TWENTY-NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 25, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE: Starting, October 19th (Day 7). 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 prayer and link below

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

On this Feast day, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints we celebrate today, we humbly pray for God’s Divine Grace and Mercy upon us all. We continue to pray for the safety and well-being of our children and for peace in our family and the whole world.

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 who recently passed away and the souls in Purgatory. 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 25, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | October 25, 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 25, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| October 25, 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 25, 2024
Reading 1, Ephesians 4:1-6
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Gospel, Luke 12:54-59

NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE: 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 7

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 THE SIX WELSH MARTYRS AND THEIR COMPANIONS; SAINTS CHRYSANTHUS AND DARIA; SAINTS CRISPIN AND CRISPINIAN AND SAINT GAUDENTIUS OF BRESCIA, BISHOP ~ FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 25TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of the Six Welsh Martyrs and their Companions; Saints Chrysanthus and Daria; Saint Crispin and Crispinian and St. Gaudentius of Brescia, Bishop. 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 shoemakers, cobblers and all workers. We pray for the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for peace, love, justice and unity in our marriages, our families and our world.  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 SIX WELSH MARTYRS AND THEIR COMPANIONS: The Welsh Martyrs are the priests, St. Philip Evans and St. John Lloyd, St. John Jones, St. David Lewis, St. John Roberts, and the teacher, St. Richard Gwyn, and 34 English companions who were executed for their Faith during the Catholic persecution in England and Wales from 1535-1679. The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales were selected from among the hundreds of Catholics who gave their lives for the faith during the dark days of persecution in England. The Forty were canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 25, 1970. Six of the Forty were Welsh and celebrated this day as a feast in Wales. These six comprised of a married man, a Franciscan, a Benedictine, two Jesuits and a diocesan priest. The rest of the forty were English martyrs and celebrated on May 4.

St. Richard Gwyn was born about 1537 in Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire. He was a teacher and a married man. He and his wife, Catherine, had six children. He was executed at Wrexham on October 15, 1584. St Richard Gwyn is the Protomartyr of Wales.

St. John Jones, OFM was born at Clynog Fawr, Caernarvonshire around the year 1530. He entered the Franciscan Convent at Greenwich and, at its dissolution in 1559, he went to the Continent and was professed at Pontoise, France. He died for the Faith at Southwark on July 12, 1598. At his execution, he had to wait an hour because the hangman had forgotten to bring the rope!

St. John Roberts, OSB, born at Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, was the first prior of St Gregory’s, Douai. He was sent upon the English Mission in December 1602, arriving in England in April 1603. He was probably the first monastic to enter England since the Reformation. He was executed at Tyburn on December 10, 1610.

St. Philip Evans, SJ was born in Monmouth in 1645. He entered the Society of Jesus on September 7, 1665. He was ordained at Liege and sent upon the English Mission in 1675. He diligently and joyfully served the area of South Wales for four years before his arrest at the house of Christopher Turberville at Sker, Glamorganshire on 4th December 1678. He was martyred at Cardiff on July 22, 1679. He was thirty-four years old.

St. John Lloyd was Brecon born and studied at Ghent and Valladolid. He was ordained a priest at Valladolid in 1653. He returned to Wales and labored in Brecon and Monmouthshire for 24 years. In November of 1678, he was captured at a house at Penllyn, Glamorganshire. He and St Philip Evans shared a cell at Cardiff Castle until their martyrdom at Cardiff on July 22, 1679.

St. David Lewis was born in 1616 at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. He attended the local Grammar school where his father, Morgan Lewis, was headmaster. Ordained in 1642, David entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1645. He returned to Wales and, based at the Cwm, he served the Catholics of the area for 34 years. He was arrested at Llantarnam on 17th November 1678 and martyred at Usk on August 27, 1679. St David Lewis was the last Welsh martyr.

The Six Welsh Martyrs and their Companions ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINTS CHRYSANTHUS AND DARIA. MARTYRS: A husband and wife who carried on an active apostolate among the noble families of Rome during the third century. When they were denounced as Christians, they underwent various tortures with great constancy, and they were buried alive in a sandpit in the year 283. Daria received baptism through the efforts of her husband Chrysanthus. In Rome, they were instrumental in bringing many to the faith, for which cause they were cruelly martyred. Chrysanthus was sewn inside an ox’s hide and placed where the sun shone hottest. Taken to a house of ill-fame, Daria was protected by a lion while she passed the time in prayer. Finally, both were buried alive in a sand-pit and thereby together gained the crown of martyrdom. They were buried in the Jordan cemetery on the Via Saleria, Rome; at the same site were buried sixty-two soldiers who died as martyrs and also a group of faithful who had gathered together for the holy Sacrifice on the anniversary of saints’ deaths but were cut down by the enemies of Christ. Patron Saint of Eissel, Germany; Salzburg, Austria.

