TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE
Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy Thursday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time!
Today, on this special feast day, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Januarius, we humbly pray against natural disasters. We pray for our children and children all over the world. We pray for the poor and needy, for those seeking for the fruit of the womb, we pray for difficult marriages, for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world.
We continue to pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are mentally and physically ill, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for those who mourn, for all widows and widowers. May the good Lord comfort them. We pray for the gentle repose of the souls of our loved ones who recently passed away, we particularly pray for the repose of the souls of all those who will die today, asking God to have mercy on their souls and to lead them into Eternal Life. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and we continue to pray for the repose of 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 and souls of all the faithful departed 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 and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen🙏
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube” | September 19, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | September 19, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes France” | September 19, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| September 19, 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: Thursday, September 19, 2024
Reading 1, First Corinthians 15:1-11
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 28
Gospel, Luke 7:36-50
FEAST AND SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE; MEMORIAL OF SAINT JANUARIUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY ~ SEPTEMBER 19TH: Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of La Salette and the Memorial of Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saint Januarius on this feast day, we humbly pray against natural disasters. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are mentally and physically ill, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. We pray for the poor and needy, for all widows and widowers, 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🙏
OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE: On September 19, 1846, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to two children, Maximin Giraud and Melanie Calvat on the mountain of La Salette, in the France Alps while they were attending cattle. She was weeping and an intense light surrounded her. Around her neck was a crucifix, with a hammer and pincers on either side. Her message was one of a severe warning to mankind to keep the commandments and pursue holiness. She told of a terrifying apocalyptic future unless people repented. After thorough investigation the Catholic Church gave approval to the message and secret of La Salette as written by Melanie. The local bishop formally approved the public devotion and prayers to Our Lady of La Salette in 1851. The account was published in Lecce on November 15, 1879 with the imprimatur of Bishop Zola of Lecce. The Blessed Virgin Mary’s message was much the same as at Fatima, “If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so heavy and weighs me down so much I can no longer keep hold of it.” She lamented with tears those who do not keep Sunday holy and who take the name of the Lord in vain. She indicated that if men did not stop offending Our Lord the potato crop would fail. She gave Maximin his secret which he never revealed. She then turned to Melanie and gave her a secret which Melanie revealed 30 years later only to the Holy Father, who gave orders that it was never to be revealed.
HAIL MARY: 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 🙏
Our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of La Salette ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINT JANUARIUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR: St. Januarius (d. 305 A.D.), also known as San Gennaro, was an early bishop martyred under the persecution of Emperor Diocletian and is honored due to an enduring miracle of blood. He was the Bishop of Benevento, Italy. Little is known of his early life. He was arrested and imprisoned for his faith while visiting other Christians in jail during the persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian. St. Januarius was born in Benevento to a rich patrician family in 275. At a young age of 15—based upon his piety and faithfulness– he became local priest of his parish in Benevento, which at the time was relatively pagan. When St. Januarius was 20, he was elevated to Bishop of Naples. It was told that St. Januarius and his flock suffered during the reign of the infamous Roman Emperor Diocletian who instituted the last of the great persecutions against the Church. At the onset of the persecution of Christians by Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, St. Januarius worked tirelessly to hide and protect his fellow Christians, succeeding for approximately 1 ½ years. He hid some of his fellow Christians and protected them from harm, at the cost of his own safety. He was arrested, persecuted and tortured, and eventually was charged and condemned to death, being beheaded for his faith and dedication to God, remaining faithful to the very end. According to tradition, Sosius, deacon of Misenum; Proculus, deacon of Puzzuoli; Euthyches and Acutius, eminent laymen, were imprisoned for the faith at Puzzuoli, by order of Dracontius, Governor of Campania. St. Januarius, who was a special friend of Sosoius, hearing of this, determined to pay the confessors a visit, in order to encourage them. The keepers, being aroused to suspicion, gave information that an eminent person from Benevento had visited the prisoners. Timotheus, who had succeeded Dracontius, gave orders that St. Januarius should be brought before him at Nola, the usual place of his residence. Festus, his deacon, and Desiderius, a lector of his church, were also apprehended and they shared in his sufferings, on account of their profession of the Christian religion. Some time after, when the Governor went to Puzzuoli, the three confessors, loaded with irons, were made to walk before his chariot to that town, where they were thrown into the same prison in which the four other Martyrs were detained. Upon refusing to recant his faith, and his constant assertion of the truth of the Gospel, St. Januarius and his companions were sentenced to be cast into the fiery furnace. The flames, however, caused him no harm and the following day, he was led into the coliseum to be mauled by wild animals. The beasts, however, laid themselves down in tame submission at his feet. Many attempts were made to kill him, but one after another they failed. Governor Timotheus, enraged and again pronouncing sentence of death, was struck with blindness at his sentencing but St. Januarius healed him—a miracle which led to the miraculous conversion of 5,000 present. The ungrateful judge, further inflamed with anger, ordered the saintly bishop beheaded, which occurred immediately in 305. St Januarius’ body was removed by faithful Christians, placed in the Cathedral of Naples and his blood was collected by Christians and kept in a sealed glass vial for veneration. The vial of blood is still kept today in the Naples cathedral, and it has continually demonstrated miraculous properties for which no scientific explanation has been offered. It is said to have miraculously protected Naples from both the plague and the dangerous eruptions of nearby Mount Vesuvius. Around the year 400 the relics of St. Januarius were moved to Naples, which honors St. Januarius as a patron saint. He supposedly protected Naples from a threatened eruption of the volcano Mt. Vesuvius.
