THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ NOVEMBER 2, 2024

SAINT OF THE DAY: BLESSED JOHN BODEY, MARTYR

THE SAINTS: WHO ARE THEY AND HOW ARE THEY CANONISED? [Please see link to the article below]

KIND REMINDER: Please remember to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory from November 1st – 8th

Greetings and blessings, beloved family. Happy Saturday, the Feast of All Souls! May God grant our departed loved ones eternal rest🙏

“Blessed are those who have died in the Lord; let them rest from their labors for their good deeds go with them.” ~ Rev 14:13

On this special Feast day of All Souls, we Commemorate All the Faithful Departed. As we celebrate, respect, honor and remember the faithful departed, please let us remember to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory this month of November. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this special feast of All Souls, we humbly pray for the souls of our faithful departed loved ones, for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed. May God grant our departed loved ones eternal rest, may they reach their full stature. We pray for all those who mourn, for widows and widowers. 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🙏

We continue to pray for the safety and well-being of our children and for peace in our family and the whole world. 🙏

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 “POPE FRANCIS’ HOLY MASS IN COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED | LIVE FROM LAURENTINO CEMETERY IN ROME” | NOVEMBER 2, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube” | November 2, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | November 2, 2024 |

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

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | November 2, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| November 2, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” oùn YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Reading 1, Wisdom 3:1-9
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 7-9, 13-14 or Psalms 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
2nd Reading: Romans 5:5-11 or Romans 6:3-9
Gospel, John 6:37-40

THE SAINTS: WHO ARE THEY AND HOW ARE THEY CANONISED? | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2024/11/01/the-saints-who-are-they-and-how-are-they-canonised/

PURGATORY: The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031). The purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven (Rev. 21:27) and, while we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.

What Happens in Purgatory?: When we die, we undergo what is called the particular, or individual, judgment. Scripture says that “it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). We are judged instantly and receive our reward, for good or ill. We know at once what our final destiny will be. At the end of time, when Jesus returns, there will come the general judgment to which the Bible refers, for example, in Matthew 25:31-32: “When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the angels with him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” In this general judgment all our sins will be publicly revealed (Luke 12:2–5).

SAINTS OF THE DAY: COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (ALL SOULS DAY) | BLESSED JOHN BODEY, MARTYR | FEAST DAY ~ NOVEMBER 2ND

Today, we Commemorate All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day). It is a day to celebrate, respect, and honor the dead. A day we remember our faithful departed loved ones. Please let us remember to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory this month of November. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this special feast of All Souls, we humbly pray for the souls of our faithful departed loved ones, for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed. May God grant our departed loved ones eternal rest, may they reach their full stature. We pray for all those who mourn, for widows and widowers. 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 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.   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🙏

COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (ALL SOULS DAY): Today, after the feast of All Saints, we commemorate with solemn remembrance the occasion of All Souls’ Day. The Solemnity of All Souls, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of those who have died, for all the holy souls in Purgatory. The theological basis or the reason for the commemoration of all the Faithful Departed is the doctrine and belief that all who died in venial sin, or have not fully atoned for other past transgressions, are detained in purgatory, and that the faithful on earth can help them in their admission to the joys of heaven by prayers and alms, and especially by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There is scriptural basis for this belief. The primary reference is in 2 Maccabees, 12:26 and 12:32: “Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out… Thus made atonement for the dead that they might be free from sin.” Atonement for all those who have departed from this world and have yet to deserve the glory of Heaven. While we do not know exactly the fate of the souls of the dead, except those whom by virtue of their great and faithful living and by careful investigation and scrutiny of the Church, had been declared officially as saints and therefore meriting the beatific vision of Heaven, the other souls of the faithful generally will end up in purgatory, except of course those who have willingly and consistently rejected God, and refused to repent from their sins and wickedness. Purgatory is the condition, process, or place of purification or temporary punishment in which, according to medieval Christian and Roman Catholic belief, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for heaven. “On this day is observed the commemoration of the faithful departed, in which our common and pious Mother the Church, immediately after having endeavored to celebrate by worthy praise all her children who already rejoice in heaven, strives to aid by her powerful intercession with Christ, her Lord and Spouse, all those who still groan in purgatory, so that they may join as soon as possible the inhabitants of the heavenly city.” ~ Roman Martyrology

