TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 19, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE: Starting today, October 19th (Day 1). Novena to Saint Jude is prayed for Desperate Situations and Desperate Cases—especially for an end to war and terrorism. Prayed anytime of year, especially October 19–27th in preparation for the Feast of Saint Jude on October 28th | Novena link below

Greetings, and blessings beloved family. Happy Saturday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time!

On this special Feast day, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we humbly pray for God’s Divine Grace and Mercy upon us all. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are sick with throat diseases, 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 🙏

May our Blessed Mother Mary Intercede for all those in pain and sorrow. We particularly pray for those mourning the loss of a loved one. 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🙏

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 19, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | October 19, 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 19, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| October 19, 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: Saturday, October 19, 2024
Reading 1, Ephesians 1:15-23
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 8:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Gospel, Luke 12:8-12

NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE: Starting today, October 19th. Novena to Saint Jude is prayed for Desperate Situations and Desperate Cases—especially for an end to war and terrorism. Prayed anytime of year, but especially October 19–27th in preparation for the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude on October 28th. Pray the following each day for nine days in a row. This is the traditional Novena to Saint Jude and can be prayed any time of year | https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-to-st-jude–desperate-situations-and-hopeless-cases-305

NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE: Desperate Situations and Hopeless Cases ~ DAY 1

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly – (make your request here) – and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.
Amen 🙏

PRAYER: May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, and loved in all the tabernacles until the end of time. Amen 🙏

May the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised and glorified now and forever. Amen 🙏

St. Jude pray for us and hear our prayers. Amen 🙏

Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Blessed be St. Jude Thaddeus, in all the world and for all Eternity. (say this prayer, followed by the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be)

Dear Apostle and Martyr for Christ, you left us an Epistle in the New Testament. With good reason many invoke you when illness is at a desperate stage. We now recommend to your kindness (name of patient) who is in a critical condition. May the cure of this patient increase his/her faith and love for the Lord of Life, for the glory of our merciful God. Amen 🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINTS JOHN (JEAN) DE BREBEUF, ISAAC JOGUES, PRIESTS AND MARTYRS; AND THEIR COMPANIONS, MARTYRS; SAINT PETER OF ALCANTARA AND BLESSED JERZY (GEORGE) POPIELUSZKO, PRIEST ~ FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 19TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saints John (Jean) de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs; and their Companions, Martyrs; Saint  Peter of Alcantara and Blessed Jerzy (George) Popieluszko, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for God’s Divine Grace and Mercy upon us all. 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 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 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🙏

SAINTS JOHN (JEAN) DE BREBEUF, ISAAC JOGUES, PRIESTS AND MARTYRS; AND THEIR COMPANIONS, MARTYRS: Today we honor the eight men known as the North American Martyrs. They included six French Jesuit priests and two lay missionaries who worked among the Huron tribe in Canada and upstate New York. These were French Jesuit missionaries who died as martyrs in North America where they preached the Gospel. The North American Martyrs gave their lives to share Christ with the native people of this continent. They were the first missionaries to go to Canada and North America after J. Cartier discovered Canada in 1534. Their mission region extended from Nova Scotia to Maryland. These missionaries had faced extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances in their efforts to share the Good News. They are: Saints Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel, Rene Goupil and John de Lalande (the first six Jesuits, the last two laymen), preached the gospel to the Iroquois and Huron Indians, tribes in the United States and Canada and after being tortured, they were martyred in the area of what is now Auriesville, New York.

