Year: 2024

THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 22, 2024

DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN (USA MEMORIAL)

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere, beginning Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024. Link for prayers for the entire week below.

PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024
Link for 9 Days for Life Novena below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time!

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on January 22, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 22, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 22, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 22, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 22, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Monday, January 22, 2024
Reading 1, Second Samuel 5:1-7, 10
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 89:20, 21-22, 25-26
Gospel, Mark 3:22-30

Today is a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children (USA Memorial). Memorial outside of the USA: Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN (USA MEMORIAL)

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ~ Psalm 139:13-14

We remember today the tragic United States Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, issued on January 22, 1973, that essentially legalized abortion in all fifty states for almost fifty years. By God’s grace, that decision was finally overturned on June 24, 2022, by the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson. The over 60 million abortions since the 1973 decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton reflect with heartbreaking magnitude what Pope Francis means by a “throwaway culture.” However, we have great trust in God’s providence. We are reminded time and again in Scripture to seek the Lord’s help, and as people of faith, we believe that our prayers are heard. And while the decision of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade on on June 24, 2022 gives us much to be grateful for, the battle for the sanctity of life must continue, since the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling simply deferred the decision on abortion to state legislatures. Thus, abortion remains legal in the majority of states in the United States and continues to be legal in many other countries around the world. So, great prayer and advocacy is still very needed.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), no. 373, designates January 22 as a particular day of prayer and penance, called the “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children”: In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22nd (or January 23rd, when January 22nd falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion. The most vulnerable and at-risk human beings need you, as does every mother who finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy. They need your prayers and your acts of penance—that every mother makes the choice for life, and that the right to life will be enshrined in civil law throughout the world. Don’t underestimate the power of your prayers and penance. Unite yourself to the Body of Christ, and do your part to bring healing to the past and true hope for the future.

Eternal truths never change. “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person—among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2270). Let us pray for the respect and protection of life at its earliest and most vulnerable stage, as Pope John Paul II once exhorted: “Please God you may continue, closely united with one another, to be a force of renewal and hope in our society. May the Lord help you to work ceaselessly to enable all, believers and non-believers alike, to understand that protection of human life from conception is an essential condition for building a future worthy of the human being.”

“A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer.” ~ Pope Saint John Paul II “Evangelium Vitae,” No. 100        

The liturgical celebrations for this day may be the “Mass For Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life” (no. 48/1 of the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions), celebrated with white vestments, or the Mass “For the Preservation of Peace and Justice” (no. 30 of the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions), celebrated with violet vestments.

PRAYER: Most precious Lord, You dwelt within the womb of your dear mother, sanctifying the womb and elevating the dignity of all human life. Heavenly Father, and Mother Mary, today we storm heaven with our prayers, fasting, and almsgiving in the hope that all unborn children will be protected in law so that they can grow into the men and women you planned them to be. Amen🙏

9 Days for for Life Novena: http://www.9daysforlife.com/

PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024

9 Days for Life is a novena for the protection of human life. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. Link for 9 Days for Life: January 19-27, 2024: https://www.respectlife.org/9-days-for-life

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024

Today is day five of the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which is celebrated around the world from January 18th – 25th. As we continue this year’s week of prayer for Christian Unity with focus on Christians in the Northern Hemisphere, we join our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world in praying for peace, love, justice and unity in our divided and conflicted world so we can better build God’s Kingdom here on earth. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, look down with pity upon us and keep us all united in love and faith, so that we may all be truly one in Christ…Amen🙏

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024: “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” ~ Luke 10:27

WPCU 2024 Daily Readings: Link for prayers for the entire week: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 | USCCB | https://www.usccb.org/committees/ecumenical-interreligious-affairs/week-prayer-christian-unity-2024

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024 was selected by the Pontifical Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the World Council of Churches, and the Christian Churches in Burkina Faso, coordinated by the community of Chemin Neuf, a French Catholic and ecumenical community of vowed and lay people and its local community in Burkina Faso.

The theme, taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, reflects the connection between love of God and love of neighbor with a particular concern for challenging the boundaries of who is considered “neighbor”. In this pericope, Jesus is questioned as to the path to eternal life. His answer is not to only observe the commandments, but to also imitate the love of God in the giving of self for another. It is a call for charity, mercy, justice, and unity.

DAY 5: “HE WENT TO HIM ….”

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. (Lk 10:34)

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Joel 2:23-27
Psalm 104:14-15, 27-30

MEDITATION: The Good Samaritan did what he could out of his own resources: he poured wine and oil and bandaged the man’s wounds and put him on his own animal. He went further still by promising to pay for his care. When we see the world through the Samaritan’s eyes, every situation can be an opportunity to help those in need. This is where love manifests itself. The example of the Good Samaritan motivates us to ask ourselves how to respond to our neighbor. He gave wine and oil, restoring the man and giving him hope. What can we give, so that we can be a part of God’s work of healing a broken world? This brokenness shows itself in our world in insecurity, fear, distrust and division. Shamefully, these divisions also exist between Christians. The healing of our Christian divisions promotes the healing of the nations.

PRAYER: Gracious God, You who are the source of all love and goodness: enable us to see the needs of our neighbor. Show us what we can do to bring about healing. Change us, so that we can love all our brothers and sisters. Help us to overcome the obstacles of division, that we might build a world of peace for the common good. Thank you for renewing your Creation and leading us to a future which is full of hope: you who are Lord of all, yesterday, today and forever. Amen 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, as we continue the week of prayer for Christian Unity, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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 Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon and Martyr and Saint Anastasius the Persian, Martyr.

SAINT VINCENT OF SARAGOSSA, DEACON AND MARTYR: St Vincent of Saragossa (Died 304) was Archdeacon and Protomartyr of Spain. He was a Preacher, assistant to St. Valerius of Saragossa (Died 315), who was his Bishop and whose Memorial is also today. St. Vincent was born at Huesca, near Saragossa, Spain sometime during the latter part of the 3rd century;  it is believed his father was Eutricius (Euthicius) and his mother was Enola, a native of Osca. When quite a child, applied himself to study. St. Vincent spent most of his life in the city of Saragossa, where he was educated and taught the sacred sciences and ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Valerius of Saragossa, who commissioned Vincent to preach throughout the diocese. Because Valerius suffered from a speech impediment, Vincent acted as his spokesman. When the Roman Emperor Diocletian began persecuting Christians in Spain, both were brought before the Roman governor, Dacian in Valencia. St. Vincent and his bishop Valerius were confined to the prison of Valencia. Though he was finally offered release if he would consign Scripture to the fire, Vincent refused. Speaking on behalf of his bishop, he informed the judge that they were ready to suffer everything for their faith and that they could pay no heed either to threats or promises. His outspoken manner so angered the governor that Vincent was inflicted every sort of torture on him. He was stretched on the rack and his flesh torn with iron hooks. Then his wounds were rubbed with salt and he was burned alive upon a red-hot gridiron. Finally, he was cast into prison and laid on a floor scattered with broken pottery, where he died. During his martyrdom he preserved such peace and tranquillity that it astonished his jailer, who repented from his sins and was converted. St. Vincent’s dead body was thrown into the sea in a sack but was later recovered by the Christians and his veneration immediately spread throughout the Church. The aged bishop Valerius was exiled.

According to legend, after being martyred, ravens protected St Vincent’s body from being devoured by vultures, until his followers could recover the body. His body was taken to what is now known as Cape St Vincent; a shrine was erected over his grave, which continued to be guarded by flocks of ravens (Church of the Raven).  King Afonso I of Portugal (1139–1185) had the body of the saint exhumed in 1173 and brought it by ship to the Lisbon Cathedral.   This transfer of the relics is depicted on the coat of arms of Lisbon. Though Vincent’s tomb in Valencia became the earliest centre of his cult, he was also honoured at his birthplace and his reputation spread from Saragossa. A church was built in honour of Vincent, by the Catholic bishops of Iberia, when they succeeded in converting King Reccared and his nobles to Trinitarian Christianity. St Vincent’s left arm is on display as a relic in Valencia Cathedral, located near the extensive Carrer de Sant Vicent Mártir (Saint Vincent the Martyr Street). He’s Patron Saint of Lisbon, Valencia, Valencia, Vicenza (Italy), Sao Vicente, vine dressers, vinegar makers, vintners, wine growers, wine makers and the Order of the Deacons of the Diocese of Bergamo (Italy).

O God, who didst wonderfully, with manifold sufferings, crown thy servant Vincent, and didst deliver him from the effects of his torments, to the end that he might gloriously trample upon each cruel punishment with those feet of his, that had never trod in the mire of vice, who didst, moreover, save him from the deep waters, to the end that he, whose spirit had despised the world, might be near to his heritage in heaven: grant unto us, by the prayers of this so great a Martyr, that we may never be defiled by the mire of sin, nor be plunged in the deep pool of despair, but may be presented to thee, on the day of judgment, beautified with a spotless freedom of conscience. Amen🙏

SAINT ANASTASIUS THE PERSIAN, MARTYR: St. Anastasius was a former magician and soldier, converted to Christianity, became a monk and was martyred in 628. He was the son of a Persian sorcerer named Bavi. As a pagan, he had the name Magundates and served in the armies of the Persian emperor Chozroes II, who in 614 ravaged the city of Jerusalem and carried away the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord to Persia. Great miracles occurred from the Cross of the Lord, and the Persians were astonished. The heart of young Magundates was inflamed with the desire to learn more about this sacred object. Asking everyone about the Holy Cross, the youth learned that upon it the Lord Himself was crucified for the salvation of mankind. He became acquainted with the truths of the Christian Faith in the city of Chalcedon, where the army of Chozroes was for a certain while. He was baptized with the name Anastasius, and then became a monk and spent seven years in one of the Jerusalem monasteries, living an ascetical life.

Reading the Lives of the holy martyrs, Saint Anastasius was inspired with the desire to imitate them. A mysterious dream, which he had on Great and Holy Saturday, the day before the Resurrection of Christ, urged him to do this. Having fallen asleep after his daily tasks, he beheld a radiant man giving him a golden chalice filled with wine, who said to him, “Take this and drink.” Draining the chalice, he felt an ineffable delight. Saint Anastasius then realized that this vision was his call to martyrdom. He went secretly from the monastery to Palestinian Caesarea. There he was arrested for being a Christian, and was brought to trial. The governor tried in every way to force Saint Anastasius to renounce Christ, threatening him with tortures and death, and promising him earthly honors and blessings. The saint, however, remained unyielding. Then they subjected him to torture: they beat him with rods, they lacerated his knees, they hung him up by the hands and tied a heavy stone to his feet, they exhausted him with confinement, and then wore him down with heavy work in the stone quarry with other prisoners.

Finally, the governor summoned Saint Anastasius and promised him his freedom if he would only say, “I am not a Christian.” The holy martyr replied, “I will never deny my Lord before you or anyone else, neither openly nor even while asleep. No one can compel me to do this while I am in my right mind.” Then by order of the emperor Chozroes, Saint Anastasius was strangled, then beheaded. He was martyred together with seventy other Christians. After the death of Chozroes, St. Anastasius’ relics were, at first, carried to Jerusalem, to the Monastery, where he had professed the monastic life; afterwards, they were translated to Rome, and were deposited in the monastery near the Salvian Waters.

PRAYER: Hear, O Lord, our earnest prayers, that we who are sensible of the guilt of our crimes, may be delivered therefrom by the prayers of thy blessed Martyr Anastasius. Through Christ our Lord. 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. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we continue to pray for all those who are sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. 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 an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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 Reading for today, Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:22-30

“It is the end of Satan”

“The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

In today’s Gospel reading, the teachers of the Law accused the Lord of great sin against God and for deluding the people by colluding with the prince of demons, Beelzebul, in how He performed His miracles, casting out demons and evil spirits. This was a serious accusation made purposely to destroy the Lord’s credibility and prevent Him from continuing with His works and ministry, as the teachers of the Law were likely jealous at the immense popularity which the Lord had received at that time. Therefore, the Lord answered the accusation, pointing out the nonsense in the argument and accusation of the teachers of the Law, highlighting how it does not make sense for the demons to be in war and opposition against each other. According to the Gospel, Jesus speaks of a kingdom divided against itself not being able to stand, and likewise a household divided against itself not being able to stand. He was refuting those who claimed that the power at work in His life was the power of Satan. The scribes make the very serious mistake of mistaking goodness for evil. Jesus was the ultimate example of obvious goodness; most people recognized His goodness and declared that in and through Him God was visiting His people. A small minority attributed Jesus’ goodness to an evil source, declaring that Satan, not God, was working through Him. This is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the eternal sin that Jesus speaks about at the end of the Gospel reading. Such people failed to recognize that it was the Holy Spirit and not an evil spirit that was at work in the life of Jesus. An important part of our calling is to recognize the Holy Spirit in the lives of others and in our own lives. Saint Paul reminds us that the Spirit works in all kinds of different ways in different people. Some aspect of the rich fruit of the Spirit is likely to be visible in our lives and in the lives of others; one of the Spirit’s many gifts will grace our lives and those of others. The Gospel reading calls us to be attentive to the many signs of the Spirit and to rejoice in those signs wherever we find them, in whomever we find them. We need to keep coming before the Lord with the prayer, ‘Lord, that I may see’. We ask to see as Jesus sees, to see with generous and compassionate eyes, recognizing the good that is in people even when it is hidden. May we be alert to the signs of the Holy Spirit in each other, even when those signs are not always glaringly obvious.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, is a continuation of the story of King David, which details how prophet and Judge Samuel carried out his ministry, and how the first kings of Israel were chosen by God and ruled over the people of Israel. The first king, Saul, was chosen by the Lord after the people demanded for a king to rule over them. However, Saul did not remain faithful to the Lord, and he was tempted and swayed by worldly glory, which led him to disobey God and His commands, while following his own decisions and judgments, which led the people to sin against God, and plunging the nation into the path of evil. This was why David was chosen as the new king over the people. The Scripture readings details the aftermath of the time when Saul was slain during the battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. David was acclaimed as King over Israel by the people of Judah, the tribe from which David hailed from. However, many of the other tribes of Israel chose Ishbaal, one of the sons of Saul instead. Hence, there was a kind of civil war amongst the Israelites. In preceding chapters before what was shown in today’s first reading, God was with David, and eventually Ishbaal was murdered by some of his own supporters, who gave their support to David instead. In the end, all of Israel agreed to accept David as King of Israel, as highlighted in today’s reading, and he therefore assumed his rule over all the people of God. Also, the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the city of Jebus, later known as Jerusalem, mocked and ridiculed King David when he attempted to take and conquer the city. Eventually, David conquered Jerusalem and made it to be his capital, and thereafter, it becomes the centre of the Kingdom, and the spiritual centre of the Divine worship of God, as later on the Temple and House of God would be established there. God blessed David and strengthened his kingdom, allowing Israel to overcome many of its enemies which had pestered, oppressed and gave them much trouble and hardships over many years. It was also because the people of God were united and no longer divided among themselves that this golden era was possible. Later on, when the kingdom was split into the northern Israel and southern Judah halves, that golden era came to an end.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us as Christians must always be faithful to God and we must not allow ourselves to be swayed and divided by sin, evil and wickedness present all around us. It is otherwise easy for many of us to fall into the temptations of our desires and worldly pleasures, which have caused so many people to fall into the path of disobedience and ruin because of their sins against God. We may find it difficult to resist those temptations, but we need to make the effort and the push to ensure that we always remain firmly focused on the Lord and trust in His providence and strength, at all times. Let us all therefore do our best so that we can continue to live our lives to the best of our abilities, in each and every moments throughout our every moments, in obeying God and His will. Let us all put our trust and faith in the Lord, and do what we can, so that we can continue to be good role models for one another. Let our lives shine with great faith and righteousness, with great light of God, His grace and kindness. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to remain faithful and trust in the Lord and with the help of the Holy Spirit be as pure in heart as Jesus was. May God bless us in our every good efforts, works and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen🙏