All Souls’ Day is observed by Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations annually on November 2nd, unless it falls on a Sunday, then the celebration is held November 3rd. A day for commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth will help cleanse these souls in order to fit them for the vision of God in heaven, and the day is dedicated to prayer and remembrance. Requiem masses are commonly held, and many people visit and sometimes decorate the graves of loved ones. From antiquity certain days were devoted to intercession for particular groups of the dead. The celebration of Mass, the sacrifice of Calvary continued on our altars, has ever been for the Church the principal means of fulfilling towards the dead the great commandment of charity. In the early days of Christianity the names of the departed brethren were entered in the diptychs. Later, in the sixth century, it was customary in Benedictine monasteries to hold a commemoration of the deceased members at Whitsuntide. Masses for the dead are found in the fifth century. But it was St. Odilo, fourth abbot of Cluny (died 1048), who was responsible for the institution of the general commemoration of all the faithful departed; he instituted it and fixed its celebration on November 2, the day after All Saints. Saint Odilo of Cluny ordered that the commemoration of all the faithful departed be held annually in the monasteries of his congregation. From here, it spread among the other congregations of the Benedictines and among the Carthusians. The date, November 2nd became practically universal before the end of the 13th century. Having celebrated the feast of all the members of the church who are believed to be in heaven, the church on earth turns, on the next day, to commemorate those souls believed to be suffering in purgatory. Priests celebrate mass wearing vestments of varying color—black (for mourning), violet (symbolizing penance), or white (symbolizing the hope of resurrection). Since August 10, 1915, every priest is allowed to offer three Masses on All Soul’s day: one for all the Faithful Departed, one for the intention of the Pope, and one for the intention of the priest himself. In churches where there are several priests, each offers a Mass or Masses, according to the custom of the diocese for the All Soul’s day intentions.

Today, as we remember all our faithful departed loved ones, most of us will be remembering people we have known and loved, such as family members and good friends. Indeed, the whole month of November is a time when we remember our dead in a special way. As Christians, our remembering of those who have died is always a prayerful remembering. We remember them before the Lord. Remembering our departed loved ones before the Lord, praying for them, is one of the ways that we give expression to our continuing communion with them in the Lord. We believe that our loved ones who have died are with the Lord, who is with us in this life until the end of time. As one of the saints expressed it, our loved ones who have died have gone no further than the Lord and the Lord is always near to us. It is that shared relationship with the Lord which keeps us in communion with our loved ones who have died. In praying for our loved ones today, we are asking the Lord to bring them to the fullness of His risen life. As well as praying in petition, we also pray in thanksgiving for them, thanking God for the gift of their lives and for all the ways the Lord blessed us through them and we ask them to pray for us. Today, we entrust our loved ones who have died to God. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God’s love, is the first fruit of eternal life.

PRAYER FOR OUR FAITHFUL DEPARTED LOVED ONES: All Holy Souls, our prayers and Mass offerings are directed to you this day, in the hope that what we do on earth may benefit your advancement toward a fully divine life in heaven where you may, in turn, pray that we may one day join you there… Amen. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen🙏

“If we had no care for the dead, we would not be in the habit of praying for them.” ~ St. Augustine

PRAYER: Merciful God, graciously hear our prayers. As we believe that Your Son rose from the dead, so strengthen our faith in the resurrection of all Your servants. Amen 🙏

On this special feast day, the Solemnity of All Souls, we also celebrate the Memorial of Blessed John Bodey, Martyr.