St. Isaac Jogues, in particular, is outstanding. In the course of his labors preaching the Gospel to the Mohawks in Canada he penetrated to the eastern entrance of Lake Superior, one thousand miles inland and became the first European to do so. In 1642, he was taken captive by the Iroquois and imprisoned for thirteen months. During this time, he underwent cruel tortures and ultimately lost the use of his hand. St. Isaac Jogues (1607–1646) was born in France to a middle-class family, and at the age of 17 entered a Jesuit seminary where he displayed a talent for writing and teaching. He was ordained in January of 1636 at the age of 29, and three months later was sent as a missionary priest to the rugged wilderness of New France (now Canada) to work among the Huron and Algonquin Native American tribes. Despite the hardship of life in the wilderness, St. Isaac experienced great spiritual joy in his mission. One day, six years into his work, he was captured by a Mohawk-Iroquois war party. He was enslaved and ritually tortured, in addition to being malnourished and inadequately clothed. His hands were severely mutilated and many of his fingers destroyed, which prevented his ability to say Mass. He continued to preach the faith and was named Ondessonk, “the indomitable one,” by his Mohawk captors. After over a year in captivity he escaped with the help of Dutch settlers. He went back to France where he was honored as a “living martyr.” He obtained special permission from the pope to say Mass with his mutilated hands. Instead of continuing his life in peace, St. Isaac was zealous to return to his mission field. He returned to New France, and by that time a peace treaty was arranged between the warring native tribes allowing him to work among the Mohawks. However, when they suffered a crisis of crop failure and epidemic disease, the Mohawks blamed the Christians for sorcery and attacked the settlers. St. Isaac Jogues died after being tomahawked in the head, and his body was thrown into the Mohawk River. He is the patron of the Americas and Canada. Isaac Jogues earned the name “Apostle of the Mohawks” for his work. New York state’s first Catholic baptismal record was due to his priestly ministry.

Sts. Isaac Jogues; John de Brébeuf, and the other six companions, French Jesuits, were among the missionaries who preached the Gospel to Huron and Iroquois tribes in the United States and Canada. They were martyred by the Iroquois in the years between 1642, 1648 and 1649. Sts. Jogues and John de Lalande, the second lay missionary, were killed in 1646. Two years later in 1648, Father Antoine Daniel followed them in death. The four remaining priests, Fathers Jean de Brebeuf, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, and Gabriel Lalemant  were all martyred in 1649.  Pope Pius XI beatified them on June 21, 1925, and on June 29, 1930, they were canonized by the same Pontiff. Ten years after the martyrdom of St. Isaac Jogues, St. Kateri Tekakwitha was born in the same village in which he died, Auriesville, New York. The North American Martyrs clearly understood what matters to God. They willingly endured suffering and death to share the message of salvation with those who did not know our Lord, the Son of God. These martyrs are Patron Saints of North America, co-patrons of Canada.

PRAYER: God, You consecrated the spread of the Faith in North America by the preaching and martyrdom of Sts. John and Isaac and their companions. Through their intercession may the Christian Faith continue to grow throughout the world. Amen 🙏

SAINT PETER OF ALCANTARA, PRIEST: St. Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562) was a Spanish Franciscan friar of noble birth. Born in Alcántara, Cáceres (Spain) in 1499. He was friends of many 16th century saints including St Teresa of Avila. He was her confessor and spiritual director and encouraged her in her reformation of the Carmelite Order. St. Peter was a priest, mystic, writer, preacher, and provincial of the Observant Franciscans. He worked towards church reform, starting with himself, practicing severe penances and patience. At times he only ate once in 3 days and sleeping 90 minutes a night. He started the Alcantarine reforms, which followed a stricter order of the rule of St. Francis. He died while praying on his knees on at Arenas de San Pedro, Avila (Spain) on October 18, 1562 at the age of 62-63. He was Beatified on April 18, 1622 by Pope Gregory XV and Canonized on April 28, 1669 by Pope Clement IX. St. Peter of Alcantara is the Patron Saint of night watchmen, Eucharistic adoration, Brazil, Estremadura Spain, Pakil.

SAINT PETER OF ALCANTARA’S QUOTE:“The trouble is everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself” ~ St. Peter of Alcantara

