SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT
SAINTS OF THE DAY – FEAST DAY ~ DECEMBER 11, 2024
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 and Happy Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent!
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 11, 2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube” | December 11, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary for Peace with Pope Francis” | LIVE Basilica of St. Mary Major | October 6, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | December 11, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| December 11, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” oùn YouTube |
Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |
Today’s Bible Readings: Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Reading 1, Isaiah 40:25-31
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10
Gospel, Matthew 11:28-30
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.”🙏
SAINT OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT DAMASUS I, POPE – FEAST DAY – DECEMBER 11: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Damasus I, Pope. 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 those traveling during this season of Christmas. Amen🙏
SAINT DAMASUS I, POPE: Pope St. Damasus I (306-384 A.D.) was Supreme Pontiff from 366 to 384. Saint Damasus was 60 years old and a deacon when he was elected Pope during a troubled but pivotal period of the Church. He was a very learned man, well versed in the Scriptures. Pope Saint Damasus I was born into a Christian family in Rome at the beginning of the fourth century in 306. His father, a widower, had received Holy Orders there and served as parish priest in the church of St. Lawrence. Saint Damasus became a deacon and served at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Rome where his father served as priest. After the death of Pope Liberius, Damasus was elected Pope in the year 366 A.D. Violence broke out in which 137 people died as a rival pope incited a revolt against Damasus in Rome and was also elected, the two factions fought to enforce their candidate. St. Damasus was confirmed as the rightful pope by the Roman Emperor, and the anti-pope was banished from the city. Pope Damasus chose the scripture scholar St. Jerome as his personal secretary, to whom he commissioned the translation of the Bible from Greek into Latin (the Latin Vulgate). It was during Damasus’ reign that Christianity was declared the religion of the Roman state. Pope Damasus also called and presided over the Council of Rome in 382 A.D. to clarify and determine the canon or official list of Sacred Scripture.
Throughout his papacy, St. Damasus spoke out against major heresies in the church and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for St. Jerome. Shortly after his reign the 72 books of the Bible, hitherto scattered in different parts of the Orient, were collected into one volume. He defended the rights of the Holy See, he helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, he worked to preserve the catacombs, drained the swamps of Rome, and advocated for devotion to the Christians martyred under the Roman persecutions. He beautified the Roman resting places of the Christian dead and of the saints. He also confirmed the practice of singing the Psalms day and night in the churches and adding a Glory Be at the end of each Psalm. Saint Damasus is praised by Theodoret as head of the famous doctors of divine grace of the Latin church. The General Council of Chalcedon calls him the “honor and glory of Rome.” Having reigned for eighteen years and two months, he died on December 11, 384, when he was nearly eighty years old. In the eighth century, his relics were definitively placed in the church of Saint Lawrence in Damaso, except for his head, which was conserved in the Basilica of Saint Peter. St. Damasus I is the Patron Saint of Archeologists, against fever. His feast day is December 11.
PRAYER: Lord, grant that we may always celebrate the merits of Your Martyrs in imitation of St. Damasus who loved and venerated them. Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS
Bible Readings for today, Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent | USCCB | https://youtu.be/Wg244QBc9Tk?feature=shared
Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who labor”
“Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
In today’s Gospel reading, the call of Jesus is a very personal call, ‘Come to me’. He doesn’t say come to my teaching or come to my followers, but, ‘come to me’. That personal call of the Lord is addressed to each one of us without exception. Jesus also makes a promise to those who respond to His call to come to Him, ‘I will give you rest’. What is Jesus promising there? We sometimes think of rest as the absence of activity. However, in the bible, ‘rest’ suggests the refreshing break that travellers in a barren desert would find in some oasis they come across. In that sense, ‘rest’ is a revival or renewal of our body and spirit. ‘Rest’ in that sense is more akin to ‘strength’. In the first reading, the prophet says that the Lord ‘gives strength to the wearied’. We can all become wearied in body, mind and spirit, especially in these incredibly challenging times. In the Gospel reading Jesus promises restful strength to those who come to him. In the lovely image of the first reading, ‘those who hope in the Lord renew their strength, they put wings like the eagles’. This Advent we ask the Lord for such wings! As we are in the season of Advent, the prayer we often pray in Advent is, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. Advent is a season when we try to open our lives more fully to the coming of the Lord. We call on Him to ‘come’ into our hearts, minds and lives. In today’s Gospel reading, however, it is Jesus who calls on us to come to him, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest’. There are always those two movements in the lives of people of faith. We invite the Lord to come to us and we try to respond to the Lord’s call to come to Him. The primary element in that two fold movement is the Lord’s call to us to come. He calls us to come before we call on Him to come. He has loved us before we have loved Him. The Lord can be our strength when we are weak, our rest when we are tired, our support when we are burdened. The great Advent prayer is our invitation, ‘Come, Lord, Jesus’. However, in the Gospel reading, it is the Lord who invites us to come. His call to us is prior to our prayer to Him. When responding to that call of the Lord we experience Him as our strength, our rest, our support, we, in turn, can be a source of strength, rest and support to each other. The strength we receive from the Lord is for others as well as for ourselves.
