4-5, 10, 11
Gospel, Matthew 25:1-13

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT JEANNE JUGAN (SISTER MARY OF THE CROSS),  RELIGIOUS; SAINTS FELIX, PRIEST AND ADAUTUS, MARTYRS AND SAINT FIACRE, HERMIT ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 30TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Jeanne Jugan (Sister Mary of the Cross), Religious; Saints Felix, Priest and Adauctus, Martyrs and Saints Fiacre, Hermit. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints 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 elderly and those who have no one to care for them, we pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for gardeners and cabdrivers. 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 JEANNE JUGAN (SISTER MARY OF THE CROSS), RELIGIOUS: St. Jeanne Jugan  (1792-1879), also known as Sister Mary of the Cross, L.S.P., was a French woman who became known for the dedication of her life to the neediest of the elderly poor. Her service resulted in the establishment of the Little Sisters of the Poor during the 19th century, who care for the elderly who have no other resources throughout the world with the goal of imitating Christ’s humility through service to elderly people in need. St. Jeanne Jugan was born on Oct. 25, 1792 in a port city of the French region of Brittany, St. Jeanne Jugan grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution. Four years after she was born, her father was lost at sea. Her mother struggled to provide for Jeanne and her three siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day. St. Jeanne worked as a shepherdess, and later as a domestic servant. At age 18, and again six years later, she declined two marriage proposals from the same man. She told her mother that God had other plans, and was calling her to “a work which is not yet founded.”

At age 25, the young woman joined the Third Order of St. John Eudes, a religious association for laypersons founded during the 17th century. Jeanne worked as a nurse in the town of Saint-Servan for six years, but had to leave her position due to health troubles. Afterward she worked for 12 years as the servant of a fellow member of the third order, until the woman’s death in 1835. During 1839, a year of economic hardship in Saint-Servan, Jeanne was sharing an apartment with an older woman and an orphaned young lady. It was during the winter of this year that St.  Jeanne encountered Anne Chauvin, an elderly woman who was blind, partially paralyzed, and had no one to care for her. St. Jeanne carried Anne home to her apartment and took her in from that day forward, letting the woman have her bed while St. Jeanne slept in the attic. She soon took in two more old women in need of help, and by 1841 she had rented a room to provide housing for a dozen elderly people. The following year, she acquired an unused convent building that could house 40 of them. During the 1840s, many other young women joined St. Jeanne in her mission of service to the elderly poor. By begging in the streets, the foundress was able to establish four more homes for their beneficiaries by the end of the decade. By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation that had become known as the Little Sisters of the Poor.

However, St. Jeanne Jugan – known in religious life as Sister Mary of the Cross – had been forced out of her leadership role by Father Auguste Le Pailleur, the priest who had been appointed superior general of the congregation. In an apparent effort to suppress her true role as foundress, the superior general ordered her into retirement and a life of obscurity for 27 years. During these years, she served the order through her prayers and by accepting the trial permitted by God. At the time of her death on Aug. 29, 1879, she was not known to have founded the order, which by then had 2,400 members serving internationally. Fr. Le Pailleur, however, was eventually investigated and disciplined, and St. Jeanne Jugan came to be acknowledged as their foundress. St. Jeanne died at the age of 86 on August 29, 1879. She was beatified on October 3, 1982, Vatican City, by Pope John Paul II and canonized on October 11, 2009, Vatican City, by Pope Benedict XVI. In his homily for her canonization in October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI praised St. Jeanne as “a beacon to guide our societies” toward a renewed love for those in old age. The Pope recalled how she “lived the mystery of love” in a way that remains “ever timely while so many elderly people are suffering from numerous forms of poverty and solitude and are sometimes also abandoned by their families.” St. Jeanne Jugan is the Patron Saint of the destitute elderly.

Saint Jeanne Jugan, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINTS FELIX, PRIEST AND ADAUTUS, MARTYRS: Sts. Felix and Adauctus (d. 303 AD) were Christian martyrs who were said to have suffered during the Great Persecution during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian. St. Felix was a Roman priest was martyred by beheading and St. Adauctus was a Christian layman who insisted on sharing the crown of the martyred priest. Since his name was not known, he was simply called by the Latin equivalent of “added on.” Thus, we refer to him as St. Adauctus rather than the name he was called on earth.  According to tradition, St. Felix was a holy priest in Rome, no less happy in his life and virtue than in his name. Being apprehended in the beginning of Dioclesian’s persecution, he was put to cruel torments, which he suffered with admirable constancy, and was at length condemned to lose his head. As he was going to execution he was met by a stranger, who, being a Christian, was so inflamed at the sight of the martyr, and the lively prospect of the glory to which he was hastening, that he was not able to contain himself, but cried out aloud: “I confess the same law which this man professeth; I confess the same Jesus Christ; and it is also my desire to lay down my life in this cause.” The magistrates hearing this, caused him forthwith to be seized, and the martyrs were both beheaded together about the year 303. The name of this latter not being known, he was called by the Christians Adauctus, because he was joined to Felix in martyrdom.