Let us pray

My merciful Jesus, I sin every day and will continue to fail to follow You with perfection. For this reason, I thank You for Your abundant mercy. Please help me to always be open to that mercy by regularly re-examining my decisions in life. Give me humility, dear Lord, to always repent and to turn back to You when I stray. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Mother Mary, Saint Vincent of Saragossa and Saint Anastasius the Persian ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year and fruitful week. Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 20, 2024

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning today, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024. Link for prayers for the entire week below.

PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024
Link for 9 Days for Life Novena below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary” on January 20, 2024 on EWTN |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 20, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 20, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 20, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 20, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday, January 20, 2024
Reading 1, Second Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 80:2-3, 5-7
Gospel, Mark 3:20-21

PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024

9 Days for Life is a novena for the protection of human life. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. Link for 9 Days for Life: January 19-27, 2024: https://www.respectlife.org/9-days-for-life

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024

Today is day three of the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which is celebrated around the world from January 18th – 25th. As we continue this year’s week of prayer for Christian Unity with focus on Christians in the Northern Hemisphere, we join our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world in praying for peace, love, justice and unity in our divided and conflicted world so we can better build God’s Kingdom here on earth. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, look down with pity upon us and keep us all united in love and faith, so that we may all be truly one in Christ…Amen🙏

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024: “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” ~ Luke 10:27

WPCU 2024 Daily Readings: Link for prayers for the entire week: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 | USCCB | https://www.usccb.org/committees/ecumenical-interreligious-affairs/week-prayer-christian-unity-2024

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024 was selected by the Pontifical Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the World Council of Churches, and the Christian Churches in Burkina Faso, coordinated by the community of Chemin Neuf, a French Catholic and ecumenical community of vowed and lay people and its local community in Burkina Faso.

The theme, taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, reflects the connection between love of God and love of neighbor with a particular concern for challenging the boundaries of who is considered “neighbor”. In this pericope, Jesus is questioned as to the path to eternal life. His answer is not to only observe the commandments, but to also imitate the love of God in the giving of self for another. It is a call for charity, mercy, justice, and unity.

DAY 3: “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?”

“Who is my neighbor?” (Lk 10: 29)

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Romans 13:8-10
Psalm 119:57-63

MEDITATION: The teacher of the law wanted to justify himself, hoping that the neighbor he is called to love is one of his own faith and people. This is a natural human instinct. When we invite people to our homes, they are quite often people who share our social status, our outlook on life and our values. There is a human instinct to prefer places of familiarity. This is also true of our ecclesial communities. But Jesus takes the lawyer, and his wider audience, deeper into their own tradition by reminding them of the obligation to welcome and to love all, regardless of religion, culture or social status. The Gospel teaches that loving those who are like ourselves is not extraordinary. Jesus steers us towards a radical vision of what it means to be human. The parable illustrates in a very visible way what Christ expects from us – to open wide our hearts and walk in his way, loving others as he loves us. In fact, Jesus answers the lawyer with another question: it is not “who is my neighbor,” but, “who proved to be a neighbor to the man in need?” This is the challenge of the parable today: to whom am I a neighbor?

PRAYER: God of love, Who writes love in our hearts, instill in us the courage to look beyond ourselves and see the neighbor in those different from ourselves, that we may truly follow Jesus Christ, our brother and our friend, who is Lord, for ever and ever. Amen 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, as we continue the week of prayer for Christian Unity, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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 Fabian, Pope and Martyr; Saint Sebastian, Martyr and  Blessed Cyprian Micbael Iwene Tansi, Priest. On this feast day, through the intercession of St. Fabian (Patron Saint of Rome) St.  Sebastian (Patron Saint of athletes, soldiers, and victims of the plague.) and Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi (Patron of Nigerian priests), we humbly pray for peace and unity in our divided and conflicted world and pray for all places where the Church suffers persecution and for all who face death, danger, or isolation for their faith. Most especially for all who live where the Church is accepted and thrives in peace that this peace will not make their faith flabby and weak, we ask this through Christ our Lord…Amen🙏

SAINT FABIAN, POPE AND MARTYR: St. Fabian was Pope from 236 to 250, succeeding St. Anterus. Pope Pontian had resigned his post in 235 — making him the first pontiff in history to do so — when both he and Hippolytus were exiled to Sardinia by Roman officials. After him came St. Anterus, but Anterus lasted a mere 43 days, likely dying a martyr’s death under Emperor Maximinus Thrax’s heavy-handed reign. So, in early January of the year 236, the Roman Church gathered to find a new Successor of St. Peter. Fabian, a mere Roman layman at that point, had come in from the countryside to watch the proceedings. St. Eusebius, the Church’s earliest and best-known historian for that time period, recounts that many worthy candidates were proposed. Over the course of 13 days of deliberation, Fabian, “although present, was in the mind of none.” On the final day of the proceedings, however, it’s said that a dove “flying down lighted on his head, resembling the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Saviour in the form of a dove.” This sign united the votes of clergy and laity, and he was chosen unanimously. Eusebius, writing barely 75 years after Fabian’s death, went on: “Thereupon all the people, as if moved by one Divine Spirit, with all eagerness and unanimity cried out that [Fabian] was worthy, and without delay they took him and placed him upon the episcopal seat.”

St. Fabian served the Church from January 10, 236 to January 20, 250 as our 20th pope, at a time when Christianity was still very much illegal. Despite that, he was able to get along with the imperial government relatively well, and was known for many good deeds. The new pontiff’s reign mercifully coincided with a period of little violence, so Fabian had 14 solid years to govern and build up the Church in relative peace. He’s said to have divided Rome’s Christian communities into seven districts, most notably assigning a deacon to oversee each one and appointing subdeacons to collect stories and acts of the martyrs. He sent St. Dionysius and other preachers of the Gospel into Gaul, and condemned Privatus, the originator of a new heresy in Africa. St. Fabian’s storied reign ended at the midway point of the 3rd Century, when Decius came to power as Roman emperor. The ensuing Decian persecution, in which Christians were ordered to worship pagan gods or be killed, saw St. Fabian become one of its earliest victims, he received the crown of martyrdom. St. Fabian led the Church for 14 years and died a martyr’s death during the persecution of Decius on January 20, 250 A.D. Saint Cyprian, who related  this latter fact, wrote to his successor that Fabian was an “incomparable” man whose glory in death matched the holiness and purity of his life. In the catacombs of Saint Callistus, the stone that covered St. Fabian’s grave may still be seen, broken into four pieces, bearing the Greek words, “Fabian, bishop, martyr.”

PRAYER: Lord God, You are the glory of priests. Through the prayers of the Martyr St. Fabian may we make progress in Faith and in fitting service. Amen🙏
                                  
SAINT SEBASTIAN, MARTYR: St. Sebastian (d. c. 288 A.D.) was born in Gaul, present-day France, to wealthy Italian parents. According to tradition he went to Rome to serve and encourage the Christians who were being persecuted under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. To do so effectively and without suspicion, he enrolled in the Roman army as an officer. In this position he did much to encourage the faith of the Christians in the face of brutal martyrdom, and in the process made many new converts through his gift of healing.

St. Sebastian had prudently concealed his religion, but he was at last detected as a Christian and accused before Diocletian, who condemned him to be shot to death by arrow. He was tied to a tree, and shot through with arrows. The sentence was executed to the extent that he was left for dead. Restored to health by the care of a pious widow, St. Irene of Rome. Being fully recovered, the Saint boldly appeared before the Emperor and reproached him for his injustice against the Christians. The Emperor, recovering from his surprise at beholding St. Sebastian alive, commanded that he be beaten to death with clubs. His body was thrown into a sewer; but a pious lady had it privately removed, and buried it in the catacombs. He’s Patron Saint of Archers; armourers; arrowsmiths; athletes; bookbinders; diseased cattle; dying people; enemies of religion; fletchers; gardeners; iron mongers; lacemakers; laceworkers; lead workers; masons; plague; police; racquet makers; Rio de Janeiro; soldiers; police officers; stone masons; stonecutters; victims of the plague and against enemies of religion.

“St. Sebastian, we ask your intercession to fortify all those who are weak in their faith. You gave heroic witness in leaving a high station to accept a near martyrdom, and then returned to suffer and die once and for all. Give us the grace to face our enemies when our weak nature wants to run the other way”

PRAYER: Lord, grant us a spirit of strength. Taught by the glorious example of Your Martyr St. Sebastian, may we learn how to obey You rather than men. Amen🙏

BLESSED CYPRIAN MICHAEL IWENE TANSI, PRIEST: Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi (1903-1964) is Nigeria’s Patron Saint. In the USA we don’t liturgically have Blessed Cyprian on the calendar, but we ought to know about him and follow his example. First a secular priest and then a Trappist monk Tansi has a unique vocation of looking at both the interior life and the apostolate with new eyes. Blessed Cyprian Michael was born in 1903 in Igboezunu near the ancient city of Aguleri, Anambra State in Southern Nigeria to non-Christian, lgbo farming couple, Tabansi and Ejikwevi, who, practising the “traditional religion”, named him Iwene. However, in 1909 he was sent to live with his uncle, a Christian in a Christian village named Ndua where he was educated and baptized 3 years later and Christened Michael by Irish missionaries. Studious, diligent, ever demanding of himself, Michael possessed a precocious personality and a deep piety. The “school leaving certificate” he obtained at 16 years of age, qualified him to teach. He thus taught in Onitsha for 3 years and then was headmaster at St. Joseph’s school in Aguleri for another 3 years. In 1925 against the wishes of his family, Bl. Michael entered St. Paul’s Seminary in Igbariam and having finished his philosophy and theology he was ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Onitsha on December 19, 1937 by Bishop Charles Heerey – only the second indigenous priest of Onitsha and the first ever in the Aguleri region! Bl. Michael’s pastoral ministry commenced as Parish Priest first in the Umudioka region of Nnewi and then at Akpu until 1949. Shortly thereafter, when Bishop Charles Heerey, a missionary, expressed the desire to have one of his priests embrace the monastic life with a view to establishing a contemplative monastery in his diocese, Fr Tansi instantly showed his willingness. He was thus sent to the Trappist Abbey of Mount St Bernard in Leicestershire, England, where, as a novice he took the name Cyprian and made his solemn profession on 8 December 1956. In 1963, with 13 years of valuable experience as a Trappist behind him, just when the time seemed ripe for laying the foundations of a monastery in Nigeria, political compulsions led his superiors to choose neighbouring Cameroon. Though he was initially upset by this setback, he eventually accepted it all as God’s will.

In January 1964, the intense pain in one of his legs was diagnosed as a result of acute thrombosis. However, admitted unconscious on 19 January to the Royal Infirmary of Leicester, tests revealed an aortic aneurysm, a condition that led to his death the next morning. Fr. Tansi’s mortal remains, which were laid to rest at Mount St Bernard, were exhumed in 1988 and reburied in the priests’ cemetery near the Cathedral of Onitsha and later transferred to his parish church in Aguleri. He was beatified by Saint Pope John Paul II on March 22, 1998 in Nigeria. Fr. Tansi lived the monastic life with great faith and humility. Absorbed in prayer, he was a living example of patience and charity. Fr. Tansi used to say, “if you are going to be a Christian at all, you might as well live entirely for God”. Backed by intense prayer, Cyprian’s life was marked by fruitful activity that involved teaching, preaching, catechizing, setting up prayer centres that eventually became parishes, as also shelters for young women and girls for the purpose of Christian formation with a view to preparing them for marriage. He also established with remarkable success, the League of Mary for the moral education of the young. As a man of God and a man of the people, putting the interests and welfare of others ahead of his own, Blessed Cyprian Michael was an inspiration to everyone in the Nigeria he loved so much. He’s Patron Saint of Nigerian Priests.

