TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 22, 2024
NOVENA TO SAINT THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX – THE LITTLE FLOWER: Starts today, September 22-30 – Traditionally, it is prayed from September 22nd through September 30th. Her Memorial Feast Day is October 1st. | Novena link below
Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy Sunday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time!
Today, on this special feast day, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we humbly 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 22, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | September 22 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes France” | September 22, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| September 22, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” oùn YouTube |
Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |
Today’s Bible Readings: Sunday, September 22, 2024
Reading 1, Wisdom 2:17-20
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 54:3-4, 5, 6-8
Reading 2, James 3:16-4:3
Gospel, Mark 9:30-37
NOVENA TO SAINT THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX – THE LITTLE FLOWER: Starts today, September 22-30 – Traditionally, it is prayed from September 22nd through September 30th. Her Memorial Feast Day is October 1st. | https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/novena-to-st-theresa-the-little-flower-11867
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Mark 9:30–37
“The Son of Man is to be handed over.…Whoever wishes to be first will be the servant of all”
“Jesus and His disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but He did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill Him, and three days after His death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question Him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, He began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, He placed it in their midst, and putting His arms around it, He said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus puts before His disciples and before all of us the value of recognising and welcoming greatness in others. There is a world of difference between seeking greatness for oneself and welcoming greatness in others, between seeking honour for oneself and giving honour to others, between a life that is self-serving and one that is at the service of others. Jesus was aware that true greatness can often be found where it is least expected. To make this point to his argumentative disciples, He took a little child into their midst. In the culture of Jesus’ time, the child was considered of little consequence, a symbol of powerlessness, weakness and vulnerability, totally lacking in honour and prestige. Yet, Jesus goes on to identify Himself fully with the child, and indeed to identify the child with God His Father: ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcome me, welcomes… the one who sent me’. Jesus was saying to his disciples, this child whom you consider to be of no significance represents me and the one who sent me. What you think of as greatness is worth nothing in God’s eyes, what you think as of no value is great in God’s eyes.Jesus is reminding us that He Himself and the God who sent Him come to us in the most ordinary and the simple of guises. Our primary ambition as the Lord’s followers should be to recognize and to welcome the Lord in others, especially in the weakness and vulnerability of others. Our calling is to honour others as we would honour the Lord, to relate to all people as we would relate to the Lord, because the Lord comes to us through those who cross our path, especially through those who would not be considered great by the standards of this world. If our ambition is to recognize and welcome the greatness of others, the Lord in others, then the kind of ambition that prevails among the disciples will not take hold of us.
There is at least one other person in the gospels who exemplifies the kind of ambition that Jesus was trying to promote and that is John the Baptist. Even though Jesus came to him for baptism, John recognized and welcomed the greatness of Jesus, declaring, ‘he (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease’. That is a good motto for all of us who are trying to follow the Lord. We are to live in such a way that the honour always goes to the Lord and not to ourselves. The Gospel .reading Jesus is putting before us what His family of disciples, the church, is really about, the service of the Lord in and through the service of the most vulnerable. This, for Jesus, is what constitutes greatness in the eyes of God. We can see evidence of that kind of such greatness in our communities, our neighbourhoods, our families. People are caring in various ways for those who struggle to care for themselves. So much of that caring work is below the radar and those engaged in it would never consider themselves great, but today’s gospel reading assures us that the Lord certainly considers them great.
In our first reading this Sunday, from the Book of Wisdom, the words of the author speaking of the plots and vicious plans certain group of people attempted against the righteous and faithful people of God, and particularly, it also mentioned the Righteous One, the Son of God as the target of these vicious efforts and plans. This Book of Wisdom was written and compiled centuries before the coming of Christ, the Son of God likely referred to by this same author, and therefore, it is indeed a premonition of what was to come, proclaiming the coming of the Salvation in the Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself, Who would indeed face challenges and sufferings amidst His mission in this world, facing rejection and stubbornness from the people to whom He had been sent to, persecution and eventually death on the Cross.
