TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 1ST

Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy Tuesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time!

Happy New Month of October! We thank God for the gift of life and the gift of a new month. And Happy Independence Day to the people of Nigeria, as Nigeria celebrates 64 years of independence. We pray for justice, peace, unity and stability in Nigeria and may God guide and direct the elected leaders to serve with the fear of God, justice, peace, love and faith. May the will of God prevail over Nigeria. Amen 🙏

Today, on this special feast day through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), Virgin and Doctor of the Church, we humbly pray for those who are gravely ill, all missionaries and aviators. We pray for our children and children all over the world, for students, for those seeking for the fruit of the womb, for the poor and needy, we pray for difficult marriages, for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. Amen 🙏

We pray for the sick, especially those who are critically ill. For the gentle repose of the soul of our loved ones who recently passed away, we 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. 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 from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | October 1, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube” | October 1, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes France” | October 1, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| October 1, 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: Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Reading 1, Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 88:2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8
Gospel, Luke 9:51-56

SAINT OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS (SAINT THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX), VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH AND SAINT REMIGIUS, BISHOP – FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 1ST: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), Virgin and Doctor of the Church and Saint Remigius, Bishop. 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 all missionaries, pilots and all travelers. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are sick with the coronavirus, mental illness, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, throat diseases 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 THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS. (SAINT THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX), VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) or Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face was a French Discalced Carmelite nun, popularly known as The Little Flower. She was a highly influential model of sanctity for others because of the “simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life.” She entered Carmel at the early age of 15 and died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. Together with St. Francis of Assisi she is one of the most popular saints in the history of the Church. Pope Pius X called her “the greatest saint of modern times.” St. Thérèse was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, and made the third woman Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II after Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa of Avila. St. Thérèse was born Marie Frances Thérèse Martin at Alencon in Normandy, France on January 2, 1873, the youngest of five daughters. Her family was devoutly religious, and all five surviving siblings, all daughters, entered the convent. From an early age Therese desired to give herself totally to Jesus. St. Thérèse was brought up in a model Christian home. Her father, Louis, was a watchmaker, and her mother, Zelie, who died of breast cancer when St. Thérèse was four, she was a lace maker. This event changed her personality from merry and bright to withdrawn and sensitive. She also suffered a strange illness that brought her near death. Her sisters prayed for her recovery, and St. Thérèse was completely healed after she saw the Virgin Mary statue in her room smile down on her. Just before her 14th birthday, on Christmas Eve, St. Thérèse had a mystical experience of the Child Jesus. Her sensitiveness disappeared and her faith was greatly fortified. She attended daily Mass with her father and cultivated her strong desire for the salvation of souls. While still a child she felt the attraction of the cloister, and at fifteen obtained permission to enter the Carmelite of Lisieux in 1889 where two of her sisters were professed. Recognizing her youth and weakness, and unable to do the great things for God in the world that her heart desired, she determined that she would follow the path of spiritual childhood at the feet of Jesus, as His “Little Flower”, and instead focus on small acts of kindness for love of Jesus and interior acts of self-denial, a spirituality called “The Little Way.” For the next nine years she lived a very ordinary religious life. There are no miracles, exploits or austerities recorded of her. She attained a very high degree of holiness by carrying out her ordinary daily duties with perfect fidelity, having a childlike confidence in God’s providence and merciful love and being ready to be at the service of others at all times. She also had a great love of the Church and a zeal for the conversion of souls. She prayed especially for priests. St. Thérèse took for her motto the well-known words of the great Carmelite mystic St. John of the Cross: “love is repaid by love alone.” With these thoughts ever present in her mind, her heart found courage to endure hours and days of bitterness that few Saints have been privileged to undergo. She understood deeply the meaning of those mysterious words of St. Paul: ”Far be it from me to glory save in the Cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, by which I am crucified to the world and the world is crucified to me. I fill up those things are wanting in the sufferings of Christ for His members” (Gal 6:14).