Saint Peter of Alcantara, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏

BLESSED JERZY (GEORGE) POPIELUSZKO, PRIEST: Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947-1984) was born Alfons Popiełuszko on September 14, 1947 at Okopy, near Suchowola, Polish People’s Republic, a village in eastern Poland bordering modern-day Ukraine. He was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the opposition Solidarity trade union in Communist Poland. He suffered terribly for his faith while in school and military service. While World War II had ended, the regime of the Communist Party had taken place of the Nazis and ruled Poland at the time. As a young man, Bl. Popiełuszko served his required time in the army before completing seminary studies and becoming a priest for the Archdiocese of Warsaw. He was ordained on May 28, 1972 at the age of 24. As a priest in Warsaw, Popiełuszko served in both regular and student parishes until 1980 when he was assigned as chaplain to the Solidarity trade union in Poland, reminding the striking workers to follow the Gospel and abandon violence. He became known for his steadfast, non-violent resistance to Communism, about which he spoke frequently in his homilies, which were broadcast on Radio Free Europe. As Solidarity grew, so did Fr. Popieluszko’s popularity and message, and the government’s frustration and death attempts on his life. Communist security officers brutally beat and killed him in 1984 for speaking the truth and encouraging the Solidarity movement. He said, “Truth never changes. It cannot be destroyed by any decision or legal act. Telling the truth with courage is a way leading directly to freedom. A man who tells the Truth is a free man despite external slavery, imprisonment or custody.” Bl. Popiełuszko participated in the Solidarity worker’s strike in Warsaw on March 27, 1981, a four-hour national warning strike that essentially ground Poland to a halt, and was the biggest strike in the history of the Soviet Bloc and in the history of Poland. After this strikes, the Communist party declared martial law until July 1983 in the country, severely restricting the daily life of Poles in an effort to clamp down on their growing political opposition. During this time, Bl. Popiełuszko celebrated monthly “Masses for the Homeland” on the last Sunday of the month, advocating for human rights and peaceful resistance of Communism, and attracting thousands of attendees. His Warsaw office had also become an official hub for Solidarity activities. It was also during this time that Communist attacks against the priest escalated. In 1982, Communist authorities attempted to bomb the priest’s home, but he escaped unharmed. In 1983, Bl. Popiełuszko was arrested on false charges by the Communist authorities, but was released shortly thereafter following significant pressure from the Polish people and the Catholic Church.

According to a 1990 article in the Washington Post, Cardinal Józef Glemp, Archbishop of Warsaw at the time, received a secret message from the Polish Pope John Paul II, demanding that Glemp defend Bl. Popiełuszko and advocate for his release. “Defend Father Jerzy – or they’ll start finding weapons in the desk of every second bishop,” the pope wrote. But the Communist officials did not relent. According to court testimony, in September 1984 Communist officials had decided that the priest needed to either be pushed from a train, have a “beautiful traffic accident” or be tortured to death. His crimes: encouraging peaceful resistance to Communism via the radio waves of Radio Free Europe, and working as chaplain to the workers of the Solidarność (Solidarity) movement and trade union, which was known for its opposition to Communism. On October 13, 1984, Bl. Popiełuszko managed to avoid a traffic accident set up to kill him. The back-up plan, capture and torture, was carried out by Communist authorities on October 19, 1984. They lured the priest to them by pretending that their car had broken down on a road along which the priest was travelling. The captors reportedly beat the priest with a rock until he died, and then tied his mangled body to rocks and bags of sand and dumped it in a reservoir along the Vistula River. His body was recovered on Oct. 30, 1984. His death grieved and enraged Catholics and members of the Solidarity movement, who had hoped to accomplish social change without violence. “When the news was announced at his parish church, his congregation was silent for a moment and then began shrieking and weeping with grief,” the BBC wrote of the priest’s death. “The worst has happened. Someone wanted to kill and he killed not only a man, not a Pole, not only a priest. Someone wanted to kill the hope that it is possible to avoid violence in Polish political life,” Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, a friend of Popiełuszko, said at the time. He also urged mourners to remain calm and peaceful during the priest’s funeral, which drew more than a quarter of a million people. Again facing pressure from the Church and the Polish people, Poland’s president Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski was forced to answer for the priest’s death, and arrested Captain Grzegorz Piotrowski, Leszek Pękala, Waldemar Chmielewski and Colonel Adam Pietruszka as responsible for the murder. “Our intelligence sources in Poland do not believe it,” the Washington Post reported in 1990, when the case was being revisited. “Jaruzelski had presided over a far-reaching anti-church campaign. At least two other priests died mysteriously. And Jaruzelski created the climate that allowed the SB (Communist secret service) to persecute and kill Father Jerzy.”