Our second reading this Sunday from the Epistle of St. James, talks about the reason for the rejection and opposition against the Lord, which is also a good reminder for us all so that we do not end up in the same fate as well. St. James mentioned about how we tend to fight and quarrel with each other over worldly desires and pursuits, all because of our clashing desires and ideals, and also our pride, ego and ambitions, our greed and jealousy, all the things which can easily lead us down the slippery slope of disobedience against God and sin. This is why it is important for us all to keep ourselves on guard against all those negative emotions and distractions, all of which had led many among our predecessors to be disobedient and sinful against God. For example, many among the Pharisees who have frequently opposed the Lord and persistently attacked and criticised Him did so most likely because they were jealous of His many achievements and wonderful works of performing miracles, that many among the people who used to follow them and respect them as the religious and intellectual elites of the community, no longer did so and went to seek the Lord Jesus instead. Their pride and ego, their sense of superiority and self-righteousness also added on to this, as they refused to accept the fact that One could have come and revealed to them the truth and the teachings that they themselves did not know about. They hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord despite having heard and seen for themselves on many occasions the truth that God has brought upon them.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, each and every one of us as God’s followers, as His holy and beloved people must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed and turned into the wrong paths by the many temptations all around us which try to pander to our pride, ego and greed within us, and try to tempt and persuade us to move away from the Lord and His righteousness in making us to indulge in our desires for worldly pleasures, fame, glory, comfort and many other things in this world that had led so many of our predecessors into their doom and downfall. Each and every one of them have failed to resist those temptations and allowed those things to pull them away from the path of virtue and righteousness into evil and disobedience against God. This Sunday as we all have been reminded by the Lord through the words of the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore do our best to realign our lives back to the Lord and to devote ourselves more and more, our efforts, time and attention to follow the Lord our God ever more wholeheartedly from now on. Let us all continue to walk ever more worthily in God’s Presence, by returning ourselves to focus once more to Him and to reorientate our whole lives to His cause, doing whatever we can to obey Him and His commandments, and to seek true satisfaction and pleasure from serving and glorifying Him rather than to satisfy our selfish desires and ambitions, which would disappoint us in the end. May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us all in faith, and help us so that we can continue to embrace Him and come ever closer to Him and His salvation. 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 🙏🏾
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA, BISHOP OF VALENCIA; SAINT MAURICE AND THE THEBAN LEGION, SOLDIERS AND MARTYRS; SAINT EMMERAMMUS, BISHOP AND SAINT IGNATIUS OF SANTHIA, PRIEST ~ FEAST SEPTEMBER 22, 2024: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Thomas of Villanova, Bishop of Valencia; Saint Maurice and the Theban Legion, Soldiers and Martyrs; Saint Emmerammus, Bishop and Saint Ignatius of Santhia, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the safety and well-being of those in the military. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are mentally and physically ill, arthritis 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 all widows and widowers. We pray for the poor and needy, 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🙏
SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA, BISHOP OF VALENCIA: Saint Thomas of Villanova, was a 16th century Spanish Augustinian monk and archbishop who lived a life of austerity in order to provide for the spiritual and material needs of his people. Born Thomas Garcia during 1488 in the Spanish region of Castile, in the town of Villanova de los Infantes. St.Thomas was raised to take after the faith and charitable works of his parents Alphonsus and Lucia. His father, a mill worker, regularly distributed food and provisions to the poor, as did his mother. Generous and devout from an early age, their son was also intellectually gifted, beginning his studies at the University of Alcala at age 16. Within ten years he had become a professor of philosophy at that same university, where he taught for two years before being offered a more prestigious position at the University of Salamanca. St. Thomas, however, chose not to continue his academic career. After his father’s death, he had determined to leave much of his inheritance to the poor and sick rather than retaining it himself. At age 28, after much deliberation, St. Thomas embraced a life of chastity, poverty, and religious obedience with his entry into the monastic Order of St. Augustine. St. Thomas made his first vows as an Augustinian in 1517 and was ordained a priest in 1518. He taught theology within his order and became renowned for his eloquent and effective preaching in the churches of Salamanca. This led to his appointment as a court preacher and adviser to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Presented with the prospect of being named an archbishop, St. Thomas initially declined and instead continued his work within the Order of St. Augustine, during a period that saw its expansion across the sea to Mexico. In August of 1544, however, he was ordered by his religious superiors to accept his appointment as the Archbishop of Valencia. St. Thomas arrived wearing the same well-worn monastic habit that he had worn for several years and would continue wearing for years to come. Given a donation to decorate his residence, he funnelled the money to a hospital in need of repair. After his installation, he visited local prisons and ordered changes to be made in response to their inhumane conditions. While continuing his life of monastic asceticism, the archbishop, St. Thomas worked to improve the spiritual lives and living conditions of the faithful. He gave special attention to the needs of the poor, feeding and sheltering them in his own residence. During the same period he worked to promote education, restore religious orthodoxy, and reform the lifestyles of clergy and laypersons. After 11 years leading the Archdiocese of Valencia, St. Thomas of Villanova succumbed to a heart condition at the end of a Mass held in his home on September 8, 1555. He is said to have died on the floor rather than in his bed, which he insisted on offering to a poor man who had come to his house. Pope Alexander VII canonized him in 1658. Saint Thomas of Villanova is the Patron Saint of Villanova University.
