SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT
SAINTS OF THE DAY – FEAST DAY ~ DECEMBER 9, 2024
Holy Day of Obligation
[This year, since the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception fell on a Sunday, the feast is transferred and celebrated on Monday, December 9, 2024.]
MEMORIAL OF SAINT JUAN DIEGO, HERMIT; SAINT PETER FOURIER, PRIEST AND SAINT LEOCADIA OF TOLEDO, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
SAINT ANDREW’S CHRISTMAS NOVENA
[The Saint Andrew’s Christmas Novena prayer below is traditionally prayed 15 times a day from November 30, the Feast of Saint Andrew, through Christmas Eve.]
THE LITURGICAL YEAR IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH [Please see link to this article below]
THE SAINTS: WHO ARE THEY AND HOW ARE THEY CANONISED? [Please see link to the article below]
PURGATORY: WHAT IS PURGATORY? [Please see link to this article below]
THE HOLY ROSARY: WHAT IS THE HOLY ROSARY AND WHY DO WE PRAY THE HOLY ROSARY? [Please see link to this article below]
Greetings and blessings, beloved family. Happy Monday of the Second Week of Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception!
On this Feast day, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we pray for God’s grace and mercy and for the safety and well-being of our children and for peace in our family and the whole world and we continue to remember the souls of the faithful departed 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 ù peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
“Blessed are those who have died in the Lord; let them rest from their abors for their good deeds go with them.” ~ Rev 14:13
PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil, and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen🙏
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | December 9, 2024 |
Watch “POPE FRANCIS HOLY MASS WITH THE NEW CARDINALS” | LIVE FROM THE VATICAN | DECEMBER 8, 2024 |
*Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube” | December 9, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary for Peace with Pope Francis” | LIVE Basilica of St. Mary Major | October 6, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | December 9, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| December 9, 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: Solemnity of Immaculate Conception | Monday, December 9, 2024
Reading 1, Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Reading 2, Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Gospel, Luke 1:26-38
THE LITURGICAL YEAR IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2024/12/03/the-liturgical-year-in-the-catholic-church/
THE HOLY ROSARY: WHAT IS THE HOLY ROSARY AND WHY DO WE PRAY THE HOLY ROSARY? | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2024/11/21/the-holy-rosary-what-is-the-holy-rosary-and-why-do-we-pray-the-holy-rosary/
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: WHAT IS PURGATORY? | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2024/11/15/purgatory-and-limbo/
THE ADVENT WREATH: SECOND WEEK PRAYER: The prayer that follows is to be repeated each day of the second week. After the prayer, the oldest child lights the first and second purple candles.
LEADER: O Lord, stir up our hearts that we may prepare for Thy only begotten Son, that through His coming we may be made worthy to serve Thee with pure minds. Through Christ our Lord. ALL: Amen.
(The two candles are allowed to burn during the evening meals of the second week.)
SAINT ANDREW PRAYER
Beginning on the Feast of St. Andrew (November 30th), the following beautiful prayer is traditionally recited fifteen times a day until Christmas. This is a very meditative prayer that helps us increase our awareness of the real focus of Christmas and helps us prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.”🙏
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: FEAST DAY- DECEMBER 8TH This year, since the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception fell on a Sunday, the feast is transferred and celebrated on Monday, December 9, 2024.
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, on this special feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, we humbly pray for God’s grace and mercy as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ during this season of Advent. Praying for hope, faith, love, joy and peace in our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the safety and well-being of all Mothers. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for all widows and widowers. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for all parents and children, 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🙏
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: FEAST DAY – DECEMBER 8TH: This year, since the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception fell on a Sunday, the feast is transferred and celebrated on Monday, December 9, 2024.
Our Mother Mary, the Mother of God is venerated today as the Immaculate Conception. This feast commemorates the preservation of the Blessed Virgin from the stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception in the womb of St. Ann, the grandmother of Jesus. This was a special grace granted to Mary through her Son Jesus, even before He was born, to prepare her to conceive Him in her womb, which we celebrate at the Solemnity of the Annunciation. “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” It originated in the Eastern Church about the 8th century.
