Year: 2024

FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

STATIONS OF THE CROSS (Links below)

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 15, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Beginning March 10–18, 2024 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2024. Novena Links below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 15, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 15, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 15, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 15, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 15, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Friday, March 15, 2024
Reading 1, Wisdom 2:1, 12-22
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 34:17-18, 19-20, 21, 23
Gospel, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

STATIONS OF THE CROSS | EWTN |
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/stations-of-the-cross-12706

STATIONS OF THE CROSS (WAY OF THE CROSS) – SHORT VERSION | https://lordcalls.com/dailyprayer/stations-of-the-cross-way-of-the-cross-short-version

Novena to St. Joseph – Full | EWTN – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-joseph-full-novena-13879

Novena for the Solemnity of St. Joseph – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | https://shorturl.at/tvKPT

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty-Seven: Sloth or Diligence? | Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-seven-sloth-or-diligence/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty-Seven – Humiliation – Stripped of Garments | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-seven-humiliation-stripped-of-garments/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Louise de Marillac, Widow (Patron Saint of sick people, widows, orphans, and Social Workers); Saint Longinus, Martyr, the centurion who was converted when he pierced Jesus’ Sacred Heart (Patron Saint of the blind and people with poor eyesight, of labor, of power, and of good discernment) and Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer, the Apostle on the move (Co-Patron of Vienna and Warsaw). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all those who are sick, especially those who are blind and those with poor eyesight. We also pray for orphans, widows, social workers, travellers, missionaries and for the conversion of sinners… Amen🙏

SAINT LOUISE DE MARILLAC, WIDOW: St. Louise De Marillac (1591-1660) was born on August 15, 1591 near the town of Meux, Paris, France to a noble family. Her mother died shortly after her birth, and her father when she was sixteen years of age. St. Louise received an education from the Dominican convent at Poissy and eventually discerned that she was called to religious life. After consulting her confessor concerning her plans to enter the religious life, Louise decided not to pursue this vocation. Instead, in 1613, St. Louise de Marrillac married an official of the royal court, Antony Le Gras and she  became known as Mademoiselle Le Gras. Her husband died thirteen years later in 1625, leaving St. Louise with a young son. After his death in 1625, St. Louise again began to think about joining a religious community. She became a nun and chose St. Vincent de Paul, then known as Monsieur Vincent, as her spiritual director. She became an active supporter of the charitable work of St Vincent de Paul, who came to put more and more reliance on her. With the help of Monsieur Vincent, St. Louise established the Daughters of Charity, a group of women dedicated to serving the sick, the poor and the neglected as it was frowned upon for wealthy women to serve those outside of their own social class besides raising money. They were dedicated to the corporal and spiritual service of the poor in their homes.

In 1642, St. Louise wrote the formal Rule for the Daughters of Charity and in 1655 they received formal approval from the Vatican. Her clear intelligence and wide sympathy played a big part in the beginnings of the congregation, whose aspirants she trained and whose rapid growth involved responsibilities which largely fell on her. After forming the Rule for the Daughters of Charity, St. Louise traveled around France forming convents and instituting the Daughters as workers in hospitals, orphanages and other institutions dedicated to helping the neglected. St. Louise worked zealously until her death in Paris in the year 1660. At the time of her death there were already over forty houses of the sisters in France, the sick poor were looked after at home in twenty-six Parisian parishes, hundreds of women were given shelter, and there were other undertakings as well. St Louise was not physically robust, but she had great powers of endurance, and her selfless devotion was a source of incalculable help and encouragement to Monsieur Vincent. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934 and was declared patroness of social workers in 1960. She’s the Patron Saint of disappointing children, widows, loss of parents, sick people, social workers, Vincentian Service Corps, people rejected by religious order

PRAYER: God, You inspired St. Louise to strive for perfect charity and so attain Your Kingdom at the end of her pilgrimage on earth. Strengthen us through her intercession in the way of love. Amen🙏

SAINT LONGINUS THE CENTURION, MARTYR: The Holy Martyr Longinus the Centurion, a Roman soldier, served in Judea under the command of the Governor, Pontius Pilate. When our Savior Jesus Christ was crucified, it was the detachment of soldiers under the command of Longinus which stood watch on Golgotha, at the very foot of the holy Cross. Longinus and his soldiers were eyewitnesses of the final moments of the earthly life of the Lord, and of the great and awesome portents that appeared at His death. These events shook the centurion’s soul. Longinus believed in Christ and confessed before everyone, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Mt. 27:54). According to Church Tradition, Longinus was the soldier who pierced the side of the Crucified Savior with a spear, and received healing from an eye affliction when blood and water poured forth from the wound. After the Crucifixion and Burial of the Savior, Longinus stood watch with his company at the Sepulchre of the Lord. These soldiers were present at the All-Radiant Resurrection of Christ. The Jews bribed them to lie and say that His disciples had stolen away the Body of Christ, but Longinus and two of his comrades refused to be seduced by the Jewish gold. They also refused to remain silent about the miracle of the Resurrection. Having come to believe in the Savior, the soldiers received Baptism from the apostles and decided to leave military service. Saint Longinus left Judea to preach about Jesus Christ the Son of God in his native land (Cappadocia), and his two comrades followed him. The fiery words of those who had actually participated in the great events in Judea swayed the hearts and minds of the Cappadocians; Christianity began quickly to spread throughout the city and the surrounding villages. When they learned of this, the Jewish elders persuaded Pilate to send a company of soldiers to Cappadocia to kill Longinus and his comrades. When the soldiers arrived at Longinus’s village, the former centurion himself came out to meet the soldiers and took them to his home. After a meal, the soldiers revealed the purpose of their visit, not knowing that the master of the house was the very man whom they were seeking. Then Longinus and his friends identified themselves and told the startled soldiers to carry out their duty. The soldiers wanted to let the saints go and advised them to flee, but they refused to do this, showing their firm intention to suffer for Christ. The holy martyrs were beheaded, and their bodies were buried at the place where the saints were martyred. The head of Saint Longinus, however, was sent to Pilate.

Pilate gave orders to cast the martyr’s head on a trash-heap outside the city walls. After a while a certain blind widow from Cappadocia arrived in Jerusalem with her son to pray at the holy places, and to ask that her sight be restored. After becoming blind, she had sought the help of physicians to cure her, but all their efforts were in vain. The woman’s son became ill shortly after reaching Jerusalem, and he died a few days later. The widow grieved for the loss of her son, who had served as her guide. Saint Longinus appeared to her in a dream and comforted her. He told her that she would see her son in heavenly glory, and also receive her sight. He told her to go outside the city walls and there she would find his head in a great pile of refuse. Guides led the blind woman to the rubbish heap, and she began to dig with her hands. As soon as she touched the martyr’s head, the woman received her sight, and she glorified God and Saint Longinus. Taking up the head, she brought it to the place she was staying and washed it. The next night, Saint Longinus appeared to her again, this time with her son. They were surrounded by a bright light, and Saint Longinus said, “Woman, behold the son for whom you grieve. See what glory and honor are his now, and be consoled. God has numbered him with those in His heavenly Kingdom. Now take my head and your son’s body, and bury them in the same casket. Do not weep for your son, for he will rejoice forever in great glory and happiness.” The woman carried out the saint’s instructions and returned to her home in Cappadocia. There she buried her son and the head of Saint Longinus. Once, she had been overcome by grief for her son, but her weeping was transformed into joy when she saw him with Saint Longinus. She had sought healing for her eyes, and also received healing of her soul. St. Longinus  is the Patron Saint of the blind and people with poor eyesight, of labor, of power, and of good discernment.

PRAYER: O Saint Longinus, you were chosen as the venerable gate keeper and was granted the gift of discernment by the Lord; an eyewitness of God’s miracle who glorified the resurrected Christ. To your death, you remained Christ’s soldier and for Christ you gave your head. Pray for us, therefore, O St. Longinus so that being inspired by your example and assisted by your prayers, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and reach eternal life to praise and thank God in heaven with you. I ask you to pray to God this special request if it be His holy will… Amen🙏

Almighty, Eternal God, You were pleased to make Your Church illustrious through the varied splendor of St. Longinus. As we venerate his memory, may we also follow such shining examples of virtue on earth and thus obtain merited crowns in Heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord… Amen🙏

SAINT CLEMENT MARY HOFBAUER, PRIEST: Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer (1751-1821) was born on December 26,1751, at Taswitz, Moravia to a butcher and his wife and was baptized John. His family name was originally Dvorak, but was changed to the German Hofbauer. He was the youngest of twelve children, St. Clement was six years old when his father died. His great desire was to become a priest, but since his family was unable to give him the necessary education, he became a baker’s assistant, devoting all his spare time to study. He was a servant in the Premonstratensian monastery of Bruck from 1771 to 1775, then lived for some time as a hermit. As part of his so-called Josephinist policies, Austrian Emperor Jo­seph II abolished hermitages, and Clement went to Vienna, where he and a friend, Peter Kunzmann, received permission from Bishop Chiaramonti of Tivoli, Italy, to live in a hermitage. Bishop Chiaramonti later became Pope Pius VII.

He made three pilgrimages to Rome, and during the third, accompanied by a good friend, he entered with the same friend the Redemptorist novitiate at San Giuliano. The two were professed in 1785 and ordained a few days later. They were stationed in Vienna, but Emperor Joseph II closed religious foundations, so they were sent to Courtland. Peter Kunzmann joined Clement as a lay brother, and the three were sent to St. Benno’s Church in Warsaw, Poland, to begin two decades of missionary labors from 1786 to 1808. The church in Warsaw was granted by King Stanislaus Poniatowski, and they labored under incredible difficulties. A larger church was also reserved for them, where daily instructions were given for non-Catholics. Saint Clement  preached and also founded in Warsaw an orphanage and a school for boys and established a vast Redemptorist presence in the city. His great friend, Thaddeus Habul, died in 1807; the following year four houses founded by Saint Clement were suppressed and the Redemptorists expelled from the Grand Duchy. Napoleon suppressed all religious institutions, and Clement and the Redemptorists were imprisoned in 1808, each one then exiled to his own native land. St. Clement went with one companion to Vienna, where for the last twelve years of his life he acted as chaplain and director at an Ursuline convent and pastor of the adjoining parish. There he exercised a veritable apostolate among all classes in the capital. He devoted himself in a special way to the conversion and formation of young men. He became known for his holiness and zeal. He founded a Catholic college and began to reform and revitalize the Catholic faith of Austria and Germany. Prince Rupert of Bavaria aided Clement in defeating a move to establish a German national Church. St. Clement also fought against Josephinism and was about to be expelled from Austria for his opposition to such secular control, when, surprisingly, Emperor Joseph’s successor, Emperor Francis I, defended him. St. Clement died in Vienna on March 15, 1821. When he died, Pius VII said, Religion in Austria has lost its chief support. On April 19, the Emperor admitted the Congregation into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Thanks to Fr. Joseph Passerat, one of St. Clement´s first companions, the Congregation spread from Vienna throughout Northern Europe. St  Clement was canonized by Saint Pius X on May 20, 1909. He is co-patron Vienna and Warsaw.

PRAYER: God of the Journey I pray, O God, for all who under full sail journey upon unchartered waters. God of the universe, You are on a journey and You are taking us with You. Help us to keep up and give as companions along the way. I commend to your care people on really big journeys. I pray with those entering a relationship or leaving one, those leaving home or returning, for the sick and the dying, and for immigrants, asylum-seekers and tourists. St Clement Hofbauer, the Apostle on the move… pray for us. Amen🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

“They tried to arrest Him, but his hour had not yet come”

“Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.    But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.”

In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus spoke and elaborated about the challenges and persecutions that He Himself would soon face in Jerusalem, as He embarked on the last part of His earthly ministry. He had to face a lot of hardships and rejection, challenges from the Temple authorities, from the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, many of whose members refused to accept the teachings and the works that the Lord had presented to them. They all believed that their way of observing the Law, their beliefs and their practices are superior than everyone else’s and that they could not have been wrong or mistaken, and hence, they treated the Lord as a great rival to them and a dangerous threat to their privileged existence and status in the community. That was why, they would eventually arrest Him and then condemned Him to death on the Cross through the means of the Romans. Our Lord Jesus speaks of Himself as the one whom God has sent. ‘There is one who sent me and I really came from Him’. He goes on to claim that because He came from God, He knows God. ‘I know Him because I have come from Him and it was He who sent me’. It is only Jesus who can make the claim to know God, because it is only Jesus who, according to John’s Gospel, was with God in the beginning, who came from God to earth and who remains close to the Father’s heart while on earth. It is Jesus who is uniquely placed to make God known. ‘No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made Him known’ (Jn. 1:18). It is because Jesus is the only one who can make God fully known that He is at the centre of our faith. We all have a deep desire to see and know God. In John’s Gospel, Philip speaks for us all when he says to Jesus, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied’ (Jn. 14:8). On that occasion, Jesus had to remind Philip, ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father’. Jesus shows us the face of God because He is God in human form. If Jesus shows us the face of God, it is above all the Gospels that show us the face of Jesus. The Gospels are our bread of life because there we meet Jesus who reveals the God who alone can satisfy our deepest hungers.

