TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX – THE LITTLE FLOWER: Starts 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 Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time!

Today, on this special feast day, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saint Vincent de Paul, we humbly pray for the poor and needy, for our children and children all over the world. 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, eye diseases 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 27, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | September 27, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes France” | September 27, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| September 27, 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: Friday September 27, 2024
Reading 1, Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 144:1-2, 3-4
Gospel, Luke 9:18-22

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

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ SEPTEMBER 27TH

MEMORIAL OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL, PRIEST: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Mother of Mercy and Saint Vincent de Paul on this feast day, we humbly pray for the poor, the needy, the weak and most vulnerable among us and in the world. We pray for volunteers and charitable organizations, such as the Saint Vincent de Paul Society that attend to the needs of the poor and most vulnerable among us. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are mentally and physically illness 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 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 VINCENT DE PAUL, PRIEST: St. Vincent de Paul (1581 – 1660) was born to poor parents, Jean de Paul and Bertrande de Moras in southwest of France, near Dax in the Landes (in the old Province of Gascony) on April 24, 1581, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, France. He was a 17th century French Catholic Priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor and marginalized. A great apostle of charity, and brought a great revival of the priesthood in the 17th century. St. Vincent enjoyed his first schooling under the Franciscan Fathers at Acqs. He showed his intellectual gifts from a young age. Such had been his progress in four years that a gentleman chose him as a tutor for his children, and he was thus enabled to continue his studies without being a burden to his parents. In 1596, around age 15 he went to the University of Toulouse for theological studies, and there he was ordained a priest in 1600, and worked as a tutor to students in Toulouse.

During a sea voyage in 1605, from Marseille to Narbonne, as a young priest, St. Vincent was captured by Turkish (Moorish) pirates who sold him into slavery and carried him to Tunis in North Africa. His ordeal of captivity lasted for two years, until 1607, during which time the priest converted his owner to the Christian faith and escaped with him from Tunisia. Afterward, he spent time studying in Rome, and – in a striking reversal of fortune – served as an educator and spiritual guide to members of an upper-class French family when he returned to France. The family of Emmanuel de Gondy, Count of Joigny, and general of the galleys of France. St. Vincent served as a parish priest and ministered to the nobility; however, two life-changing encounters with destitute people inspired him to begin work among the poor and marginalized. Although Vincent had initially begun his priesthood with the intention of securing a life of leisure for himself, he underwent a change of heart after hearing the confession of a dying peasant. Moved with compassion for the poor, he began undertaking missions and founding institutions to help them both materially and spiritually. The one-time slave also ministered to convicts forced to serve in squalid conditions as rowers aboard galley ships. He became successively a parish priest and chaplain to the galley-slaves.

In 1617, he began to preach missions, and in 1625 he laid the foundation for a religious Congregation under the title of Priests of the Mission or Lazarists (now known as Vincentians), was so named on account of the Priory of St. Lazarus, which the Fathers began to occupy in 1633. He bound them by a special way to undertake the apostolic work of charity; he sent them to preach missions, especially to the ignorant peasants of that time, and to establish seminaries. The congregation was part of an effort to evangelize rural populations and foster vocations to remedy a priest shortage. Not long after this, in order to help poor girls, invalids, and the insane, sick and unemployed, he gathered the wealthy women of his parish to collect funds for missionary projects. From this group came the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. He worked with the future Saint Louise de Marillac to organize the Daughters of Charity, now better known as the Sisters of St. Vincent, the first congregation of women religious whose consecrated life involved an extensive apostolate among the poor, the sick, and prisoners. Under Louise’s direction, the order collected donations which Vincent distributed widely among the needy. These contributions went toward homes for abandoned children, a hospice for the elderly, and an immense complex where 40,000 poor people were given lodging and work. Vincent was involved in various ways with all of these works, as well as with efforts to help refugees and to free those sold into slavery in foreign lands.
 
