TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 8, 2024

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS: Traditionally prayed September 7–15th. The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is September 15th | Novena link below

Greetings and blessings, beloved family. Happy Sunday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time and Happy Birthday to our Blessed Mother, Mary! We thank the good Lord for the gift of His Beloved Blessed Mother🙏

On this Sunday and special feast day of the Nativity of our Blessed Mother Mary, 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 the Clergy, persecuted Christians, for peace, love, justice and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and 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 pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We particularly 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 with Pope Francis at Sir John Guise Stadium – Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | Sunday, September 8, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube” | September 8, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | September 8, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes France” | September 8, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| September 8, 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: Sunday September 8, 2024
Reading 1, Isaiah 35:4-7
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
Reading 2, James 2:1-5
Gospel, Mark 7:31-37

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS: Traditionally prayed September 7–15th. The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is September 15th | https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/nine-day-prayer-for-life-novena-to-our-lady-of-sorrows-283

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Bible Readings and Reflections today, Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) | Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 7:31-37

*”He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak”

“Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

In today’s Gospel reading, from the Gospel according to St. Mark, a deaf and dumb man is brought to Jesus for healing. The Gospel talks about our Lord Jesus and His ministry in the region of Decapolis, as He went about from place to place, carrying out the missions and works which God has entrusted to Him. The Lord met a man who was deaf and mute, and He healed him in a miraculous occasion as He touched the man’s ears and tongue, and speaking the words, ‘Ephphata!’ which means ‘Be opened!’. Through this occasion and miracle, the Lord fulfilled everything that the prophets had spoken about Him, reassuring us all of the love of God and everything that He has promised us. Through His coming into our midst, not only that God showed us His love, but He also wants to make us all whole once again, united perfectly to Him in love. According to the Gospel, the deaf and dumb man, who had both a hearing loss and a speech impediment, was attended to by others in a very striking way. They all lived in a region called the Decapolis, which was a predominantly pagan region on the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee to where Jesus normally lived and worked. When the friends of this man heard that Jesus was in their region, they brought him to Jesus. There were obviously people in this man’s community who were looking out for him, and they brought him to someone they believed could be of help to him. They led him to a place, to a person, that he could not have reached by himself. They did something for him he could not have done for himself. They were a live-giving presence in his life. As a result of their initiative in bringing their friend into the healing presence of Jesus, he regained both his hearing and his ability to speak. The man’s need called forth his friends’ attention, and their attentiveness to him helped him to live a fuller life than he could otherwise have lived. Their attentive presence to their friend in his need created a space for the Lord to work in his life. An inability to hear clearly is only one way that people can make a call on our attentiveness in their need. Indeed, we are all needy in some sense. We are all in need of some kind of healing. None of us is complete. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says that ‘the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now’, and he immediately adds, ‘not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies’. St. Paul is declaring that the whole of creation, including those of us who have received the Holy Spirit in baptism are groaning inwardly, out of a sense of incompletion. In the words of Isaiah in today’s first reading, we are all blind and deaf and lame and dumb, if not in the physical sense, in other deeper senses. We may not all be physically deaf but we are all in need of having our ears opened more fully to the Lord’s word and call.

Today’s Gospel reading reminds us that we need others to help us become our best selves, the person God desires us to be. We need compassionate and concerned people to take us to those secret places that have live-giving power, and that would remain a secret to us if others didn’t show them to us. We might think of those who help to bring the sick to places like Lourdes for healing. There are many who do this work in their own homes without travelling to Lourdes or elsewhere. Within the confines of their own home or their own area, they are a life-giving presence for others, and are present to them in ways that enable them to life fuller lives. We all have that capacity to make life richer for others. God’s creative and life-giving spirit is latent in all of us. To the extent that we are in touch with that creative spirit of God within, wonderful things can happen through us and the lives of others can be greatly enriched. In various ways any one of us can become a gate to life-giving channels for others. The God in whom we believe is a Creator God. God’s creative work never ceases; creation is continuous. We are all called to be channels of God’s ongoing creative work. God desires to work through us in creative ways so that the lives of others are enriched. We can all help each other to attain what St. Paul in one of his letters refers to as the glorious freedom of the children of God. In the light of today’ readings, we might pray this Sunday for the grace to discern the ways in which the Lord may be calling each of us to be channels of His creative power in our world today.