Our first reading today from the Book of Wisdom, describes the plots that the wicked assembled and planned against the faithful servant of God. Today’s reading is a highlight summarising what God’s servants and prophets had to endure during the time of their ministry among the people of God. The sufferings, persecutions, challenges and difficulties that the servants and prophets of God had to endure throughout their ministry, all because of the stubbornness that the people to whom they had been sent to, their refusal to follow the Law of God and their rebelliousness, through which they had gone ever deeper into the path of sin and evil. The Lord nonetheless still loved them all, and patiently helped and guided them back towards Himself, sending to them those servants and messengers to assist and lead them all in the right path. Yet, they often rejected His offer of love and mercy, and many of them preferred to walk down in their own rebellious path. Thus, they persecuted those servants and messengers, making a mockery of their status as God’s beloved people. They were often hated, rejected and ridiculed against, oppressed and persecuted. They were cast out and treated as how foreigners were treated, and even worse than that. No one would hear them even though they spoke God’s words and truth. Those people had closed themselves against God’s words and truth, and then, the Book of Wisdom also spoke of what would happen in time to come, it was also a prophecy of the Messiah and how the people would treat Him just as they had treated the prophets and messengers of God. This was a prophecy as declared in our Gospel reading today, of what was to happen to our Lord Jesus and what He experienced as He ministered among the people of God. He would be condemned to a shameful death by those who could not stand the sight of Him. The chief priests, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as well as members of the Sadducees, all plotted against Him and sought His downfall.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, there were indeed lots of tribulations, trials and challenges that the Lord Himself and His servants and messengers had suffered. The same sufferings and trials have also been faced by our predecessors in faith, just as the history of the Church and the story of the many saints and martyrs of the Church can tell us. This is a reminder therefore, that if we want to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and completely as we should, we may have to endure those same sufferings and challenges, trials and difficulties as well. But at the same time, we should not be afraid or fearful because the Lord Himself will be with us, by our side, protecting and guiding us in our respective journeys and paths. In this season of Lent, all of us are given the time, opportunity and choice, and are called to seek the Lord with contrite and open hearts, with minds that are welcoming towards the Lord, and the willingness to listen to Him speaking to us and calling on us to return to Him. In this time of reconciliation and call to repentance, we are all reminded that we are sinners in need of healing and reconciliation with God. May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower each and every one of us to live ever more worthily in His presence, listening to Him and obeying His will in each and every available opportunities. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to be good examples and role models for one another, in how we live our lives as dedicated Christians. May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey of faith towards Him. May He empower each and every one of us so that we may always be strong and firm in our commitment to live our lives worthily of the Lord, at all times. Let us all continue to seek to glorify the Lord by our lives, by each and every one of our works, actions and deeds. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

My hidden Lord, You came to reveal to all people Your burning love and invitation to eternal life. Please come and dwell with me during my journey through life, and open my mind and heart to all that You wish to reveal. May I know You fully and follow You to the Promised Land of Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Louise de Marillac; Saint Longinus and Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled Fourth Week of Lent and relaxing weekend ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 14, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Beginning March 10–18, 2024 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2024. Novena Links below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 14, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 14, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 14, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 14, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 14, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Thursday, March 14, 2024
Reading 1, Exodus 32:7-14
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
Gospel, John 5:31-47

Novena to St. Joseph – Full | EWTN – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-joseph-full-novena-13879

Novena for the Solemnity of St. Joseph – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | https://shorturl.at/tvKPT

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty-Six: Angels | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-six-angels/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty-Six – The Holy Women and Veronica | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-six-the-holy-women-and-veronica/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Matilda, the Patron Saint of  widows, parents of large families, parents with difficult children, and of those who have conflicts with their grown children. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, we humbly pray for all parents, especially pray for those who experience challenges with their children. May God grant all parents wisdom, patience and understanding, as they nurture their children in the ways of the Lord.🙏

SAINT MATHILDA, PARENT’S PRAYER FOR THEIR CHILDREN:“O Heavenly Father, I commend my children to Thy care. Be Thou their God and Father; and mercifully supply whatever is lacking in me through frailty or negligence. Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world, whether from within or without; and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy. Pour Thy grace into their hearts, and strengthen and multiply in them the gifts of Thy Holy Spirit, that they may daily grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; and so, faithfully serving Thee here, may come to rejoice in Thy presence hereafter.. Amen”🙏

O GOD, by whose grace the blessed Mathilda enkindled with the fire of thy love, became a burning and a shining light in thy Church: Grant that we may be inflamed with the same spirit of discipline and love, and ever walk before thee as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord…Amen🙏

SAINT MATHILDA OF SAXONY, EMPRESS: St. Mathilda (895-968 A.D.), Queen of Germany and wife of King Henry I was a princess born in Prussia in about 895, the greatest glory of her noble family, she was the daughter of Theodoric of Westphalia, a powerful Saxon count, and Reinhilde, a princess of Denmark. Her parents placed her very young in the monastery of Erfort, of which her grandmother Maude had become the Abbess. Young St. Mathilda became in that house an accomplished model of all virtues and domestic arts. Here she learned needlework and acquired the love of labor, prayer, and spiritual reading. She remained there until her parents married her to the virtuous and valiant Henry “the Fowler” son of Otto, Duke of Saxony in the year 913, he was called Henry “the Fowler,” because of his fondness for hawking. He succeded his father and became Duke in 916 on the death of his father, and in 919 on the death of the Emperor of Germany, King Conrad I, Henry succeeded him to the German throne. He was chosen by his troops to succeed him. Henry was a pious and diligent prince, and very kind to his subjects. By his arms he checked the insolence of invading neighboring armies, and enlarged his dominions by adding to them Bavaria. Saint Mathilda, during those years, gained over the enemies of God spiritual victories yet more worthy of a Christian and far greater in the eyes of heaven. As the Queen of Germany, St. Mathilda was blessed with five children, three sons and two daughters, whom she raised in the fear of God, she nourished in their souls the precious seeds of devotion and humility through prayer and good works. They became important historical figures, the three sons became: Holy Roman Emperor Otto I the Great, who succeeded his father as emperor of Germany; Henry, Duke of Bavaria and Saint Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne. The two daughters were, Gerberga, wife of King Louis IV d’Outremer, King of France; and Hedwig, mother of Hugh Capet, first of the Capetian race of French kings. St. Mathilda was a holy and virtuous woman known for her generosity to the poor. The king adored his queen and attributed his success in battle to her prayers. They reigned seventeen years, and their eldest son succeeded the throne and became Emperor Otto I. Otto became King of Germany in 937, and in 962 he was crowned Emperor at Rome.

It was her delight to visit, comfort, and exhort the sick and the afflicted; to serve and instruct the poor, and to afford her charitable assistance to prisoners. Her husband, edified by her example, concurred with her in every pious undertaking which she proposed, and his military victories served for the propagation of the Gospel in pagan lands. The two sovereigns labored concertedly for the reign of justice in all their domains, and for the happiness and welfare of their subjects, constructing hospitals, churches and monasteries. After twenty-three years of marriage God was pleased in the year 936 to call the king to Himself. Before his death, he thanked his worthy companion for having moderated his sometimes too-severe justice, and praised her in the presence of the entire court. Saint Mathilda persevered long in prayer, continuing her good works as before, but could not avoid the difficulties which jealousy of sovereigns almost invariably provokes. After her husband’s death, St. Mathilda’s two eldest sons, Otto I and Henry chastised her for her generous almsgiving. St. Mathilda then took the possessions left to her by her husband and turned them over to her sons, and retired from court. Her sons immediately suffered misfortune, which was attributed to their poor treatment of their holy mother. Eventually Edith, wife of Otto, saw in the mortal illness threatening Henry, a sign of God’s anger provoked by their conduct toward their mother, and recommended the return of St Mathilda. In order to repair this injustice and regain God’s favor, St. Mathilda was begged to return to court, which she did, forgiving her sons for their ill will and afterwards perfect understanding reigned between the mother and sons. Henry died not long afterwards, and his mother thereafter retired almost completely from court life to concern herself with the care of prisoners, the poor and the sick, and the construction of a very large monastery for women at Nordhausen. She became more liberal in her alms than ever, and founded many churches, with five monasteries.

In her last sickness she made her confession to her grandson William, the Archbishop of Mentz, who yet died twelve days before her, on his road home. She again made a public confession before the priests and monks of the place, received a second time the last sacraments. Eventually she died on March 14, 968, after spending her final years in prayer and penance, she died lying on the floor in sack-cloth, having spread ashes upon her head herself. She died at the monastery at Quedlinburg and was buried there with her late husband, King Henry I. She was venerated as a Saint immediately after her death. She’s the Patron Saint of: death of children, disappointing children, falsely accused people, large families, people ridiculed for their piety, queens, second marriages, widows.

PRAYER: God, You gladden us each year by the feast of St. Mathilda. Grant that as we honor her in such festivities we may also imitate her example in our conduct. Amen🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

*Bible Readings for today, Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 5:31-47

“The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”

“Jesus said to the Jews: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life. “I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus refers to John the Baptist as a lamp alight and shining and declares that for a time people were content to enjoy the light that he gave. Jesus will go on to say in this Gospel of John, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life’. John the Baptist may be a lamp who gives off some light, but only Jesus is the true light. Jesus is declared to be the light of the world. Jesus does not only reflect the light of God; He is the light of God. People like John the Baptist have brought something of God’s light to others but Jesus alone is the light of God. We all need lamps as we go through life, people like John the Baptist reveal the light of God’s presence to us in some way. We are all called to be a lamp in that sense. If we are to be a lamp for others, we need to keep turning towards Jesus the true light. This activity of turning to Jesus the true light lasts a life-time. In various ways we can turn away from this light of God that shines so brilliantly through the person of Jesus. We can turn towards the darkness, in some form or other, as we face trials and tribulations in the world. When that happens, we need to keep turning back towards Jesus, the true light who is always turned towards us. Only then can we live out our calling to be a lamp alight and shining. When we keep turning towards the light, we can become a light for others. In another of the Gospels, Jesus speaks of God who ‘makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good’. God has given Jesus, His Son, to all people, without distinction or discrimination. Our calling is to open our lives to God’s light shining through God’s Son and, like John the Baptist, to reflect something of this light to others, especially to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.

In our first reading today from the Book of Exodus, the Lord speaks to Moses at the time after He has revealed His Law and the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai. At that time, Moses spent forty days with the Lord atop the mountain, listening to Him and receiving from Him the extensive set of laws and guidance meant to be passed to the people of Israel, as a guide and help for all of them to remain true to the path of righteousness. But the people thinking that Moses had perished on the mountain quickly lost their trust and faith in the Lord, and forced Aaron to craft for them a great golden calf idol to worship as god over them. This is the fundamental sin of idolatry and  they committed other grievous sins against the Lord, when God had been so patient in loving them and caring for them. Yet, Moses does not give up on the people, but stepped in and pleads with God on behalf of God’s people when He wanted to destroy all the people as was just and right for Him to do, and Moses asked the Lord to withhold His anger and judgment, reasoning with Him and reminding Him of the constant love that He has shown to the people. God hears Moses’ prayer of pardon; God responds to Moses’ plea. Because of Moses’ prayer there is reconciliation between God and His people. If Moses worked to reconcile God’s people to God, Jesus did so to an even fuller degree. Saint Paul declares, ‘God reconciled us to Himself through Christ… in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself’. The work of Moses pointed ahead to the even greater work of Jesus. That is why Jesus can say in the Gospel reading, ‘if you really believed Moses, you would believe me too’. There is continuity between Moses and Jesus, but, according to John’s Gospel, Jesus brings Moses’ work to completion. As the Prologue to that Gospel states, ‘the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’. Jesus is the fullest revelation of God’s gracious and reconciling love possible in human form.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all called to listen to the Lord and to follow Him, cease our rebellion and disobedience against Him. He has given us many opportunities to return to Him and to be reconciled to Him. Let us all make good use of the remaining time of Lent to prepare ourselves, not just physically but also spiritually and mentally, so that we may be more attuned to the Lord, be more ready and prepared to live in accordance with God’s path. May the Lord hence guide and help us in our journey of faith through life, particularly during this blessed season and time of Lent. May He empower each and every one of us in our path, so that we may always adhere faithfully to His Law and commandments. May He inspire us to follow in the footsteps of His Saints, holy men and women, particularly St. Mathilda, who we celebrate today and many others, such that we may ourselves be sources of inspiration and strength for our fellow brethren, and be the beacons of God’s light, truth and love. May the Lord our loving God and Master continue to love and guide us all in our journey in life, and may He empower so that we may continue to remain faithful to the calling, mission and vocations which He has entrusted to us. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to remain faithful and seek the Lord with ever greater faith and commitment, and may He bless us all with His guidance and strength, and bless our every good efforts, deeds and works, in all circumstances and things, now and always. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

My praiseworthy Lord, I do thank You and praise You for Your perfect goodness. I thank You for the way that You act in perfect union with the will of the Father. Help me to listen only to Your voice in this life and to reject all the misleading and confusing voices of the world. May my values and choices be guided by You and You alone. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Mathilda ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe, fruitful and grace-filled Fourth Week of Lent ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 13, 2024

ELEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PONTIFICATE OF POPE FRANCIS, VICAR OF CHRIST AND SUPREME PONTIFF

NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Beginning March 10–18, 2024 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2024. Novena Links below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

ELEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PONTIFICATE OF POPE FRANCIS, VICAR OF CHRIST AND SUPREME PONTIFF: Today, let us all pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who is celebrating the eleventh anniversary since his election as Pope at the Papal Conclave in 2013, that God will always bless him and guide him in his ministry as our shepherd. Amen. Happy 11th anniversary, Pope Francis! We continue to pray with you and for you. 🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 13, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 13, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 13, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 13, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 13, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Reading 1, Isaiah 49:8-15
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 145:8-9, 13-14, 17-18
Gospel, John 5:17-30

Novena to St. Joseph – Full | EWTN – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-joseph-full-novena-13879

Novena for the Solemnity of St. Joseph – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | https://shorturl.at/tvKPT

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty-Five: Worship | Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-five-worship/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty-Five – Jesus Falls | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-five-jesus-falls/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

*SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saints Roderick, Priest, and Solomon, Martyrs and St. Euphrasia of Constantinople, Virgin, a young girl who devoted her life entirely to God. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for persecuted christians, for justice, peace, love and unity in our world.