When St Januarius’ remaining parts were moved to the catacombs in Naples, as a relic, the dried blood in the phials wonderfully melted. It liquifies and bubbles when uncovered in the cathedral. Since that first wonder, St. Januarius has become famous for the liquefaction of his blood, it’s said that St Januarius’ bottled blood melts a few times each year, a dark solid mass in a sealed vial, which becomes liquid when held near relic, believed to be his head. This usually happens on September 19, the first Sunday of May (the day of the transferal of his relics to Naples), and on December 16 (the anniversary of Naples’ deliverance from Vesuvius through the intercession of St. Januarius). This phenomenon has been occurring with regularity for centuries, and is one of the “blood miracles” that is historically well-documented among the relics of certain saints. The “miracle of Januarius” has world-wide fame. This miraculous event has occurred every year, with rare exceptions. Popular tradition holds that the liquefaction is a sign that the year will be preserved from disasters. (In 1939, the beginning of World War II, the blood did not bubble up. But the blood does not always liquefy, and failed to do so September 1939, 1940, 1943, 1973, 1980, and in December 2016 and 2020.) Scientists have for a long time been seeking a natural explanation for this well-attested phenomenon but have never been successful in their quest. St. Januarius is the Patron Saint against volcanic eruptions; blood banks; Benevento, Italy, diocese of; city of Naples, Italy; archdiocese of; Naples, Italy. St. Januarius’s feast day is September 19th.
PRAYER: God, You enable us to celebrate the memorial of Your Martyr, St. Januarius. Grant that we may also enjoy his company in eternal beatitude. Amen 🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091924.cfm
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 7:36-50
“Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love”
“A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord was at a dinner in the house of a Pharisee who invited Him there, and an infamous and sinful woman who was living in that city breaks into a meal uninvited at which Jesus is a guest. She weeps copiously with her tears falling on the feet of Jesus. She then proceeds to wipe her tears away from Jesus’ feet with her hair. She then covers his feet with kisses and anoints them with an alabaster jar of ointment she had brought with her. It was an extravagant outpouring by any standards. This action and event immediately brought about the criticism and harsh remarks from the Pharisees who were gathered there, as they would not even come near those whom they deemed as sinners and unclean. To the Pharisees, such an action would have made them ritually unclean as well, defiling them by association and contact with one whom they deemed as sinners and unworthy before God. To the Pharisee who had invited Jesus to his house, the behaviour of this woman was unseemly, unbecoming, and scandalous, especially as she had a reputation as a sinner. Yet, Jesus understood what lay behind the woman’s extravagant and unconventional behaviour. It was loving gratitude for the gift of God’s merciful love earlier conveyed to her through Jesus. It was love in return for love. She had received the gift of God’s unconditional love from Jesus and, now, she was responding in kind. The Pharisee had not experienced God’s loving forgiveness in the way the woman had and, so, could not understand her gestures. The portrayal of the woman reminds us that we give to the Lord in response to being gifted by the Lord. The experience of receiving the Lord’s unconditional love is the wellspring of a life of loving service of the Lord. Prior to the Lord’s commandment to love one another is the invitation to receive the gift of the Lord’s love. Receiving from the Lord is the inspiration for our giving to him, our loving service of him in and through those who cross our path in life.