St. Thérèse offered herself as a sacrificial victim to the merciful Love of God on June 9, 1895, the feast of the Most Holy Trinity and the following year, on the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, she noticed the first symptoms of Tuberculosis, the illness which would lead to her death. St. Thérèse recognized in her illness the mysterious visitation of the divine Spouse and welcomed the suffering as an answer to her offering the previous year.  She also began to undergo a terrible trial of faith which lasted until her death a year and a half later.  “Her last words, ‘My God, I love you,’ are the seal of her life,” said Pope John Paul II. St. Thérèse died of Tuberculosis on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24, and was canonized in 1925. Since her death, millions have been inspired by her ‘little way’ of loving God and neighbor. Many miracles have been attributed to her intercession. She had predicted during her earthly life that “My Heaven will be spent doing good on Earth.”
She has never ceased to fulfill her promise. Her high degree of holiness, her interior life was discovered and known through her autobiography called “Story of a Soul” (Collections of her letters and restored versions of her journals have been published recently.) Within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized. Her “Little Way” became profoundly influential around the world, and although she was not a learned scholar, her deep theological life caused Pope St. John Paul II to proclaimed St. Thérèse a Doctor of the Church in 1997 – 100 years after her death at the age of 24. She is only the third woman to be so proclaimed, after Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa of Avila. St. Thérèse is the Patron Saint of florists; foreign missions; missionaries; pilots; against sickness; against tuberculosis; AIDS sufferers; illness; aviators; pilots; air crews; loss of parents; Australia; France; Russia; Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska; Diocese of Fresno, California; Diocese of Juneau, Alaska; Diocese of Pueblo, Colorado. St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s feast day is October 1st.

QUOTES OF SAINT THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS:
☆ “Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you – for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart… The guest of our soul knows our misery; He comes to find an empty tent within us – that is all He asks.”
☆’You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”

PRAYER: God our Father, You destined Your Kingdom for Your children who are humble. Help us to imitate the way of St. Therese, so that, by her intercession, we may attain the eternal glory that You promised. Amen 🙏
 
SAINT REMIGIUS, BISHOP: St. Remigius (437-533) also known as St. Remi, Remigius of Reims, emi…, Remigio…, Remigiusz…, Romieg…, he was the “Apostle of the Franks,” Bishop of Rheims, Lord Chancellor of France, renowned Scholar and Rhetorician, Missionary and zealous Preacher of the Gospel for the glory of the Kingdom of God, miracle-worker. St. Remigius was born on 437 AD, Cerny-en-Laonnois, France, the son of Count Emilius of Laon and St. Celina. He became known for his preaching, and in 459, when he was only twenty-two, he was appointed bishop of Rheims. He was ordained and consecrated and reigned for more than seventy years, devoting himself to the evangelization of the Franks. In 496, Clovis, pagan King of northern Gaul, supposedly in response to a suggestion by his wife, Clotildis, a Christian, invoked the Christian God when the invading Alemanni were on the verge of defeating his forces, whereupon the tide of battle turned and Clovis was victorious. St. Remigius, aided by St. Vedast, instructed him and his chieftains in Christianity, and soon after baptized Clovis, his two sisters, and three thousand of his followers. St. Remigius was a zealous proponent of orthodoxy, opposed Arianism, and converted an Arian bishop at a synod of Arian bishops in 517. He was censured by a group of bishops for ordaining one Claudius, whom they felt was unworthy of the priesthood, but St. Remigius was generally held in great veneration for his holiness, learning, and miracles. He was the most influential prelate of Gaul and is considered the apostle of the Franks. He died of natural causes on January 13, 533 AD, at Reims, France.