“O God of all the nations, the One God who is and was and always will be, in your providence you willed that your Church be united to the suffering of your Son. Look with mercy on your servants who are persecuted for their faith in you. Grant them perseverance and courage to be worthy imitators of Christ. Bring your wisdom upon leaders of nations to work for peace among all peoples. May your Spirit open conversion for those who contradict your will, that we may live in harmony. Give us the grace to be united in truth and freedom, and to always seek your will in our lives. Through Christ our Lord”… Amen🙏

SAINTS RODERICK, PRIEST, AND SOLOMON, MARTYRS: Sts. Roderick and Solomon were Martyrs of Spain who died on March 13, 857 AD. St. Roderick, also called Rodriquez, Rudericus and Rodrigo, was a  Mozarab Catholic priest from Córdoba in Cabra, Andalusia, a region that had been part of the kingdom of the Visigoths of Spain. Living in 9th century Spain at the time of the Moorish dominion and persecution. He was venerated as one of the Martyrs of Córdoba. He had two brothers—one had become a Muslim and the other was irreligious, had practically abandoned the Catholic Faith. St. Roderick became the victim of family and fraternal disagreements and violence. The Muslim brother reproached the third brother for his “obstinacy” in remaining a Christian. St. Roderick tried to make peace between the two but without success.

One day, while trying to break up a violent quarrel between the two, they turned on St. Roderick and he was beaten senseless by both of his brothers until he became unconscious. His Muslim brother then carried him in a cart through the streets, publicly proclaiming that St. Roderick had renounced Christ and converted to Islam and wished to die a Muslim. St. Roderick, too ill to speak out, suffered in silence, but as soon as he got well he escaped from his brother’s hands. His brother sought out St. Roderick and had him brought before the kadi or judge on the charge of having returned to the Christian Faith after embracing Islam. St. Roderick protested fiercely, declaring that he had never himself denied the Faith, he proclaimed that he had always been a Christian, when St. Roderick maintained his loyalty to the Catholic religion, he was accused of apostasy from Islam under Sharia law. The judge refused to believe him and relegated him to one of the worst dungeons in the city of Cordova. While he was denounced by the Muslim brother and imprisoned for falling away from the Islamic faith, in prison he met and befriended Salomon (Solomon) another Christian charged with the same offense. The two dedicated followers of Christ encouraged one another during the lengthy imprisonment, which had been designed to shake their constancy. Seeing that his original stratagem did not work, the judge had them set apart for a time; but when this also failed to achieve the desired retractions, the reluctant judge, then sentenced him to death, at the insistence of that Muslim brother. This was fratricide, more than persecution, not a question of the unusal form of persecution in this case. At the time, the region saw Muslims, Christians and Jews co-exist quite peacefully. Eventually, the judge condemned both of them to be beheaded, in 857 at Córdoba.

St. Eulogius (who was eventually martyred during that same persecution: see March 11) witnessed their bodies lying near a river, and saw the soldiers throwing the stones reddened by the Saints’ blood into the river to make sure that the Christians could not make relics of them. Thrown into the Guadalquivir river, the bodies were recovered by the Christians, who buried Roderick in the Basilica of San Genesio, near Cordova and Solomon, in the nearby Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian. St. Roderick’s Convent and Hospital in Cabra, established in the 16th century, bears his name.

PRAYER: Almighty, ever-living God, You enabled Sts. Roderick and Solomon to fight to the death for justice. Through their intercession enable us to bear all adversity and with all our strength hasten to You Who alone are life. Amen🙏
 
SAINT EUPHRASIA OF CONSTANTINOPLE, VIRGIN: Saint Euphrasia also known as Eupraxia (380 – March 13, 410) was a Constantinopolitan nun who was venerated after her death as a saint for her piety and example of charity. St. Euphrasia was born in 380 at Constantinople, Eastern Roman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey). St. Euphrasia was a daughter of noble and pious parents, honored by the pious Emperor Theodosius and the Empress of that city. She was the only daughter of Antigonus—a nobleman of the court of Emperor Theodosius I, to whom he was related—and of Euphrasia, his wife. When Antigonus died, his widow and young daughter withdrew together to Egypt, near a monastery of one hundred and thirty nuns. This was less than a century since St. Anthony had established his first monastery, but monasticism in that time had spread with incredible speed. At the age of seven,  the little girl, St. Euphrasia begged that she might be permitted to take vows and become a nun and serve God in this monastery, the pious mother wept for joy. When her mother presented the child to the abbess, St. Euphrasia took up an image of Christ and kissed it, saying, “By vow I consecrate myself to Christ.” Her mother replied, “Lord Jesus Christ, receive this child under your special protection. You alone doth she love and seek: to you doth she recommend herself.” 

When St. Euphrasia’s mother left her in the hands of the abbess, she went out of the monastery weeping. She continued her life of prayer and mortification, and a few years later, when this good mother fell sick, she slept in peace. Soon after, on hearing of St. Euphrasia’s mother death, the Emperor Theodosius I sent for St.  Euphrasia, as he considered himself her protector, and already during her childhood had arranged for her to be married to a young senator of Constantinople, when she would reach a suitable age. St. Euphrasia responded with a letter to the Emperor declining the offer to marry; instead, she requested that her estate be sold and divided among the poor, and that all her slaves be manumitted. The emperor did as she requested shortly before his death in 395. Saint Euphrasia was known for and a perfect pattern of humility, meekness, and charity. If she found herself assaulted by any temptation, she immediately sought the advice of the abbess, who often on such occasions assigned to her some humbling and painful penitential labor, which she would execute to perfection. Once she moved a pile of great rocks from one place to another, continuing for thirty days with wonderful simplicity, until the devil, vanquished by her humble obedience, left her in peace. She became powerful over the demons, and delivered many possessed persons. She cured a child who was paralyzed, deaf and dumb, making the sign of the cross over him and saying, May He who created you, heal you!  She delivered a woman from possession by the devil. Moreover, before she died, the abbess of St. Euphrasia’s monastery reported having had a vision of St. Euphrasia transported to God’s throne, surrounded by angels. St. Euphrasia was favored with other miracles also and said to perform miracles before and after her death. St. Euphrasia died on March 13, 410 at the age of 30 in The Thebaid, Egypt. After her death, she was venerated as a saint.

PRAYER: Hear us, O God, our Saviour: that as we rejoice in the feast of blessed Euphrasia, Thy Virgin: so we may be taught by its devotion towards Thee. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son who lives and reigns with Thee in they unity of the Holy Ghost God world without end…Amen🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 5:17-30

“As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also does the Son give life to those whom He chooses”

“Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of
condemnation. “I cannot do anything on
my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” This was in response to the religious leaders who were critical of Jesus for working on the Sabbath by healing a man who had been paralyzed for thirty eight years, at a pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem (yesterday’s Gospel reading). The work that Jesus and His Father are always engaged in is that of giving life to others, ‘As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone He chooses… For the Father, who is the source of life, has made the Son the source of life’. God goes on working through His Son in a life-giving way. It is reassuring to know that God and the risen Lord go on working to bring life to all. We may not be able to work, for one reason or another. When we do work, we may feel that our work is not bearing any good fruit. Yet, God and His Son never cease to work among us and through us. Just as the sun cannot but shine, so God our Lord cannot but work. The Lord does not rest from his labours on our behalf, no more than a mother rests from her labours on behalf of her child, in the imagery of today’s first reading. The Lord calls on each of us to become the instruments of His labour on behalf of others, to allow Him to work through us for the present and ultimate well-being of others. If we trust in the Lord, listening to His words, then He will be working through us, even at those times when we seem incapable of much work.

Our first reading today from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is the words of comfort and assurances from God to His people in the kingdom of Judah, as He told them that He will always remember them and that He will always provide for them, and be reconciled with them, despite their past wickedness and sins. The Lord spoke to His people of His promised salvation to all of them. He would rescue them from their troubles and deliver them from the hands of the evil one, and all of the plots against them. This is significant given the context of what happened at that time, as the people of Israel, the descendant of the people of God had been going through a lot of challenges and trials, having been torn apart and lost their unity. Back then, during the time of the prophet Isaiah’s life and ministry, the people of God, the Israelites had been wrecked by a lot of hardships and tragedies, especially when the northern half of the land of Israel and most of the ten tribes of the twelve of the Israelites were crushed and conquered by the Assyrians. Those in the northern kingdom of Israel had long defied the Lord and refused to obey Him, and most of their kings were wicked and sinful, leading the people further and deeper into the path of sin. Thus, the terrible end eventually came upon them, as the Assyrians destroyed and laid waste their cities, and brought many of them into exile in far-off lands away from their homeland. Despite all of these, as God Himself has proclaimed, He still remembered His people and would not abandon them. Our first reading today portrays God like a woman feeding her child at her breast. The bond between the feeding mother and her baby becomes an image of the bond between God and the believing community. A mother’s love for the child of her womb is tender and life-giving. A mother loves her child as she loves herself because for nine months her child was an integral part of herself. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God declares that His love for His people is even stronger than a mother’s love for her child. We are reminded of this during this time of Lent so that hopefully we may change our ways and turn once again towards the Lord and His mercy.

Aa we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of the great love of God, the many wonderful things that God had done for our sake. He has showed His love to us repeatedly, again and again, even when we have often betrayed and ignored Him, abandoned and left Him for other idols and distractions in life. He patiently extended to all of us the offer of His love and compassionate mercy, wanting to be reconciled with us sinners, and calling on all of us to return to Him. Let us all no longer be stubborn or difficult in our attitudes, allowing ourselves to be immersed in God’s love and grace. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to love us and provide us each day, and may He empower us all with the strength and the desire to reach out to Him and His most generous love and mercy. May He instil in each one of us the strong desire to commit ourselves to Him and His path, and inspire us that we may be good role models and source of inspiration to all those whom we encounter in our lives, so that more people may come to believe in God through us. May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our respective journey of faith, and may He empower us all to live ever more worthily of His presence from now on, if we have not yet done so. Let us consciously reject the temptations to sin, and strive to live a good and worthy life at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless us all and our every actions, so that we may always strive to glorify Him by those same actions and deeds. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

Most holy and triune God, the love You share within Your very being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is beyond my comprehension. The mystery of Your triune life is a mystery of the greatest degree. Draw me in, dear Lord, to the life You share with Your Father and the Holy Spirit. Fill me with wonder and awe as You invite me to share in Your divine life. Most Holy Trinity, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Roderick and Solomon and Saint Euphrasia of Constantinople ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe, fruitful and grace-filled Fourth Week of Lent ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 11, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Beginning March 10–18, 2024 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2024. Novena Links below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 11, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 11, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 11, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 11, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 11, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Monday March 11, 2024
Reading 1, Isaiah 65:17-21
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-13
Gospel, John 4:43-54

Novena to St. Joseph – Full | EWTN – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-joseph-full-novena-13879

Novena for the Solemnity of St. Joseph – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | https://shorturl.at/tvKPT

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty-Three: True Heights | Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-three-true-heights/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty-Three – The Sentence of Death | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-three-the-sentence-of-death/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Eulogius of Cordoba, Martyr and Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we humbly pray for God’s grace, strength and protection during this season of Lent.