In 2009, Bl. Popiełuszko was posthumously awarded the Order of the White Eagle, the highest civilian or military decoration in Poland. That same year, he was declared a martyr of the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI, and on June 6, 2010 he was beatified. A miracle in France through the intercession of Popiełuszko is being investigated in France as the final step in his cause for canonization. Bl. Popiełuszko is one of more than 3,000 priests martyred in Poland under the Nazi and Communist regimes which dominated the country from 1939-1989. The Archbishop Stanisław Budzik of Poland and the Polish bishops’ conference released a statement honoring the memory of Father Popiełuszko and all the 20th century priest martyrs of Poland. “Today, remembering Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, we remember the unswerving priests who preached the Gospel, served God and people in the most terrible times and had the courage not only to suffer for the faith but to give what is most dear to men: their lives.” Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko died on October 19, 1984 (aged 37) at Włocławek, Polish People’s Republic. He was Beatified on June 6, 2010 at Warsaw, Poland by Archbishop Angelo Amato on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. A miracle attributed to his intercession and required for his canonization is now under investigation. Blessed Jerzy is the Patron Saint of Solidarity.

Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Luke 12:8-12

“The Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say”

“Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus calls on His disciples to be courageous in bearing witness to Him, in declaring themselves for Him in the presence of others. He also promises them that in bearing witness to Him they won’t be left to their own resources. Rather, as Jesus says, when the time comes the Holy Spirit will teach them what they must say. The Lord told His disciples that everything which they had to face in the midst of their mission and journey, their work and commitment, all of these would be faced together with God by their side, and they would never be alone, as the Lord would give them His guidance, help and strength, granting and blessing them with His Holy Spirit, the great Advocate and Helper, Who would encourage and inflame our hearts, guiding us to the right path and giving us the strength and wisdom to stand up for our faith, if we continue to put our trust in His love and faithfulness, as we should always do. The Lord also prepared us saying that there would indeed be challenges, trials and obstacles, and we must be ready for them, but we must not be afraid of them. As Christians, each and every one of us must always have that firm faith and conviction to trust the Lord and follow Him at all times. We must not allow ourselves to be dissuaded, tempted and coerced otherwise to think that we are alone in all the challenges and sufferings that we may be facing in life and in our journey and mission as Christians, because that is exactly what the evil one is trying hard to do, to convince us that we are all alone and that God is not there for us, when He has actually always been there for us, guiding us and strengthening us, providing for us generously all throughout every steps and moments of the journey and mission in our lives. We should continue to be faithful to the Lord and to do whatever we can so that we may indeed live our lives in the manner that is truly holy and worthy of God at all times.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus calls upon us to declare ourselves publicly for Him. We are not to be afraid to witness publicly to our faith in the Lord. It can be difficult to witness publicly to our faith today, in our time and place. Declaring ourselves for the Lord today can be difficult because of the climate in which we live which is so often hostile to faith and religion, and our Catholic faith in particular. It is easy to become discouraged when there is so much hostile and negative press around. We can easily be cowed into silence and invisibility. Pressure is coming from various directions to keep faith out of the public domain, to marginalize it to the private realm. Yet, Jesus suggests in our Gospel reading that, whereas our faith is always personal to each one of us, it is not to be merely private. We are to declare our faith in the presence of others. In the Gospels, Jesus calls upon us to let the light of our faith shine and not to hide it under a tub. In recognizing that this public declaration of faith will be difficult for His followers, Jesus speaks a word of reassurance towards the end of the Gospel reading. He tells His disciples that when they encounter hostility because of their public witness to their faith, they will not be left to their own resources. The Holy Spirit will be with them, teaching them what they are to say. Perhaps, we don’t rely enough on the Holy Spirit when we feel pressure to keep our faith to ourselves, to hide it away. The Lord is always offering us the Holy Spirit with His many gifts, as strength in our weakness, as wisdom in our confusion and as courage in our fearfulness. We just need to keep on praying with hopeful expectation, ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart. Give me the gifts to witness to the Lord in my life’. As Paul says, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. We need to keep on praying for a daily Pentecost in our lives so that we have the courage to declare for the Lord who Himself had the courage to declare for God His Father even though it meant having to submit to death on a cross. When we step forward in faith, we create an opening for the Holy Spirit to work within and through us.