PRAYER: A prayer to the Blessed: Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi, during your life on earth you showed your great faith and love in giving yourself to your people and by the hidden life of prayer and contemplation. Look upon us now in our needs and intercede for us with the Lord. May he grant us the favour we ask through our prayers. 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. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we continue to pray for all those who are sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. 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 an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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 Second Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012024.cfm

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:20-21

They said, “He is out of His mind”

“Jesus came with His disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize Him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ relatives set out to take charge of Jesus and bring Him back to Nazareth because they were convinced that He was out of His mind. By this time, according to Mark’s Gospel Jesus had incurred the hostility of the religious authorities by His teaching and His behaviour, by His eating with tax collectors and sinners, by declaring Himself to be the Son of Man who has authority to forgive sins, by working on the Sabbath to heal the sick, and so on. Perhaps Jesus’ family felt that He was not being very wise, that He was behaving in ways that were foolhardy and risky, and they wanted to preserve and protect him. Indeed, Jesus’ teaching and behaviour would eventually put Him on a Roman cross. Yet, Jesus remained faithful to His calling to proclaim God’s kingdom in word and deed, regardless of the personal consequences for Himself. He would not be deflected from that, not even by well meaning relatives. He placed God’s purpose for the well-being of others, both material and spiritual, before all else. This is what is referred to in the beatitudes as purity of heart, that purity of intention which seeks God’s will and God’s kingdom before all else. He calls on us to follow Him in putting the purpose of God and the well being of others before our own comfort and preservation. That does not come easy to us; our instincts can be more like those of Jesus’ relatives than of Jesus Himself. We need the help of the Spirit if we are to be as pure in heart as Jesus was. Jesus did not always go where His family wanted Him to go because He was subject to a greater authority in His life, and that was God’s authority. God’s purpose drove Him and He was faithful to that purpose even when it brought Him into conflict with those for whom He had the strongest feelings of natural affection. We, His followers, are called to remain true to the Lord’s direction, His guidance, His vision and values, even if that means for us what it meant for Him, finding ourselves at odds with those who are nearest and dearest to us.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel details the story of the death of King Saul of Israel and some of his family members. David, Saul’s successor, the rightful king over all of Israel, was distraught and sorrowful upon having heard of the bad news. At that time, Saul and David had gone through some period of conflict and disagreements, over the right to rule Israel, because God had chosen David to replace Saul as the rightful King of Israel. Saul attempted to kill and destroy David in several occasions, but God protected David from harm. Eventually, Saul vowed not to kill David, and stopped his efforts in chasing after David, after David spared his life when he had the perfect opportunity to kill Saul if he had wanted to. David never felt any kind of hatred or anger against Saul, and he still honoured the fallen king. Saul met his end and downfall, and kingship was taken from him and his family ultimately because of his disobedience and failure to listen to the will of God. He chose to follow the whim of his own desires and personal ambitions rather than to obey the Lord and His commandments. Meanwhile, David obeyed the Lord, he was humble and faithful, forgiving and kind, unlike Saul who was proud and ambitious, and who was easily tempted by jealousy and anger, when he saw that David was becoming more popular and beloved than him by the people.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to be filled with faith in the Lord, as well as love and care for our fellow brethren, at all times. We must trust in Him and not in the ways of the world, and ensure that our lives must always be focused on God and His path, or otherwise, in the end, we may meet our end in sorrow and regret, for having disobeyed the Lord and turned our ways away from the path of God’s righteousness and grace. This is what we as Christians should not be doing. From the lives and examples of the Saints, holy men and women, especially those who we celebrate today, Pope St. Fabian, St. Sebastian, and Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, among many others, we gained greater insight, inspirations and good examples on how we all should be living our lives faithfully as Christians. All of us should always do whatever we can so that by our commitment and contributions, in whatever we say and do, we will always be great source of inspiration and faith for our fellow brothers and sisters, and that we may proclaim the Lord’s truth to more and more people all throughout the world. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us always, and may He bless us all in our every good efforts, works and endeavours, all for His greater glory, and also for the salvation of many more souls. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My compassionate Lord, You endured much in this world, including the rejection and ridicule of those in Your own family. I offer to You my own family and especially the hurt that has been present. Please come and redeem all family struggles and bring healing and hope to me and to all those who need it the most. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Mother Mary, Saints Fabian, Sebastian and Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we continue this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year. Have a safe, blessed and relaxing weekend! Amen🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖

SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 19, 2024

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning today, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024. Link for prayers for the entire week below.

PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024
Link for 9 Days for Life Novena below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary” on January 19., 2024 on EWTN |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 19, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 19, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 19, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 19, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Friday, January 19, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 24:3-21
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 57:2, 3-4, 6, 11
Gospel, Mark 3:13-19

PRAY TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE! 9 DAYS FOR LIFE NOVENA: JANUARY 19-27, 2024

9 Days for Life is a novena for the protection of human life. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. Link for 9 Days for Life: January 19-27, 2024: https://www.respectlife.org/9-days-for-life

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024

Today is day two of the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which is celebrated around the world from January 18th – 25th. As we begin this year’s week of prayer for Christian Unity with focus on Christians in the Northern Hemisphere, we join our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world in praying for peace, love, justice and unity in our divided and conflicted world so we can better build God’s Kingdom here on earth. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, look down with pity upon us and keep us all united in love and faith, so that we may all be truly one in Christ…Amen🙏

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024: “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” ~ Luke 10:27

WPCU 2024 Daily Readings: Link for prayers for the entire week: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 | USCCB | https://www.usccb.org/committees/ecumenical-interreligious-affairs/week-prayer-christian-unity-2024

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024 was selected by the Pontifical Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the World Council of Churches, and the Christian Churches in Burkina Faso, coordinated by the community of Chemin Neuf, a French Catholic and ecumenical community of vowed and lay people and its local community in Burkina Faso.

The theme, taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, reflects the connection between love of God and love of neighbor with a particular concern for challenging the boundaries of who is considered “neighbor”. In this pericope, Jesus is questioned as to the path to eternal life. His answer is not to only observe the commandments, but to also imitate the love of God in the giving of self for another. It is a call for charity, mercy, justice, and unity.

DAY 2: “HE ANSWERED …”

He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Lk 10:27)

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
Psalm 133

MEDITATION: The answer the lawyer gives to Jesus may seem simple, drawn from the well-known commandments of God. However, to love God in this way and our neighbors as ourselves can often be difficult. God’s commandment to love him requires deep commitment and means abandoning ourselves entirely, offering our hearts and minds to serve God’s will. We can ask for the grace to follow Christ’s example, he who offered himself up completely and said, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42). He also manifested his great love to all, including his enemies. We do not get to choose our neighbors. Loving them means being attentive to their needs, accepting their imperfections and encouraging their hopes and aspirations. The same attitude is needed on the path of Christian unity, with regard to one another’s different traditions.

PRAYER: Lord, give us the grace to know you more deeply, in order to love you with all of our being. Grant us a pure heart, to love our neighbors as ourselves. May the gift of your Holy Spirit enable us to see your presence in our sisters and brothers, that we may love each other with the same unconditional love with which you love us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, as we continue the week of prayer for Christian Unity, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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 Canute IV, King of Denmark, Martyr; Saint Henry of Uppsala, Bishop and Martyr and Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum, Martyrs.

SAINT CANUTE IV OF DENMARK, KING AND MARTYR: St. Canute (1042 – 1086 A.D.), also known as Canutus or Canute the Holy, was one of thirteen sons born to the king of Denmark. St. Canute later succeeded his brother to the throne and reigned as king from 1080 to 1086. Saint Canute, King of Denmark, was endowed with excellent qualities of both mind and body. He was a devout Catholic, a zealous propagator of the faith, and a brave warrior, in addition to being a man of prayer, penance, austerity, and charity towards the poor and weak among his people. The happiness of his people and the interests of the Church were his motivation, often putting him in opposition to the aristocracy. He fought against the barbarian nations and worked to strengthen the power of the monarchy, but some of his laws were unpopular and caused unrest among the people. Canute sought to expand Denmak’s territory and believed he had a claim to the English throne. After having provided for the peace and safety of his country, he married Eltha, daughter of Robert, Earl of Flanders, who proved herself a spouse worthy of him. They are the parents of Blessed Charles, Count of Amiens and Flanders, a martyr for his faith, brutally slain like his father, while in prayer.

In 1085 he gathered his fleet and planned an invasion of England to overthrow William the Conquerer, a plan which was never realized. Instead, a revolt broke out against St. Canute, causing him to take refuge inside St. Alban’s Priory in Odense, a monastery which he had founded. Perceiving his danger, he confessed his sins at the foot of the altar and received Holy Communion. Stretching out his arms before the altar, the Saint fervently recommended his soul to his Creator; in this posture he was struck down on his knees by the enemies of his Christian reign. St. Canute, his brother, Prince Olaf, and seventeen of his men – the entire royal party were assassinated by rebels in front of the altar. St. Canute was buried in St. Alban’s, renamed c. 1300 St. Canute’s Cathedral. He was named a martyr for the faith and miracles were recorded at his tomb, and, at the request (1099) of King Erik III Evergood of Denmark, he was canonized in the year 1101 by Pope Paschal II, the first Danish saint. St. Canute is the Patron Saint of Zeeland, Denmark.

Saint Canute IV of Denmark, King and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINTS MARIUS; MARTHA; AUDIFAX AND ABACHUM, MARTYRS: Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum (died 270) were, according to their largely legendary passio of the 6th century, four saints of the same family (a married couple and their two sons). They came from Persia to Rome, and were martyred in 270 for sympathizing with Christian martyrs and burying their bodies. Marius, a Persian nobleman, his wife Martha, and his sons Audifax and Abachum came to believe in Christ and became Christians. In imitation of the early Christians of Jerusalem, they gladly gave away their fortune to the poor. Then the family traveled to Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius II (268-270) to venerate the tombs of the Apostles and lend their aid to the persecuted Christians. They visited the Christians in prison, encouraged them by word and deed, and shared with them their goods. And like Tobias of old, they buried the bodies of the saints and among other things, they gathered the ashes of the Martyrs and buried them with respect.

It was not long before they themselves were arrested; and when neither threats nor allurements could make them offer sacrifice to the idols, they were savagely flogged. Martha was the first to die, but not before she had fervently exhorted her husband and sons to endure steadfastly whatever tortures might be inflicted for the faith. Martha was drowned thirteen miles from Rome in a place known as Santa Ninfa. Marius and his sons were beheaded in the same place and their bodies thrown into the fire. Felicitas, a saintly Roman woman, succeeded in recovering the half-burnt bodies and buried them on her estate. The Roman Martyrology says this happened about the 4th century. These Saints are mentioned in all the western martyrologies.

PRAYER: Lord, we devoutly recall the sufferings of Sts. Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum. Give success to our joyful prayers and grant us also constancy in our Faith. Amen🙏

SAINT HENRY OF UPPSALA, BISHOP AND MARTYR: St. Henry also known as Henrik was born in 1100 in the Kingdom of England. St. Henry was an Englishman living in Rome. He accompanied the papal legate and fellow Englishman Nicholas Cardinal Breakspear (later Pope Adrian IV) to Scandinavia in 1151 and was consecrated bishop of Uppsala, Sweden, the next year by the cardinal. St. Henry accompanied King Eric of Sweden on his crusade to Finland, where he converted many pagans. However, remaining behind after the king had returned home to Sweden. St. Henry was murdered on January 20, 1156 by a Finnish convert named Lalli, on whom he had imposed a penance for a murder he had committed. Reputedly, the murderer put on the bishop’s birretum, but when he tried to take it off his flesh adhered to it. This is noted as one of the saint’s outstanding miracles. The saint’s cult spread rapidly in Sweden and Finland, and with the growth of the bridgettine convents it was carried to the European continent. One historia rhythmica, Gaude cetus fidelium, and one Sequence, Cetus noster, are known. His epitaph may be found in Nousis, Finland, where his relics were kept, until they were translated in 1300 to the cathedral in Abo (Tartu). He was canonized in 1158. He is the national Patron Saint of Finland and one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages, and of today.

St. Henry of Uppsala, Bishop and Martyr ~ 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. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we continue to pray for all those who are sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are sick with the coronavirus, mental illness, stroke, 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 those affected directly or indirectly, for all Healthcare workers and for an end to the coronavirus disease.. Amen. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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 Second Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB |
https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:13-19

“Jesus summoned those whom He wanted and they came to Him”

“Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons: He appointed the Twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.”