Saints Chrysanthus and Daria, Martyrs ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINTS CRISPIN AND CRISPINIAN, MARTYRS: Sts. Crispin and Crispinian (d. 286 A.D.) were brothers, believed to be twins, from a noble Roman family who evangelized Gaul in the middle 3rd century. They  died in the persecution of Diocletian by the sword. They were Christians and went as missionaries into Gaul (present-day France). Taking the Apostle St. Paul as their example, they earned their living through a trade, dividing their time between ministry and work. Their craft was shoe-making, and because they asked little pay for their shoes they were loved and esteemed by all. Sts. Crispin and Crispinian used their work as an opportunity to share the Christian faith with the pagans they encountered, and many were converted through their witness. They worked from Soissons, preached in the streets by day and made shoes by night. The group’s charity, piety and contempt of material things impressed the locals, and many converted in the years of their ministry. During the persecution of the Roman Emperor Diocletian they were denounced as Christians and brought before the co-emperor, Maximanus Herculius. The emperor tried to persuade them to abandon their faith with promises and threats, but to no effect. The brothers were then given over to the governor who was notorious for his cruelty. They were stretched on the rack, their flesh was cut, and awls were driven under their fingernails. They were then thrown into a river with a millstone tied to their necks, but they both miraculously survived and swam back to shore. They were caught and finally beheaded. They were martyred in Rome in 286 by torture and beheading, under emperor Maximian Herculeus, being tried by Rictus Varus, governor of Belgic Gaul and an enemy of Christianity. A great church was built at Soissons in the 6th century in their honor; Saint Eligius ornamented their shrine. St. Crispin’s day has been immortalized by Shakespeare’s Henry V speech before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. St. Crispin and Crispinian are the patron saints of shoemakers, saddlers, and tanners.
Patron Saint of Cobblers; glove makers; lace makers; lace workers; leather workers; saddle makers; tanners; weavers. Their feast, known as St. Crispin’s Day, is October 25th.

Saints Crispin and Crispinian, Martyrs ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT GAUDENTIUS OF BRESCIA, BISHOP: St. Gaudentius was born at Brescia, Italy about the middle of the 4th century, and was Bishop of Brescia from 387 until 410. He was a theologian and author of many letters and sermons. St. Gaudentius was educated under St. Philastrius, Bishop of Brescia, whom he terms his “father”. After earning a reputation for sanctity, he travel to the East where he gained even more fame. He was the successor of Saint Philastrius. He studied under Saint Philastrius, Bishop of Brescia, Italy. He preached throughout Italy and in the East, respected wherever he went for his oratory and leading the Christian life. When Philastrius died near the end of the 4th century, the people of Brescia chose St. Gaudentius as their bishop. He was consecrated by Saint Ambrose of Milan in 387. St. Gaudentius was a powerful preacher and wrote many pastoral letters, and ten of his twenty-one have survived and come down to us, offering ample testimony to this fact. He governed his See with prudence and humility, inspiring his flock to imitate the Divine Master. In 405, the Saint was sent with two other delegates by Pope innocent I and the Emperor Honorius to the East to defend St. John Chrysostom before Arcadius. However, the party was prevented from reaching Arcadius and never formally interceded for John; the three men were shipped back home on a vessel so unseaworthy that it almost sank and had to be left at Lampsacus. Subsequently, st. John wrote St. Gaudentius a letter of thanks for his efforts even though they had not borne fruit. This saintly man died about 410 of natural causes and was called by Rufinus: “the glory of the Doctors of the age in which he lives”.

PRAYER: God, Light and Shepherd of souls, You established St. Gaudentius as Bishop in Your Church to feed Your flock by his word and form it by his example. Help us through his intercession to keep the faith he thought by his word and follow the way he showed by his example. Amen 🙏
 