These holy martyrs are commemorated in the Sacramentary of St. Gregory the Great, and many ancient calendars. F. Stilting the Bollandist asserts the authenticity of their acts. Their church in Rome, built over their graves, in the catacomb of Commodilla, on the Via Ostiensis, near the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and restored by Pope Leo III, was discovered about three hundred years ago and again unearthed in 1905.  Pope Leo IV, about 850, is said to have given their relics to  Irmengard, wife of Lothair I; she placed them in the abbey of canonesses at Eschau in Alsace. They were brought to the church of St. Stephen in  Vienna in 1361. The heads are claimed by Anjou and Cologne. According to the “Chronicle of Andechs” Henry, the last count, received the relics from Pope Honorius III and brought them to the Abbey of Andechs.

Saints Felix, Priest and Adauctus, Martyrs ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT FIACRE, HERMIT: St. Fiacre (also known as Fiachra; Fiachrach; Fiacrius; Fiaker and Fevre) was a hermit at Kilfiachra, Ireland. St. Fiacre (d. 670 A.D.) was born in Ireland around the beginning of the 7th century and was raised from childhood in an Irish monastery. There he grew in knowledge as well as holiness, and became a priest. He retired to a hermitage to live in prayer and solitude, but men began to flock to him to imitate his way of life and become his disciples. To escape them, St. Fiacre left  Ireland to establish a new hermitage in France. He went to the bishop and was accorded a kind reception by St. Faro, Bishop of Meaux, France and he asked for land to plant a garden to grow food as well as herbs for medicinal healing, a science which he studied in the monastery. The bishop agreed to give Fiacre as much land as he could entrench. Fiacre picked a plot of land and walked around its perimeter, dragging his shovel behind him. Wherever his spade touched the ground, the land was miraculously cleared and the soil became entrenched. St. Fiacre began to lead the religious life he had led in Ireland, he  lived as a solitary at Breuil, Brie. St. Fiacre lived a life of great mortification in prayer, fasting, vigils, and manual labor in his garden. Soon, the people of the surrounding regions began coming in droves to learn about Christian faith from this man of God. Seeing their plight far from their homes and without shelter, St. Fiacre had compassion on them and determined to help them. With the aid of another grant of land from St. Faro, the saintly hermit himself chopped down trees to build a hospice to shelter them and cleared the soil in order to grow corn and vegetables to feed them. Disciples gathered around him again, and soon formed a monastery. St. Fiacre then built an oratory in honor of the Virgin Mary, a hospice in which he received strangers, travelers and a cell for his own dwelling. He attracted many disciples, was known for his charity and aid to the poor, and was consulted by many for his spiritual wisdom. His fame for performing miracles became widespread, his miracles of healing became legendary and his garden became a place of pilgrimage for centuries for those seeking healing.

St. Fiacre’s dedication and self-sacrifice brought about the conversion of the whole surrounding discrict and he was held in high esteem for his work with the spade. After his holy death about 670, St. Fiacre’s cult grew steadily and reached its height in 17th century, a thousand years later, when his shrine was famous for miraculous cures. The name Fiacre was given to the four-wheeled cab because when it first came into use (in Paris, 1640) its stand was close to the St. Fiacre Hotel so that it might take the pilgrims on the first stage of the journey to St. Fiacre’s shrine. St. Fiacre is best known as the patron of gardeners; florists; cab drivers; herbalist; florists; potters; needlemakers; cab drivers; against hemorrhoids; against syphilis; barrenness; box makers; fistula; hosiers; pewterers; taxi drivers; sterility; tile makers; against venereal disease.

PRAYER: Lord God, You alone are holy and no one is good without You. Through the intercession of St. Fiacre help us to live in such a way that we may not be deprived of a share in Your glory. Amen 🙏
 
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

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

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 25:1-13

“Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”

“Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells His disciples the parable of the wise and foolish handmaidens. There were five wise handmaidens and five foolish and lazy handmaidens, each of whom were supposed to welcome the bridegroom to a wedding celebration and be part of the celebrations and parties. However, they differed in that the wise handmaidens brought extra oil with them and were prepared in case they had to wait for the bridegroom, while the foolish handmaidens did not bring any extra oil for their lamps, and hence, when the bridegroom did come late, they were caught off-guard and had to go and seek for the oil, during which time, the bridegroom came and the doors to the celebration were closed. The foolish handmaidens returned only to find them excluded from the celebrations because they were late. The parable in today’s Gospel reading reflects a marriage custom in the time of Jesus whereby bridesmaids waited at the bride’s house for the arrival of the bridegroom. When he arrives they go out to meet him with lighted torches and then they escort the bridegroom and his bride to the house of the bridegroom where the marriage feast is ready and the guests are waiting. What distinguishes the five bridesmaids who are described as ‘sensible’ from the other five is that, when the bridegroom arrived much later than expected, they had enough oil to ensure that their torches did not go out. They were able to welcome the bridegroom as was expected of them and escort him and his bride to the bridegroom’s house.