Our Gospel reading today, details the account of the Lord calling and appointing His Apostles, the chief twelve among all of His disciples and followers. They were meant to be the leaders of the Lord’s followers, and together with the other disciples and followers, they were to do the will of God, and carry out whatever mission that the Lord has entrusted to them. The Gospel reading says that Jesus chose those whom He wanted; He chose these twelve very deliberately. They were to receive intensive training and instruction so as to share in His ministry in a special way. Yet, by the end of Mark’s Gospel, everyone of this group had deserted Him, the first mentioned of the group, Simon Peter, had denied Him publicly, and the last mentioned, Judas Iscariot, had betrayed Him to His enemies. In spite of the fact that these twelve had spent more time in His company than others, listening to Him, seeing what He did, they failed Him when the cross came into view. They were not faithful to their calling. Although Jesus calls people, calls each one of us, He cannot force us to respond to His call. Although He has a purpose for our lives, He is helpless before our refusal to co-operate with His purpose for us. Yet, in the Gospel of Mark, the failure of the twelve was not the end of their relationship with Jesus. After he rose from the dead, He appeared to them in Galilee and renewed His relationship with them. The Lord may be helpless before our failure but He remains faithful to us in spite of our unfaithfulness to Him and He is always at work to bring some good out of our failures.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, the story of King Saul and his successor King David continues. God chose David to be the one to replace and succeed Saul as King and ruler over all of His people because of Saul’s disobedience and sin. Saul became deeply jealous and angry at David, and wanted to kill him so that he could eliminate this major threat to his rule and legitimacy. Yet, in doing so, Saul actually opened himself to even more temptations of the evil one and all the worldly attachments and temptations he had experienced, which led him to chase after David, and David had to flee from place to place with some of his supporters and friends. But God was with David, and He protected him for all the years and time he spent in exile and on the run from King Saul. God’s favour was on him, and in this particular occasion highlighted in our first reading today, David and his companions encountered King Saul and his troops, who were all sleeping soundly, likely by God’s intervention. Such an opportunity was likely very rare, and it presented the perfect opportunity for David to end all of his struggles and difficulties, and in one strike, he could have killed Saul and therefore claim the kingdom completely for himself. His companions were urging him to do exactly that, but David resisted the temptations, and told his companions that they must not touch Saul, for he was also God’s anointed one. Here we can see the great qualities and virtues that David had which made him to be truly worthy of the kingship as compared to Saul. While Saul was proud and arrogant, ambitious and disobedient, David was humble and committed to God, obeyed His Law and commandments, and he did not touch another person or harm him when he was vulnerable as we heard in our reading from the Book of Samuel today. Unlike Saul, who attempted on several occasions to harm and kill David in several separate occasions, out of jealousy and allowing himself to be tempted by Satan, David was humble and committed to God, and remembered His Law and commandments, while Saul had disobeyed them many times, especially with his desire to kill David, which is against God’s commandment, ‘You shall not kill.’ David himself was not a perfect and blameless man, as he had his flaws and shortcomings just like all of us, but he tried his best to remain faithful and committed to God, and resisted the temptations of worldly glory and desire as best as he could. He repented from his sins and mistakes, and tried his best to do what God has told him to do. In this way, therefore, he showed us all what it means for us to be disciples and followers of Christ, as we all should be obedient to the will, Law and commandments of God in all the things we say and do, in our whole entire lives. As Christians, we should always strive to live our lives most worthily as those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His own beloved people, to proclaim His truth to the nations.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of God’s calling for us to follow Him and His path, to do what is good and righteous, and in accordance with His Law and commandments. Each and every one of us as Christians should do what the Lord has shown and taught us, and also the examples set by His holy men and women, our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs throughout time and history, and also like what King David of Israel had done in our Scripture reading today, in sparing the life of King Saul, his predecessor, who wanted to kill David out of jealousy and anger. All of us as Christians should always strive to do God’s will and to listen to Him speaking in our hearts and minds. We are all called to turn away from the path of sin, and resist the many temptations present all around us. We are all reminded to stay away from the path of wickedness and evil, from all sorts of greed and desires for worldly things, from our ambitions and ego, that we will not end up losing our way in this journey of life we have. Let us all do our best to help and remind one another so that we will continue to be faithful to the Lord despite all the trials and challenges, difficulties and hardships that we may have to endure in our path. We must be strengthened and inspired by following the good examples of the Lord’s servants, His Saints, including those whom we celebrate today. May the Lord continue to bless us and guide us in our journey of faith so that we may continue to do our best in living our lives to the best of our abilities. May He empower each and every one of us, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, we will always be ever faithful and committed to the Lord, and our faith may truly be shown to all, and that through us and our works and efforts, more and more people may come to believe in God as well, like how King David, the Apostles and many other holy Saints of God had inspired us all. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may He guide us and give us the courage and strength to persevere through the many challenges and trials that we may have to face in our journey as Christians, in each and every moments. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My all-powerful Lord, I thank You for the grace You have given me to proclaim the truth of Your saving message to those whom I encounter every day. Help me to fulfill my mission to preach in both word and deed and to do so with the gentle yet powerful authority given me by You. I offer myself to Your service, dear Lord. Do with me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Canute, King of Denmark, Saint Henry of Uppsala and Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum, Martyrs ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year and a relaxing weekend! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖

SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 18, 2024

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning today, Thursday, January 18, 2024, and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024. Link for prayers for the entire week below.

Greetings beloved family and Happy Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary” on January 18, 2024 on EWTN |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 18, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 18, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | January 18, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 18, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Thursday, January 18, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 56:2-3, 9-10, 10-12, 13-14
Gospel, Mark 3:7-12

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning today, Thursday, January 18, 2024, and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024

Today marks the beginning of the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which is celebrated around the world from January 18th – 25th. As we begin this year’s week of prayer for Christian Unity with focus on Christians in the Northern Hemisphere, we join our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world in praying for peace, love, justice and unity in our divided and conflicted world so we can better build God’s Kingdom here on earth. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, look down with pity upon us and keep us all united in love and faith, so that we may all be truly one in Christ…Amen🙏

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024: “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” ~ Luke 10:27

WPCU 2024 Daily Readings: Link for prayers for the entire week: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 | USCCB | https://www.usccb.org/committees/ecumenical-interreligious-affairs/week-prayer-christian-unity-2024

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2024 was selected by the Pontifical Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the World Council of Churches, and the Christian Churches in Burkina Faso, coordinated by the community of Chemin Neuf, a French Catholic and ecumenical community of vowed and lay people and its local community in Burkina Faso.

The theme, taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, reflects the connection between love of God and love of neighbor with a particular concern for challenging the boundaries of who is considered “neighbor”. In this pericope, Jesus is questioned as to the path to eternal life. His answer is not to only observe the commandments but to also imitate the love of God in the giving of self for another. It is a call for charity, mercy, justice, and unity.

DAY 1: “WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?”

A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25)

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Romans 14:8-9
Psalm 103:13-18

MEDITATION: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” This crucial question asked of Jesus by a lawyer challenges every believer in God. It affects the meaning of our life on earth and for eternity. Elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus gives us the ultimate definition of eternal life: “… that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). Knowing God means discovering and doing his will in our lives. Every person wants a life of fullness and truth, and God desires this for us too (cf. Jn 10:10). Saint Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” The existential realities of life, with divisions, selfishness, and suffering, often distance us from the quest for God. Thus, our quest for eternal life brings us closer to Jesus, and in so doing, brings us nearer to each other, strengthening our closeness on the path toward Christian unity. Let us be open to friendship and col- laboration with Christians of all churches, praying for the day when we can all stand together at the Table of the Lord.

PRAYER: God of life, You have created us to have life and life in all its fullness. May we recognize in our brothers and sisters their desire for eternal life. As we follow Jesus’ way with determination, may we lead others to you. We pray in His name. Amen🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth, a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, as we begin the week of prayer for Christian Unity, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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 Prisca, Virgin and Martyr; Saints Volusian, Bishop and Deicolus, Abbot and Saint Margaret of Hungary, Religious.

SAINT PRISCA, VIRGIN, AND MARTYR: St. Prisca, who is also known as Priscilla, was a child martyr of the early Roman Church. The Roman Martyrology reads: “In the City of Rome, the holy Virgin and Martyr Prisca; after many tortures, she gained the Crown of Martyrdom under Emperor Claudius II (about 270).”

Born to Imperial Roman Christian parents of a noble family, Prisca was raised during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius. While Claudius did not persecute Christians with the same fervor as other Roman emperors, Christians still did not practice their faith openly. In fact, Prisca’s parents went to great lengths to conceal their faith, and thus, they were not suspected of being Christians. Prisca, however, did not feel the need to take precautions. The young girl openly professed her dedication to Christ, and eventually, she was reported to the emperor. Claudius had her arrested and commanded her to make a sacrifice to Apollo, the pagan god of the sun. According to the legend, Prisca refused and was tortured for disobeying. Then, suddenly, a bright, yellow light shone about her, and she appeared to be a little star. Claudius ordered that Prisca be taken away to prison in the hopes that she would abandon Christ. When all efforts to change her mind were unsuccessful, she was taken to an amphitheatre and thrown in with a lion. As the crowd watched, Prisca stood fearless. According to legend, the lion walked toward the barefoot girl and then gently licked her feet. Disgusted by his thwarted efforts to dissuade Prisca, Claudius had her beheaded. Seventh-century accounts of the grave sites of Roman martyrs refer to the discovery of an epitaph of a Roman Christian named Priscilla in a large catacomb and identifies her place of interment on the Via Salaria as the Catacomb of Priscilla.

PRAYER: Let us pray for the single-hearted devotion and courage of Saint Prisca towards our faith that we too may live and die for Christ and share her crown of glory… Amen🙏

SAINTS VOLUSIAN, BISHOP, AND DEICOLUS, ABBOT: According to tradition, SAINT VOLUSIAN was of senatorial rank He served as Bishop of Tours from 488 to 496. What little information exists about concerns the last years of his life. As a result of his rank, he was continually involved with the politics of his day and finally he was driven from episcopate by the Goths who believed that Bishop was planning to form an alliance with the Franks against them. St. Volusian made good his escape from Tours and traveled to Spain where he went into exile. He died about the year 498. According to some historians, St. Volusian was fallowed into Spain by the Goths, who captured him and cut off his head. This possible martyrdom was probably the basis for his canonization as a Saint.

SAINT DEICOLUS, also known as St. Desle, left his native land of Ireland in the company of St. Columban, and both men settled at Luxeuil. He established the Abbey of Lure, where he remained for the rest of his life as a hermit. Despite his hardships, his contentment was always evident. When St. Columban once asked him, “Deicolus, why are you always smiling?” this saintly soul simply replied: “Because no one can take God from me.” He died about 625.

PRAYER: Lord, may the intercession of Sts. Volusian and Deicolus comment us to You, so that by their patronage we may obtain what we do not deserve by any merits of ours. Amen🙏

SAINT MARGARET OF HUNGARY, RELIGIOUS: St. Margaret of Hungary (1242–1271) was the daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary, a granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor and niece of the famed St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She was the eighth daughter of ten children to the Ruler of Croatia. Her royal parents made a vow to God that if Hungary was saved from the Mongol invasion they would dedicate Margaret to religion. God heard their prayer and the country was saved. The king and queen then entrusted four-year-old Margaret to be raised and educated in a Dominican convent. At the age of ten Margaret was transferred to the Convent of the Blessed Virgin founded by her parents, built on an island her parents named after her. She spent the rest of her life there, dedicating herself to prayer and severe penances. She opposed her father’s attempts to arrange her political marriage with the King of Bohemia, even though her suitor obtained a dispensation from the pope to release her from her religious vows so that she could enter into matrimony. Margaret made her solemn vows as a Dominican nun at the age of eighteen. Although a beautiful princess, she took the most menial tasks in the convent and dedicated her life to serving the poor and sick. She was considered a saint during her life and after her death. Many miracles, especially the curing of illnesses, were attributed to her intercession. St. Margaret died at the age of 28 on January 18, 1271. Honored as a powerful intercessor and miracle worker, she was Beatified on July 28, 1789 by Pope Pius VI and Canonized on November 19, 1943 by Pope Pius XII.

PRAYER: God, who called your handmaid blessed Margaret of Hungary to seek you before all else, grant that, serving you, through her example and intercession, with a pure and humble heart, we may come at last to your eternal glory. 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. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we continue to pray for all those who are sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. 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 an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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 Second Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:7-12

“The unclean spirits shouted, “You are the Son of God,” but Jesus warned them sternly not to make Him known”

“Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush Him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon Him to touch Him. And whenever unclean spirits saw Him they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly not to make Him known.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus interceded for all who come to God through Him. Today’s Gospel reading gives us a very vivid picture of the popularity of Jesus during the early stages of His Galilean ministry. Great crowds from a very large area came to Him, from as far north as Tyre and Sidon in modern day Lebanon, and as far east as Transjordania, modern day Jordan. They came to Him in their need. In the words of the Gospel reading, they were ‘afflicted’, and they recognized in Jesus one who could heal their affliction. In particular, all who were afflicted in any way came forward to touch Him. It was the people who were suffering, who were distressed, who had least going for them, that came to Jesus in the biggest numbers. They sensed that He had come to heal their brokenness, that He had come in a special way for the suffering, the broken, the lost. We too come to the Lord with the greatest urgency when we are struggling, when we are in some kind of distress. Like the crowds in the Gospel reading, we reach out to touch the Lord in our brokenness, recognizing him as the source of healing and life. The Lord is as available to us as He was to the crowds of Galilee; He remains strength in our weakness, healing in our brokenness, life in our various experiences of death. We can approach Him with the same confidence of being well received as the people in today’s Gospel reading. The contrast between the two responses to Jesus is very striking. Some wanted to break Him; others looked to Him to heal them of their brokenness. Those who had no sense of their own poverty despised Him; those who were aware of their poverty flocked to Him. Every human being Jesus met was poor and broken to some degree; yet, it was only those who recognized their own poverty and brokenness who responded to Jesus. The Gospel reading suggests that it is above all the sense of our own need, the awareness of our own poverty, that opens us up to the Lord’s presence to us.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, continues with the story of the time of the first kings of Israel, starting from Saul, whom God had first chosen to be the ruler and king over His people, and yet, that same king Saul disobeyed the Lord as he likely gave in to the temptations of worldly glory, power and ambitions. The Lord therefore gave the kingdom of Israel to be under the charge of another person, David, who would be more faithful, obedient and worthy than Saul. And in our first reading today, Saul expressed his anger and jealousy when he heard of all the exploits and works of David, favoured and blessed by God in all that he had done. Thus, Saul allowed himself yet again to be tempted by the temptations of worldly glory and evil, and all the wickedness that he had committed, gave in to the temptation of greed and jealousy, and hence, plotting murder and death for the young David. Thankfully, Jonathan, one of Saul’s own sons, was a good friend of David, and he helped David out of the predicament when he knew of what his father had plotted against David in his anger and jealousy. Jonathan attempted to talk Saul out of committing such a heinous and wicked deed, reasoning and arguing with him why he should not do so, and managed to get Saul to swear an oath not to harm or kill David. Nonetheless, later on, when Saul was tempted by the devil, he would still attempt to harm David.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of what it truly means for us to be Christians, in following God and doing God’s will, and we are also reminded that we must be vigilant against the many temptations of the world, which could lead us astray and away from the path towards God and His salvation. If we are not careful and allow those corruptions to mislead us down the wrong path, then we will end up disobeying God and committing sins and wickedness in the sight of God and our fellow brothers and sisters. This is why as Christians all of us must always focus our attention first and foremost on the Lord, and commit ourselves and each and every moments of our lives to follow Him wholeheartedly. Let us all be humble in life and reject the path of sin and evil. Let us all resist all the trap and false promises of earthly wonders, of temporary pleasures and comforts found all around us, and instead let us return our focus once again towards the Lord, our loving God and Master. Let all of us be called and inspired to be the worthy and faithful beacons of God’s Light and truth, His Good News and love for all. Let our every words, actions and deeds, our every interactions with those around us, and our every way of life be truly Christ-like, and let us be committed to whatever vocation and missions which the Lord has entrusted to us all in our respective lives. Let our whole lives be truly filled with the light of Christ, in all things. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and continue to guide and bless us, and may He bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, so that through all of them, we may continue to do His will and be ever more committed to this path of righteousness and justice which He has led us through, following the examples that He Himself had set, and those of the Holy Saints and other great men and women, our holy predecessors, all for His greater glory. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My saving God, I turn to You, this day, and seek to be single-minded in my love and devotion to You. Help me, first and foremost, to listen to Your transforming Word and to allow that Word to become the central focus of my life. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Prisca, Saints Volusian and Deicolus and Saint Margaret of Hungary ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous, and grace-filled New Year and a blessed week! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖

SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 17, 2024

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF PONTMAIN (OUR LADY OF HOPE) 1871

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning tomorrow, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024

Greetings beloved family and Happy Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 on EWTN” |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Wednesday, January 17, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Wednesday, January 17, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Wednesday, January 17, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 17, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 144:1, 2, 9-10
Gospel, Mark 3:1-6

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2024: In the Northern Hemisphere beginning tomorrow, Thursday, January 18, 2024 and ends Thursday, January 25, 2024

Theme: “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” ~ Luke 10:27

Link for prayers for the entire week: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 | USCCB | https://www.usccb.org/committees/ecumenical-interreligious-affairs/week-prayer-christian-unity-2024

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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/

Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Pontmain (Our Lady of Hope) and the Memorial of Saint Anthony of Egypt, Abbot.

OUR LADY OF PONTMAIN (OUR LADY OF HOPE) 1871: In 1871, France was being devastated by the Franco-Prussian war. The Prussians were close to the town of Laval when on the evening of January 17, Eugene Barbedette and his brother Joseph saw an apparition of our Lady. A crowd gathered but only children could see the apparition, not adults. After the town gathered praying and singing, she told them that “God heard their prayers and fears and would answer their needs.” That same day, the Prussians halted their advances when their commander encountered an “invisible Madonna barring the way.” In May that same year, a peace treaty was signed. The local Bishop approved the apparition in 1872 and in 1908 the church was dedicated as a Basilica to Our Lady of Hope of Pontmain. Patron Saint of: Pontmain, France and Hope. Feast Day is January 17th

Our Lady of Hope of Pontmain ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT ANTHONY OF EGYPT, ABBOT: St. Anthony of Egypt (251–356 A.D.), founder of Monasticism, also known as St. Anthony the Great and St. Anthony of the Desert, was a leading figure among the Desert Fathers, the early Christian monks who lived in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The story of his life was written by St. Athanasius of Alexandria. Saint Anthony was born in the year 251, in Upper Egypt to wealthy and virtuous Christian parents. After their death St. Anthony desired to conform himself to the manner of life of the Apostles and early Christians. On hearing these words from the Gospel of Matthew in church, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me,” St. Anthony gave away all his vast possessions — staying only to see that his sister’s education was completed — and retired into the desert. He left everything behind to live a life of prayer, fasting, self-denial, and labor. He then begged an aged hermit to teach him the spiritual life, and he also visited various solitaries, undertaking to copy the principal virtue of each. Whenever he heard of other holy people living in this manner, he would visit them to learn from their virtues in order to imitate them. To serve God more perfectly, He eventually removed himself from all society and became the first Christian to live a life of consecrated solitude. St. Anthony immured himself in a ruin, building up the door so that none could enter. Here the devils assaulted him furiously, appearing as various monsters, and even wounding him severely; but his courage never failed, and he overcame them all by confidence in God and by the sign of the cross. One night, while Anthony was in his solitude, many devils scourged him so terribly that he lay as if dead. A friend found him in this condition, and believing him dead carried him home. But when Anthony came to himself he persuaded his friend to take him back, in spite of his wounds, to his solitude. Here, prostrate from weakness, he defied the devils, saying, I fear you not; you cannot separate me from the love of Christ. After more vain assaults the devils fled, and Christ appeared to Anthony in His glory.

Saint Anthony’s only food was bread and water, which he never tasted before sunset, and sometimes only once in two, three, or four days. He wore sackcloth and sheepskin, and he often knelt in prayer from sunset to sunrise. His admirers became so many and so insistent that he was eventually persuaded to found two monasteries for them and to give them a rule of life. In 305, he founded a religious community of cenobites who lived in detached cells. These were the first monasteries ever to be founded, and Saint Anthony is, therefore, the father of cenobites of monks. He occasionally left his hermitage for pressing matters, once to encourage persecuted Christians, and another time to support Pope Athanasius against the heresy of Arius. In 311 he went to Alexandria to take part in the Arian controversy and to comfort those who were being persecuted by Maximinus. This visit lasted for a few days only, after which he retired into a solitude even more remote so that he might cut himself off completely from his admirers. When he was over ninety, he was commanded by God in a vision to search the desert for Saint Paul the Hermit. He is said to have survived until the age of a hundred and five, when he died peacefully in a cave on Mount Kolzim near the Red Sea. In keeping with his instructions, two of his disciples buried his body secretly in an unmarked grave. Saint Athanasius, his biographer, says that the mere knowledge of how Saint Anthony lived is a good guide to virtue. He’ s Patron Saint of Amputees; animals; basket makers/weavers; brushmakers; butchers; gravediggers; cemetery workers; domestic animals; eczema; epilepsy; epileptics; ergotism (Saint Anthony’s fire); erysipelas; gravediggers; hermits; hogs; monks; pigs; relief from pestilence; skin diseases; skin rashes; swine; swineherds. St. Anthony’s feast day is January 17th.

PRAYER: Lord God, You gave St. Anthony the Abbot the grace of serving in the desert in prayer with You. Aided by his intercession, may we practice self-denial and hence always love You above all things. 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. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we continue to pray for all those who are sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. 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 an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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, Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot | USCCB| https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 3:1-6

“Is it lawful on the sabbath to save life rather than to destroy it?”

“Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus does good on the Sabbath; He does God’s work on the Sabbath by healing the withered hand of a man in the synagogue. Yet, because of the good that Jesus did, some religious and political leaders immediately began to plot together to destroy Jesus. It was because Jesus was faithful to doing God’s good work that He was crucified. Jesus’ life shows very clearly that the good that we do does not always bring a reward; sometimes it can bring the opposite of a reward. It is a strange paradox, but one that is often true to life, that good sometimes generates evil. The goodness of some brings out evil in others. Yet Jesus was faithful to the good work that God gave Him to do, regardless of how negatively it was received by some. Jesus teaches us that goodness is its own reward. We try to be faithful to what God wants of us, because it is what God wants of us and not because of any benefit it might bring us. We remain faithful to our calling to share in Jesus’ work of bringing healing and life to others, even though it may, at times, bring us suffering.

Our first reading today is about the famous story of how David, the one chosen by God to be king over all of His beloved people Israel, triumphed and won against the great and mighty champion of the Philistines, Israel’s bitter enemy, who was represented by the giant and powerful warrior Goliath. The story of David and Goliath had been well-known throughout time and history. David, who was much smaller than Goliath, managed to overcome the much larger and more powerful Goliath, through not the force and power of arms, but through God’s guidance, and through the wisdom and knowledge that He had given to him, in protecting him from harm and in providing everything for him and the Israelites to triumph against their adversities. David placed his faith and trust in God while Goliath the Philistine put his trust in his personal might and physical prowess, in his weapons and armour, and Goliath ridiculed David for his small stature, lack of armour and proper battle gear. David chose to put his trust in God rather than any worldly means and human power because in the end, even the greatest of human might and designs could fail in the midst of trials and dangers. And in his pride, arrogance and haughtiness, Goliath thought he could ridicule David and crush him, even to the point of toying around with him and blaspheming against God. This became his undoing as David, guided by God’s strength, wisdom and power, managed to defeat Goliath, silencing his arrogance and blasphemy once and for all. The Lord had indeed intervened and helped His servant David, as well as His beloved people Israel, in their hour of greatest need. He showed His love and faithfulness, His steadfast strength and guidance to those who have entrusted themselves to Him. By defeating Goliath, David showed us all that in God we can truly find true satisfaction and hope, strength and comfort, because through Him we shall gain greatly in the path towards eternal life and true glory, salvation and liberation from the forces of all those arrayed against us. Each and every one of us should also have faith and trust in the Lord, in following Him and the path that He has shown and revealed to us so that by our lives, lived in obedience to God’s guidance and ways, will come ever closer to His love and grace.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of the Lord’s love, guidance and providence for all of us, in how He cared for us all in our darkest and most difficult moments, and how through Him we shall truly be delivered from the challenges and trials facing us. Through what we have heard today, we are reminded to keep our focus on the Lord at all times, and to place our faith and trust in Him, just as David as in our first reading today had done, and just as how the man paralysed on his hand was healed by the Lord because of his faith and trust in Him. Each and every one of us as Christians are reminded of the great graces and love of God that we all have truly been so fortunate in receiving, and why we must really be thankful for all of that. Let us all therefore renew our faith in the Lord, and let us all turn towards Him with renewed heart and commitment, with the desire to follow and serve Him like what David, the king of Israel had done, and just as how St. Anthony the Abbot, who we celebrate today has shown us by his abandonment of worldly glory and ambitions. Let us always put our faith and trust in God, and not in any earthly means and ways, in any worldly glory and power, and we must not allow our ego, greed and desire from dragging us into the path towards of our downfall and destruction. Let us all do our best that we may be good and worthy examples of our Christian faith, and do our part in proclaiming the Good News and truth of Christ to the world, by our obedience to the Law of God, through proper and meaningful understanding, appreciation and internalisation of what we have been taught and shown to do by the Lord Himself. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to walk in the way of Jesus so as to give greater priority to the total well being of people than to the laws of the institution. May the Lord be with us all in our efforts and journey, and may He bless us all in everything we say and do, now and always. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My loving Lord and merciful Judge, give me a heart of compassion and mercy toward all. Remove from my heart all judgmentalness and criticalness. I leave all judgment to You, dear Lord, and seek only to be an instrument of Your love and mercy. This day I open myself to an examination of my own heart and pray that You will help me to always be open to change when necessary. Help me, especially, to see any hardness I may have within my heart. Help me to overcome any obstinacy, stubbornness and self-righteousness. Give me the gift of humility, dear Lord, so that my heart can become more like Yours. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

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

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year and a blessed week! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖

SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

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

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 16, 2024

Greetings, beloved family, and Happy Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Tuesday, January 16, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Tuesday, January 16, 2024 |

Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Tuesday, January 16, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 16, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 16:1-13
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
Gospel, Mark 2:23-28

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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/

Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Marcellus I, Pope and Martyr; Saint Honoratus, Archbishop of Arles and Blessed Stephanie Quinzani, Virgin.

SAINT MARCELLUS I, POPE AND MARTYR: Pope Marcellus I (6 January 255 – 16 January 309) was elected bishop of Rome from May or June 308 to his death. He succeeded Marcellinus after a considerable interval. He became Pope at the end of the persecutions of Diocletian in aound 308-309. The persecutions had disrupted the Church so much that there had been a gap of over a year with no Pope. Once he was elected, he faced several challenges, including reconsituting the clergy, which had been decimated and whose remnant had practiced their vocation only covertly and with the expectation of martyrdom. He worked hard to recover and welcome back all who had denied the faith in order to keep from being murdered.

When a group of the apostacized, known as the Lapsi, refused to do penance, Marcellus refused to allow their return to the Church. The Lapsi had a bit of political pull, and some members caused such civil disruption that emperor Maxentius exiled the Pope in order to settle the matter. Legend says that Marcellus was forced to work as a stable slave as punishment, but this appears to be fiction, however we do know that he died of the terrible conditions he suffered in exile, he died on January 16,  309 as a result of privations and is considered a martyr because of that. He was initially buried in the cemetery of Saint Priscilla in Rome, but his relics were later transferred to beneath the altar of San Marcello al Corso Church in Rome where they remain today.

PRAYER: Almighty and eternal God, You willed to sent St. Marcellus over Your entire people and to go before them in word and example. By his intercession keep the pastors of Your Church together with their flocks and guide them in the way of eternal salvation. Amen🙏

SAINT HONORATUS, ARCHBISHOP OF ARLES: St Honoratus was of a consular Roman family that had settled in Gaul. In his youth he renounced the worship of idols and gained his elder brother, Venantius, to Christ. The two brothers, convinced of the hollowness of the things of this world, desired to renounce it with all its pleasures, but a fond pagan father put continual obstacles in their way. At length, taking with them for their director Saint Caprais, a holy hermit, they sailed from Marseilles to Greece, intending to live there unknown in a desert. Venantius soon died happily at Methone, and Honoratus, who was ill, was obliged to return to Gaul with his guide.