In our first reading this Sunday from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord spoke to His people through the prophet regarding how He would send them His deliverance and salvation, which He would indeed made manifest through the same Christ, His beloved Son, Whom He had promised to us all through His many prophets and messengers. By His Presence and love, all of us would be saved, strengthened and restored, and we should no longer be afraid or fearful of what we have suffered and endured, and instead, we should deepen our trust and faith in God, believing that we truly will be rescued, redeemed and brought to true happiness and joy by our faith in the most loving and merciful God Who is always by our side, at all times. The people of Judah, to whom the prophet Isaiah had been sent to at the time, had faced a lot of challenges and trials, and they had experienced having their northern neighbours, the ten tribes of the Israelites, their own brothers and sisters, having been defeated and conquered, their kingdom destroyed and they themselves being taken out and exiled from their homeland. The people of Judah themselves were facing hardships and challenges from their enemies and they brought all of these upon themselves, just like their northern neighbours, out of their own disobedience against God and their refusal to obey the Lord and their unwillingness to follow His path. And yet, God Who has always loved them and cared for them, continued to reach out to them and reassured them of His love.

In our second reading today from the Epistle of St. James, the Apostle spoke about the need for us all as Christian believers to stop carrying out biased and judgmental attitudes against each other. All of us must not distinguish one another based on appearances and status, as ultimately, each and every one of us are beloved and precious to God, and all of us are equally blessed by Him, Who wants each one of us to come to Him, loving us regardless of our status and past. As Christians, it is important that we do not put importance and emphasis on worldliness and glory, as all those things are actually just temporary and illusory in nature. Instead, we should always seek to love one another equally just as the Lord Himself has done. The challenge is of course how we should overcome the temptations present all around us, tempting us with all sorts of worldly glory, ambitions, and all the things which may become serious obstacles in our path and journey through life. We must not let our ego and pride to distract and mislead us down the wrong path in life, making us think that we are in any way superior or better than others around us. Instead, as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us must strive to live our lives worthily of Him, and we should always be humble and be willing to listen to Him speaking to us and teaching us His truth. We must always be open-minded and be willing to let God guide our path, and we should also deepen our faith and trust in Him, following whatever He has called us to do through His Church.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, we are reminded by the Lord of the need for each and every one of us to turn towards the Lord, to trust in Him and to follow Him wholeheartedly all the days of our lives. Each and every one of us are called to open our hearts and minds, to welcome the Lord into our beings so that by embracing Him, we may truly be reunited to Him, reconciled and brought back from the depth of the darkness surrounding us. God wants us to be healed from our affliction and maladies, the troubles facing us in our bodies and hearts, our minds and souls, and He has reached out to us through HIs Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom He has manifested His love and compassionate mercy towards us. Let us all therefore respond to God’s love and mercy with faith, and entrust ourselves to His care. We should no longer oppose Him and His desire to be reunited with us, but answer His call upon us and follow Him wholeheartedly from now on. May God bless each and every one of us, and may He give us the strength and courage to walk through this journey of faith towards Him, so that we may devote ourselves ever more to Him, in each and every moments of our lives.

On this special feast of the Nativity of our Blessed Mother Mary, we are all called to dedicate ourselves to the Lord through following His Mother’s examples, her dedication and faith, the great obedience and love she has shown throughout her love for the Lord and His precepts, her humble nature and submission to God’s will and willingness to allow herself be led to the path that God wants her to go through, showed us that Mary is truly a prime role model and example for all of us in how each one of us should live our own lives with faith and dedication, with humility and the desire to serve the Lord and to glorify Him by our every actions, words and deeds throughout our lives. May the Lord, our most loving God, Creator and Master, continue to guide us and strengthen us in our journey, and may He empower each one of us that we may continue to walk ever more faithfully in His path, guided through the patient love of His mother Mary, who is our loving mother too, and may her constant intercession and care for us continue to inspire us to persevere in faith in each and every moments of our lives. May all of us commit ourselves to God and His cause, with ever greater desire to love Him wholeheartedly as Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, had done. May God, in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to celebrate our Blessed Mother Mary’s birthday because of the precious gift she gave to the world. Holy Mary, Mother of God, whose birth we commemorate and rejoice in today, pray for all of us, your beloved children, that we may continue to live our lives worthy of your Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and may our good Lord bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY ~ FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 8TH: Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this special feast day, we humbly pray for us all and our various intentions. We pray for the sick and dying, especially pray for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, those who are physically and mentally ill, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We 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…. Amen🙏

THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary refers to the birthday of Our Blessed Mother Mary We celebrate this feast on September 8, nine months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This feast has been celebrated for centuries and is said to have its origins in the fifth century. According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was “of the lineage of Abraham, born of the tribe of Judah and of the progeny of King David, from whom the Son of God was born, made man by the work of the Holy Spirit, to free humanity from the ancient bondage of sin.” More than nineteen hundred years ago there dwelt in the little Galilean village of Nazareth a holy couple of the royal race of David, whose names were Joachim and Anne. They were already far advanced in years, and had almost ceased to hope that God would bless them with a child, when the long-felt desire of their hearts was gratified by the birth of a daughter, who would be forever blessed among women and make the names of Joachim and Anne known and honored through all future ages.

According to the “Protoevangelium of James”, an apocryphal writing from the late second century, describes Mary’s father St. Joachim as a wealthy member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Sts. Anne and Joachim, were an aging infertile couple praying for a child. St. Joachim was deeply grieved, along with his wife St. Anne, by their childlessness. “He called to mind Abraham,” the early Christian writing says, “that in the last day God gave him a son Isaac.” Sts. Joachim and Anne began to devote themselves extensively and rigorously to prayer and fasting, initially wondering whether their inability to conceive a child might signify God’s displeasure with them. As it turned out, however, the couple were to be blessed even more abundantly than Abraham and Sarah, as an angel revealed to St. Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.” God answered their prayer, as they received the promise of a child that will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world. This child was called Mary, the chosen one of Adam’s race, destined to be the Mother of the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, Who became her Child, to redeem and save the world. Mary’s birth was miraculous, as she was conceived without sin (Immaculate Conception), an exclusive grace God bestowed upon her because she was predestined to be the mother of the Incarnate Son of God.

After Mary’s birth, according to the Protoevangelium of James, St. Anne “made a sanctuary” in the infant girl’s room, and “allowed nothing common or unclean” on account of the special holiness of the child. The same writing records that when she was one year old, her father “made a great feast, and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel.” “And Joachim brought the child to the priests,” the account continues, “and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations’ . . . And he brought her to the chief priests, and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which shall be for ever.’” The protoevangelium goes on to describe how Mary’s parents, along with the temple priests, subsequently decided that she would be offered to God as a consecrated Virgin for the rest of her life, and enter a chaste marriage with the carpenter Joseph.

Saint Augustine described the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary as an event of cosmic and historic significance, and an appropriate prelude to the birth of Jesus Christ. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley,” he said. The fourth-century bishop, whose theology profoundly shaped the Western Church’s understanding of sin and human nature, affirmed that “through her birth, the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.” Mary was born to be the mother of the Savior of the world, the spiritual mother of all men, and the holiest of God’s creatures. Because of her Son’s infinite merits, she was conceived and born immaculate and full of grace. Through her, Queen of heaven and of earth, all grace is given to men. Through her, by the will of the Trinity, the unbelieving receive the gift of faith; the afflicted are tendered the works of mercy; and the members of Christ grow in likeness of their Head. The birth of the Virgin Mary ushers in the dawn of the redemption of the human race through Jesus Christ. In Mary all human nature is exalted. We rejoice in her birthday, as the Church has done from the earliest times. This is one of the three birthdays in the Church Calendar—the Birth of Jesus (December 25), the Birth of John the Baptist (June 24) and the Birthday of Mary. All three were born without original sin, although Mary and Jesus were conceived without sin, and St. John was cleansed of original sin while in the womb at the Visitation of Mary. On this feast the Church unites in spirit with the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Law, with all who during long centuries of expectation watched and prayed for the coming of the Just One, Whose advent and work of redemption had their beginning in the birth of His Immaculate Mother. The Feast of September 8 in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary originated at Jerusalem, as did the Solemnity of August 15. It is a case of the Feast of the Basilica known at the end of the 15th century as the Basilica “of holy Mary where she was born”, and now known as the Basilica of St. Anne. Our Blessed Mother Mary is the Patron Saint of All people named Mary, in any form.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.🙏

The Memorare: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen 🙏

PRAYER: God, give Your servant heavenly grace, so that as the birth of the Blessed Virgin marked the beginning of salvation, this feast of the Nativity may serve to obtain peace for the world. Amen 🙏
 
Happy Birthday, our Blessed Mother Mary. We love you! Please pray for us.🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT ADRIAN OF NICOMEDIA, MARTYR; SAINT CORBINIAN, BISHOP AND SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA, BISHOP: FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 8TH

On this special feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia, Martyr; Saint Corbinian, Bishop and Saint Thomas of Villanova, Bishops.

