TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 11, 2024

FEAST OF THE DIVINE MATERNITY OF OUR LADY; SAINT JOHN XXIII, POPE AND SAINT TARACHUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

Greetings beloved family. Happy Friday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time!

Today, on this special Feast day, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary with all the Angels and Saints of God in Heaven, may we be comforted as we continue to pray for the gentle repose of the souls 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🙏

On this feast day, we continue to pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are mentally, physically and critically ill and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. 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 🙏

A PRAYER FOR PEACE: Lord Jesus Christ, You are the true King of peace. In You alone is found freedom. Please free our world from conflict. Bring unity to troubled nations. Let Your glorious peace reign in every heart. Dispel all darkness and evil. Protect the dignity of every human life. Replace hatred with Your love. Give wisdom to world leaders. Free them from selfish ambition. Eliminate all violence and war. Glorious Virgin Mary, Saint Michael the Archangel, Every Angel and Saint: Please pray for peace. Pray for unity amongst nations. Pray for unity amongst all people. Pray for the most vulnerable. Pray for those suffering. Pray for the fearful. Pray for those most in need. Pray for us all. Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear our prayers. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen 🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube” | October 11, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | October 11, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary for Peace with Pope Francis” | LIVE Basilica of St. Mary Major | October 6, 2024 |

Pray Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes | October 11, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| October 11, 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 Reading: Friday, October 11, 2024
Reading 1, Galatians 3:7-14
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Gospel, Luke 11:15-26

FEAST OF THE DIVINE MATERNITY OF OUR LADY; SAINT JOHN XXIII, POPE AND SAINT TARACHUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS: Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Divine Maternity of Our Lady; Saint John XXIII and Saint Tarachus and his Companions, Martyrs. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast of the Divine Maternity of Our Lady, we humbly pray for all Mothers, for God’s Divine Grace and Mercy upon us all. We pray for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. We pray for the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable. 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 all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world…. Amen🙏

THE DIVINE MATERNITY OF OUR LADY: By exalting the divine maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church celebrates the most perfect of Mothers, the model for all mothers. This feast was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1931, for the 15th centenary of the Council of Ephesus during which the dogma of Mary’s divine maternity was proclaimed. In the texts of the liturgy, the Church expresses how Mary is the Mother of Jesus, but also our Mother, since it is by her intercession that she obtains for us the grace that unites us supernaturally to her Divine Son. The virginal maternity of Mary applies through Christ, whom she truly engendered in her flesh, to all the members of the Mystical Body of the Son of God. This teaching was exposed by St. Pius X in his encyclical Ad Diem Illum (1904): For is not Mary the Mother of Christ? Then she is our Mother also. Therefore all we who are united to Christ, and as the Apostle says are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Eph. 5:30), have issued from the womb of Mary like a body united to its head. Hence, though in a spiritual and mystical fashion, we are all children of Mary, and she is Mother of us all. Mother, spiritually indeed, but truly Mother of the members of Christ.

The jubilee marking the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus in the year 1931 was celebrated to the great joy of the whole Catholic world. The fathers at that Council, under the guidance of Pope Celestine, formally condemned the errors of Nestorius and declared as Catholic faith the doctrine that the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, was truly the Mother of God. Prompted by holy zeal, Pope Pius XI determined that the memory of so important an event should continue alive in the Church. Accordingly he ordered the renovation of Rome’s famous memorial to the Council of Ephesus, namely, the triumphal arch and transept in the Basilica of St. Mary Major on the Esquiline. His predecessor Pope St. Sixtus III (432-440) had embellished that arch with a beautiful mosaic, but time had done it damage. In an encyclical Pius XI, moreover, underscored the principal teachings of the General Council at Ephesus, developing in detail and with loving affection the singular privilege of divine Motherhood granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He believed that so sublime a mystery should ever become more firmly anchored in the hearts of the faithful. At the same time the Pope singled out Mary, the Mother of God and the one blessed among women together with the holy Family of Nazareth as the foremost model for the dignity and sanctity of chaste married life and for the religious education of youth.