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the infallibly defined dogma of the Catholic Church that “God freely chose Mary from all eternity to be the Mother of His Son. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was defined by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854. This Dogma, in accord with the text of Scripture—“I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed” (Gn 3:15); “Hail full of grace” (Lk 1:28)—was clearly understood and accepted by Tradition, by the writings of the Fathers, and by feast observed according to the general belief of the faithful long before it was officially defined by Pope Pius IX. Pope Pius IX’s solemn declaration in 1854 “Ineffabilis Deus,” clarified with finality the long-held belief of the Church that Mary was conceived free from original sin. Mary was granted this extraordinary privilege because of Her unique role in history as the Mother of God. That is, she received the gift of salvation in Christ from the very moment of her conception. Even though Mary is unique in all humanity for being born without sin, she is held up by the Church as a model for all humanity in Her holiness and Her purity in her willingness to accept the Plan of God for her.
Every person is called to recognize and respond to God’s call to their own vocation in order to carry out God’s plan for their life and fulfill the mission prepared for them since before the beginning of time. Mary’s “Let it be done to me according to Thy Word,” in response of the Angel Gabriel’s greeting, is the response required of all Christians to God’s Plan. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a time to celebrate the great joy of God’s gift to humanity in Mary, and to recognize with greater clarity, the truth that each and every human being has been created by God to fulfill a particular mission that He and only he can fulfill. “The word of the Lord came to me thus: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” (Jeremiah 1:5-6)
Immaculate Mary is full of grace. She is not only Christ’s disciple, who with the help of grace has overcome the chains of sin, but she is totius Trinitatis nobile triclinium, the noble resting place of the Holy Trinity (St Thomas Aquinas, Exposito Salutationis Angelicae, I). The Immaculate, full of grace, will always be Mother and Queen for that elect part of the Church that we hope one day to join, that will one day joyfully sing before the Almighty. Our Blessed Mother Mary under this title is the Principal Patroness of the United States of America; Brazil; Korea; Philippines and Spain and the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a Holy Day of Obligation.
PRAYER TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: “O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.”🙏
HAIL MARY: Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen🙏
MEMORARE: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen🙏
PRAYER: God, through the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, You prepared a worthy place for Your Son. In view of the foreseen Death of Your Son, You preserved her from all sin. Through her intercession grant that we may also reach You with clean hearts. Amen 🙏
MEMORIAL OF SAINT JUAN DIEGO, HERMIT; SAINT PETER FOURIER, PRIEST AND SAINT LEOCADIA OF TOLEDO, VIRGIN AND MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ DECEMBER 9TH: Today, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Juan Diego, Hermit; Saint Peter Fourier, Priest and Saint Leocadia of Toledo, Virgin and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we humbly pray for God’s grace and mercy as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ during this season of Advent. Praying for hope, faith, love, joy and peace in our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the safety and well-being of all Mothers, children and family, the Clergy and Christians all over the world. Amen🙏
SAINT JUAN DIEGO, HERMIT: St. Juan Diego (1474–1548) was an indigenous Mexican Catholic convert whose encounter with the Virgin Mary began the Church’s devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. St. Juan Diego was born in 1474 with the name “Cuauhtlatoatzin” (“the talking or singing eagle”) in Cuautlitlán, today part of Mexico City, Mexico. He was a poor and humble peasant of the lowest class of Aztec Indians living in now Mexico. He was a gifted member of the Chichimeca people, one of the more culturally advanced groups living in the Anáhuac Valley. Though raised according to the Aztec pagan religion and culture, he showed an unusual and mystical sense of life even before hearing the Gospel from Franciscan missionaries. In 1524, at the age of 50, Cuauhtlatoatzin and his wife converted and entered the Catholic Church. He was baptized by a Franciscan priest, Fr. Peter da Gand, one of the first Franciscan missionaries and received the Christian name of Juan Diego.
The farmer now known as Juan Diego was committed to his faith, often walking long distances to receive religious instruction. In December of 1531, he would be the recipient of a world-changing miracle. On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego was hurrying to Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. But the woman he was heading to church to celebrate came to him instead. The Blessed Mother appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill, the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. In the native Aztec dialect, the radiant woman announced herself as the “ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God.” She said, “I am your compassionate Mother, yours and that of all the people that live together in this land,” she continued, “and also of all the other various lineages of men.” She asked Juan Diego to make a request of the local bishop. “I want very much that they build my sacred little house here” — a house dedicated to her son Jesus Christ, on the site of a former pagan temple, that would “show him” to all Mexicans and “exalt him” throughout the world.