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Ephesus, the Apostle reminded all the faithful people of God of the Lord’s great and amazing power, His might and glorious dominion over the whole world. Through all of these, God has assured us all of the constant care and protection, love and compassion that He has always patiently had for each one of us. God has always been there for us and we have to remember this truth and fact, especially when we may be constantly facing a lot of trials and challenges in life. We must not easily give up our faith and commitment to God because we think that God did not care for us or that God was not there by our side through our challenges, trials and difficulties. Those were the main reasons why many people had abandoned the Lord and left Him, because they did not realise that God has actually always been with them. The reality is such that, although we may not be able to see Him directly in person before us, but He is truly all around us, journeying with us and guiding us throughout the way. And if we do bother spending the time and effort to recognise His Presence around us, we can truly feel Him being there in our midst, walking with us and giving us all His assurance that He is always ever been there for us, being patient with us despite us having constantly been stubborn and disobedient against Him. God is always ever ready to forgive us and to reach out to us whenever we are regretful, repentant over our many sins and wickedness. God has always shown His great patience and kindness from the very beginning, as an ever loving Father Who truly loves His children very much, caring for us in each and every occasion without cease and with ever present patience, and always with the intention to bring us back to Himself.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded of the great things that the Lord has assured each and every one of us, the salvation that He has promised to us from time immemorial, and the revelation of everything that He has shown and done for us through His Son, the perfect manifestation of God’s ever enduring and wonderful love for all of us mankind. The promise that Jesus makes to His disciples in the Gospel reading is made to us all. The risen Lord is with us through the Holy Spirit, and will be with us in this way until the end of time. The Spirit of the risen Lord, the Holy Spirit, is always active in our lives on a daily basis, helping us to grow in our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes, as St Paul says in his letter to the Romans, he will be helping us in our weakness to pray. At other times, as Jesus suggests in the Gospel reading, the Spirit will be giving us the courage and the strength we need to witness publicly to our faith. At other times, the Spirit will be working to enlighten us with His wisdom when we have an important decision to make. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful resource that the Lord gives us every day. It is good to remind ourselves that we have this daily gift, and to keep drawing on it, perhaps by praying the simple prayer, ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart’. Through Christ, the Son of God that had taken up our nature and existence, God has opened for us all the path to eternal life and true happiness and fulfilment in Him. He has shown how great His power and love is, far surpassing anything else in this world and transcending all boundaries and limits, reassuring us as always of His ever present and boundless love, which we should therefore respond with the same love and faith. As we reflect on the lives of the great and Holy Saints, especially those we celebrate today, the Holy Martyrs of North American, Saints John (Jean) de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs; and their Companions; Saint  Peter of Alcantara and Blessed Jerzy (George) Popieluszko, Priest and as we have discussed through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore renew our commitment to God, our faith and trust in Him, as well as our desire to love Him wholeheartedly and to continue to do His will at all times and in all circumstances. Let us all remember and keep reminding one another of the great love that God has for each one of us, and strive therefore to show the same love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, just as much as we all should love God and be ever thankful for His ever patient love. May the Lord, our most loving God, Father and Creator continue to show us all His love, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us with His strength, guidance and love, and through His Holy Spirit so that we may always continue to live worthily of the Lord, full of His love and compassion towards everyone around us, and may He continue to guide and help us all, so that by our inspirational and exemplary way of life, we will draw ever closer to His loving Presence and be worthy to share in the glorious inheritance that He has promised and reassured us. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may His faithfulness keep us faithful to the very end. May all of us be good examples and inspirations for one another, now and always, evermore. 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 innocent Lord, You were put on trial, judged and falsely condemned. Yet in all of that, You were the Innocent Lamb Who always loved and spoke truth with perfection. When I experience judgment in my life, please fill me with peace of heart and trust in Your promise that the Holy Spirit will be with me, inspiring me and leading me in accord with Your perfect will. Holy Spirit, I abandon myself to You now and always. 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; Saints John (Jean) de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs; and their Companions, Martyrs; Saint  Peter of Alcantara and Blessed Jerzy (George) Popieluszko, Priest ~ 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 and relaxing weekend 🙏🏽

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

Daily Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com

Foundation | https://gliopiepehe.org

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