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 ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT JOHN XXIII, POPE: Pope St. John XXIII (1881–1963), was best known for convening the Second Vatican Council. His feast is assigned to the day on which the first session of Vatican II opened in 1962. St. born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, on November 25, 1881 at Sotto il Monte (Bergamo) of a family of sharecroppers. Angelo was the fourth child of 14, born to pious parents. His religious education was entrusted to his godfather, who instilled in him a deep love and admiration of the mystery of God. Desiring to serve God with his life, he entered the minor seminary in 1892 at the age of 11, became a Secular Francsican in 1896 and in 1901 he entered the Pontifical Roman Seminary. On being ordained in 1904, he was appointed secretary to the bishop of Bergamo and taught in the seminary. His great friends among the saints during this formative period were St. Charles Borromeo and St. Francis de Sales, two outstanding intellectuals and also formidable pastors. He served as a military chaplain during the First World War, served as spiritual director of a seminary, and in 1921 served as the Italian president of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1925 Pius XI made him a bishop and sent him to Bulgaria as the Apostolic Visitator. For his Episcopal motto he chose Oboedientia et Pax. In 1935 he was assigned to Turkey and Greece where he ministered to the Catholic population and engaged in dialogue with Orthodox Christianity and with Islam.

During the Second World War he used his diplomatic means to save as many Jews as he could by obtaining safe passage for them. He was created cardinal and Patriarch of Venice in 1953 and was a much loved pastor, dedicating himself completely to the well being of his flock. Elected Pope on the death of Pope Pius XII, he was an example of a ‘pastoral’ Pope, a good shepherd who cared deeply for his sheep. He manifested this concern in his social enyclicals, especially Pacem in Terris, “On peace in the World.” His greatest act as Pope however was undoubtedly the inspiration to convoke the Second Vatican Council, which he opened on October 11, 1962. Pope John’s spirit of humble simplicity, profound goodness, and deep life of prayer radiated in all that he did, and inspired people to affectionately call him “Good Pope John.” In his first public address Pope John expressed his concern for reunion with separated Christians and for world peace. One of his first acts was to annul the regulation of Sixtus IV limiting the membership of the College of Cardinals to 70. He held a diocesan synod for Rome, convoked an ecumenical council for the universal Church, and revised the Code of Canon Law.

His encyclical, Mater et Magistra, was issued in 1961 to commemorate the anniversary of Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum. Pacem in terris, advocating human freedom and dignity as the basis for world order and peace. He elevated the Pontifical Commission for Cinema, Radio, and Television to curial status, approved a new code of rubrics for the Breviary and Missal, made notable advances in ecumenical relations by creating a new Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and by appointing the first representative to the Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in New Delhi (1961). The International Balzan Foundation awarded him its Peace Prize in 1962. Pope John XXIII was elected Pope on October 28, 1958. He died on June 3, 1963 in Rome and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000. He was canonized by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on April 27, 2014, alongside the man who beatified him, Pope St. John Paul II.

PRAYER: Almighty and eternal God, who in the Pope St. John, gave to the whole world the shining example of a good shepherd, grant that, through his intercession, we may with joy spread abroad the fullness of Christian charity. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen 🙏
 
SAINT TARACHUS AND HIS COMPANIONS: In the year 304, Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus, differing in age and nationality, but united in the bonds of faith, being denounced as Christians to Numerian, Governor of Cilicia, were arrested at Pompeiopolis, and conducted to Tharsis. They underwent a first examination in that town, after which their limbs were torn with iron hooks, and they were taken back to prison covered with wounds. Being afterwards led to Mopsuestia, they were submitted to a second examination, ending in a manner equally cruel as the first. They underwent a third examination at Anazarbis, followed by greater torments still. The governor, unable to shake their constancy, had them kept imprisoned that he might torture them further at the approaching games. They were borne to the amphitheatre, but the most ferocious animals, on being let loose on them, came crouching to their feet and licked their wounds. The judge, reproaching the jailers with connivance, ordered the martyrs to be dispatched by the gladiators.

Saint Tarachus and his Companions, Martyrs ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Friday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Luke 11:15-26

“If it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you”

“When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”