She was asking a great deal of a native farmer. Not surprisingly, his bold request was met with skepticism from Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. The Bishop, who did not believe Juan Diego, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true. Juan Diego said he would produce proof of the apparition, after he finished tending to his uncle whose death seemed imminent. Making his way to church on December 12th to summon a priest for his uncle, Juan Diego again encountered the Blessed Virgin. She promised to cure his uncle and give him a sign to display for the bishop. On the hill where they had first met he would find roses and other flowers, though it was winter. Doing as she asked, he found the flowers and brought them back to her. The Virgin Mary then placed the flowers inside his tilma, the traditional cloak-like garment he had been wearing. She told him not to unwrap the tilma containing the flowers until he had reached the bishop.
When he did, Bishop Zumárraga had his own encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe – through the image of her that he found miraculously imprinted on the flower-filled tilma. The miraculous image, which is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, shows a woman with native features and dress. She is supported an angel whose wings are reminiscent of one of the major gods of the traditional religion of that area. The moon is beneath her feet and her blue mantle is covered with gold stars. The black girdle about her waist signifies that she is pregnant. Thus, the image graphically depicts the fact that Christ is to be “born” again among the peoples of the New World, and is a message as relevant to the “New World” today as it was during the lifetime of Juan Diego. The Mexico City basilica that now houses the tilma has become, by some estimates, the world’s most-visited Catholic shrine.
The miracle that brought the Gospel to millions of Mexicans also served to deepen Ju byan Diego’s own spiritual life. For many years after the experience, he lived a solitary life of prayer and work in a hermitage near the church where the image was first displayed. Pilgrims had already begun flocking to the site by the time he died on December 9, 1548, the 17th anniversary of the first apparition. He was beatified on May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe, Mexico City and canonized him on July 31, 2002. He’s the Patron Saint of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
PRAYER: Lord God, through St. Juan Diego You made known the love of Our Lady Of Guadalupe toward Your people. By his intercession, grant that we who follow the counsel of Mary, our Mother, may strive continually to do Your will. Amen 🙏
SAINT PETER FOURIER, PRIEST: Saint Peter Fourier (1565-1640) was born in 1565, a native of Mirecourt, Lorraine, France. He was the Parish Priest of Mattaincourt, Reformer of the Canons of Saint Augustine, Founder of the Canonesses of Notre Dame. He was educated at the University of Pont-a-Mousson, entering at age 15. Tutor to the sons of many noble families. Augustinian Canon Regular at the abbey in Chaumousey, France. Ordained in 1589. He returned to university, became a master of patristic theology, and could recite the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas by heart. Reforming priest at Mattaincourt, Vosges, France, an area noted for corruption and lax attitudes to heresy; he revitalized the spiritual life of the district, and established charities and banks for the poor. Spiritual teacher of Blessed Alix le Clerc. In 1598 he founded the Daughters of Our Lady for the education of girls. Founded the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception, or Children of Mary. His attempt to found a parallel order to teach boys failed. In 1621 he was ordered to reform his order in Lorraine. In 1625 he was sent to Salm to preach missions and work against Calvinism; within six months all the fallen away Catholics had returned to the Church. Helped found the Congregation of Our Saviour in 1629 and served as its superior general in 1632.