Lord God, heavenly Father, you know that we are set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant us such strength and protection, to support us in all danger, and carry us through all temptations; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord…Amen🙏

SAINT EULOGIUS OF CORDOBA, PRIEST AND MARTYR: St. Eulogius of Cordoba (9th c.) was a priest from a prominent Christian family in Cordoba (Cordova), Spain. Ordained to the priesthood, he was placed at the head of the most important ecclesiastical school in Spain, which then flourished at Cordova. His virtues, to which he joined assiduous fasting and prayer, gained for him universal esteem. He was well-educated, humble, gentle, friendly, and a gifted leader with the charism of encouragement, especially towards Christians facing martyrdom. In his time Cordoba was the capital of the Muslim conquerors of Catholic Spain. The Muslim leaders allowed Christians to live in relative peace until in the year 850, a violent persecution broke out against the Christians when some of the Muslim population began converting to Christianity. As one who encouraged the Martyrs, St. Eulogius was cast into prison together with his Bishop and many priest. While in prison St. Eulogius read the Bible to his companions and exhorted them to faithfulness in the face of martyrdom. He wrote an Exhortation to Martyrdom to two other young female converts, the virgins Flora and Mary, who were facing threats, instructing them that no matter how terribly they were physically abused, it could not harm their souls, and that they must fight for their faith till death and leave God to defend His Church. Sts. Flora and Mary, were then beheaded on November 24, 851. These two Saints promised to pray for their companions, and six days after their death St. Eulogius and the others were freed. The persecution continued and St. Eulogius became the support of the dispersed flock, encouraging a group of the Martyrs who were martyred in 853. He wrote their story, entitled Memoriam of the Saints, which is permeated by and ardent zeal and spirit of martyrdom.

In 858, it became St. Eulogius’s turn to suffer for his Faith. After his release, St. Eulogius was later jailed again for hiding a young female convert, a virgin named  Leocritia (or Lucretia) of a noble family of the Moors who fled from her family in fear of her life. She sought his protection against her irate parents. He hid her among friends for a time, but eventually they were all discovered and condemned to death. St. Eulogius’ judge offered him escape if he would weaken the practice of his religion, but instead St. Eulogius preached the Gospel to the presiding court. He was immediately beheaded on March 11, 859, and St. Leocritia four days later.

PRAYER: God of power and mercy, through Your help St. Eulogius has overcame the tortures of his passion. Help us who celebrate his triumph to remain victorious over the wiles of our enemies. Amen🙏
 
SAINT SOPHRONIUS  OF JERUSALEM: St. Sophronius of Jerusalem was called the Sophist because of his knowledge of Greek. A courageous leader of the Jerusalem Church during the Islamic conquests of the seventh century.  Patriarch Saint Sophronius I was an ardent opponent of monothelitism. He was born in Damascus, Syria, around the year 560, St. Sophronius came from an esteemed family and received a deep philosophical education. His early devotion to God grew into an inclination toward monastic life, and while still young he entered a monastery in Palestine. He became a friend and student of John Moschus, his fellow monk who would become an important spiritual writer in the Eastern Christian tradition. The Zoroastrian Persians – long-standing military rivals of the Byzantine Empire, hailing from present-day Iran – invaded Palestine in 605. As a result the two monks fled first to Antioch and then Egypt. But their flight became a spiritual quest, taking John and Sophronius to many monasteries throughout the Middle East. Moschus’ memoir of their travels, entitled “The Spiritual Meadow,” survives and is still read in the Church to this day. The two monks’ foremost patron was Saint John the Almsgiver, patriarch of Alexandria, with whom they stayed for a time until the Persians conquered the city in 614. The Zoroastrian invasion of Egypt forced the kindly patriarch back to his homeland of Cyprus, while Sophronius and John Moschus took refuge in Rome along with a group of other monks. Moschus, regarded as a saint by some contemporary Eastern Christians, died in Rome during 619.

Jerusalem, the future site of Sophronius’ patriarchate, was the subject of violent disputes even before the rise of Islam. Captured by the Persians in 614, it was not retaken by the Byzantines until 628. The Christian reconquest of the city was triumphant, after the long wars with the Zoroastrian empire. But the triumph would be short-lived: By that time the Islamic founder Muhammad had begun his conquests, which would continue under his successors the caliphs. Eastern Christendom also suffered internally during the 620s, with a recurrence of doctrinal controversy over the person of Christ. During the 630s, Sophronius prominently opposed the “monothelite” heresy – whose adherents supposed Jesus had only one will, the divine. This error denied Christ’s human will, making him less than “true God and true man.” Saint Maximus the Confessor, the greatest opponent of monothelitism, was taught and mentored by Sophronius. Chosen to lead the Church in Jerusalem during 634, Sophronius continued to oppose the monothelite heresy. But he soon faced a more tangible threat from Caliph Umar and his army of followers. The Muslims beseiged Jerusalem for two years during Sophronius’ patriarchate, forcibly depriving the city’s residents of food. The patriarch could only save the lives of his people by negotiating a surrender with the caliph. Thus, Jerusalem fell to Islam for the first time in 637. Heartbroken, St. Sophronius died the following year in 638. Patriarch St. Sophronius’ stand against monothelitism was vindicated near the end of the seventh century, when the heresy of “one will” in Christ received formal condemnation at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople. But the Jerusalem Patriarchate remained vacant for many decades after St. Sophronius’ death: a successor was not appointed until 705. Jerusalem, meanwhile, would not pass back into Christian hands until the First Crusade of 1099.

Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem ~Pray for us 🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Bible Readings for today, Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 4:43-54

“Go, your son will live”

“At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When He came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then He returned to Cana in Galilee, where He had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to Him and asked Him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when He came to Galilee from Judea.”

In today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus was critical of those who would not believe unless He did signs and wonders in response to their bidding. In the course of the Gospels several people come up to Jesus and demand a sign before they will believe in Him. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus addresses an official at the court of Herod as one such person, ‘You will not believe unless you see signs and wonders’. However, the royal official believed without waiting for Jesus to perform the sign, the miracle of the healing of his son. There are two signs our Lord Jesus Christ performed at Cana. The first sign being Jesus’ changing of water into wine at the wedding feast and today’s Gospel reading is the second and less well known of the two signs. In the first Cana scene, the mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary showed great trust in Jesus’ word, ‘Do whatever He tells you’, she told the servants. In this second Cana scene, the royal official also showed great trust in Jesus’ word. When Jesus said to him, ‘Go home, your son will leave’, according to the Gospel, ‘the man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way’. He did what Jesus told him, he went home, trusting Jesus’ promise that his son would live. The royal official believed and trusted Jesus’ word, without needing to first see the cure that he so desperately wanted for his son.

As Jesus earlier said, ‘you people, you Galileans, will not believe unless you see signs and wonders’. Here was a Galilean who did not need to see signs and wonders before he believed. He believed on the basis of Jesus’ word of promise, and, having believed, he then saw signs and wonders, the sign and wonder of his son’s healing. His son was healed exactly at the very moment that the Lord told the official that his son would be well. The Lord made an important point here for all the people and also for all of us, that we must truly believe in God and have faith in Him. In many ways this royal official is a model for all of us. Like him, we are all called to believe, without insisting on first seeing signs and wonders. We are to believe what Jesus says, and on the basis of that to keep setting out on our way. We are called to take Jesus at His word, as this man did, and to allow the Lord’s word to sustain us on our pilgrim journey. If we allow ourselves to be shaped and guided by the Lord’s word, we too will discover new life in unexpected places, just like the royal official who, on setting out in response to the Lord’s word, discovered on arriving home that his son was well again. This was the kind of faith the mother of Jesus called for at the wedding feast of Cana. If we take the Lord at His word, if we surrender to the Lord’s word of call and promise, we too, like the royal official, will come to see signs and wonders. Having taken the Lord at His word, we will see the Lord at work in a life-giving way, in our own lives and in the lives of others. The Lord has given us something wonder-full in His word. His word is often a word of promise, as it was for the royal official. It can also be a word of comfort, a word of call, or a word of challenge. Whatever form it takes, in the expression of one of the psalms, the Lord’s word will always be a lamp for our feet and a light for our steps.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord told all of His people of the reassurances of the coming of the good times when they would no longer suffer and when they would once again be filled with God’s grace and blessings. This message came at a time when the people of God had suffered a lot of sufferings, humiliations and difficulties, all because they had disobeyed against Him and refused to follow His Law and commandments. This resulted in the consequences and punishments that they had to endure, as God’s grace and guidance were withdrawn from them, and they had to contend with many obstacles and challenges from their neighbours and enemies. They experienced the results of their own folly in rejecting the generous love of their Lord and Master in exchange for worldly goods and riches. According to the reading, there is also another, even greater promise and reassurance from God of the new heavens and the new earth. Linking to the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, which was actually a premonition of the end times, of the moment when God would remake all things, and renew the whole of Creation, when He would judge the Heavens and the earth, and take into account all of those living and the dead, everyone who have ever lived. This moment of reckoning was a hope to all those who have kept their faith alive in God, and who have suffered because of this faith, as the Lord promised to all of them that as long as they have been faithful to Him and full of trust in Him, then in the end, He shall lead them all to the new heavens and earth, to a life of perfection and bliss, when they shall not experience any more sufferings and sorrows. This is an affirmation of everything which the Lord has always told and promised to His people, that He would always be with them, guiding and protecting them, providing and strengthening them throughout all of their journey and ways. He wants each and every one of them eventually to return to Him, to be fully reconciled and reunited to Him, to be once again in His Holy Presence, casting aside their sins and wickedness, to be forgiven from all those evil deeds and actions. God has always been patient in guiding and correcting the mistakes and faults of His beloved ones, and He has called on all of them, and hence, all of us to come once again towards Him, that we may reject our sinful and wicked ways, becoming once again truly worthy of the Lord in all things, in our every actions, words and deeds.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us should always focus our attention on the Lord our God, and believe in Him, putting our trust and faith in Him, in all the things which He has said and promised to us. God has revealed to us the assurances of His love and grace, and everything which He has promised us, and we should follow Him in all of our ways and in every moments of our existence. We are reminded that it is in God alone that we truly have hope and assurance of salvation and eternal life, and there is no way forward if we seek to follow other alternative paths that the world has offered to us. May the Lord, our most loving Creator, Father and Master continue to love us all always, and may He continue to encourage and strengthen us in our every resolve and efforts so that in all the things we say and do, in our every moments in life, we may always strive to be worthy of Him, and continue to walk ever more righteously and faithfully in His path. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless our every good efforts, endeavours and works, now and always. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

My merciful Jesus, Your love for us is beyond what we will ever fathom. Your generosity is truly great. Help me to believe in You and to embrace Your holy will both in good times and in difficult ones. Help me, especially, to be open to the gift of faith, even when Your presence and action in my life seems silent. May those moments, dear Lord, be moments of true interior transformation and grace. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Eulogius and Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times, and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love, and faith. Have a blessed, safe, fruitful, and grace-filled Fourth Week of Lent ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, LAETARE ‘REJOICE’ SUNDAY (YEAR B)

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 10, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Begins today, March 10–18, 2024 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2024. Novena Links below.

Greetings beloved family! Happy Laetare “Rejoice” Sunday, Fourth Sunday of  Lent and Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, mothers to be and mother figures (celebrated today in the UK, Africa and other countries). May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 10, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 10, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 10, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 10, 2024 | https://youtu.be/-i4DUT2U2JY?si=EP3kab_O23t3slQR

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 10, 2024 | https://youtu.be/dTR4U5X2Qbs?si=lV72ENQp2LDe5gog

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube | https://youtu.be/QAZKMbwZrEQ

Today’s Bible Readings: Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year B), March 10, 2024
Reading 1, Second Chronicles 36:14-17, 19-23
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
Reading 2, Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel, John 3:14-21

[Note: When the Scrutinies are used at Mass, the reflection and readings for Year A may be used in place of this one]

Novena to St. Joseph – Full | EWTN – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-joseph-full-novena-13879

Novena for the Solemnity of St. Joseph – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | https://shorturl.at/tvKPT

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Fourth Sunday of Lent: Sight | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/fourth-sunday-of-lent-sight/

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, LAETARE ‘REJOICE’ SUNDAY: Today is the halfway mark of Lent and we celebrate what is known as Laetare Sunday. The word Laetare has the meaning of ‘rejoice’ just as Gaudete is, both having similar meanings. This name Laetare comes from the beginning of this Sunday Introit at the start of the Holy Mass, namely, ‘Laetare Jerusalem, et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam…’ which means ‘Rejoice, o Jerusalem, and gather round, all you who love her…’ a reminder for all of us that amidst all the penitential and more sombre nature of this season of Lent, we are actually looking forward to the arrival of Easter, when we shall rejoice together commemorating the glorious Resurrection and the salvation which the Lord has shown us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Risen Lord and Saviour. This Sunday is our foretaste of Easter joy, it marks the halfway point through the Lenten season of fasting, abstinence, and penance, and because of this it is a day of joy in anticipation of the close arrival of Easter.