SAINT OF THE DAY: BLESSED JOHN BODEY, MARTYR: Blessed John Bodey (1549-1583) was born in Wells, England, the son of a wealthy merchant and former mayor. He studied at Oxford and became an Oxford Fellow in 1568 at the age of 19. Later he, along with seven others, was deprived of his fellowship for being a Roman Catholic by the Anglican Bishop of Winchester. Bl. Bodey, a married layman and schoolmaster, was arrested in 1580 for continuing to practice the Catholic religion and rejecting England’s newly-established heretical Church of England. He was kept in iron shackles for three years, which he called his “school of patience.” In 1583 he was tried for treason, both for being a faithful Roman Catholic and for repudiating King Henry VIII’s claim of supremacy of the Church in England over against the Holy Father. Bodey wrote that his iron chains were earning him glory in heaven, even kissing the chain halter around his neck. He was executed under Queen Elizabeth on November 2, 1583 by being hanged, drawn, and quartered at Andover. He died with the name of Jesus on his lips. His mother rejoiced that her son persevered to the end and won the crown of martyrdom; she gave a feast in honor of him being numbered among the saints in heaven. Bl. John Bodey was beatified in 1929 and is one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales. His feast day is November 2nd.

Blessed John Bodey, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading: John 6:37-40

“I shall raise him on the last day”

“Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

In today’s Gospel reading, we hear from the lips of Jesus Himself the promise of eternal life for those who come to Him. In fact, we see here that this is the purpose of Jesus’ coming. The Son, who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, became man in order to offer salvation to humanity. Jesus came to call all people to Himself and not to lose anyone who the Father wills to be saved. As we heard in the second reading, Jesus brought about salvation through His death on the cross. Jesus died for all and desires for all to be saved. But, we must respond to that gift being offered to us. Jesus said, “Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life.” This is evident that the way we respond to the offer of salvation is through faith. In commemorating all the
faithful departed today, we are reminded of the key component of faith. We have a great hope for the eternal rest of our loved ones in heaven because of their faith. Faith is not merely a onetime choice, but an ongoing service to God. Faith is active and obedient. In faith, we choose to follow God and live according to His will. And if we have this faith that is, in fact, a gift from God, we can have the great hope of eternal life with Him forever. So, today, let us be reminded of the reality of heaven and hold great hope for our loved ones who have departed this life in faith. And let us also remember the reality of heaven to which God is inviting us. God desires a relationship with each of us and He wants us to spend all of eternity with Him. We are called to respond to His invitation given to us in Christ by living a life of faith.

Our second reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, is the great reminders from St. Paul to the Romans and also to all of us, a message which our Gospel passage today also reminded us and echoed, that thankfully we have the great love of God for us which He has manifested through His Son, and this love has been shown to us most wonderfully in the most loving sacrifice of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, perfect evidence of God’s ever enduring love for us, that He was willing to offer Himself in the most selfless and wonderful way possible, becoming for us all the perfect and worthy offering and sacrifice to liberate us all from the power and dominion of sin, darkness and death. Through His loving sacrifice, all of us are brought to the perfect fulfilment of God’s love and everything that He has planned for us.