St. relics were kept in the cathedral of Reims, whence Hincmar had them translated to Epernay during the period of the invasion by the Northmen, thence, in 1099, at the instance of Leo IX, to the Abbey of Saint-Remy. His sermons, so much admired by Sidonius Apollinaris (lib. IX, cap. lxx), are not extant. On his other works we have four letters, the one containing his defence in the matter of Claudius, two written to Clovis, and a fourth to the Bishop of Tongres. St. Remigius is the Patron Saint of France; against epidemics; against fever; plague; against religious indifference; snakes; against throat pain, of France, Dhuy, Belgium, Rheims, France, Archdiocese and City, Arignano, Italy. Feast Days: January 13; October 1 (translation of relics); January 15 (France, General Calendar), 3rd Sunday in September (Arignano, Italy).

Saint Remigius, Bishop ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Bible Readings for today, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), Virgin and Doctor of the Church | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Luke 9:51-56

“He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem”

“When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.”

In today’s Gospel reading, we find Jesus setting out on what will be a difficult journey, His journey to Jerusalem where He is aware rejection and death await Him. In the Gospel reading, the reaction of the disciples to the hostility from the Samaritans is very human. The disciples react harshly to the Samaritan village that refused hospitality to Jesus and His disciples. They wanted Jesus to use His influence with God to ensure that they were punished. Jesus again rebukes these two disciples. Rather than responding to their request, He simply went on to another village.  According to the Gospel, as Jesus headed south from Galilee to Jerusalem, He sent His disciples into a Samaritan village to prepare the way for Him. However, the Samaritans would not receive this Jew heading for Jerusalem. The disciples lash out verbally, asking Jesus if they should beseech God to destroy this village. However, Jesus did not appreciate His disciples’ angry outburst and rebuked them. Instead, He accepted the Samaritans’ rejection of Him and went on to another village. Jesus was not prepared to add to the animosity between Jews and Samaritans by responding to the Samaritans as they had to Him. In Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, the risen Lord would again reach out to the Samaritans, this time through the preaching and ministry of Philip. On this occasion, the Samaritans respond enthusiastically to Jesus and His Gospel. Jesus was prepared to wait on people; He did not take an initial rejection as their last word. Jesus is prepared to wait on us all. He keeps seeking us out in His love, even when our first or even second response to Him is less than promising. He also looks to us to wait on each other, rather than returning insult for insult, injury for injury, as the disciples wanted to do. Jesus shows us that how people relate to us need not determine how we relate to them. Rather, we are called to relate to others as the Lord relates to us.

In Luke’s Gospel especially, Jesus’ mission is to reveal the hospitable love of God for all, even for those who rejected God’s Son. He puts into practice His own teaching to love the enemy, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, to pray for those who abuse us. The father in the story of the prodigal son is very much a Jesus figure in that sense; he showed abundant love for the son who had cursed and abused him. In another scenario in the Gospel, Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan, another Jesus figure who showed love to his traditional enemy, a Jew. Jesus makes the hero of that parable a member of the same group who had refused Jesus hospitality. There is a bigness of spirit here, a generosity of heart, which we are all called to give expression to in our lives, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In our first reading today from the Book of Job, Job cursed his day and asking why he was born. Job asks why he wasn’t born dead, buried like an untimely birth, or given the chance to sleep peacefully with kings and counselors. He also asks why light is given to the toilers and life to the bitter in spirit. Job complains that he’s set up as a target for attack and that he’d rather be dead than endure his pains. As Job expresses a desire to lie down and be tranquil, he also complains that God observes him every day and tries him at every moment. The moral of Job is that in every circumstances, in the face of both a harsh and collapsing world, Job’s honesty and steadfastness must be our guiding force. So while we do not always know why we suffer, we can bring our pain and grief to God and trust that He is wise and knows what He’s doing. The book of Job invites us to trust God’s wisdom and character no matter our circumstances.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of a very important thing that all of us as Christians have to do in our lives, and that is for us to be obedient, to the will of the Lord, our God and Master, in all things and in everything we say and do in our lives. Each and every one of us as Christians should always be truly dedicated and committed to the path which God has shown and revealed to us, in carrying out His Law and commandments at every moments of our lives and to the best of our abilities in doing what is righteous, just and full of Christian virtues as much as possible. We have to be truly dedicated to God in all things, and not just in name or formality only. Therefore, let us all remind ourselves each day and at every moment, so that we may always strive to do our best to be the good role models and examples for our fellow brothers and sisters, as good and loving Christians, filled with care and concern for our fellow men and women, and always striving to do what God has taught and shown us to do, in every opportunities presented to us. Let us all remind and inspire one another that our every works, actions and deeds may always truly glorify the Lord, our God and Master.