Though admired for these accomplishments during his lifetime, the priest maintained great personal humility, using his reputation and connections to help the poor and strengthen the Church. Doctrinally, Vincent was a strong opponent of Jansenism, a theological heresy that denied the universality of God’s love and discouraged reception of the Eucharist. He was also involved in the reform of several religious orders within France. St. Vincent worked tirelessly to help those in need: the impoverished, the sick, the enslaved, the abandoned, the ignored. St. Vincent de Paul died at the age of eighty, on September 27, 1660, at St. Lazarus’s house, Paris, France, only months after the death of St. Louise de Marillac in March of the same year. Pope Clement XII canonized him in 1737. Leo XIII proclaimed him special patron of charitable institutions. St. Vincent renewed the faith of France during a time of spiritual crisis. For this he was named the patron of charitable works. In 1835, the French scholar Blessed Frederic Ozanam took him as the inspiration and namesake for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, a lay Catholic organization dedicated to working for the relief of the poor, now working in 132 countries. St. Vincent de Paul is the Patron Saint of charitable societies; horses; hospitals; leprosy; lost articles; prisoners; volunteers; spiritual help; Saint Vincent de Paul Societies; Vincentian Service Corps; Madagascar; diocese of Richmond, Virginia. His feast day is September 27th.

Saint Vincent de Paul’s motto: “God sees you. Let us love God; but at the price of our hands and sweat of our face.”

QUOTES OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL:
☆”Go to the poor: you will find God.”
☆”We should spend as much time in thanking God for His benefits as we do in asking Him for them.”
☆”Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.”
☆”Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity.”
☆”Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances.”
☆”The kingdom of God is peace in the Holy Spirit; He will reign in you if your heart is at peace. So, be at peace, Mademoiselle, and you will honor in a sovereign way the God of peace and love.”

PRAYER TO ST. VINCENT DE PAUL (to End the Coronavirus Pandemic): “O Saint Vincent de Paul, our father and model, throughout your life you wished to imitate Jesus, the missionary and servant. In your time, you confronted the plague, the illness of the people. Intercede now with the Holy Trinity on behalf of all the nations on earth visited by the modern scourge. Help the bodies and hearts of all victims. Strengthen caregivers, be close to all neighbors, and enlighten researchers. Walk with those approaching the portals of death.

As you gave strong and ardent advice to struggle against evil, so now come to our aid! Teach us how to expose our lives for the weakest among us, and strengthen us to help them better in fearless perseverance. With the sole desire of aiding them in their needs, open our spirits to God’s infinite providence. Let us endow it with his total will for action. Inspire in us, also, obedience to our leaders, as we now place ourselves in your hands, confident and fortified with genuine feelings of dedication and zeal for our sisters and brothers. Amen”🙏

PRAYER:  St. Vincent, patron of all charitable associations and father of those who are in misery, come to our assistance. Obtain from our Lord help for the poor, relief for the infirm, consolation for the afflicted, protection for the abandoned, a spirit of generosity for the rich, grace of conversion for sinners, zeal for priests, peace for the Church, tranquility and order for all nations, and salvation for them all. May we be united in the life to come, by your intercession, and experience joy, gladness, and everlasting happiness. Amen.🙏

God, You gave St. Vincent de Paul apostolic virtues for the salvation of the poor and the formation of the clergy. Grant that, endowed with the same spirit, we may love what he loved and act according to his teaching. Amen 🙏
 
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today – Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092724.cfm