Laetare Sunday is one of the only two occasions in the entire liturgical year when the color rose is used. The other occasion is the Gaudete Sunday during the season of Advent. Like that of its Advent counterpart, the Gaudete Sunday or the Third Sunday of Advent, which marks the joyful expectation of the coming of the Messiah in Christmas, Laetare Sunday marks this joyful expectation of the salvation of all mankind, amidst our deep and intense preparation and self-retrospection this Lenten season. Today, just as on Gaudete Sunday in Advent, we have a reprieve and more joyful celebration amidst the more sombre and penitential nature of this season. The Priests wear rose-colored liturgical vestments and the altar is decorated with flowers, often roses. We have something like a break amidst the usually more toned down nature of our Lenten observances, as music and flowers are allowed to be used again, unlike how it is during the other parts of the Lenten season. Why is that so? That is because the rose liturgical color which is used today is a reminder that all of these things we have practiced and prepared for this Lent, are all ultimately in expectation of the joy that is to come through Christ, Our Lord and Savior. We focus on the Joy that we are looking forward to and have been preparing ourselves for in these past few weeks of Lent. We look forward to the joy of the coming of Christ, and the salvation that He has given to all of us in Easter. All of our Lenten observances are meant to help us to be able to enter more deeply into the mystery and nature of the work of salvation which God has done in our midst through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the Lord have mercy on us all. Happy Laetare “Rejoice” Sunday🙏

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Bible Readings for today, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare ‘Rejoice’ Sunday (YEAR B) | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 3:14–21

“God sent his Son so that the world might be saved through him”

“Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”

In today’s Gospel reading this Sunday, our Lord Jesus had a conversation with Nicodemus the Pharisee, who was quite sympathetic towards the Lord and His teachings. In that conversation, the Lord told Nicodemus that God has always loved His people, all of mankind, and He desired that all of them should be saved and brought back to His loving embrace. That was why He sent to this world His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Himself, because He loves us all and this world so much, that by giving His Son to us, He might bring us all to Himself, gathering us all from being scattered all over this darkened and sinful world, and leading us all into the path of His light, hope and salvation into the eternal life which God has promised to us. In our Gospel reading, Jesus says with reference to Himself: ‘Light has come into the world’. The Gospel reading also declares that the light that has come into the world in the person of Jesus is the light of God’s love. The Gospel reading declares, ‘God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him… may have eternal life’. The light of Jesus is not the probing light of the grand inquisitor that seeks out failure and transgression with a view to condemnation. Indeed, the Gospel reading states that God ‘sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world’. The light of Jesus, rather, is the inviting light of God’s love, calling out to us to come and to allow ourselves to be bathed in this light, and promising those who do so that they will share in God’s own life, both here and now and also beyond death.

At the beginning of our Gospel reading today, Jesus speaks of Himself as the Son of Man who must be lifted up. It was on the cross that Jesus was lifted up, and it was above all at that moment that the light of God’s love shone most brightly. It is a paradox that those who attempted to extinguish God’s light shining in Jesus only succeeded in making that light of love shine all the more brightly. God’s gift of His Son to us was not in any way thwarted by the rejection of His Son. God’s giving continued as Jesus was lifted up to die, and God’s giving found further expression when God raised His Son from the dead and gave Him to us as risen Lord. Here indeed is a light that darkness cannot overcome, a love that human sin cannot extinguish. This is the core of the Gospel. This is why the fourth Sunday of Lent is known as Laetare Sunday, Rejoice Sunday. When we are going through a difficult experience and darkness seems to envelope us, it can be tempting to think that we will never see the light again. This is the mood that is captured in today’s responsorial psalm: ‘By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept’. Today’s readings assure us that there is a light that shines in the darkness and that the darkness will not overcome, a light that heals and restores, in the words of today’s second reading, a light that brings us to life with Christ and raises us up with Him. It shines in a special way whenever we celebrate the Eucharist. As we gather around the table of the word and the table of the Eucharist, the light of God’s love revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus shines upon whatever darkness we may be struggling with in our lives.

Our first reading this Sunday from the Second Book of Chronicles of Israel and Judah details the story of both the ruin and destruction of God’s people and their kingdom in Jerusalem and Judah, as well as the story of their emancipation and liberation afterwards by King Cyrus of Persia, who allowed them to return back to their own lands, after a long period of exile lasting traditionally for about seventy years. At that time, the kingdom of Judah where the people of God had lived in were destroyed by the Babylonians, who invaded and conquered Jerusalem and the whole of Judah, just as the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital Samaria had been destroyed by the Assyrians over a century earlier before. In both circumstances, many of the people of God had been uprooted from the lands that they and their ancestors had lived in for a long time. They were humiliated and made to wander in far-off lands, as exiles from their homeland. They had to bear the consequences of their rebelliousness and refusal to obey the Law and commandments of God, as they had been warned with by the prophets and messengers of God. But as the Lord Himself told those people through the same prophets and messengers, that they were still loved by Him, and God still desired them to come back towards Him. He did not and He would not just abandon them to be destroyed, as if He wanted to do that, He could have done it from the very beginning. Instead, God’s great love for us endures and continues to flow out from Him unabated, undimmed and unhindered by the disobedience, stubbornness and all the sins that we have committed in this world. He brought His people back from the lands of their exile, delivering them from their troubles and humiliations just as He has promised to them, and He did fulfil that promise, through the same Cyrus of Persia who overthrew and conquered Babylon, declaring through Divine inspiration, the emancipation and liberation for all the people of Israel and their descendants, allowing them to return once again to their homeland. It is this joyful moment that we are all asked to reflect upon this Sunday. This is because all of us, by our many sins and wickedness, we have also disobeyed God and fell into the path of evil and darkness. We have also ended up in our spiritual Babylon, in exile and separation from God, from His love and grace. But God’s enduring love for us allowed us all to return to Him and to find our way back to Him, through the One Whom had sent into our midst, that like the figure of Cyrus the Great of Persia, this Messiah or Saviour, Who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, has delivered us all from our misery and troubles. He has brought upon us the assurance of eternal life and true joy by what He has done for our sake.

In our second reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Ephesus, St. Paul reminded all the people there of God’s love and great mercy, which He has shown them by giving to us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who has been born unto us, to be our Saviour and Deliverer, as the One Who would lead us all into the path towards Heaven and eternal life. Through Him, God has revealed to everyone, and to all of us the fullness of His love, compassion and mercy, and therefore, His desire to be reconciled and reunited with us. That is why this day, we rejoice because of this great grace that we have received from our most loving and compassionate God.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures on this Fourth Sunday of Lent, as the Church celebrates the occasion of Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday, we are all reminded this day that we are looking forward to celebrate the most joyful and glorious moments of the salvation of all mankind at the Lord’s Passion during the Holy Week and Easter, which were all possible because God has truly loved us all so much that He was willing to do everything for our sake, to liberate us all from the dominion and tyranny of sin, leading us all back to His loving care, embrace and filling us once again with His grace and kindness, blessings and love. That is why we should continue to do our best so that our Lenten observances and practices, our acts of deepening our prayer and spiritual life, our fasting and abstinence to control our worldly desires and temptations, as well as our charitable efforts and generosity may continue to bear rich fruits for our benefits, and to bring us ever closer to the Lord our God. As we have all been reminded of the great love of God and all that He has done for us, and as we anticipate the great joy of our full and complete reunion with Him in the world that is to come, in the everlasting life and bliss that He has promised and reassured us all, let us all therefore strive to be exemplary in all things, in doing God’s will and in coming ever closer to His Throne of mercy and love. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may the good Lord, our ever loving and compassionate, most merciful and kind Master and Creator, our patient and loving Father be with us always and may He bless us in all of our good efforts and endeavours. Amen 🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT MACARIUS, BISHOP; SAINT JOHN OGILVIE, PRIEST; SAINT MARIE EUGENIE OF JESUS, RELIGIOUS, AND THE FORTY HOLY MARTYRS OF SEBASTE: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Macarius, Bishop; Saint John Ogilvie; Saint Marie Eugenie of Jesus (Patron Saint of Religious of the Assumption Students) and The Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste (Patron Saint of Persecuted Christians). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for persecuted christians, that God would give courage, peace, and even joy to persecuted Christians to stand strong amidst suffering.🙏

“God, you know the plight of people far away oppressed by governments and vigilantes In places where Christianity is an unpopular choice. God, you knew that the day would come here when truth-telling would be despised and siding with the oppressed Part of the road less travelled.
Have mercy, O God, upon persecuted Christians there and here who are willing to suffer consequences for speaking your Name in word or in deed, in defiance or in advocacy. Grant courage and strength to all who would dare to live their convictions out loud…Amen”🙏

SAINT MACARIUS OF JERUSALEM, BISHOP: St. Macarius of Jerusalem (4th c.) was the Bishop of Jerusalem from 312-335 A.D. Little is known of his life before this time. He was a lifelong and staunch opponent of Arianism and fought strenuously against this pernicious heresy. He was present and took part in the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. and vigorously opposed the Arian heresy, which greatly threatened the early Church. It is believed that he was one of the bishops who plated a large role in drafting drafting the Nicene Creed. St. Athanasius, his contemporary, refers to St. Macarius as an example of “the honest and simple style of apostolical men.” After the council, St. Macarius accompanied St. Helen, the queen mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, in her successful search for the True Cross that Jesus was crucified upon. It was he who suggested to St. Helen that she would identify the real Cross by touching all three of those she found to a seriously ill woman, and observe which one brought immediate healing. Following the discovery of the True Cross in this miraculous manner, Constantine wrote to Bishop Macarius requesting that he oversee the construction of a magnificent church in Jerusalem, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, to commemorate the sites of the Crucifixion and Burial of Christ, which still exists today as one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites in the world. Later, he and his fellow Bishop of Palestine received another letter from Constantine to construct a church at Mamre.

PRAYER: God, Light and Shepherd of souls, You established St. Macarius 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 taught by his word and follow the way he showed by his example. Amen🙏

SAINT JOHN OGILVIE, PRIEST: St. John Ogilvie (1579-1615) was born in 1579 at Drum, Keith, Scotland. His father, Walter Ogilvie was a Scottish noble who raised his son John in the state religion of Scotland, Calvinism. St.John converted to Catholicism at the age of 17 in Louvain, Belgium. Blessed John joined the Jesuits soon after in 1597, and was ordained to the Priesthood in Paris in 1610. He was sent to work in Rouen, France. He repeatedly requested assignment to Scotland where wholesale massacres of Catholics had taken place, but by this point the hunters were searching more for priests than for those who attended Mass. The Jesuits were determined to minister to the oppressed Catholic laity. When captured, they were tortured for information, then hanged, drawn, and quartered. Ogilvie’s request was granted, and he returned to Scotland in November 1613. He worked as an underground missionary in Edinburgh and Glasgow, dodging the Queen’s priest-hunters, disguising himself as a soldier named Watson. After 11 months in the field, St. John was betrayed, imprisoned, interrogated, then tortured for the names of active Catholics. He suffered in silence. During a long imprisonment, no tortures could force him to name any fellow Catholics. Though his courage was admired by the judges he was condemned as a traitor and hanged. He died hanged on March 10, 1615 in Glasgow, Scotland. The customary beheading and quartering were omitted owing to undisguised popular sympathy, and his body was hurriedly buried in the churchyard of Glasgow cathedral. He is the Church’s only officially recorded Scottish martyr. He was canonized by Paul VI on October 17, 1976.

PRAYER: God our Father, fountain of all blessing, We thank you for the countless graces that come to us in answer to the prayers of your saints. With great confidence we ask you in the name of your Son and through the prayers of St John Ogilvie to help us in all our needs. Lord Jesus, you chose your servant St John Ogilvie to be your faithful witness to the spiritual authority of the chief shepherd of your flock. Keep your people always one in mind and heart, In communion with Francis our Pope, and all the bishops of your Church. Holy Spirit, you gave St John Ogilvie light to know your truth, wisdom to defend it, and courage to die for it. Through his prayers and example bring our country into the unity and peace of Christ’s kingdom. Amen🙏

SAINT MARIE OF JESUS (ST. MARIE-EUGÉNIE DE JÉSUS), RELIGIOUS: St. Marie-Eugénie de Jésus (August 25, 1817 – March 10, 1898), was a French Roman Catholic professed religious and the foundress of the Religious Sister of the Assumption. She was born Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou on August 25, 1817 at Metz, Moselle, Kingdom of France and was raised in a family with no faith, although she did receive first Holy Communion on Christmas 1829 which seemed to transform her into a pious and discerning individual; As a young woman, she had a conversion experience and felt called to religious life after hearing the Lenten sermons of the Dominican priest Henri Lacordaire in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris which led her to found an order dedicated to the education of the poor. Although she lived with Visitation nuns for a brief time, she did not make vows as a religious. Her religious life was not without its own set of trials, for complications prevented her order from receiving full pontifical approval due to a select few causing problems as well as the deaths of many followers from tuberculosis in the beginning of the order’s life. During a pilgrimage in 1825, she felt called to establish a teaching institute. In 1839, she founded a congregation that came to be known as the Congregation of the Assumption. The community in 1888. In the last years of her life, Mother Marie Eugenie experienced a progressive physical weakening, which she lived in silence and humility – a life totally centered on Christ. She received the Eucharist for the last time on March 9, 1898 and on the 10th, she gently passed over to the Lord. Saint Marie-Eugénie died on March 10, 1898 at aged 80 at Auteuil, Paris, Île-de-France, French Third Republic. Her beatification was celebrated under Pope Paul VI on February 9, 1975 while her canonization was later celebrated on June 3, 2007 under Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. She’s the Patron Saint of Religious of the Assumption and Students.