On this Feast day, we reflect on the live of St. Therese of the Child Jesus (St. Therese of Lisieux), whose devotion to God and great holiness inspired many others to follow the Lord and to renew their faith in Him. Her famous ‘Little Way’ is inspiration for many up to this day on how each and every one of us can be faithful to God and be good contributors to the good works and missions of the Church through every little things and actions we carry out in our daily living. Today we are all called to reflect upon the good examples of the Holy men and women, particularly the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus who we celebrate today, as we also ponder upon the message of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received from the Lord. We are all reminded that as Christians we need to realise our role and responsibilities in doing our part and efforts in whatever we can contribute to the good works of the Church, even in the smallest things. Like what St. Therese of Lisieux told us in her ‘Little Way’ it is a reminder for all of us that even in the seemingly very small and insignificant things we do, we may be surprised to find out just what kind of impact we may have on those around us, and what we can do for others which may benefit them and touch their lives, inspiring them to come towards the Lord. Let us all hence continue to do our best to approach the Lord faithfully and with great love and commitment, doing our part to come towards Him like those of little children, truly and wholeheartedly being faithful and dedicated to Him, seeking Him purely out of love and desire to be reconciled and reunited with Him, and not because of any selfish and worldly ambitions and desires. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to serve those in need through our missionary efforts and journey. May the Lord continue to bless us and strengthen us in our every moments, efforts and endeavours, in everything that we say and do in our lives and may St. Thérèse of Lisieux, of the Child Jesus continue to pray for us and intercede for us sinners, always. Amen 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF OCTOBER:

MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY: We dedicate the month of October to the Holy Rosary. The Lady of the Rosary honors a large battle between the Catholic Church and the Muslim caliphate of the Ottoman Empire. This battle, in the Gulf of Patras, near Greece, took place on in the 16th century, on October 7, 1571.

THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY: Until about the 15th century hundreds of mysteries were part of the Rosary devotion then the 15 mysteries that we know today were definitively fixed as “the Mysteries of the Rosary.” Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, in 2002 added the five Luminous Mysteries.

Through the meditations of the complete Rosary one recalls and has impressed on his mind, the Popes tell us, “the chief mysteries of the Christian religion,” “the mysteries of our Redemption,” “the great mysteries of Jesus and His Mother united in joys, sorrows, and triumphs.” The twenty mysteries are divided into four equal groups, known as “The Joyful,” “The Sorrowful,” “The Glorious,” and “The Luminous Mysteries.”

PRAYER OF ST. LOUISE DE MONTFORT: O Jesus living in Mary, come and live in Your servants, in the spirit of Your holiness, in the fullness of Your might, in the perfection of Your ways, in the truth of Your virtues, in the communion of Your mysteries. Subdue every hostile power, the devil, the world and the flesh, in the strength of Your Spirit, for the glory of Your Father, Amen 🙏🏽

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/10_1.cfm

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER – FOR A SHARED MISSION: We pray that the Church continue to sustain in all ways a Synodal lifestyle, as a sign of co-responsibility, promoting the participation, the communion and the mission shared among priests, religious and lay people.

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 courageous Lord, You faced Your suffering with much courage, strength, surrender and hope. You saw the value of Your free embrace of Your suffering and chose it with all the power of your soul. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord, to also resolutely determine to journey toward the cross I am called to embrace in life, so that my free embrace of my cross will unite me more fully with You. 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 Thérèse of the Child Jesus and Saint Remigius, Bishop ~ 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 fruitful week and month of October 🙏🏽

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