In today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of St. Luke, our Lord Jesus was accused by some among the people, likely to be Pharisees and teachers of the Law that He had performed His miracles and signs, works and wonders by the collusion and collaboration with the prince of demons, Beelzebul. They accused Him of having committed this as well as blaspheming against God in His words, teachings and miracle works. According to the Gospel, Jesus was accused of being an instrument of Satan. They see the good He does but they attribute it to an evil source. They demonized Jesus. It is a human temptation to demonize other people or even whole groups of people. In reply to the accusation made against Him Jesus says in the Gospel reading that He does what He does not through the power of Satan but through the finger of God. The healing finger of Jesus was the finger of God but many people failed to recognize that wonderful reality. They were blind to God’s presence in Jesus. We can all suffer from the same blindness to some degree. We fail to see the ways in which God is at work among us. The Gospel reading invites us to be alert to the finger of God, which can take very simple and ordinary forms. When people are present to others in ways that are life-giving and healing, there the finger of God is at work. In the words of Jesus in the Gospel reading, there the kingdom of God has overtaken us. It is good to be on the look-out for the finger of God at work among us. If we are on the look-out, we are more likely to notice the Lord’s presence, and to give thanks and praise to God for all that God is doing among us.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Galatia, the Apostle exhorted the people of God there to believe truly and wholeheartedly in God and not be confined by the bounds of the Law, which was in fact referring to the Law of God that has been revealed to Moses and passed to the Israelites many centuries earlier. St. Paul wanted to tell the people of God that the Law as practiced and observed at his time did not bind anymore as it has been made complete and the fullness of its purpose, reality and meaning had been revealed to us through God’s Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Who had taught us what the Law has truly been intended for, that is to teach us all how to love and how to direct ourselves back towards the Lord, our ever loving God. For the context, this reference to the Law and its observances at the time was meant to refer to the way and manner how the Jewish authorities and influential elites, such as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in particular enforced the Law of God and how they all interpreted these laws, rules and commandments of the Lord. They usually took a very literal, legalistic and strict interpretation of the Law, without fully understanding the context and purpose of those laws and rules in the first place, or why Moses made them in that manner. Not only that, but even worse still, those laws ended up dividing the people and making many of those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law to feel superior and better than the others, proud and judgmental, thinking that they were more worthy of God and His salvation. And linking that to the Law as mentioned by St. Paul in our first reading today, it was a reference to how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law having demanded the people to follow them in the manner how they practiced and lived the Law, containing no less than six hundred and thirteen rules and precepts, many of which were additions, interpretations and expansions accumulated throughout the many centuries that the Law had been passed down and interpreted, then re-interpreted again and again by different people, with different agenda and understanding of the purpose and meaning of the Law of God, that they ended up forgetting why the Law of God was given to the people in the first place by the Lord. What was meant to help bring the people towards the Lord ended up being exclusive, to the point that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law alleged that those who did not obey the whole Law in the manner they did, would not be saved, a fact which St. Paul was critical against.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and chosen people, we have been called and entrusted with His grace and blessings, the assurance of His love and salvation that He has provided to everyone regardless of their background and origins, reaching out to every one of us, children of mankind, showing His ever patient love and kindness, His desire to be reunited and reconciled with us, His wayward children scattered throughout the world. No one can truly separate us from the love of God unless it is we ourselves who willingly distance ourselves from Him and keep rejecting His ever generous offer of love and kindness. As we have all been reminded by the inspiring examples of the lives of the Saints especially, the example set by Pope St. John XXIII, who we celebrate today, in his life and ministry, let us all therefore strive to do our best in our own lives, in our every words, actions and deeds so that we may indeed be great role models of our Christian faith and virtues, and be the shining beacons of God’s light, truth and love. Let us all obey the Lord ever more faithfully in all of our lives and actions, entrusting ourselves to His will. Let us all live our lives henceforth as faithful and genuine Christians, showing true love, care and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters just as Pope St. John XXIII had done. Let us all truly understand the true meaning and purpose of God’s Law, that is the Law of love, so that we may truly learn to love the Lord our God, and also our fellow brothers and sisters, with all of our hearts, with all of our strength and might, at all times and in all circumstances in our every day lives. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, through the examples of His Holy Saints like Pope St. John XXIII and many others continue to inspire us to live our lives ever more worthily in His Holy Presence from now on. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace and keep creating in us a new heart and a new spirit and may all of us continue to bear the Good News and love of God ever more faithfully in our lives, and strive to be ever more faithful in all the things we do in life, now and always, forevermore. Amen 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF OCTOBER:

MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY: The Catholic Church designates and dedicate October as the Month of the Holy Rosary. During this month the faithful venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary especially under her title of Our Lady of the Rosary, and make special effort to honor the Holy Rosary with group recitations and rosary processions. 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 in the 16th century, on October 7, 1571. St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers, is the Saint to whom Our Lady famously appeared and gave the prayers of the Holy Rosary to assist him as a spiritual weapon in combating heresy and leading souls back to the one, true Catholic faith. Our Blessed Mother Mary ~ Pray for us 🙏

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 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 glorious King, You desire to build up Your Kingdom in my life and, through me, in the lives of others. Give me the grace and courage I need to fully accept all that You have taught me and to actively become an instrument of Your grace and truth in the world. May I be with You in all things, dear Lord, and gather many into Your loving arms of grace. 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 John XXIII and Saint Tarachus and his Companions ~ 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, grace-filled month of October and relaxing weekend 🙏🏽

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

Daily Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com

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