When the French government ordered him to swear allegiance to King Louis XIII he refused, and spent the rest of his life in exile in the town of Gray, Haute-Saone, France. Saint Peter Fourier died in exile as an effect of the difficulties and political problems of the 1630’s; he found shelter in a province which was at that time under the Spanish crown, and there he died in 1640. His spiritual sons, his spiritual daughters, the good people of Gray in Bourgogne, who had welcomed him and whom he had served admirably during an epidemic of the pestilence, all wanted the honor of possessing his mortal remains. But so did also the parish of Mattaincourt. To the reformed Order of Saint Augustine this privilege was granted officially, but the pious women of Mattaincourt, blocking the church door, would not permit the Canons to resume their journey with the coffin, after they had stopped in his former parish for a day or so. His heart had already been left to the parish of Gray. Miracles have abounded at his tomb, as they did during his lifetime, by his prayers. He was Beatified in1730 by Pope Benedict XIII and Canonized in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII
Saint Peter Fourier, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINT LEOCADIA OF TOLEDO, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: Saint Leocadia was the fervent daughter of an illustrious Christian family of Toledo, apprehended and martyred in 303 by an order of Dacian, the cruel governor under Diocletian. When Dacian arrived in Toledo, she was soon denounced. Summoned before his tribunal, she replied to his contemptuous words concerning the true religion that she considered herself infinitely happy to serve God and His Son Jesus Christ, and that nothing whatsoever would be able to make her renounce her religion. She was flogged until covered with blood, then imprisoned with threats. She went to the prison with joy, consoling the Christians along the route who deplored her condition, telling them to rejoice in the grace she received to suffer for her Lord and Spouse. It was in this prison that she heard of the incredibly cruel martyrdom inflicted on her compatriot, Saint Eulalia, and she was so grieved by these cruelties, and by the condition of the true servants of God in those days, that she prayed to be retired from this world. Her prayer was heard, and she expired peacefully there on December 9, 303, kissing a cross which the touch of her hand imprinted on the hard rock of the prison wall.
A church was built over her tomb, in which several archbishops of Toledo chose to be buried. Two other famous churches in Toledo bear her name, one built over the site of the prison, and the other at that of the paternal home. Saint Leocadia is honored as the principal patroness of the city. Her relics were kept in that church with great respect, until during the incursions of the Moors, they were conveyed to Oviedo, and again elsewhere, then they were eventually carried back to Toledo with great pomp, and placed in the great church there on the 26th of April, 1589. She’s the Patron Saint of the City of Toledo, Spain and Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain.
Saint Leocadia of Toledo, Virgin and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS
Bible Readings for today, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 1:26–38
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you”
“The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.”
In today’s Gospel reading, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she will be the mother of the Son of God. Mary is addressed by the Angel Gabriel as ‘so highly favored’. In the very next verse Luke says ‘she was deeply disturbed by these words’. It was both surprising and confusing for Mary. Besides being a grand privilege, she could not understand how it can be. The Angel assured her that it was the will of God and nothing is impossible with God. With that assurance, she consented to the will of God. This, the work of salvation as planned by God plunge into action. It was in the sense above that our belief of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was based. Because God wanted Jesus, our Savior, to be born of a woman, He provided Mary with the necessary condition in order for the Incarnation to take place. She was freed from Original Sin, a common condition to everyone born. What does it mean for Mary to have been freed from Original Sin from birth? How can it be since Jesus, by His death and resurrection had freed us from Original Sin, is still to be born of Mary? It means that God had already effected in Mary the grace of salvation which Jesus would still merit for us. The Immaculate Conception was a grace given to Mary for the purpose of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God.
What is the importance of this feast for us? Firstly, nothing is impossible with God. He can provide situations beyond our human experience to effect His will. But, it also requires our participation and consent. Secondly, God always invites and offers us His grace. Graces are available but they are never forced. Jesus’ healing ministry would attest to that. Jesus would ask, the sick would consent, and Jesus would heal and testify to the faith of the sick person. God may have made us without our consent but He would not save us without our consent. This feast is a celebration of God’s wisdom and love. He gave us the best way to be saved. He loves us so much that He made us participate in the work of salvation. The knowledge and the belief of the truth of the Immaculate Conception should lead us to trust God and cooperate with His will. Today’s feast reminds us that we have someone we can look to and be inspired by in our efforts to respond to the Lord’s choice of us and His call to us. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is also our mother. She knows the power of sin and what it can do to human lives; she saw what it did to her Son. She surrounds us with her intercession and prayer so that we can become the human person God desires us to be. That is why we can ask her with confidence to pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