He first led the life of a hermit in the mountains near Frejus. Two small islands lie in the sea near that coast; on the smaller, now known as Saint Honoré, the Saint settled, and when others came to him there, he founded the famous monastery of Lerins, about the year 400. Some of his followers he appointed to live in community; others, who seemed more perfect, in separated cells as anchorites. His rule was borrowed in large part from that of Saint Pachomius.

Nothing can be more amiable than the description Saint Hilary has given of the excellent virtues of this company of saints, especially of the charity, concord, humility, compunction, and devotion which reigned among them under the conduct of their holy Abbot. Saint Honoratus was, by compulsion, consecrated Archbishop of Arles in 426, and died, exhausted with austerities and apostolical labors, in 429. His tomb is shown empty under the high altar of the church which bears his name at Arles; his body having been translated to Lerins in 1391, where the greatest part remains.

Saint Honoratus, Archbishop of Arles ~ Pray for us 🙏

BLESSED STEPHANIE QUINZANI, VIRGIN: Blessed Stephana de Quinzanis (variant spellings include Stephanie, Stefana; also, Quinzani; 1457 — 2 January 1530) was an Italian Dominican tertiary and stigmatic. Stephana was born to pious, but poor, parents of Brescia. She earned her living working as a servant. Her father, Lorenzo Quinzani, became a Dominican tertiary while Stephana was very young. On visits with him to the Dominican convent, she met the stigmatic Blessed Matthew Carrieri, who instructed her in her catechism. He told her that she was to be his spiritual heiress, a statement she did not understand for many years. She began receiving visions of Dominican saints from age seven, at which point she made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and was given a ring, as a token of her espousal to Christ. Carrieri died when Stephana was 14 years old; soon after he appeared to her in a vision, and she received the stigmata.

Stephana continued on in her formation, and at age 15 became a Dominican tertiary at Soncino. her Devotion to the poor and sick led her to found a community of Third Order Sisters in Soncino. She served as its first abbess. Her counsel was allegedly sought by many, including Saint Angela Merici, Blessed Augustine of Biella, and Blessed Osanna of Mantua. She participated in various stages of the Passion of Jesus Christ, which was attested to by 21 witnesses in 1497 in a still extant account.  Sources state that although Stephana was “ugly”, she had magnificent hair. Grudging herself this one beauty, she pulled it out by the roots.

Stephana had a particularly intense devotion to Saint Thomas Aquinas. In fact, to overcome temptation of thought against purity, she once threw herself upon a cartload of thorns in imitation of the Doctor Angelicus. Exhausted from this penance, she prayed to Saint Thomas, and, according to legend, was girded by angels with a cord, which they tied so tightly around her waist that she cried out in pain. Though she had no formal theological  training, she could discuss mystical theology at the most profound level. It is said that she could read the hearts and minds of the people around her, and had the gift of prophesy and healing. She lived in a nearly continuous fast. She accurately predicted the date of her own death. Stephana’s tomb became a pilgrimage site almost immediately. Her intercession was often felt in the convent that she had founded, where the sisters obtained both material and spiritual help through her intercession. Her cult was popularized by Dominicans Bartholomeo of Mantua and Battista of Salò, but their Latin vitae have been lost, and only a later Italian version that combines the two texts has survived. Her cultus was confirmed by Pope Benedict XIV on 14 December 1740.

Blessed Stephanie Quinzani, Virgin ~ 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. We pray for peace, love and unity in our marriages, our families and our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. Ee pray for an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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, Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 2:23-28

“The sabbath was made for people, not people for the sabbath”

“As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

In today’s Gospel reading, we find a sharp contrast between how the Pharisees interpreted the Jewish Law relating to the Sabbath and how Jesus interpreted that Law. The Pharisees were quite rigid in their interpretation of the Sabbath Law. For the disciples of Jesus to pick ears of corn on the Sabbath as they walked along was a form of reaping and, therefore, forbidden on the Sabbath. Jesus, however, gave priority to the disciples’ hunger over this strict interpretation of the Sabbath Law. Jesus was always person centred, not law centred. The needs and well-being of the human person carried much greater weight with him than strict observance of a particular law, even a law as sacred as the Sabbath law. For Jesus, all law, including religious law, is at the service of the total well-being of people and when it works against their well-being it deserves to be ignored. Jesus gives expression to this conviction in that very short and concise saying, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’. The Sabbath Law or any religious law must not be allowed to prevent people from satisfying their basic physical need for food. Jesus’ understanding of the religious law of His time was always shaped by His compassion for those in greatest need. He embodied God’s gracious presence, which made Him master of the Sabbath and of all religious law. To walk in the way of Jesus is always to give greater priority to the total well being of people than to the laws of the institution. Jesus took seriously the human person in all his or her complexity. He came not to serve a set of laws but to serve God’s people, especially those in the greatest material and spiritual need. He came that all people may have life and have it to the full. He understood that law, religious or otherwise, is at the service of that fullness of life for all.

In our first reading today, from the Book of the prophet Samuel, God told Samuel to seek the one chosen by Him to replace Saul as the King and ruler over the people of Israel. At that time, God’s favour had left Saul because of his disobedience and refusal to obey God’s Law which led the people of God into the path of sin, and hence, God chose another person who would be more worthy in his heart and mind than Saul in carrying out His commandments and Law, and in doing His will, namely that of David, the youngest son of Jesse, of Bethlehem in Judah. David was chosen not because of his stature and might, his influence and power, or his intellect and greatness, or his family connections and lineage, but rather, because in him, God saw a true love and dedication which few others have. Samuel went to the house of Jesse and told the man of the tribe of Judah to show his children as one of them had been chosen by God to be His anointed one, and hence king over His people. At first, Samuel thought that the eldest son of Jesse, who had eight sons, namely that of Eliab, must have been the chosen one of God because of his age, stature and appearance. Yet, God told Samuel that He did not choose by appearances, and the same happened for all of the seven elder sons of Jesse. It was David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, who was still relatively young and lesser in stature that God had chosen to be His new ruler and king over all of His people. This can be contrasted to Saul who was chosen earlier on as king, for Saul was truly tall and was head and shoulders over all the others. This contrast between Saul and David, Saul would have indeed been physically and apparently ideal for kingship and leadership, and yet, it was this same Saul who led the people of God into sin, as he disobeyed the Lord and disrespected Him, choosing to follow his own decisions and did not show humility to God unlike that of David later on. David himself was not perfect as king, as Scriptures showed that he did make mistakes and wrong choices as king, and yet, he showed humility before God, as well as the realisation and understanding that he had sinned against God. While Saul was very proud and arrogant, and did not humble himself before God, continuing to walk down the path of sin, David was humble and willing to seek the Lord’s forgiveness, turning himself back once again on the path of righteousness and virtue. Essentially, this is the contrast between the ones who have chosen to follow their own path, their greed and desire, as compared to those who placed their trust and faith in the Lord. If we allow worldly temptations and ambitions to distract us and to mislead us down the wrong path, then like that of king Saul and many others who had fallen into sin, we too may end up in the path towards our downfall because of our inability to resist the temptations of our greed, desire and ego, and of the various worldly attachments and pleasures out there, all of which are the ways how Satan and all those seeking our destruction sought to bring about our downfall and end. We must remind ourselves not to be tempted and to remain strong in our faith in the Lord, at all times.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded of the calling of David whom God had chosen to be the new king over His beloved and chosen people, Israel. The prophet Samuel was sent to David’s family for him to be chosen and then anointed as the new king of Israel. The Lord’s told Samuel why He has chosen David to be the new king of Israel in replacing Saul, who has disobeyed Him. Then, from our Gospel reading today, it gives the account of the moment when the Pharisees questioned and likely even criticised the Lord because His disciples had been picking the grains of the field on the day of the Sabbath, which according to the very strict interpretation of the Law by the same Pharisees, was forbidden and against the Law. We must not be like those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who thought that they were better than anyone else, superior and more worthy, and yet, failed to realise and understand the true meaning and purpose of God’s Law, on top of making it difficult and challenging for those who are actually in greatest need of God’s help, love and mercy, by making it so difficult and a great chore indeed in following and obeying God’s Law. Let us all instead do our best so that our lives may truly be attuned to the Lord, and be willing to listen to Him humbly like David, who truly loved the Lord and dedicated himself and his life to serve Him. May all of us be like David and all of our holy predecessors, in how we live our lives in each and every moments, that through us, more and more may come to know the Lord and believe in Him, and this is how we, as Christians, evangelise and spread the Good News of God to the whole world. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to remain faithful and give expression to our faithfulness to the Lord by our faithful love for each other. May God bless us always, and bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, and inspire us to do more good things in our lives in this world. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My merciful Judge, give me a heart of compassion and mercy toward all. Remove from my heart all judgmentalness and criticalness. I leave all judgment to You, dear Lord, and seek only to be an instrument of Your love and mercy. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World; Our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Mary; Saint Marcellus I; Saint Honoratus and Blessed Stephanie Quinzani ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖

SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

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

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

FEAST OF THE BLACK CHRIST OF ESQUIPULAS AND FEAST OF OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR

Greetings, beloved family, and Happy Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day (USA) and Happy Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day (Nigeria)!

On this day, we pray and honor all fallen heroes who have sacrificed their lives for us, and we pray for God’s protection and guidance upon those in active service at home and abroad. Here in the United States, as we celebrate and honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we humbly pray for peace, love, justice, and unity in our families, our marriages, and the world. We pray for an end to violence, injustice, racism, war, and religious and political unrest in our world today as we face these incredibly challenging times. We are all made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). May God keep us all united in love and faith… Amen🙏

“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Watch “Holy Mass Readings and Homily on Monday, January 15, 2024 on EWTN” |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 15, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Monday, January 15, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 15:16-23
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
Gospel, Mark 2:18-22

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this special feast of the Black Christ of Esquipulas with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of  Prompt Succor and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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 Feast of the Black Christ of Esquipulas; Our Lady of Prompt Succor; Saint Paul of Thebes, the first hermit; Saint Maurus of Subiaco, Abbot; Saint Arnold Janssen, Priest and Saint Ita (Ida), Virgin.

THE BLACK CHRIST OF ESQUIPULAS: The statue of the Black Christ (El Cristo Negro) was commissioned by Spanish conquistadors for a church in Esquipulas. The sculpture of the Black Christ dates back to 1595. The Statue is a darkened wooden image of Christ made of cedar wood. It is enshrined within the Cathedral Basilica of Esquipulas in Esquipulas,  Guatemala. It is one of the famed black Christological images of Latin America. It was carved in 1594 by Quirio Cataño in Antigua and installed in the church on March 9, 1595. Nine years later, in 1603, at least one miracle had been attributed to the icon, and it attracted increasing numbers of pilgrims over the years. The history of the Basilica begins in 1735, when a priest named Father Pedro Pardo de Figueroa experienced a miraculous cure after praying before the statue. When he became Archbishop of Guatemala, he commissioned a beautiful basilica to properly shelter the beloved statue. The Bishop of Guatemala XV and first metropolitan Archbishop Fray Pedro Pardo de Figueroa began the process of the construction of a grand Baroque temple to house the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas. On November 4, 1758, the church was inaugurated, that now shelters the venerated image. It inspires one of the most important Catholic pilgrimages, topped only by the Virgin of Guadeloupe in Mexico.

The main church, which the Vatican upgraded to the category of Basilica in 1968, is the home of the “Cristo Negro de Esquipulas” or “Black Christ of Esquipulas,” in English. It is one of the most popular images of the Catholic faith, because of the many miracles attributed to it, devotees all over the country pray to the Black Christ for personal petitions. The Basilica Esquipulas is the second most important religious site in the Americas, after the Virgin of Guadeloupe in Mexico.

Lord, have mercy on us 🙏

OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR: Devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor dates back to 1802, when the Ursuline Order in New Orleans pleaded for help in sustaining the Order with new sisters from France. Their prayers were answered with papal permission for sisters to be transferred from France to New Orleans. In thanksgiving for this favor, the Ursulines dedicated a statue in their convent chapel to Our Lady of Prompt Succor in 1810.

​According to history, Mother Saint Andre Madier – one of seven Ursalines who did not flee Louisiana after the French regained control – sent a request to her cousin, Mother Saint Michel, in France to send more sisters to the New Orleans convent. As France was under the reign of Napoleon and in the midst of the French Revolution, the Bishop felt unable to afford the loss of more sisters and told Mother Saint Michel that the decision to send more sisters would have to be approved by the Holy Father alone. However, the Holy Father was a prisoner of Napoleon, and the chance of him receiving her letter, much less give an affirmative answer, was slim. Mother Saint Michel trusted in the intercession of Our Lady, and prayed before a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary saying: “O most Holy Virgin Mary, if you obtain for me a prompt and favorable answer to this letter, I promise to have you honored at New Orleans under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.” Mother received a letter from the Pope nearly a month letter granting her request.

​In thanksgiving, Mother St. Michel commissioned a statue of Our Lady holding the Child Jesus, with her flowing robes so that she would appear to be moving quickly, alluding to her “prompt succor.” When Mother St. Michel arrive in New Orleans, the statue was placed in the convent’s chapel. ​Our Lady continued to show her powerful and quick intercession to the city of New Orleans, in particularly on two separate occasions. The first instance was on Good Friday 1788, when a ravaging fire threatened the city. Residents joined the sisters in the convent chapel to beg Our Lady’s intercession. After placing a small statue in the convent window, within minutes, the wind turned back on itself and the fire burnt out, sparing the convent and the city from destruction. The second well-known intervention of Our Lady of Prompt Succor concerns the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815, where Our Lady is credited with bringing about a victory for the out-numbered American troops over the British, keeping American control over the major port of the Mississippi River. During the Battle of New Orleans, the sisters again invoked the assistance of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. As the sound of guns and cannons thundered around the chapel during Mass, the Ursuline Superior, promised Our Lady and they vowed to have a Mass of Thanksgiving sung every year in memory of her saving help to the city on that day if the Americans were victorious. The victory came the day after the vigil Mass. At Communion time, a messenger arrived with the news that Gen. Andrew Jackson’s overmatched army had successfully driven the British from the city. Once again Our Lady had responded promptly.