Saint Thomas of Villanova, Bishop ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINT MAURICE AND THE THEBAN LEGION, SOLDIERS AND MARTYRS: Saint Maurice and Companions, called the Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum), were Christian soldiers who were massacred in Switzerland because they refused to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. St. Maurice was an officer in the Theban Legion, a unit in the army of the Emperor Maximian Herculius. This Legion, from Upper Egypt, was entirely Christian, and when Maximian ordered his soldiers at Octodurum (now called Martigny, Switzerland) to sacrifice to the gods as a way of ensuring victory in battle, Maurice and two other officers led the Theban Legion in refusing, and the legion withdrew to Agaunum (now St.-Maurice, in the Swiss Canton of Valais). With Maurice encouraging the legionnaires to remain constant, even after the Emperor had the legion decimated (every tenth man killed), the legionnaires answered, “We have arms in our hands, but we do not resist because we would rather die innocent than live by any sin.” Maximian ordered the rest of his army to kill the Christian legionnaires. The Theban legion numbered about 6,600 men, but the actual number killed remains unclear. Others were martyred for refusing to share in the spoils of the legionnaires. St. Eucherius, a fifth-century bishop of Lyons, noted that many miracles took place at the shrine of these martyrs. They are buried under the Basilica of St.-Maurice-en-Valais in Switzerland. Patron Saint against gout; against cramping; against arthritis; Alpine troops; armies; Austria; clothmakers; dyers; infantrymen; Piedmont, Italy; Sardinia; soldiers; swordsmiths; weavers.
Saint Maurice and the Theban Legion, Soldiers and Martyrs ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINT EMMERAMMUS, BISHOP: St. Emmerammus lived in the 7th century and is known to have preached the Gospel in Poitiers as a missionary (and possibly even Bishop). He then decided to bring the faith to the pagans in Germany and Bavaria. When he got there, he was asked by Duke Theodo to minister to his subjects in Regensberg. The Saint remained there three years, leading to conversion of a goodly number. Then Emmerammus decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome. As the story goes, Uta, the daughter of the Duke, was expecting a child out of wedlock. Uta named Emmerammus as the father. When Duke Theodo and his son Lantpert learned of Uta’s pregnancy, Lantpert went after the man of God. Lantpert caught up with him and apparently treated him very badly. Although the Saint escaped from going back, he died from his injuries when he reached Feldkirchen, about the year 690. The Revised Martyrology states that St. Emmerammus was “slain for Christ’s sake”, and the Church regards him as a Bishop even though his name does not appear on the episcopal lists of any See.
PRAYER: Lord, through St. Emmeramus, Your Bishop, You brought those who had no faith out of darkness into the light of Truth. By his intercession, keep us strong in our faith and steadfast in the hope of the Gospel he preached. Amen 🙏
SAINT IGNATIUS OF SANTHIA, PRIEST: St. Ignatius of Santhia (1686-1770) was born in Italy to an upper-class family. He received his early education from a devout priest, a relative of his mother, who inspired him to join the priesthood. He studied philosophy and theology, and after his ordination served as a diocesan priest for six years. St. Ignatius earned a reputation as an excellent preacher of retreats and missions, and he had a promising future within the diocese. His family and parishioners were surprised and disappointed when he decided to join the Capuchin Franciscans in Turin as a poor, humble friar. However, St. Ignatius flourished in the poverty and simplicity of the Franciscan way of life. He became well-known for his wisdom and sanctity, and many people from all walks of life came to him for confession and spiritual direction. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed the rosary faithfully. He served God with humble obedience and inspired this virtue in the Franciscan novices over whom he had charge. He spent his last years on a sickbed where he continued to hear confessions and give direction to his visitors. St. Ignatius of Santhia’s feast day is September 22nd.
Saint Ignatius of Santhia, Priest ~ 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:
Most glorious Lord, You are Greatness Itself. You are our eternal glory. I thank You for the natural desire for greatness that has been instilled within my soul. Please purify that desire, and help me to direct it toward holiness so that I will be able to store up in Heaven the many treasures You wish to bestow. 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 Mary; Saint Thomas of Villanova; Saint Maurice and the Theban Legion; Saint Emmerammus and Saint Ignatius of Santhia ~ 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 week and month of September!🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