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

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

Gospel Reading ~ Luke 12:54-59

“You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

“Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus criticizes His contemporaries for not knowing how to interpret the times in which they were living. The contemporaries were good at interpreting the signs in the sky, and recognizing the weather that was coming, but they were not so good at interpreting the times in which they lived and recognizing that someone greater than Solomon, greater than Jonah, was standing among them. We can all fail to interpret the signs of the time in that sense. We can fail to recognize the Lord who stands among us and who calls out to us in and through the various circumstances of our lives. To recognize the Lord among us and to hear his voice we need eyes that see and ears that hear. We need to develop a kind of contemplative attitude, an attentiveness of mind and heart. We also need an expectant faith, a faith that fully expects the Lord to be present wherever we find ourselves, a faith that expects the Lord to speak a word that addresses our own particular situation in life. We pray for that contemplative attitude and expectant faith today. The Gospel reading calls on all of us to interpret the signs of the Lord’s presence in all our lives, and to discern what the Lord is asking of us and calling us towards. The Lord has some purpose for our lives and there is always an urgency about that purpose; the Lord looks for our response in the here and now. We need to be alert, ready and keen, in response to that sense of urgency that the Lord feels in our regard.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Ephesus, we continue to hear the same exhortation which St. Paul had made to the faithful there regarding how they all ought to continue to follow the Lord faithfully in the manner that he himself has taught and shown them, and to remain united as one, just as he highlighted in today’s passage, reminding them of their one common baptism, the same Church and Body that they all belong to, the one united Church of God that they should all keep together, and not to be divided by the many sources of divisions that are often around us all, which threaten the unity of the Church and the salvation of souls among other things. At that time, there were strifes, distrust and disunity among the early faithful especially between the Jewish converts and those who came from the non-Jewish origins, or the Gentiles, with some of the former often seeing themselves as superior to those who did not follow the Jewish laws, rules and customs. They claimed that those who did not follow the fullness of the strict Jewish laws, practices and customs could not have a share in God’s grace and Presence, but St. Paul and the other Apostles definitively opposed this view and false idea, reminding all the faithful to remain true to the path that the Lord has shown them and not to follow the excesses of the way of how the Pharisees had practiced and observed the Law, which the Lord Himself had criticised earlier on. In their preoccupation to follow the Law, in all of its rituals and details, all the extensive restrictions and rigid ways, those people had forgotten the true meaning and intention of the Law of God, which was never meant to oppress, restrict or make the people’s livelihood and circumstances difficult. Rather, the Law of God was always meant to teach and show the people, all of us mankind on how to love the Lord and to follow Him, He Who is Love, as God is Love, and this great love which God has for us therefore brought Him to teach us all His Law, which had been meant to show us all how we can love Him ever more perfectly, and then show that same generous and genuine love in our own actions and interactions, in loving our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded through them that each and every one of us as Christians must always live our lives in each and every moments, in every day living to the best of our abilities, to do what the Lord has shown and taught us to do so that our lives and works may truly be worthy of God, and that we may truly be inspirational and exemplary in our own actions, words, deeds and all the things we have, so that many more people may come to know the Lord through us and our examples, and hopefully by our inspiration we may continue to lead more and more people to follow the Lord as well. We are all reminded to keep the Lord at the very centre and focus of our whole lives, our existence and our every actions and deeds. And we have also been reminded to keep the unity in our Church and Christian community, to remain firmly united in love and to remain rooted in God in all things. We should not allow our pride, ego, ambition, desires and attachments for worldly glory to distract and tempt us away from God and lead us to be divided and torn in our unity in the One Church of God. We should always work towards strengthening the unity of our love and actions, so that we may draw ever closer to God and His holy Presence, all united in our common love for God and our generous love for each other. May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father continue to bestow upon us His strength and encouragement so that we can always remain firmly faithful in Him at all times, and may He continue to help us to preserve the unity in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, in the one united Body of Christ. May all of us also strive to be good and active contributors in our respective ministries and calling in life, to do what we can to proclaim the Lord and His salvation to more and more people, by becoming holy and worthy beacons of God’s light and grace, His love and compassion in our own communities, now and always. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to be faithful to the Gospel in small ways which can have consequences that would surprise us. May the Lord bless us always and our every endeavours, and may He bless and strengthen our families, that we may always be committed to God and to one another, and be filled with love, the love of God, always and 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!

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

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 🙏🏾

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. 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. 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 most merciful Judge, You desire that I listen to Your holy Word, revealed through Scripture, so as to receive Your most merciful conviction of my sin. I pray that I will be open to always hear all that You desire to say to me so that I can respond with generosity and trust, reconciling with You and others continually through my journey in life. Enliven my conscience with Your holy Word, dear Lord. 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; The Six Welsh Martyrs and their Companions; Saints Chrysanthus and Daria; Saint Crispin and Crispinian and St. Gaudentius of Brescia, 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, grace-filled and relaxing weekend🙏🏽

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

Daily Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/

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