In 1928, the Holy See approved the selection of Our Lady of Prompt Succor as the Patroness of the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. The Mass of Thanksgiving is offered each January 8 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in New Orleans. Our Lady of Prompt Succor is celebrated in New Orleans on January 8th in memory of the Battle, and nationally on January 15th. We pray that she may continue to protect us and the world from all spiritual and physical, and quickly come to our aid in all that we implore of her. Patron Saint: State of Louisiana; the Archdiocese of New Orleans; City of New Orleans

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen🙏

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR: Our Lady of Prompt Succor, ever Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God, you are most powerful against the enemy of our salvation. The divine promise of a Redeemer was announced right after the sin of our first parents; and you, through your Divine Son, crushed the serpent’s head. Hasten, then, to our help and deliver us from the deceits of Satan. Intercede for us with Jesus that we may always accept God’s graces and be found faithful to Him in our particular states of life. As you once saved our beloved city from ravaging flames and our country from an invading army, have pity on us and obtain for us protection from hurricanes and all other disasters. (Silent pause for individual petitions). Assist us in the many trials which beset our path through life. Watch over the Church and the Pope as they uphold with total fidelity the purity of faith and morals against unremitting opposition. Be to us truly Our Lady of Prompt Succor now and especially at the hour of our death, that we may gain everlasting life through the merits of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us! (Three times) Amen 🙏

PRAYER: Grant, we beseech you, Lord God, that we who have been favored by the prompt succor of the Virgin Mother of your divine Son in war, in disasters, in epidemics and illness, may continue to merit her protection by fidelity to your word and to your law. Amen 🙏

SAINT PAUL OF THEBE, THE FIRST HERMIT: Saint Paul of Thebes’ life of solitude and penance gave inspiration to the monastic movement during its early years. Surviving in the Egyptian desert on a small amount of daily food, St. Paul the Hermit lived in close communion with God. Before the end of his life at age 113, he met with St. Anthony the Great, who led an early community of monks elsewhere in the Egyptian desert.

Born in approximately 230, the future hermit Paul received a solid religious and secular education, but lost his parents at age 15. During the year 250, the Roman Emperor Decius carried out a notorious persecution of the Church, executing clergy and forcing laypersons to prove their loyalty by worshiping idols. The state used torture, as well as the threat of death to coerce believers into making pagan sacrifices. St. Paul went into hiding during the Decian persecution, but became aware of a family member’s plan to betray him to the authorities. The young man retreated to a remote desert location, where he discovered a large abandoned cave that had once been used as a facility for making counterfeit coins. He found that he could survive on water from a spring. A raven brought him half a loaf of bread daily. Forced into the wilderness by circumstance, Paul found he loved the life of prayer and simplicity that it made possible. Thus, he never returned to the outside world, even though he lived well into the era of the Church’s legalization and acceptance by the Roman Empire. Later on, his way of life inspired Catholics who sought a deeper relationship with God through spiritual discipline and isolation from the outside world.

One of these faithful was Anthony of Egypt, born in the vicinity of Cairo around 251, who also lived to an old age after deciding during his youth to live in the desert out of devotion to God. Paul of Thebes is known to posterity because Anthony, around the year 342, was told in a dream about the older hermit’s existence, and went to find him. One day St. Anthony, then ninety, was divinely inspired to visit the hermit Paul. Though they had never met previously, each greeted the other correctly by name. While they were conversing at length on spiritual matters, the raven that had always brought Paul half a loaf of bread, came with a whole loaf. As the raven flew away, Paul said: “See, the Lord, who is truly good and merciful, has sent us food. Every day for sixty years I have received half a loaf, but with your arrival Christ sent His servants a double ration.” Giving thanks, they ate by a spring. After a brief rest, they again gave thanks, as was their custom, and spent the whole night praising God. At daybreak Paul informed Anthony of his approaching death and asked him to fetch the cloak he had received from St. Athanasius, that he might wrap himself in it. Later, as Anthony was returning from his visit, he saw Paul’s soul ascending to heaven escorted by choirs of angels and surrounded by prophets and apostles. Further traditional matter may be found in The Life of Paul the Hermit, written by St. Jerome about the year 376. He’s Patron Saint of Clothing industry; weavers.

SAINT MAURUS OF SUBIACO, ABBOT: St. Maurus of Subiaco, also called St. Maur, was the son of a Roman noble. He was the first disciple of Saint Benedict. In Benedictine history Maurus holds a distinguished place, taught and trained by St. Benedict himself and possibly succeeded him as abbot of Subiaco Abbey in 525. However, the tradition that Maurus later became abbot at Glanfeuil in France lacks historical support. While still very young, about the age of twelve, Maurus and another youth, Placid, were brought by their parents to be reared in monastic life by the Patriarch of Monks.

An incident reveals Maurus’ spirit of childlike obedience. One day Placid was sent to a near-by lake to draw water. Soon he was at the shore, where, boy that he was, he fell victim to his own heedlessness. Eager to fill the vessel quickly, he reached out too far and was dragged in by the rapidly filling jar. He was being borne along by the waves when from his cell St. Benedict realized what had happened. “Hurry, run to the lake! Placid has fallen in!” he called to Maurus. Stopping only for his spiritual father’s blessing, Maurus sped to the lake, seized Placid by the hair and brought him ashore. Imagine his shock and amazement when he realized that he had run some distance on water! His explanation? Such a miracle could not have happened save by virtue of his master’s command! St. Gregory relates the incident in his Second Book of Dialogues along with much other interesting detail from the life of St. Benedict. The Martyrology makes this comment on the miracle: How greatly he advanced in faith under his teacher (St. Benedict) is attested by an occurrence unheard of since the days of St. Peter; for, on one occasion he walked upon water as though it were dry land. He’s Patron Saint Against cold; against gout; against hoarseness; charcoal burners; cobblers; cold; coppersmiths; gout; shoemakers.

Saint Maurus of Subiaco, Abbot ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT ARNOLD JANSSEN, PRIEST: St. Arnold Janssen (1837–1909) was born in Germany to a large Catholic family. He was a man of simple faith who studied theology, entered the priesthood, and served as a school teacher. He had a profound devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which awakened in him an increasing desire for missionary work. This led him to found The Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart, a monthly magazine sharing news of the Church’s missionary activities and encouraging German Catholics to do more to help the missions. This was during a time of anti-Catholic persecution in Germany, and many priests were expelled from the country. Arnold suggested that these expelled priests serve in the missions, and for this purpose he founded the Society of the Divine Word, known as the Divine Word Missionaries, a religious congregation of missionary priests and lay brothers. He also founded two Orders of religious sisters associated with this missionary activity. Today more than 6,000 Divine Word Missionaries are active in 63 countries. St. Arnold was canonized in 2003 by Pope St. John Paul II. His feast day is celebrated on January 15.

SAINT ITA (IDA), VIRGIN: St. Ita (Ida) also known as Íte ingen Chinn Fhalad (d. 570) was born at Decies, Waterford, Ireland toward the end of the 6th century. and was reputedly of royal lineage.Though she came from a noble family she decided early in life to dedicate herself to God, refused to be married, and secured her father’s permission to live a virginal life. She moved to Killeedy, Limerick, and founded a community of women dedicated to God. She organized a convent in Killeedy, County Limerick, where she remained all her life, and which became famous as a training school for little boys.

St. Ita’s counsel was sought by bishops and she was instrumental in training two boys who went on to become Saints: Brendan and Mochoemoc. One day Brendan asked her what three things God loved in a special way, and her reply was: “True faith in God with a pure heart, a simple life with a religious spirit, and an open hand inspired by charity.” Asked which three things God especially abhorred, she responded: “A scowling face, obstinacy in wrongdoing, and arrogant trust in the power of money.” Many extravagant miracles were attributed to her (in one of them she is reputed to have reunited the head and body of a man who had been beheaded; in another she lived entirely on food from heaven), and she is widely venerated in Ireland. She is also known as Deirdre and Mida. St. Ita died on January 15, 570, and is known as the second Bridgid. The are the most glorious women Saints of the Celtic Church.

PRAYER: Lord God, You showed heavenly gifts on St. Ita the Virgin. Help us to imitate her virtues during our earthly life and enjoy eternal happiness with her in heaven. 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. We pray for peace, love and unity in our marriages, our families and our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times, may we keep the flame of hope burning in our hearts and may our love and the love that unite us give us all the strength to push forward. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy, the unemployed, and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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. We pray to the Lord… Lord hear our prayers … Amen🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

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

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 2:18-22

“The bridegroom is with them”

“The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

In today’s Gospel reading, the Pharisees questioned Jesus and His disciples why they were not fasting in the manner that they and the disciples of St. John the Baptist had done. The Lord then answered them that His disciples do not fast in the manner that they were asked for, because He, the Lord Himself, was with them. There would indeed be a time when they would fast and mourn, but essentially, they would not do things in the same manner as that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, or the disciples of St. John, and this was because the way that they had practiced the Law and the commandments of God by that time, had become obsolete and wayward from what the Lord had originally intended for them. In the Gospel reading, Jesus speaks of Himself as the bridegroom and He identifies His disciples as the bridegroom’s attendants. He also refers to His ministry as new wine. He says that nobody puts new wine into old wineskins. The old wineskins, such as the Jewish laws of fasting that had evolved over centuries, are not appropriate for the new wine that the divine bridegroom offers to all who would drink it. If Jesus is the bridegroom, we are all his bride. One of the images for the church in the New Testament is the bride of Christ. The language of bridegroom and bride to speak of the relationship between Jesus and ourselves emphasizes that love is at the heart of this relationship, faithful love, fidelity. Jesus is the faithful bridegroom; He is faithful to us, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. He looks to us to be as faithful to Him as He is to us. The prophets spoke of God as the bridegroom who remained faithful to His people even after they had repeatedly turned away from Him. Jesus as the bridegroom reveals the faithful love of God. He remains faithful to us even though we are not always faithful to Him. He continues to offer us the new wine that He speaks about in the Gospel reading even after we have refused it, the new wine of His life-giving love. In the Eucharist we receive that new wine; we celebrate the faithful love of the bridegroom. Every Eucharist is our opportunity to renew our faithfulness to the one who is always faithful to us.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, details the story of the disobedience and sin of Saul, King of Israel, who did not do what the Lord had told him to do, in eliminating and destroying the Amalekites, their king and their possessions. Instead, Saul spared the king of the Amalekites, Agag, and also many of the sheep and oxen, which Saul argued to the prophet Samuel who confronted him on the matter, that those were meant to be sacrificed to God. This earned Saul a firm rebuke from God through Samuel, who told him off for his disobedience and failure to do God’s will, and for putting his own desires and judgments above that of obedience to God and His commands. Thus, that was the reason why Saul was eventually replaced as king by the more faithful David. According to the first reading, Saul disobeyed God likely because Saul was tempted by the temptations of the wealth and riches that he could seize from the Amalekites, as well as other worldly recourses and matters, such as by sparing the Amalekite king, he could have gained more from the wars and conflict for his own benefits and for the treasuries of the kingdom as compared to if he followed the Lord’s words completely in obliterating the Amalekites wholly and thoroughly as he should have done. Thus, King Saul allowed himself to be tempted and swayed away from the path of righteousness and truth, falling into disobedience and committing sins against God. What the prophet Samuel told King Saul was indeed very important, as he told the Saul that what God sought from him and all others were not sacrifices but obedience. There was no point for many sacrifices made to the Lord if this was done out of disobedience and sin, just as what Saul had done. King Saul chose to follow his own desires and temptations of the world rather than to trust in the Lord, and that was where his sins and faults lie, and all of us are reminded and warned of this today so that hopefully we will not end up in the same situation either. It is important reminder for us so that we do not easily allow ourselves to be swayed by all the temptations, coercions and pressures present all around us.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that we should not blindly obey the Law and the commandments of God without understanding and appreciating their meaning, purpose and intention. We also must not obey the Law and the commandments of God with the perverted and corrupt intentions to satisfy our own greed and desires. We must never allow the temptations of our flesh, all sorts of worldly corruptions from turning us from the path of righteousness. We must be vigilant lest the temptations of sin may tempt us away into our downfall and destruction, as how it had happened to our predecessors, including what we have heard in our Scripture readings today. May the Lord be with us all, His beloved ones, always, and may He empower each one of us so that we may be strong and be able to persevere through the various challenges and trials in life. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to remain faithful and give expression to our faithfulness to the Lord by our faithful love for each other. May God bless us always, and bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, and inspire us to do more good things in our lives in this world. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

Lord, I open my heart to the new wine of grace that You wish to pour forth upon me. Help me to be properly disposed to this grace and to use every means necessary to become more open to You. Help me, especially, to commit to the wonderful spiritual practice of fasting. May this act of mortification in my life bear abundant fruit for Your Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Our Savior, Black Christ of Esquipulas, Save Us. Our Mother Mary, Our Lady of Prompt Succor; Saint Paul; Saint Maurus; Saint Arnold Janssen and Saint Ita ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖

SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

Bible Readings for today, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

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

FEAST OF THE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Sunday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time!

Today, we continue to pray for God’s grace and mercy upon us through this Ordinary Time, and may the Lord grant us the grace to serve Him in spirit and in truth🙏

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy | Sunday, January 14, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass Readings and Homily on Sunday, January 14, 2024 on EWTN” |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 14, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), January 14, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 3:3-10, 19
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
Gospel, John 1:35-42
Reading 2, First Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ John 1:35–42

“They saw where he was staying and they stayed with him”

“John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi”—which translated means Teacher—, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” —which is translated Christ—. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas”—which is translated Peter.”