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus asks the disciples two questions. The first question would have been much easier for them to answer, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’ They had their answers immediately – Elijah, one of the ancient prophets come back to life. However, they would have found Jesus’ second question more difficult to answer, ‘But you, who do you say I am?’ This questions required them to look into their own hearts and be open and honest about who they understood Jesus to be. We sense a hesitation on the part of the disciples. It was St. Peter who eventually spoke up on behalf of the others, ‘The Christ of God’. St. Peter confesses Jesus to be the long awaited Jewish Messiah. He thereby showed great insight into Jesus, and, yet, it was only a limited insight. His answer left open the question as to which kind of Messiah Jesus would turn out to be. Jesus immediately began to indicate the kind of Messiah he would be by speaking of Himself as the Son of Man who was destined to suffer, to be rejected by the religious authorities and to be put to death, all in the service of his loving mission to humankind. It was probably not the kind of Messiah St. Peter had in mind. There was more to Jesus than even St. Peter understood. There is always more to the Lord than we can grasp or understand. He is more loving, more merciful, than we could ever grasp. In one of his letters, Saint Paul spoke of ‘the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge’. We spend our lives growing in our appreciation of the Lord’s love for us, until we reach that eternal moment when we will see Him as He really is. Jesus asks each of us ‘Who do you say I am?’ and we have to answer that question for ourselves. He looks for our own personal response to Him, a response that is our own and not that of others. The Lord relates personally to each of us; He is the good shepherd who calls His own by name and He looks to us to relate personally to Him.

Our first reading today from the Book of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth is the continuation of yesterday’s exhortation about how it is meaningless for us all to seek the earthly matters, glory, fame and worldly ambitions in our daily lives. We are reminded that if we continue to seek all those things, eventually we will regret it and we will not be satisfied no matter how much we seek all sorts of pleasures and satisfaction from the world. Today, we continue on this topic as the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes spoke about how there was time for everything, time for doing things and various activities, time for whatever we often seek to happen or desire in our lives. There is a time for every kind of good and bad things alike, and no matter what we do or try to do, there can be no true satisfaction and meaning for us to worry about what is beyond our control. All of that were meant to remind us that if we fuss about too many things in this life and worry about things that we cannot and do not control or have a say in, then we may end up regretting everything that we have done. No amount of fussing, worrying or planning about our lives can truly satisfy our desires and wants, and in the end, all these things that we planned, toiled and laboured for, all of them are temporary and illusory, and none of them will avail us on the Day of Judgment, especially if because all of those things, pursuits, ambitions and desires, we have forgotten, overlooked and ignored our true calling in life to serve the Lord and to follow Him in all the things that we do. As Christians, we are all expected to do what God has called us to do and to fulfil the missions we have been entrusted with.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded yet again of the need for us all to trust in the Lord and to believe in His love and providence for us. We should not be easily swayed and tempted by all sorts of worldly pleasures and desires, and neither should we allow ourselves to be dissuaded and discouraged because of the various challenges, difficulties and trials that we might have to face amidst our lives, in the path of our journey towards the Lord and His salvation. We must always stand firm in our faith and belief in God, and continue to follow Him wholeheartedly at all times despite the obstacles, persecutions, hardships, challenges and oppressions that we may have to face in the midst of our lives. We are all called to emulate Christ and follow the examples of the Saints and the Holy men and women, especially the life and works of St. Vincent de Paul, who we celebrate today. Let us all therefore be filled with the conviction and the desire to love and serve God anew in our lives, and to be loving to our brothers and sisters around us, especially those who are in need of our love, help and kindness, like those who are poor and ostracised by the society, and all those who have been unloved. Let us all be exemplary, righteous and worthy in all of our actions, so that we may truly be good role models and inspirations for one another in our lives and actions, in our every endeavours and efforts. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us always, and may He remind us all of our obligations and calling to serve Him with faith and commitment, and to proclaim His Good News and truth at all times, in every opportunities available to us. Let us all continue to be good examples and beacons of God’s light and truth in our respective communities, among all those whom we encounter in life. 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 praying Lord, as You spent time alone with the Father, You united Your human nature with Him, thus elevating our nature to a glorious degree. Please draw me to You, dear Lord, so that I may know You and the Father through true, deep and sustaining prayer. May this oneness with You be the cause of my deepest fulfillment in life. 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; Mother of Mercy, Saint Vincent de Paul ~ 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 month of September and relaxing weekend!🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