In our first reading today, from the Book of Genesis details the moment when mankind, having chosen to listen to Satan, the great deceiver appearing to Adam and Eve in the form of a snake, and fell into disobedience and sin against God, was confronted by the Lord Who came to visit them, and asked them of their misdeeds. The Lord knew everything that they had done, but the two of them still tried to hide their misdeeds, and then later on blamed each other and Satan for what they had done. Regardless, God had to cast them out of Eden, the blissful home intended for all of us mankind because sin has no place before the perfection and holiness of God. But God did not do so because He despised or hated us. Rather, He despised the sins and wickedness we committed, while still loving us dearly as He has always done. He promised us all the salvation through the Woman who will crush the head of Satan, the snake, the great deceiver and enemy of all the faithful people and children of God. That while Satan will indeed sink his fangs and entangle us in his many schemes and efforts to bring about our downfall and damnation, but in the end, he shall be defeated, crushed and overthrown. Satan, no matter how great or powerful he is, how mighty and fearsome he may seem to be, is nothing compared to the greatness and glory of God, Who is the Lord and Master of all. Even Satan had to bend the knee and submit to the Lord, and he will have to admit defeat to all that the Lord has planned for us all, the salvation that He has brought into our midst through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, born into this world through Mary, His mother.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, let us rejoice and celebrate in the commemoration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, the bearer of Our Lord and Saviour, the New Ark of the New Covenant, we are all reminded that this same Mary is our perfect role model and example in her piety, her obedience to God and in her inspiring actions, in dedicating herself wholly and completely to the mission that was entrusted to her. Mary did not allow the temptations of sin and evils of the world to taint her, and remained full of grace and fully obedient and filled with love for God all throughout her whole life. Mary dedicated herself to love her Son and brought Him up patiently with love. Then, she continued to show her care and love for us all, when her Son entrusted each one of us to her care, that she became our mother and we become her sons and daughters. Let us all therefore reflect upon our own lives and be inspired by the examples and inspirations set by Mary, the Holy Mother of God, our beloved mother, who have watched over us, prayed for us and guided us to her Son. She showed us all the existence of life that is pure and immaculate, free from sin and full of the grace of God. All of us too can enter into this state of grace, if we commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord just as Mary had done, in answering God’s call, to follow Him as His faithful servants and disciples. What we need to do is to focus our attention and efforts that we may truly be ever worthy to be called followers of Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. We are called to be willing to make the commitment and effort. Let us all hence seek to be ever closer to the Lord, following the path and the examples set by His mother Mary, our mother and guide. May the Lord continue to guide us as well and remain with us, that in all the things we say and do, in all of our actions and interactions with one another, we will always be ever more and more faithful to the Lord, and be willing to commit ourselves to the missions that He has entrusted to us. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace during this season of Advent to be as open as Mary was to the Lord’s call and presence, even in our own times of painful struggle. And may our lives, like her life be a source of blessing for others. May the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, most holy, the Immaculate Conception, be our guide and our help, in our journey of faith towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He continue to bless our lives and fill us all with His ever enduring love and grace. Holy Mary, Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, conceived without the taint of sin, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen🙏
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF DECEMBER:
MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Chosen before time to be the Mother of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, God created Mary perfect and full of grace, preserving her from the stain of Original Sin. Mary Immaculate is the most beautiful fruit of the work of redemption accomplished by her Son, thereby making her the perfect model of holiness for all Christians.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/10_1.cfm
THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER – FOR PILGRIMS OF HOPE: We pray that this Jubilee Year strengthen our faith, helping us to recognize the Risen Christ in our daily lives, and that it may transform us into pilgrims of Christian hope.
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/
PRAYER INTENTIONS: Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints during this special season of Advent, we humbly pray for God’s grace and mercy as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Praying for hope, faith, love, joy and peace in our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We 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 parents, 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:
Most holy Mother, you are the Immaculate Conception, God’s most precious treasure and His singular delight. To your intercession and mediation I entrust my life. Take me to your Son and pour forth His grace upon me and upon the whole world. I entrust to you every care, concern, confusion, struggle, and cross. I turn to you for every grace of faith, hope, and love from Heaven, so that I can become more fully conformed to the image of your Son Who alone is the Savior of the World.
My mother and my queen, I love you and honor you this day as The Immaculate Conception! I gaze upon your beauty and perfect virtue. I thank you for always saying “Yes” to the will of God in your life and for allowing God to use you with such power and grace. Pray for me, that as I come to know you more deeply as my own spiritual mother, I may also imitate your life of grace and virtue in all things. Mother Mary, the Immaculate Conception, I love you, Pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe….have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Blessed Mother Mary, the Immaculate Conception; Saint Juan Diego; Saint Peter Fourier and Saint Leocadia of Toledo ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all. Have a blessed, safe, and grace-filled Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and 2nd Week of Advent🙏
Blessings and love always, Philomena💖
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