In our Gospel reading, there are three characters in the story presented, Simon who hosted the meal, Jesus His guest, and a woman whom no one expected to turn up. According to the story Simon the host failed to show Jesus the usual signs of hospitality that would have been expected in that culture, a basin of water for the guest to wash his feet, a welcome kiss, an anointing of the head with oil. It was the uninvited guest, the woman whom Simon considered a sinner, who showed Jesus all these signs of hospitality in the most extravagant way imaginable. She behaved as the host should have behaved. She showed Jesus a love that the host had failed to show Him. The little parable about the two debtors that Jesus speaks in the middle of the story explains why she showed Jesus more love than Simon had showed. She loved more because she had been forgiven more. Prior to this meal she had experienced the forgiveness of Jesus, the forgiveness of God in Jesus, and that had a transforming effect on her. Her experience of this gift of divine love made her a loving person. Simon, in contrast, had not experienced God’s forgiving love through Jesus, probably because he had no sense of his need for it. Hence, he comes across as cold, distant, unloving. While the woman performs an extraordinary act of loving service for Jesus and Jesus graciously accepts her generous gift. Simon, the Pharisee judges both the woman and Jesus, judging the woman to be a sinner and Jesus for allowing Himself to be ministered to by such a person. The love of the woman for Jesus and the love of Jesus for the woman stand over against the judging attitude of Simon which is directed at both of them. Jesus’ love for the woman, His merciful, forgiving love, inspired the woman’s expression of love for Jesus. Her extravagant gestures were an act of loving gratitude for the assurance of God’s love which Jesus had earlier given to her. She models for us what it is to be a disciple of Jesus. Like her we come before the Lord in our poverty and we open ourselves to the Lord’s loving mercy, and having been deeply touched by his love we are moved to give ourselves generously and freely to His service. Love received bears fruit in love given. The woman, with whom we are asked to identify, stands over against Simon who could neither receive the Lord’s love nor give it to others. The story suggests that we are all equally in need of the Lord’s forgiveness and to the extent that we recognize our need of the Lord’s forgiveness and when we are open to receive it we will become loving people.
In our first reading passage today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region Corinth, the Apostle exhorted them all about everything that the Lord had done for their sake, in sending unto them the deliverance and salvation which He has promised and reassured them for, all that He had told them and their ancestors through the many prophets and messengers He sent to them. St. Paul spoke of how the Lord had begun and then carried out His ministry, calling His Apostles and disciples to follow Him, and to witness everything that He had done and performed. And He revealed all of that as well to St. Paul himself, whom God had called afterwards, turning from a great enemy of the Lord and the faithful to be a most courageous and faithful servant of God and champion of the faith.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are reminded that we have truly received God’s most generous love and mercy, and each and every one of us should truly be thankful and appreciative of the great wonders and kindness that God has given to us, in His patient and persistent love, in Him never giving up on us, in all of these moments. We are reminded how He has come into our midst, showing us His love and mercy manifested perfectly in the flesh, making Himself approachable and tangible for us, revealing the fullness of His patient and ever enduring love and care for us. All of us are truly fortunate that God has never given up on us and still wants us to be reconciled and reunited with Him. Through our exemplary and holy lives of the Holy men and women and the Saints, particularly the story of the faithful and courageous St. Januarius and all the Saints we celebrate today. As we remember the words of the Scriptures about God’s love and generous mercy, let us all therefore remember that each and every one of us are truly beloved by God, and He has always patiently looked after us, caring for us all these while, sending unto us His help and guidance through the various means all around us and in every aspects of our lives. We should therefore be more aware of this great love and blessings which we have indeed received from the Lord, and strive to do our best so that our lives may truly be more attuned and worthy towards Him, by doing what we can so that we may truly be faithful to Him, and to keep ourselves away from all sorts of vices and evils. May the Lord, our ever always loving and merciful God continue to love us all tenderly and may He continue to strengthen us all in our faith so that in everything that we say and do, hopefully we may come ever closer to God and continue to commit ourselves in each and every moments with great compassion and love for both the Lord and for our fellow brethren around us. Let us all humble ourselves and realise that we are all sinners in need of healing and forgiveness from God, and therefore strive to seek Him and to love Him with ever greater passion and commitment with each and every passing moments in our lives. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may He continue to bless us all, empower and strengthen us in faith, in our resolve and commitment to follow Him, now and always. Amen 🙏🏾
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 forgiving Lord, Your mercy and compassion for the sinner is truly awe-inspiring. Thank You for loving me and all Your followers with a love so deep. Please fill my heart with a holy awe at Your incredible mercy. May I always be amazed at Your forgiveness and always be filled with the deepest gratitude as I experience it in my life. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
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 and month of September!🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