SAINT ADRIAN OF NICOMEDIA, MARTYR:
St. Adrian of Nicomedia (d. 306 A.D.) also known as Hadrian or Saint Adrian. He was a pagan officer and Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian at the imperial court of Nicomedia. He lived under the Christian persecutions of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. Thirty-three Christians were seized in Nicomedia, brought before a judge, and ordered to be savagely beaten. With each new torture the men received, they bravely proclaimed their faith in Christ. They argued with the judge that by his tortures he was only increasing their heavenly glory, while guaranteeing his own damnation to hell. St. Adrian, a man of 28 years, was head of the praetorium and witnessed the steadfast faith of these men. While presiding over the torture of a band of Christians, St. Adrian asked them what reward they expected to receive from God. They replied, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”. St. Adrian was so impressed by the strength and faith shown by persecuted Christians that he declared himself a Christian, though he had not even been baptized. He was moved to the point of conversion, and exclaimed that he, too, would reject paganism to suffer and die for the name of Christ along with the other Christians. One of Adrian’s servants ran to tell his wife, Natalie, what her husband had done. St. Natalie, who was secretly a Christian, ran to the prison in joy at the news of her husband’s newfound faith, and encouraged him to stay strong and steadfast in it.

After St. Adrian refused to recant his profession of faith in Christ, becoming a convert to Christianity with his wife Natalia, he was immediately arrested and was thrown into prison with the other men and cruelly tortured. He was forbidden visitors, but accounts state that his wife Natalia came to visit him dressed as a boy to ask for his prayers when he entered Heaven. The next day his arms and legs were struck off, severed on an anvil, and he was then beheaded, dying in the arms of Natalia as a martyr. St. Adrian and fellow prisoners were tended by his wife, Saint Natalia until they were executed. St. Adrian was martyred at Nicomedia in Turkey on March 4, 306. After he was killed, St. Adrian and several other martyrs were taken to be burned. When the executioners began to burn their bodies, a thunderstorm arose and the furnace was extinguished; lightning killed several of the executioners. St. Natalia had to be restrained to not throw herself on the fire when St.
Adrian’s body was being burned. Christians took St. Adrian’s body and buried him on the outskirts of Byzantium, at Argyropolis. St. Natalia went to live there herself, taking one of St. Adrian’s hands which she had recovered. When she herself died, she was buried with the martyrs. Saint Adrian was the chief military saint of Northern Europe for many ages, second only to Saint George, and is much revered in Flanders, Germany and the north of France. Saint Adrian is the Patron Saint of Plague, epilepsy, arms dealers, butchers, guards and soldiers. In the past, Our Lady’s Birthday in Rome included a procession from the church of St. Adrian in the forum (Sant’Adriano). His feast day is September 8th.

SAINT CORBINIAN, BISHOP: St. Corbinian (670-730), was a bishop ordained by Pope St. Gregory II, an evangelist to Germany. Though St. Corbinian was a great Apostle of Bavaria, he was a native of Chartres, in France. He was born in 670, a Frank named Waldegiso, but his mother quickly changed it to Corbinian. He lived as a hermit in a cell close to a Chapel for fourteen years. He was sought out for spiritual counsel, and the occurrence of miracles made his holiness further known. Various people desired to form a community with him as their superior, but the disruption in his life caused by the duties that this undertaking required made him decide to go to Rome.

A tradition relates that on his way to Rome, after a bear killed his pack horse, he had his servant place his pack on the back of the bear and proceeded with it to the Eternal City. At some point, St. Corbinian was made a bishop, and Pope St. Gregory II sent him to Friesling, in Bavaria, Germany to evangelize Germany. In Freising, he preached with great success. St. Corbinian had been protected by Duke Grimoald, but when the Duke disobeyed Church law and married the widow of his brother without a dispensation, St. Corbinian condemned the
Incestuous marriage of the local duke, Grimoald, to his brother’s widow. Grimoald persecuted him in return and the widow, Biltrudis, plotted to have St. Corbinian killed, but he fled to Meran. Eventually the Duke died in battle. St. Corbinian returned on the invitation of Grimoald’s successor, Huebert, and continued his work at Freising until he died in 730. He was originally buried at a monastery he had founded in Meran, but his body was later moved to Freising. He is the Patron Saint of Freising, Germany; Archdiocese of Munich, Germany.