Today is a special day of prayerful remembrance for our loved ones who have died. As we remember all our departed loved ones, we want to pray for them today. Our praying for the dead is one of the ways that we give expression to our communion with our loved ones who have died. We believe in the communion of saints, that deep spiritual bond between those who have reached the end of their earthly pilgrimage and ourselves who are still on that pilgrimage. A traditional prayer we often pray for those who have died is ‘eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them’. We can sometimes think of rest as somewhat passive, the absence of activity. However, we could also think of rest in a way suggested by that lovely psalm that is often prayed at a funeral, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’. Towards the end of the psalm we read, ‘near restful waters He leads me to revive my drooping spirits’. Rest is associated there with a revival of our spirits. We believe that eternal rest is an eternal revival of our deepest self, a full flowering of our true self. One of the early saints of the church, Saint Ephrem, wrote, ‘in the kingdom our departed ones achieve their full stature’. When we are praying that God would give our departed loved ones eternal rest, we are praying that they would reach their full stature. Although nothing is more painful than the loss of a loved one in death, our faith gives us this hope-filled vision in the face of death.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today on this All Souls’ Day commemoration, let us all first of all remember and pray for all the holy souls in Purgatory, all those who have passed on from this world and have yet to enter the glory of Heaven. Let us all ask the Lord to have mercy on these souls, and allow them to be forgiven and to be cleansed and purified from their residual corruptions by sin, and thus, able to enter into the glory of Heaven the soonest. This day should also serve as a kind reminder to all of us that we are all called to lives that are more appropriate and worthy of God as Christians, that is as those whom God has called to be one of His own people, to be His flock, followers and disciples. To us, through His Church, Apostles and disciples, God has revealed His truth and love, and therefore, we are expected to lead a true Christian living and faith, and be truly faithful in all things, in our every words, actions and deeds, and not only just in mere appearances only. We have to be sincere and genuine in how we live our faith, if we have not done so. Let us all therefore commit ourselves to righteous and virtuous Christian living from now on, and let us all be good examples of faith to one another, that we are always reminded of our mortality and our own eventual fate. If we seek to go to Heaven, then we should really do our very best to live our lives in accordance to what God has taught us to do through His Church and through His disciples. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant our loved ones eternal rest and grant all of us here still living in this world the grace to seek after heaven and answer to the call to be with God for all eternity by living our lives for God here and now. Let us all pray for our predecessors, the holy souls in purgatory, our brothers and sisters, particularly those who have none to remember them or pray for them. May God show mercy upon them and bring them into the glory of Heaven as He wills it. May God grant them all eternal rest in Him, and may they rest in God’s love and peace. Amen🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER:

MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS: The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of November to praying in a special way for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Holy Souls (also called the Faithful Departed) are members of the Church who await the purification of their souls before joining the Saints in heaven for all eternity. Specifically, they are referred to as the Church Suffering (the Saints in heaven are the Church Triumphant, and the faithful on earth are the Church Militant).The poor souls in purgatory cannot pray for themselves or do anything to hasten their entrance into heaven, but we can and ought to pray for them as an act of charity. The feast of the Holy Souls is November 2nd. 

The entire month of November falls during the liturgical season known as Tempus per Annum or Ordinary Time (formerly Time After Pentecost), which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green is a symbol of hope, as it is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. The liturgical color green is worn during the praying of Offices and celebration of Masses of Ordinary Time. The last portion of the liturgical year represents the time of our pilgrimage to heaven during which we hope for reward. As we come to the end of the Church year we are asked to consider the end times, our own as well as the world’s.

The month of November is very full of Memorials, feasts and solemnities. The main feast days are the Solemnity of All Saints (November 1), The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) (November 2), the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome (November 9), The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (November 24), and St. Andrew (November 30).
The other saint days are: St. Charles Borromeo, (November 4), Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome (November 9), St. Martin of Tours, (November 11), St. Josaphat (November 12), St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (November 13) St. Albert the Great (November 15), Sts. Margaret of Scotland and Gertrude (November 16), Presentation of Mary (November 21), St. Cecilia (November 22), Sts. Clement I and St. Columban (November 23), and
St. Catherine of Alexandria (November 25). The commemorations of St. Martin de Porres (November 3), St. Leo the Great (November 10), St. Elizabeth of Hungary (November 17), and St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions (November 24) fall on Sundays and are superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.

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

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER – FOR ANYONE WHO HAS LOST A CHILD: We pray that all parents who mourn the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community and receive peace and consolation from the Holy Spirit.

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 merciful Lord, You desire that my soul and the souls of all your faithful be purified of every sin, even the smallest imperfection. I thank You for the mercy of Purgatory and pray that I will continually work toward that purification here and now. I pray, also, for all those who have gone before me and are still in need of these purifying fires. Pour forth Your mercy upon them so that they may be counted among the saints in Heaven.

Lord, I pray for those souls going through their final purification in Purgatory. Please pour forth Your mercy upon them so that they may be freed of all attachment to sin and, thus, be prepared to see You face to face. 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; Blessed John Bodey, Martyr and All the Souls of the faithful departed ~ 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  always, Philomena💖

Daily Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/

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