Today’s Gospel reading speaks to us about the importance of being alert to the Lord’s coming. It is a call to be ready to welcome the Lord when He comes, whether it is His coming at the end of our lives, or His daily coming. In the Gospels, Jesus once referred to Himself as the bridegroom and John the Baptist spoke of himself as the friend of the bridegroom. We are all friends of the bridegroom, friends of the Lord, and He looks to us to be alert to His coming, whenever it happens and whatever form it takes. The parable encourages us to have our torches blazing brightly when the Lord comes to us, whenever that might be. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had said to His disciples, ‘You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works’. The parable could be calling on us to keep the light of our good works shining. We are not to allow that light to go out; we need to keep it burning for the long haul. We are to keep the flame of faith which shows itself in good works alive in our hearts to the very end. When the bridegroom, the Lord, comes at the end of time or at the end of our own earthly time, he will hope to see the flame of our loving faith burning brightly. The Lord who comes to us at the end is the Lord who is present to us now. If we are to welcome him with torches burning brightly at the end, we need to open ourselves to the oil of His presence now. We will stay the course only with the Lord’s help. We need to keep opening ourselves to the resource only He can give us if we are to reflect that light back to Him at His final coming. All of us are reminded that we should live righteously and in accordance of the path that the Lord has shown us.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth, St. Paul spoke to the faithful regarding everything which the people of God had received from him and from the other Apostles and disciples, the missionaries sent to them to reveal to them the truth and Good News of God. He reminded all of them not to veer away from the words or truth and all the things which he had taught and shown them, the Wisdom of God revealed through none other than His own Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all mankind and the whole world. And the Lord also gave His Wisdom through the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Whom He had sent into His Church, through His Apostles, and which had encouraged and strengthened all those who believed in the Lord. St. Paul spoke of how to the Jewish people and to the Greeks, which represented the main parts of the population at the time, referring to those who have not yet believed in the Lord, what he had taught the faithful were seen as folly and nonsense because they saw things from the eyes of the world and their limited understanding rather than through the eyes of faith and true Wisdom which God had imparted to His faithful ones. To the Jewish people, they considered the Lord Jesus Christ, the Crucified Messiah to be a blasphemy and erroneous teachings, as they refused the fact that the Almighty and All-Powerful God could have had a Son, and worse still, a Son Who had become incarnate in the flesh, to walk in their midst as the Son of Man, and then suffered and died a most humiliating and painful death on the Cross. In the meanwhile, to the Greeks and the other pagans, many of them considered it folly that the Christians believed in just one God, as they commonly believed in many gods and beings that came from their inspiration from their surrounding natural world, using those elements and observations to create and invent gods and divinities such as the Greek pantheon of pagan gods that very much mimic the people in their own behaviours and actions. But St. Paul showed the faithful and all those who were willing to listen to him and accept God’s truth that whatever those Jewish and Greek pagans believed, were in fact the erroneous and folly ones, while the truth and the reality lies with the Lord and with Him alone, He Who is the one and only True God, the Master of all things.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, the words of the Lord spoke to us regarding the matter of Wisdom, the Wisdom that He has imparted and bestowed upon us, but which we have often disregarded and refused to make good use of, and we often used the knowledge and intelligence of this world, our own abilities and thoughts instead of allowing God to perform His wonderful acts and Wisdom through us. We often closed our hearts and minds to the Lord speaking in the silence of our hearts and minds, as the Lord kept on patiently knocking on our hearts that we may come to know His truth and receive His Wisdom, and live our lives worthily according to what He has taught us to do. And we certainly do not want to be caught unprepared by the Lord’s coming, caught at the time when we are unfortunately unable to respond appropriately to His coming. We cannot and should not assume that we still have the time to prepare ourselves, as we do not want to be caught unprepared and then end up in eternity of regret. That is why, having been reminded and warned through our Scripture readings today, let us all continue to live our lives ever more worthily for the Lord, doing our very best so that we will always be exemplary in our lives and that we may inspire many others around us in how we all ought to live our lives with great faith and dedication to God. This is what we have been called to do, to be truly faithful to God in all things and to lead others towards Him. May the Lord continue to strengthen us and bless us all with His Wisdom, so that in everything that we decide to do, and in the path we walk in this life we will continue to strive to follow what He has shown and taught us, and not to be easily swayed by the temptations of this world. May we continue to trust in the Lord’s guidance and in His Wisdom, and always strive to live lives that are truly worthy of God in all things. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to keep on responding generously to His call and may God bless us always, now and forevermore. 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 showed us all that true love is selfless and sacrificial. You came to this world to serve and to give Your sacred life for us all. May I open my life more fully to Your love so that Your love may also affect and direct every relationship I have. Fill me with the gift of charity, dear Lord, so that I will be fully prepared for the day of my particular judgment. 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 Jeanne Jugan; Saints Felix and Adauctus and  Saint Fiacre ~ 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💖