Saint Corbinian, Bishop ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA, BISHOP: St. Thomas of Villanova (1488-1555), a great Saint of the Spanish Renaissance and a good friend of Emperor Charles V. He was a man of infinite charity in word and deed and lived as frugally as the poor who benefited by his unstinted almsgiving. While provincial of his order in Castile, he sent the first group of Augustinians to the Americas. Establishing themselves in Mexico, they were integral in the growth of Christianity in the New World.

St. Thomas was born in Spain in 1488, and inherited a special love toward the poor from his parents; he often gave away his very clothes. After the death of his father and mother, he used his inheritance to sustain poor virgins. He became a lecturer in the higher schools at Alcala, entered the order of the Hermits of St. Augustine in 1516 at Villanova, and acted as court preacher to Charles V. Against his will he was made archbishop of Valencia (1544), then exercised the office as a zealous shepherd of souls and a great friend of the poor. The bed in which he died was borrowed back from the one to whom he had given it as alms shortly before. During the sixteenth century he was called the “apostle of the Spaniards.”

Saint Thomas of Villanova, Bishop ~ Pray for us 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER:

MONTH OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS:
September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows, also known as our Mother of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa)! Since the 16th century, Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The Church dedicates the month of September to Our Lady of Sorrows, whose memorial the Church celebrates on September 15th.  Devotion to the sorrows of the Virgin Mary dates from the twelfth century, when it made its appearance in monastic circles under the influence of St. Anselm and St. Bernard.

This devotion recalls the Blessed Virgin Mary’s spiritual martyrdom in virtue of her perfect union with the Passion of Christ. This was her role in salvation history and what merited her place as the spiritual Mother of all Christians. This is symbolized by a single sword, or seven swords, piercing Mary’s suffering heart, as foretold in Simeon’s prophecy. Traditionally the Church meditates on the “Seven Sorrows” of our Blessed Mother: the prophecy of Simeon; the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt; the loss of the Child Jesus for three days; the meeting of Mary and Jesus as He carried His cross; Jesus’ crucifixion and death; Jesus’ sacred body taken down from the cross; and Jesus’ burial. All the sorrows of Mary (the prophecy of Simeon, the three days’ loss, etc.) are merged in the supreme suffering at the Passion. In the Passion, Mary suffered a martyrdom of the heart because of Our Lord’s torments and the greatness of her love for Him. “She it was,” says Pope Pius XII, “who immune from all sin, personal or inherited, and ever more closely united with her Son, offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father together with the holocaust of her maternal rights and motherly love. As a new Eve, she made this offering for all the children of Adam contaminated through his unhappy fall. Thus, she, who was the mother of our Head according to the flesh, became by a new title of sorrow and glory the spiritual mother of all His members.” The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa) is September 15th.

INVOCATIONS: Mary most sorrowful, Mother of Christians, pray for us. Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us 🙏🏾

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=762

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER – FOR THE CRY OF THE EARTH: We pray that each one of us will hear and take to heart the cry of the Earth and of victims of natural disasters and climactic change, and that all will undertake to personally care for the world in which we live.

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, and 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 healing Lord, when You took on human form, You united divinity with humanity. Through Your sacred humanity, You poured forth Your grace and mercy and continue to do so today. Please use me, dear Lord, as an instrument of Your grace. May I always humbly see myself as Your unworthy instrument, whom You choose to use despite my unworthiness. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

My dearest Mother, Happy Birthday! Today, I rejoice in the incredible gift that God gave to you in your Immaculate Conception and birth into our world. I pray that I may honor you in a fitting way this day and to especially understand more clearly the beauty of your graced soul. Pray for me that I may also rejoice in the countless graces bestowed upon me by our merciful God. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. I love you, dear Mother. Precious Jesus, through the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, we 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 Mary; Saint Adrian, Saint Corbinian, and Saint Thomas of Villanova ~ 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, and grace-filled Sunday, and fruitful month of September!🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