PRAYER: O God, who called blessed Marie-Eugénie to seek your Kingdom in this world through the pursuit of perfect charity, grant, we pray, through her intercession that we may advance with joyful spirit along the way of love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen🙏

THE FORTY HOLY MARTYRS OF SEBASTE: The Forty Martyrs were soldiers quartered at Sebaste in Armenia, about the year 320. When their legion was ordered to offer sacrifice to idols, they refused to betray the faith of their baptism, and replied to all persuasive efforts, “We are Christians!” When neither cajolings or threats could change them, after several days of imprisonment they were chained together and taken to the site of execution. It was a cruel winter, and they were condemned to lie without clothing on the icy surface of a pond in the open air until they froze to death. The forty, not merely undismayed but filled with joy at the prospect of suffering for Jesus Christ, said: “No doubt it is difficult to support so acute a cold, but it will be agreeable to go to paradise by this route; the torment is of short duration, and the glory will be eternal. This cruel night will win for us an eternity of delights. Lord, forty of us are entering combat; grant that we may be forty to receive the crown!” There were warm baths close by, ready for any among them who would deny Christ. One of the confessors lost heart, renounced his faith, and went to cast himself into the basin of warm water prepared for that intention. But the sudden change in temperature suffocated him and he expired, losing at once both temporal and eternal life. The still living martyrs were fortified in their resolution, beholding this scene. Then the ice was suddenly flooded with a bright light; one of the soldiers guarding the men, nearly blinded by the light, raised his eyes and saw Angels descend with forty crowns which they held in the air over the martyrs’ heads; but the fortieth one remained without a destination. The sentry was inspired to confess Christ, saying: “That crown will be for me!” Abandoning his coat and clothing, he went to replace the unfortunate apostate on the ice, crying out: “I am a Christian!” And the number of forty was again complete. They remained steadfast while their limbs grew stiff and frozen, and died one by one. Among the forty there was a young soldier named Meliton who held out longest against the cold, and when the officers came to cart away the dead bodies they found him still breathing. They were moved with pity, and wanted to leave him alive, hoping he would still change his mind. But his mother stood by, and this valiant woman could not bear to see her son separated from the band of martyrs. She exhorted him to persevere, and lifted his frozen body into the cart. He was just able to make a sign of recognition, and was borne away, to be thrown into the flames with the dead bodies of his brethren. Their bones were cast into the river, but they floated and were gathered up by the faithful.

The Forty Holy Martyr of Sebaste ~ Pray for you 🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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 teaching Lord, Your sacred Truth is so deep, so profound and so transforming that it remains too much for me to fully comprehend and embrace. For that reason, I thank You for the mercy of speaking to me in veiled ways so as to continually draw me deeper in my faith and knowledge of You. Please continue to open my mind and heart to You so that, one day, I will understand Your Truth most fully. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Macarius, Bishop; Saint John Ogilvie; Saint Marie Eugenie of Jesus and The Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste ~  Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe and grace-filled Laetare ‘rejoice’ Sunday and fourth Week of Lent ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

THIRD WEEK OF LENT

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 9, 2024

NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Begins tomorrow, March 10–18, 2024 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2024. Novena Links below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Saturday of the Third Week of Lent. May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 9, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 9, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 9, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 9, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 9, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday, March 9, 2024
Reading 1, Hosea 6:1-6
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21
Gospel, Luke 18:9-14

Novena to St. Joseph – Full | EWTN – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-joseph-full-novena-13879

Novena for the Solemnity of St. Joseph – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | https://shorturl.at/tvKPT

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty-Two: Joy | Saturday of the Third Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-two-joy/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty-Two – “Behold, Your King!” | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-two-behold-your-king/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

*SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Frances of Rome, Religious (Patron Saint of Benedictine oblates; Automobile drivers; Widows); Saint Dominic Savio (Patron Saint of choirboys, choristers the falsely accused, and juvenile delinquents) and Saint Catherine of Bologna, Religious (artists, the liberal arts, against temptations and of Bologna). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the safety and well-being well-being of our children, all automobile drivers, travellers and artist, we pray for God’s guidance and protection. We also pray for all widows and widowers and all those who are mourning, please Lord comfort them and help them to abide in you forever even as they go through this difficult time. Amen🙏

SAINT FRANCES OF ROME, RELIGIOUS: St. Frances (1384-1440) was born to a noble family in Rome. As a young girl her desire to become a nun was refused by her father, who instead arranged her marriage at the age of 12. St. Frances accepted this as God’s will for her life and in obedience to her parents, she entered into a marriage contract with a wealthy nobleman named Lawrence Ponziani. In the matrimonial state the St. Frances led a very pious life, she was married for 40 years and had three children. As St. Frances became acquainted with her in-laws she found that the wife of her brother-in-law felt the same calling to the religious life that she did. From this point on, the two women began to work to help the poor. St. Frances never allowed her spiritual exercises or charitable work to interfere with her family life or domestic duties. She had to endure many trials, particularly during the great schism, when her husband was banished; but she suffered all with exemplary patience, blessing the holy will of God. After the schism St. Francis’s husband recovered his estates.

In St. Frances’ time, Rome was at war and the city was in chaos from political disarray and widespread disease. After the plague swept through Rome, two of her three children died from the plague. After the death of her children from the plague, St. Frances began to turn again to charitable work. She responded by converting her home into a hospital for the sick and poor. She gave up all her wealth to the sick and poor and began to go door to door raising money to aid the sick and the poor. She drove with a wagon into the streets and collected the sick and stranded in order to care for them. She miraculously cured many people, and also began the city’s first orphanage. She inspired many women to join her in this life of prayer and good works. As St. Frances became more deeply involved in charitable work, she began to realize the great need for it in the world and began to seek permission from the Pope to form a charitable society of women to do this work. In 1425, she eventually founded a congregation of lay oblates, to which she gave the Rule of St. Benedict, attached to the Benedictine monastery known as the Oblates of St. Frances of Rome (the Oblate Congregation of Tor di Specchi). The women followed the ideals of the Benedictine order and carried on active charity and assistance of the poor. After setting up the foundation of this society, St. Frances continued to live with her husband until his death. After her husband’s death she entered religious life and received the habit in this community in 1437, and began to live as though she were the lowest of the sisters. Soon after, she was chosen superior of the group. God conferred upon her numerous favors in the supernatural order. One of the great mystics of her time, she dictated 97 visions and was visibly guided by her guardian angel throughout her life. She died March 9, 1440, at the age of fifty-six and was canonized in 1608 by Pope Paul V. St. Frances of Rome is the Patron Saint of many causes, including Benedictine oblates, motorists, pilots, women, widows, and against plague and the death of children. On her feast day many priests bless cars due to her patronage of cars and automobile drivers.

PRAYER: God, in St. Frances You have given us a singular example of both the monastic and the conjugal was of life. Help us to persevere in serving You so that in all the vicissitudes of life we may both look to You and follow You. Amen🙏

SAINT DOMINIC SAVIO, CONFESSOR: St. Dominic Savio (1842-1857) was only fifteen when he died but he had already attained a high degree of sanctity. A pupil of the great St. John Bosco who loved him like a son, St. Dominic organized the Company of the Immaculate Conception to help St. John in running the Oratory. Though St. Dominic’s life was one of poverty, work, and suffering, it was filled with the cheerfulness and joy of sanctity. This model for youths once wrote to a friend: “Here we make sanctity consist in being joyful all the time and in faithfully performing our duties.” St. Dominic Savio was born in Riva di Chieri, Italy, on April 2, 1842. He looked so frail and weak on the morning of his birth that his father rushed him that same evening to the parish church for Baptism. But St. Dominic survived and began serving Mass when he was five years old, one of his greatest joys. He was often seen at five o’clock in the morning in front of the church on his knees in rain or snow, waiting for the doors to be opened. When, at the age of seven, he made his First Holy Communion, he formed the motto, “Death, but not sin!”,  the resolution to die rather than sin, as he had frequently expressed his determination and ambition to become a Saint. The village pastor at Mondonio, recognizing in Dominic a soul of predilection, arranged to have him enter Don Bosco’s Oratory at Turin. Don Bosco soon noted Dominic’s consuming quest for sanctity, and pointed out to the boy that the path to holiness is not necessarily among hair shirts and tortures of the flesh, but in the cheerful bearing and offering of each day’s small crosses. Steering the lad away from artificial practices, his loved master showed him that for a soul avid of penance, there is a superabundance to be had for the taking, through acceptance of the monotony and tribulations inseparable from the perfect fulfillment of the duties of one’s state of life.

After a few months of life in the environment of the Oratory and under the saintly care of Saint John Bosco, Dominic’s soul was fired with the zeal of his master, whose rule of life, Give me souls, Lord; You take the rest, the boy adopted for his own. Following the example of Don Bosco, who in season and out of season sought those souls wherever they were to be found, Dominic also went after them in his own little world. In the Oratory he founded and directed the Immaculate Conception Sodality, a group of boys who by prayer, word and example carried on an apostolate among their classmates and proved to be of valuable assistance to Don Bosco in his work. On one occasion Dominic broke up a vicious duel with stones. Standing between the boy-duelists with dramatic suddenness, he flashed a crucifix and said: This is Friday. Today Christ died for love of us. Can you look at Him and still hate each other? When Dominic’s health began to fail he was forced to leave the Oratory. Don Bosco and the boys were very sorry to see him leave; he had been a good friend to all. Don Bosco said of him: His cheerful character and lively disposition made him extremely popular even among those boys who were no great lovers of their faith. His death at his home on March 9, 1857, was sweet and peaceful. As he was dying, he burst out into an ecstatic exclamation, ”Oh, what a beautiful sight I see!” Saint Dominic Savio is the youngest Confessor in the Church’s calendar of saints, and stands out as a hero of school-boy virtue, the shining model of holiness. He was Beatified on March 5, 1950 by Pope Pius XII and Canonized on June 12, 1954 by Pope Pius XII. He’s the Patron Saint of choirboys, choristers the falsely accused, and juvenile delinquents. St. Dominic Savio’s feast is now celebrated on May 6th.

PRAYER: Lord God, You alone are holy and no one is good without You. Through the intercession of St. Dominic help us to live in such a way that we may not be deprived of a share in Your glory. Amen🙏

SAINT CATHERINE OF BOLOGNA, RELIGIOUS: St. Catherine (1413-1463)
was an Italian nun and artist born as Catherine de’ Vigri on September 8, 1413 in Bologna, Italy. She was the member of an aristocratic family and the daughter of a diplomat to the Marquis of Ferrara. St. Catherine was raised in the court of the marquis as a companion to the Princess Margarita. At the court she received a good education in reading, writing, and the arts. She was particularly skilled in painting, playing the viola, and Latin. The marquis’ daughter, Princess Margarita soon married, Roberto Malatesta, Prince of Rimini, and wanted St. Catherine to continue serving her. But St. Catherine felt called to religious life and chose to leave the court. In 1426, at 13-years-old, she entered the convent of Corpus Domini at Ferrara and became a Franciscan Tertiary. During this time, her convent disagreed in whether to continue following the Augustinian rule or to instead adhere to the Franciscan rule. A Rule is a specific expression of the Christian life which calls the men or women of a particular religious order to a daily pattern of prayer, work and charity. St. Catherine was determined to live a life of perfection, and was admired by her companions for her holiness. In 1432, St. Catherine and other young women of Ferrara founded a monastery of the Order of Poor Clares, an order founded by St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. St. Catherine was openly willing to serve the more humble roles in the convent. She was a laundress, a baker and a caretaker for the animals. Through her efforts with Pope Nicholas V,  the Poor Clare convent at Ferrara erected an enclosure, and St.  Catherine was appointed Superioress. That office made her responsible for providing pastoral care and spiritual oversight to all of sisters. The reputation of the Community for its holiness and austerity became widespread. In 1456, St. Catherine returned to Bologna with her superiors and the governors there requested she found a second monastery of the same Order and be the Abbess of the convent.

St. Catherine continued to paint and to write beautiful spiritual guides and poetry. She wrote the Treatise on the 7 Spiritual Weapons Necessary for Spiritual Warfare. And, her painting of St. Ursula remains on display in a Venice gallery. Throughout her life, St. Catherine experienced visions of both Jesus Christ and Satan, which she documented in her treatise. In one instance, she had the baby Jesus placed in her arms by the Blessed Virgin Mary. During the Lenten season of 1463, St. Catherine became seriously ill, and on March 9th she passed away. She was buried without a coffin and her body was exhumed eighteen days later because of many cures attributed to her at her graveside and the sweet scent coming from her grave. Her body was discovered incorrupt and remains so today. That means it has not decayed. St. Catherine is dressed in her religious habit seated upright on a golden throne behind glass in the chapel of the Poor Clares in Bologna. Her skin has since been blackened due to exposure from oil lamps and soot. Saint Catherine was beatified in 1524 by Pope Clement VII and canonized on May 22, 1712 by Pope Clement XI. She is the Patron Saint of artists, the liberal arts, against temptations and of Bologna.