In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord spoke through Isaiah in which He lamented how the people had not realised that they had been taken care of, given attention and help by the Lord all the way at that time, and yet, those people still complained and refused to believe in Him whenever He gave them His help, love and providence. They often hardened their hearts and minds, and closed them off to the Lord, Who had often come to them offering His help and guidance. And yet, the Lord still patiently cared for them and loved them even as He constantly chastised them for their sins and wickedness, like a loving Father who cared for his children while disciplining them. The Lord has repeatedly shown His love and kindness to His people, that even though they had always been rebellious and stubborn in their attitudes and ways, but He has never given up on them. Instead, He kept on sending them His messengers and guides, the prophets and many others to help them to find their way back towards Him. He reassured all of them that despite all the sufferings and difficulties that they might be facing, but His might, power and love transcend and surpass all those challenges and trials. As long as they remain firm in their faith in Him and put their faith in Him then He will provide for them, bless them and strengthen them, and they shall share in His glorious promise and inheritance, all the good and wonderful things that He had intended for them.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that God is the source of our Hope, comfort and joy, and it is in Him alone that we shall find true satisfaction and liberation from our many troubles and challenges, difficulties and hurdles in life. Unfortunately many of us often do not realise this and we do not perceive His love and compassion for us enough, and many of us sought comfort and satisfaction in worldly things instead of putting our trust and faith in God. This is why we are reminded through these readings from the Scriptures so that we do not end up going down the wrong path in life and seek the false pleasures and satisfactions that came not from God but from the evil ones. As we continue to progress through this time and season of Advent, all of us are continuously being reminded of the true reason why we celebrate in this time and season, the upcoming great joy and happiness we are looking forward to in Christmas, as well as the reason why we spend this time of Advent to prepare ourselves thoroughly so that hopefully we may be more prepared and worthy, properly oriented and focused in our Christmas commemorations and celebrations. Advent is a time for us to rediscover our love for God, and for us to redirect and reorientate ourselves that if thus far our lives have been focused on ourselves and worldly pursuits, we may return once again to lives that are centred on God. Therefore, as we have been reminded and hopefully inspired by the faith and courage shown by all the Saints, especially Pope St. Damasus I, who we celebrate today, let us all therefore strive to commit ourselves anew to the Lord especially during this time and season of Advent so that, hopefully we may grow ever closer to God, and be able to inspire others to seek the true joy and reason for Christmas, that is Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and celebrate Christmas together with right understanding and true joy, and not with the excesses of worldly festivities and celebrations. May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to help and bless us, and strengthen us all with the courage and inspiration to continue to do what He has entrusted to us to do. May He continue to love us all and patiently lead us all into His embrace, that we may be always firmly faithful in Him despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to endure in our journey towards Him. Let our actions and efforts continue to be good examples and inspiration for one another to follow. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless us in all things, our every good endeavours, our efforts, actions and works. May our good Lord guide us in our Advent journey and bless our Advent preparations and observances. May all of us have a truly blessed and fruitful Advent. 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:
My loving Lord, I accept Your invitation to come to You and rest in Your glorious presence. Draw me in, dear Lord, to Your heart that is overflowing with grace and mercy. Draw me into Your presence so that I may rest in You and be delivered from the many burdens of life. 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, Saint Damasus, Pope ~ 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.
We pray for the safety and well-being of all those traveling during this season of Christmas. Have a blessed, safe, and grace-filled 2nd Week of Advent🙏
Blessings and love always, Philomena💖
Daily Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
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