PRAYER: Dear saintly Poor Clare, Saint Catherine of Bologna, so rich in love for Jesus and Mary, you were endowed with great talents by God and you left us most inspiring writings and paintings for wondrous beauty. You did all for God’s greater glory and in this you are a model for all. Make artists learn lessons from you and use their talents to the full.
Amen🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Saturday of the Third Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Luke 18:9-14

“O God, be merciful to me, a sinner”

“The tax collector went home justified, not the Pharisee”

“Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In today’s Gospel reading, the parable relates to prayer. ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray’. Both men did pray. One man prayed a prayer of thanksgiving and the other a prayer of petition. We all pray in petition and thanksgiving at different moments in our lives. The Pharisee prayed a prayer of thanksgiving, ‘I thank you, God, that…’. The tax-collector prayed a prayer of petition, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’. Yet, only one prayer was acceptable to God. Only one person ‘went home at rights with God’. The difference between the two men who prayed was what was in their heart when they prayed. The prayer of the Pharisee revealed a heart that looked down in judgement on a fellow worshipper. He thought of himself as morally better than the tax collector. The prayer of the tax collector revealed a heart that was humble and contrite before God. He knew that he had nothing to offer God and everything to receive from God, especially mercy. The journey to the Temple was an act of love for God, for both men. However, the heart of the Pharisee revealed a lack of love for the worshipper who stood close to him in the Temple. He considered him less acceptable to God than himself. The Pharisee was right to regard the tax collector a sinner, but he failed to recognize that he too was a sinner. Both men went up to the Temple in need of God’s mercy, but only one of them recognized that reality. We all stand before the Lord as sinners. We all come before Him in our poverty. No one of us can get into the business of deciding who is less, or more, of a sinner than me. That is best left to God. All we can do is open ourselves to the Lord in our poverty and allow Him to enrich us in His love, in other words, to pray the prayer of the tax collector.

In our first reading today, prophet Hosea reminds the people of God to turn away from their sins and to embrace once again God’s love and grace, to change their ways for the better and reject their old ways of sin and disobedience. The Lord has always been kind and patient with us, and He has always provided for us in our time of need. He calls us all to return to Him so that we may find our way and be saved through Him. Yet it was often our pride, ego and hubris, our inability to resist the temptations to sin which became great obstacles in our journey back towards the Lord. In the first reading, the people bring sacrifices and holocausts to God in the Temple, but in response God, speaking through the prophet Hosea, says, ‘what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts’. God desired not our empty love and lack of true faith, but desiring that we all have a genuine conversion of heart, and a wholehearted commitment and dedication to His path, remembering His Law and commandments, His teachings and truth. God wants the love of us His people, a love that finds expression in the love of others.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, in both readings today, there is a contrast between what God wants and what people bring Him. The parable reminds us that when we come before the Lord in prayer, there is to be no room for comparing ourselves favorably with others, or looking down on others. Rather, we come before the Lord in prayer always aware of our own spiritual poverty and need, entrusting ourselves to the Lord as one who, in the words of today’s first reading, can ‘bring us back to life’. Let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples set by the Saints, and strive to follow the good examples and inspiration shown to us by the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly the Saints we celebrate today, St. Frances of Rome, and St. Catherine of Bologna, who have dedicated themselves and their whole life to serve the Lord and the people around them, that we may also live our lives with great faith in God, and ever always filled with generous love for one another. In this time and season of Lent, let us all continue to live our lives with ever stronger desire to follow the Lord our God, to commit ourselves to Him and to do His will. Let us all continue to do what we can so that our whole lives may continue to be good examples for everyone around us. During this season of Lent, all of us are called to deepen our relationship with God and be more attuned with ourselves and we are all called to live our lives with greater fidelity to God, and to humble ourselves more before Him, as sinners all coming to seek His mercy and forgiveness, depending on His ever generous love and compassion. Let us all turn away from sin and from all evil, and let us resist the temptations surrounding us so that we may be truly worthy of God in all the things we act, say and do. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us through our Lenten journey, and may He help us that we may draw ever closer to Him and find righteousness through following His path, and be fully reconciled with Him. May God bless us all and have mercy on us, now and always. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My merciful Lord, I thank You for loving me with a perfect love. I thank You for Your incredible depth of mercy. Help me to see all of my sin and to turn to You with honesty and humility so that I can be freed of these burdens and become justified in Your sight. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Frances of Rome, Saint Dominic Savio and Saint Catherine of Bologna ~  Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe and relaxing weekend and grace-filled Lenten Season ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

THIRD WEEK OF LENT

STATIONS OF THE CROSS (Link below)

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 8, 2024

Greetings beloved family. Happy Friday of the Third Week of Lent, and HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY TO ALL WOMEN!

May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 8, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 8, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 8, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 8, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 8, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Friday, March 8, 2024
Reading 1, Hosea 14:2-10
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 81:6-8, 8-9, 10-11, 14, 17
Gospel, Mark 12:28-34

STATIONS OF THE CROSS | EWTN |
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/stations-of-the-cross-12706

STATIONS OF THE CROSS (WAY OF THE CROSS) – SHORT VERSION | https://lordcalls.com/dailyprayer/stations-of-the-cross-way-of-the-cross-short-version

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty-One: Tempting God | Friday of the Third Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-one-tempting-god/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty-One – The Scourging and Mockery | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-one-the-scourging-and-mockery/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint John of God (Patron Saint of hospitals, nurses, the sick, the poor, heart patients, the mentally ill and the dying, alcoholics, firefighters, booksellers and printer). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, St. John of God and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all Healthcare professionals, the sick and the dying. We particularly pray for those suffering from mental disorders, heart disease, cancers and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s divine healing and intervention.🙏

Saint John of God, help us to act out of love as soon as we feel the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Help us learn to fight the little voices in our heads and hearts that give us all sorts of practical reasons to wait or delay in our service of God…Amen🙏

“Labour without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still have the time”. ~ Saint John of God.

SAINT JOHN OF GOD, RELIGIOUS: St. John of God (1495-1550), the founder of the Brothers Hospitallers lived through decades of sin and suffering before a profound conversion that led him to embrace poverty, humility and charity. St. John was born in Portugal during the year 1495 to humble but virtuous middle-class parents. Tragically, at the age of 8, he was kidnapped by a stranger and was later abandoned to homelessness in a remote part of Spain. He worked as a shepherd until age 22, when the opportunity came along for him to join the army of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. At that time he enlisted as a soldier in the Roman Emperor’s army to escape an offer of marriage to the shepherd’s daughter. However, this apparent stroke of fortune would eventually lead John into greater misery. For the next 18 years, John lived and fought among the emperor’s foot soldiers, first against the French and later the Turks. His morals began to decline, as he completely abandoned the piety of his earliest youth for a greedy and brutal way of life. St. John’s conscience was occasionally troubled, particularly by the memories of his early years before he was taken from his parents. And despite falling into a lifestyle of violence and plundering, he had a certain weakness for those who were poor or in extreme distress, and would give alms to them.  He was narrowly saved on two occasions from what seemed like certain death – once after instinctively uttering a prayer to the Virgin Mary after falling wounded in enemy territory; and again, when he was falsely suspected of theft and nearly executed but for another soldier’s intervention. Events such as these weighed heavily upon him, and when his regiment was disbanded he decided to amend his life. At the age of 40 he left the army and reformed himself, beginning with a penitential pilgrimage to Spain’s Santiago de (St. James) Compostella Cathedral along the “Way of St. James.” There, he confessed his sins and committed himself to living a life of repentance for the rest of his life. He was affirmed in this direction by a vision of the Infant Jesus and a sermon of St. John of Avila, who was to become his spiritual director. Soon after this, he returned to Portugal and discovered what had become of his parents. His mother had died, brokenhearted, after the loss of her son, after which his father had become a Franciscan monk.

At age 42, John returned to Spain and picked up nearly where he had left off 20 years before, working again as a shepherd. This time, however, he was committed to living out the faith in God that he had regained. He traveled briefly to North Africa, seeking to help Christians there who had been enslaved by Muslims. Eventually, however, he returned to Spain and settled for a time in the occupation of selling religious books and other goods, always encouraging his customers to live their faith sincerely. St. John of God’s later reputation as the patron saint of booksellers derives from this period of his life. Later, however, he felt compelled to give himself entirely to the service of the poor, sick, and vulnerable. He opened his house to them – allowing it to become a combined hospital, homeless shelter, and halfway-house, run entirely by John himself. When he was not bandaging wounded occupants or breaking up fights between them, he would go out begging on their behalf. The Bishop of Granada approved his work, and gave him the name “John of God.” A group of volunteers came to accompany him in his work, many of whom had first come to him while in dire need themselves. Others, who resented his work, assaulted st. John’s reputation by focusing on his past sins – but John, unfazed in his humility, would acknowledge the truth of what was said, as a testament to God’s grace in his life. He once offered to pay a woman to tell the entire city what she had been saying about him in private. In 1540, St. John hired a house to harbor sick persons, and thus laid the foundations of a new Order, the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God. He devoted himself to the care of the sick. St. John served the sick and poor for 15 years and after years of hard labor his health deteriorated and he met his death through an act of charity. He jumped into a freezing river and managed to save a drowning man, but came home shivering and weakened from the ordeal. He lay down in one of his own hospital beds, where his condition further declined. The Bishop of Granada came to administer the last rites. As the bishop prepared him for death, St. John expressed a number of anxieties.

“There are three things that make me uneasy,” he said. “The first is that I have received so many graces from God, and have not recognized them, and have repaid them with so little of my own.”

“The second is that after I am dead, I fear lest the poor women I have rescued, and the poor sinners I have reclaimed, may be treated badly.”

“The third is that those who have trusted me with money, and whom I have not fully repaid, may suffer loss on my account.”

The bishop, however, assured him that he had nothing to fear. St. John then asked to be alone, and summoned his last strength to rise from bed and kneel before a crucifix. He died in prayer, with his face pressed against the figure of Christ, on March 8, 1550, and was canonized in 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII. He’s the Patron Saint of the sick and the dying; heart patients; the mentally ill; alcoholics; the poor; nurses; hospitals; firefighters and
booksellers and printer.

“Labour without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still have the time”. ~ Saint John of God.

PRAYER:  God, You filled St. John with the spirit of compassion. Grant that by practicing works of charity we may deserve to be numbered among the Saints in Your Kingdom. Amen🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Friday of the Third Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 12:28-34

“The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God”

“One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked Him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to Him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than He. And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that He answered with understanding, He said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask Him any more questions.”

In our Gospel reading today, our Lord Jesus was presented with a question from a teacher of the Law who was following Him, regarding the matter of which commandment of God was the most important of all of them. The context of this must be understood in the light of how the teachers of the Law as well as the Pharisees of the time were very particular and concerned about the details of the many rules, laws, commandments, rituals and the many aspects and tenets of the Law of God that had been passed down to the people through Moses and then preserved through many centuries. Throughout all that time, the Law of God had gradually become more and more bloated with many details and cumbersome rituals, designed to help the people to live their lives, but also with many modifications and changes that helped some to get away with certain requirements, which ended up also contradicting the original Law, its meaning and purpose. Essentially, by the time of the Lord Jesus, many of them had forgotten, or in their preoccupation with the details and the extent of the many laws, numbering about six hundred and thirteen in some traditions, they had overlooked why the Lord gave His people that Law and commandments in the first place. This was when the Lord then highlighted very clearly once again that God is truly Love, and fully filled with His ever generous and ever present love for His people, despite their often rebellious, stubborn and wicked attitudes and actions. That was where the Lord also presented the fact that the whole of the Law could indeed be summarised into two main Law, that is first and foremost, the obligation for one to love the Lord their God and Master with all of their might and strength, and then, secondly, to show that same love towards their fellow brothers and sisters. For if God has loved us all, how can we not love Him in the same way too? And how can we not love one another as well, if God loves everyone around us, as how can we hate those whom God Himself has loved?

Jesus declares that the greatest commandment of the law is to love God with all our heart. Our love of God is always in response to God’s love for us. As Saint John reminds us in his letter, ‘We love because God first loved us’. Jesus replied by giving the Scribe not just the first but the second as well. It seems that, for Jesus, these two commandments were intrinsically linked. In quoting those two commandments, Jesus speaks of three loves, the love of God, the love of neighbour and the love of self. He connects these three loves very closely together; He suggests that they are all of a piece. Yet, He clearly declares that the first love in our lives is to be the love of God. Jesus is saying that the most important relationship in our lives to get right is our relationship with God. That relationship is right if it is a relationship of love. God is to be loved not to be feared, and God is to be loved with all our being. Our love of God is always a response to God’s love of us. This is the love that is spoken about in today’s first reading, ‘I will love them with all my heart’. Knowing that God loves us with all God’s heart enables us to love God with all our heart. It is our loving relationship with God that will make it possible for us to recognize God in ourselves and in others, and to love ourselves and others as God’s good creation, as images of God. Genuine love of God in response to God’s love for us will always catch us up into God’s own love for humanity. The scribe in the Gospel reading who recognized the connection between these two commandments was declared by Jesus to be ‘not far from the kingdom of God’. God’s kingdom is always present among us whenever we open ourselves to God’s love for us and respond to that love by loving God in return and loving all whom God loves. This is what we are asking for when we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come’, in the prayer Jesus gave us to pray.

In our first reading today from the Prophet Hosea, God says to the people of Israel, ‘I will love you with all my heart’, even though they had repeatedly turned away from God. The Lord is calling on them to repent from their wicked and sinful ways, embracing His love and mercy, and returning to His loving grace and compassion. The Prophet Hosea back then lived and ministered to the people of God during the final decades and years of the northern kingdom of Israel, which were made of much of the ten of the twelve tribes of the Israelites that broke off from the rule of the House of David. That northern kingdom had spent most of its history and time in rebellion and disobedience against God, as their kings did not obey God and His Law, refusing to follow His commandments and words, and as such led the people down the path of sin and evil. They had been misled by their own wicked desires and the inability to resist the temptations of the world. That was why the Lord was angry at those people who had repeatedly rejected His kindness and love, hardened their hearts and minds and refused to listen to Him. Not only that, but they also even persecuted those prophets and messengers that God had sent into their midst to help and guide them down the right path. They had no regard for God and His truth, and preferred to live their lives in their own terms and ways. That led them further and further into the path of sin, and into their downfall. They were punished for their delinquence and stubbornness, and their enemies fell upon them one after another, as God pronounced His judgment over them, telling them how they would be scattered and having their homeland and kingdom destroyed by their own actions. But then, the Lord also told them that in the end, despite all that, God still loved them and cared for them. God did not want them all to end up being cast out into the utter darkness and destruction, as after all, He loves each and every single one of us, without exception, even to the worst of sinners among us. However, what He truly despises is our many sins and wickedness, and our refusal to listen to His words and reminders, our stubbornness and arrogance among other things. Those are the things that have often led many among us to continue to walk down the path of rebellion and evil, and hence, He calls on every one of us through what we have heard from the prophet Hosea, to turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils, all the things that can often lead us down the path of sin and destruction. He wants us all to remember His Law and commandments, which He has presented before us so that they may become our guide and help in our journey towards His salvation and grace.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, each and every one of us are reminded of the need for us to return to the Lord and to remember His love and mercy, particularly during this blessed penitential time and season of Lent, when we prepare ourselves for the upcoming celebration of Holy Week and Easter. We are all called to remember our responsibility and obligations as Christians, to be exemplary in our way of life and to obey the Law and commandments of God in all things. We are reminded to love God and our neighbours above all else, and even perhaps more than how we love ourselves. Definitely we should not allow our own selfishness and self-love to end up causing us to forget about our duties and responsibilities as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own. Let us all take the good examples of the life and the works of all the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly the life of St. John of God, whom we celebrate today. He spent a lot of time in working for the good of all those whom he had given himself in service to, all the way to the last moments of his life. The examples and inspirations shown to us by this holy man of God should indeed inspire us to do the same with our lives as well, that is to love the Lord our God and to love one another with the same love, as best as we can. Let us all ask the Lord for the strength and grace that we may follow Him with great faith and commitment, from now on, and walk always ever in His path. May the Lord, our ever loving and generous God continue to love and care for us, and may He empower us all in our journey of faith and life, so that in each and every moments we will continue to show love in all things, towards God and to our fellow brothers and sisters. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and continue to guide us and bless us in our journey of faith throughout this life. May He continue to guide us all so that we may continue to be faithful in following Him, and in doing what is right, in accordance with His will. May God bless us always, in all of our good efforts and endeavours. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

My loving Lord, Your love for me is infinite and perfect in every way.  I pray that I will learn to love You with every fiber of my being, holding nothing back, and to daily grow deeper in my love of You. As I grow in that love, I thank You for the overflowing nature of that love, and I pray that this love of You will flow into the hearts of those around me. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints John of God ~  pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe, and grace-filled Third week of Lent and relaxing weekend ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

THIRD WEEK OF LENT

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 7, 2024

Greetings beloved family and Happy Thursday of the Third Week of Lent! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 7, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 7, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 7, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 7, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 7, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Thursday, March 7, 2024
Reading 1, Jeremiah 7:23-28
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
Gospel, Luke 11:14-23

40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Twenty: Distortions |Thursday of the Third Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-twenty-distortions/

40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Twenty – The Innocence of the Lamb of God | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-twenty-the-innocence-of-the-lamb-of-god/

A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏

God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏

LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade” 

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.

On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, 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 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 🙏

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

SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Patron Saints of Mothers, Expectant Mothers, ranchers, butchers, Carthage, Catalonia). Through the intercession of our of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all mothers, expectant mothers and persecuted christians.

“Blessed Saints Perpetua and Felicity, please watch over all mothers and children who are separated from each other because of war or persecution. Give special attention to mothers who are imprisoned and guide them to follow your example of faith and courage…Amen.”🙏

“Stand fast in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and be not offended at my sufferings”. ~ St. Perpetua. May our faith never falter despite the trials and pain in life.🙏

SAINTS PERPETUA AND FELICITY, MARTYRS: St. Perpetua and St. Felicity (d. 203 A.D.) were friends who lived in Carthage, North Africa. They were both catechumens preparing to receive the Church’s sacraments: St. Perpetua (Vibia Perpetua) was a well educated recently married noblewoman nursing her first child, baby boy and St. Felicity was a pregnant Christian slave who worked as a household servant. Sts. Perpetua and  Felicity were arrested under the anti-Christian edict of 202 along with three fellow Christians, Saturninus, Secundulus, and Revocatus. All had been converted by Saturus, a layman, who joined them voluntary in the dungeon in which they were imprisoned for refusing to sacrifice to the gods. These two courageous women were martyred, along with the three heroic fellow Christian men, Saturus, Saturninus, and Revocatus. Secundulus is said to have died in prison. They were martyred as part of the persecution of Septimus Severus, the Roman emperor from 193 to 211 AD. Their deaths took place on March 7, 203, in Carthage, a city in North Africa located in the modern country of Tunisia. St. Perpetua and Felicity are held in such high esteem that they are two of only seven women on the second list of saints in the Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer I.

St. Perpetua was born in approximately 180 AD. She came from a family of nobility, was a catechumen, and at the age of twenty-two, was married and recently had given birth to a baby boy. St. Felicity, also a catechumen, was Perpetua’s servant. She was also married and late in her pregnancy. Sts. Perpetua and Felicity were apprehended because of their Christian faith and held under guard in a private home. St. Perpetua’s elderly pagan father came to the place and tried to convince her to repudiate her Christian faith, but she flatly refused. St. Perpetua yielded her nursing child to her pagan father but remained firm in her Faith in spite of his pleas. St. Felicity who gave birth to her child in prison, also remained steadfast in the Faith when the child was taken from her. The two catechumens were baptized, and shortly thereafter they were transferred to prison. St. Perpetua prayed for a vision to see if she would suffer or be released, and she was shown a golden ladder of great length that reached up to heaven. There was a huge dragon at the bottom which tried to frighten anyone from making the ascent, and there were dangerous weapons on the side that would mangle those who climbed carelessly or without looking upward. The vision confirmed her upcoming martyrdom, but also her final glorious destination.

St. Felicity gave birth to a baby girl in prison three days before suffering a martyr’s death despite her initial concern that she would not be permitted to suffer martyrdom with the others, since the law forbade the execution of pregnant women. While she was suffering from the pains of childbirth, one of the guards called out to her, “If you are suffering so much now, what will you do when you are thrown to the wild beasts?” “Now I suffer,” she answered, “but there Another will be in me, who will suffer for me, because I will suffer for Him.” When she was in travail she had sorrow, but when she was set before the wild beasts she rejoiced. The guard tried to persuade her to avoid martyrdom and save her life so she could take care of her newborn child by renouncing her faith. The guard’s plea fell on deaf ears. Her child was adopted by a fellow Christian.

Finally, all five were brought before Hilarion, the procurator of the province, interrogated, convicted as Christians, and sentenced to a gruesome death, to be killed by wild animals before a large crowd of spectators during the games in the amphitheater. As they were led to the arena, they went joyfully with cheerful looks and a graceful bearing, as if they were going to heaven. The three men were mauled by ravenous leopards, bears, and wild boars. Saturus perished almost instantly, while Saturninus and Revocatus, both bleeding profusely, still were breathing. Meanwhile, Perpetua and Felicity were attacked by a savage cow with sharp, curved horns. The heifer charged them, gored Perpetua, and crushed Felicity. Perpetua was in a state of spiritual ecstasy, and although wounded, she was oblivious to her pain. Seeing the others covered in blood, she exhorted them, “Stand firm in faith, love one another and do not be tempted to do anything wrong because of our sufferings.”

The sadistic and bloodthirsty crowd shrieked for more. The four were led to the middle of the amphitheater where they gave each other the kiss of peace. Gladiators advanced toward them, drew their blades, and thrust them through, to the crowd’s frenzied delight. Perpetua’s gladiator was inexperienced and his blow missed the mark, so she guided his knife to her throat herself. They “defied their persecutors and overcame the torment of death” (Collect). Saints Perpetua and Felicity are both buried in the basilica in Carthage. Their martyrdom became known throughout the Church—St. Augustine preached in their honor at least three times. Sts. Perpetua and Felicity are mentioned in the Roman Canon and are Patron Saints: Perpetua – Cattle, death of children, martyrs.  Felicity – Death of children; martyrs; sterility; to have male children; widows.

PRAYER: Blessed Saints Perpetua and Felicity, please watch over all mothers and children who are separated from each other because of war or persecution. Give special attention to mothers who are imprisoned and guide them to follow your example of faith and courage…Amen🙏

Heavenly Father, your love enabled the saints Perpetua and Felicity to have the courage to endure a cruel martyrdom. By their prayers, help us to develop in love of you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever… Amen🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. 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. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, 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🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Thursday of the Third Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Luke 11:14-23

“Whoever is not with me is against me”

“Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, He drives out demons.” Others, to test Him, asked Him for a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus had been healing the sick. Some of the people were amazed at what Jesus was doing, seeing it for what it was, a sign of God’s presence. However, there were others who saw what Jesus was doing as the work of Satan rather than the work of God. ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils’. Some of these people completely misunderstand the healing work of Jesus, when declaring that He heals by means of Satan’s power. Instead of acknowledging that God was powerfully at work in the life of Jesus, they declared that Satan was at work in His life. It is hard to conceive of a greater misunderstanding of Jesus than that. They were calling good evil. In response to their grave misjudgement, Jesus declared that His healing work was done through the finger of God. God was at work in Jesus and some of His own contemporaries could not see it. We can all be blind to the finger of God, to the working of God among us. We are graced in some way by God and we hardly notice it. The Lord blesses us and rather than recognize the blessing and giving thanks for it we focus on what we do not have or what is wrong in our lives. We need to keep on praying for the gift to see as Jesus sees, which is the opposite of how people in today’s Gospel reading saw. Jesus saw the working of God in creation, in the sower, the vineyard, the flowers of the field and birds of the air. He saw God’s presence in those whom many people had written off. Jesus teaches us to see with generous and hopeful eyes. When we see in this way, then, in the words of Paul, we will be inspired to give thanks in all circumstances.

In our first reading today, from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and indirectly to the people of God living in the then kingdom of Judah, where Jeremiah had been sent to minister to the people, that they had committed grievous sins and wicked deeds in the sight of God and men alike, and despite all the reminders, help and guidance that the Lord had given them, they had not done what the Lord has taught and shown them to do, and instead, they continued to disobey Him and refused to follow Him. They even also persecuted and made it difficult for God’s prophets and messengers to work in their midst, as they continued to persist in their rebellious attitudes and actions. Jeremiah himself faced a lot of hardships, trials and persecutions during his time in ministering to the people of Judah, as they persecuted him and preferred to believe in the false prophets and messengers instead of in him and the message of the Lord that he has brought into their midst. He was labelled as a fear-monger and as traitor to the nation, having spoken of the disasters and the troubles that would befall both Jerusalem and Judah, all because of the sins and wickedness of the people of God there. He had to endure ridicule and rejection, and at one point, he was even almost killed, only managing to escape such fate because he still had those who sympathised with him and helped him to escape the predicament he was in. The people of Judah not only refused to follow and disobeyed Jeremiah, but they have also persecuted the Lord’s prophets and messengers, refusing to listen to them and making their lives and works very difficult, much as what Jeremiah himself endured during his time working and ministering to the people of God in Judah. Jeremy complains to God that nobody is listening to the message that God gave him to speak, ‘They have not listened to me, have not paid attention… Here is a nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God’. Listening to the Lord is always at the core of our relationship with Him. In the words of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘O that, today, you would listen to His voice’.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all called to listen to the Lord. When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, seeing is as important as listening. The Lord is always engaging with us, communicating with us, in different ways. He speaks to us and He shows Himself to us in a whole variety of ways. We constantly need a listening ear and a seeing eye in the Lord’s regard. We need ears and eyes that is open to the many ways the Lord communicates with us. We might pray for such open eyes and ears this season of Lent. Let us all be inspired by the good examples of the Saints, Holy men and women, especially St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, whose feast we celebrate today, in remaining faithful to God and in doing what is right and just according to God’s Law and commandments. We should not allow the temptations and the wickedness of the world to dissuade and mislead us away from the right path of the Lord, and we must do our best, particularly given this appropriate time and season of Lent, to repent from our sinful past actions, our mistakes and faults, and embrace once again God’s love and kindness, His grace and compassion. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace to remain faithful and entrust ourselves wholeheartedly to God and be an instrument of the finger of God in the way we relate to others. May the good Lord be with us throughout this journey of faith and repentance this Lenten season, and may He help and guide us always. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My glorious King of all, You are all-powerful and have full authority over all things. Please come and exercise Your authority upon my life. Come and establish Your Kingdom. I pray that my heart be always open to You and to the direction you give. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs ~  Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe and grace-filled Third Week of Lent ~ Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