In today’s Gospel reading, we find John the Baptist directing his own followers towards Jesus. The words he spoke to them, ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God’ would have a profound impact on at least two of John’s disciples. Because of what John said, Andrew and another of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus and their lives would be changed forever. We might be able to think of people in our lives who pointed us in a direction that proved to be very significant for us. At a certain moment in our life journey they spoke a word to us or opened up some avenue for us that had an enormous impact for good on us. We may even have been that person for someone, without our always being aware of it at the time. Sometimes we only discover much later that something we said or did had a huge impact for good on someone. John the Baptist was that kind of significant person for others. According to the Gospel reading, it was while Andrew and his companion were following after Jesus that Jesus turned round, saw them and said to them, ‘What do you want?’ They had begun their journey of following Jesus but they were still following a relative stranger. Now Jesus wanted them to think more deeply about what they were doing, by asking them ‘What do you want?’ It was a very personal question. Jesus wasn’t asking them, ‘What does John the Baptist want for you?’ but ‘What do you want?’ They had begun to follow Jesus because John the Baptist wanted them to, but now Jesus was inviting them to reflect on why they themselves wanted to follow Him. Were they following Him only because John wanted them to do so, or was it coming from somewhere deeper in themselves? Most of us began the journey of following the Lord, because others set us on that journey. Our parents brought us for baptism; our teachers instructed us in the faith; our priests preached the Gospel to us and helped us to celebrate the sacraments. However, there comes a time on our faith journey when we need to explore for ourselves why we are taking this particular path rather than another path, why we are following Jesus rather than someone else. We need to answer Jesus’ question, ‘What do you want?’ for ourselves. It is a question that is addressed to each one of us personally. Jesus is asking us, ‘What is your deepest desire?’ Jesus asks us that probing question because He offers Himself to us as the one who can satisfy our deepest desire, the deepest hunger and thirst of our heart. He says to us what He said to the two disciples of John the Baptist, ‘Come and see’. He invites us to come to Him and to see Him, to discover Him as the one who can satisfy all our basic longings. In John’s Gospel, Jesus issues the invitation, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink’, and He also makes the promise, ‘Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’. At some point in our lives, we have to make our own personal response to the call of Jesus to ‘Come and see’. We then have to keep renewing that personal response, because the Lord continues to say to each of us ‘Come and see’. When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, there is always another step we can take on the journey; there is always more we can see with the eyes of faith. We never reach the end of this journey in this life because we will never see the Lord fully this side of eternity. Saint Paul in one of his letters says, ‘now we see as in a mirror, dimly’ and he goes on ‘then, we will see face to face’, in eternity. On this side of eternity, our faith will always be a searching, questioning, faith.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, the young Samuel was called by God in the night. Samuel thought that it was his mentor, the priest and Judge Eli who was calling him. At that time, the young Samuel had been entrusted and offered by his mother Hannah to be priest and servant of God, as she had promised to the Lord Himself for his miraculous conception and birth. The young Samuel was blessed by God and was filled with his grace, and God was with him, and hence, this was when the Lord first called him and speak to him. Eli realised that it was God Who was calling the young Samuel, and he told Samuel to respond to the Lord. Samuel had been called by God to do great things among His people, to lead and guide them all back towards Him. Unlike the the sons of Eli, who had been appointed as priests and guides over the people, which the Scriptures highlighted that they were wicked and corrupt in their ways and actions, Samuel was upright and just, and he obeyed the Lord in His commands and all that He has entrusted to him to do. The Lord was with him, and everything that he said became true, as a sign of Divine providence and favour, as he continued to labour hard for the glory of God and for the well-being and salvation of the people of God, which he led out of the darkness and corruption of the world, and into the light of God’s truth and love.

In our second reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, the Apostle reminded all of the faithful, and hence all of us that we are all the holy people of God, consecrated and dedicated to Him, and our whole beings, our bodies, hearts, minds and souls are all sacred, having been dedicated to God. Through baptism, all of us have been made members of the Church of God, partakers of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of Christ, and hence, we are all truly the Temples of the Lord’s Holy Presence just as St. Paul the Apostle had reminded all of us. This is because God Himself dwells in us and amongst us, and all of us are truly like His holy Tabernacles, the Living Church. Therefore, just as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle, all of us should strive to keep ourselves away from all sorts of evil, fornications and sin. We must always do our best that our every words, actions and deeds, our every interactions and our way of life should always be filled with righteousness, virtue and justice, living our lives in the manner that the Lord has taught us to do, with faith and dedication to Him, and with courage in living our lives at each moment with the desire and the commitment to walk in the path that the Lord has shown and taught us. Each and every one of us must make ourselves truly worthy of God’s presence and love, as He Himself has come into our midst and dwelled in our midst. Hence, we must not allow ourselves to fall into sin and evil, and we have to strive to live our lives to the fullest with faith.

According to our first reading today, Eli and Samuel were not related in any way, but the age gap between the aging priest Eli and the young Samuel was equivalent to that between a grandparent and his or her grandchild. Here the elderly Eli has much to teach the young Samuel regarding the ways of God. God was trying to communicate with Samuel, calling him by name, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ but Samuel did not recognize God’s call, thinking instead that Eli was calling him. Eventually, Eli recognized that God was trying to communicate with Samuel and to help Samuel to hear the call of God Eli gave him a very simple prayer to say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’. Having prayed that prayer, Samuel came to understand what God was asking of him. What Eli did for the young Samuel there, is what grandparents and parents often do for their grandchildren and children. They give them the words they need to communicate with God; they teach them prayers. Teachers also have that role in children’s lives through school. It is lovely to see children learn simple prayers at home and at school and then pray them together out loud, or on their own. Sometimes, the simplest and shortest prayers can be the most effective, like the simple, short prayer that Eli taught Samuel in today’s first reading, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. In our first reading, Samuel who was led to the Lord by Eli is described as a boy. However, the two disciples who were led to the Lord by John the Baptist and Peter who was led there by Andrew were all adults. It was as adults that they allowed themselves to be directed towards the person of Jesus. In our adult years, we too may have met people who helped us to grow in our relationship with the Lord. At any time in our adult life we can meet a John the Baptist who says to us, ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God’, and that can happen to us over and over again, right up to the very end of our lives. The Lord never ceases to call us through others. At no point does He say, this person no longer needs a John the Baptist. There may indeed come a time when the Lord asks any one of us to be a John the Baptist or an Andrew or an Eli for somebody else. We hear the call to share our faith in some way, to open a door to the Lord for others. Our response to such a call can take many different forms. For Eli it took the very simple form of saying the right word to Samuel when it was needed. The readings this Sunday invite us to be open to the many ways the Lord can draw us to himself, and also to the ways the Lord may be calling us to help Him in drawing others to Himself. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that He remains or stays in His Father’s love. He also says that He remains or stays in us. Through the Holy Spirit, He lives deep within us. As St. Paul says in today’s second reading, each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also invites us to stay in Him, to remain in Him as He remains in us, He calls us into an intimate communion with Himself. He wants to stay in us and for us to stay in Him so that our lives can bear rich fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. He wants us to stay in Him, as He stays in the Father, so that we can be empowered to love one another as He loves us. Then the Lord’s life-giving work can continue through us in our world today.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, all of us are reminded of what each and every one of us as Christians have been called to do what God has called and told us to do, in each and every missions and works that He has entrusted to us. All of us have the been called to follow the Lord and walk in His path, to be good and faithful Christians, as examples, role models and inspirations for everyone all around us. We are reminded that our lives and our actions throughout every moments must be truly good and worthy of God, because each one of us are called to be holy just as the Lord our God is all Holy and Perfect. All of us have been called and gathered from this world by the Lord, and He has entrusted to us His Church and the various missions which He gave to us, in bringing His light and truth, His Good News and the manifestation of His love to more and more people. Each and every one of us are the ones through whom God’s love and truth are made manifest in this world, spread and known to more and more people. Let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment to the Lord. Let us all strive to do what is right, virtuous and just according to God’s will at every possible opportunities. Let us all be like the young Samuel and the disciples of the Lord, who put their full trust and faith in God, leaving behind everything and following Him. Let us all do what God has called us to do in our respective lives, in whatever areas and parts of life, in our various vocations and calling in life, so that our lives may truly be exemplary and good, and be the shining beacons of God’s truth and love, proclaiming Him to everyone all around us at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, bless us all in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, in all that we say and do, now and always. Amen 🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the feast of the Infant Jesus of Prague and the Memorial of Saint Felix of Nola and Saint Nina (Nino), Virgin. On this special feast of Infant Jesus of Prague with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we particularly pray for the sick and dying and we continue to pray for the repose of the gentle soul of all the faithful departed. 🙏

FEAST OF THE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE: The Feast of the Infant Jesus of Prague celebrates the mystery of the Incarnation. The original statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague was created as a royal wedding gift from a Spanish Princess to her Austrian royal cousin. Legend has it that the statue was created by a monk who based it on an apparition he once saw of the Infant Jesus, and tradition holds that the original statue was once possessed by St. Teresa of Ávila. It was then given to María Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, a Spanish noblewoman in 1555 who in turn gave it to her daughter Princess Polyexa von Lobkowicz as a wedding gift in 1603. Their daughter, Princess Lobkowicz, gifted the statue to the Discalced Carmelite friars in Prague in 1628 as a loving offering to help the destitute order. She is said to have told the religious that she was giving them her most prized possession and, furthermore, that as long as they venerated the image, they would never be in want. And, sure enough, once the statue was given special devotions at the monastery attached to the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Prague, fortuitous events for the order started taking place.

The Statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague: The statue of the Infant is a slender and beautifully-modeled figure and is carved of wood thinly coated with wax, standing nineteen inches tall, with the left foot barely visable under a long white tunic. In His left hand, the Infant Jesus holds a miniature globe, surmounted by a cross, signifying the world-wide kingship of the Christ Child. The right hand is extended in blessing with the first two fingers being upraised to symbolize the two natures of Christ, Christ’s divine and human nature, while the folded thumb and last two fingers touch each other representing the unity of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit in the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. The face has a strange power of evoking sentiments of deep gratitude of the mystery of God-made-Man. For all His majestic posture and regal attire, the little King of Prague is more striking for His outward expression of human littleness than by the impression of hidden greatness. The wardrobe of the Infant is similar to the priest’s alb: one is of white linen, the other is of lace. Covering these is a dalmatic made of silk or velvet over which is worn a cape. It represents the Infant Jesus dressed in royal robes, wearing a crown. He is King of the Universe.

The home of the Infant Jesus of Prague is in the city of Prague, which is the capital of the Czech Republic. The original statue has been restored and preserved in the Carmelite church of Our Lady of Victory. The Church was returned to the Carmelites after the fall of Communism. According to history, later, the statue had been discarded in war and His hands destroyed. Found by a Carmelite, he fixed the hands and placed the statue in a place of honor in the Carmelite Church in Prague, Czech Republic. In 1637, as Fr. Cyril prayed before the Infant, he was filled with wonder, contemplating the loving God Who became a child for His people. Suddenly, the statue spoke to the stunned Carmelite: “Have mercy on Me and I will have mercy on you. Give Me hands and I will give you peace. The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.” Many miracles have occurred through intercession to the Divine Infant. During one invasion, all the children of the city were taken to the Church for protection—praying to the Infant, they were all saved. For almost four centuries, this promise of protection and blessing has inspired devotion and love of the Infant Jesus of Prague. The statue provides spiritual uplift for millions of people who have adopted the Holy Infant’s call to humility, simplicity, and sincerity and to become little in order to become great and pleasing before Christ the King.

The Significance of the Infant Jesus of Prague: Devotion to the Miraculous Infant Jesus celebrates the “Child of God”—the great mystery of the Incarnation. The child in all of us believes in the humanity and divinity of Christ and rejoices in God’s caring and protective love for us. The Infant reminds us that God is holding us in the palm of His hand. By depicting Jesus as a child, the tradition of the Infant of Prague also emphasizes His humanity, and how we are children of God because of the salvation that He brings us. As Pope Benedict XVI said: “The figure of the Child Jesus, the tender infant, brings home to us God’s closeness and His love. We come to understand how precious we are in his eyes, because it is through Him that we in our turn have become children of God. Every human being is a child of God and therefore our brother or sister, to be welcomed and respected. May our society grasp this truth! Every human person would then be appreciated not for what he has, but for who he is, since in the face of every human being, without distinction of race or culture, God’s image shines forth.” The effective spiritual meditation is the reason why the Infant Jesus of Prague is so continuously appealing to human hearts all over the world, which he has so firmly in His hands. You can find His statue in almost any church, convent, monastery and house, representing a Divine Protection toward His devotees. He is the Patron Saint of children, family life, missions and those facing financial concerns.

PRAYER TO INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE FOR A SICK PERSON FOR HEALING: O most dear and sweet Infant Jesus, behold me, a poor suffering person who, sustained by a lively faith, invokes your divine aid to cure my infirmity. I put all my trust in you. I know that you can do all things and that you are most merciful, indeed you are yourself Infinite Mercy. O great little Infant, for the sake of your divine virtue and the immense love you bear for all the suffering, the oppressed and the needy, hear me, bless me, help me, console me. Amen🙏

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be (three times).

SAINT FELIX OF NOLA, RELIGIOUS: St. Felix of Nola a helper of the poor lived in the third century. He was the son of Hermias, a Syrian who had been a Roman soldier. He was born on his father’s estate at Nola near Naples, Italy. On the death of his father, St. Felix distributed his inheritance to the poor, was ordained by Bishop St. Maximus of Nola, and became his assistant. When Maximus fled to the desert at the beginning of Decius’ persecution of the Christians in 250, St. Felix was seized in his stead and imprisoned. He was reputedly released from prison by an angel, who directed him to the ailing Maximus, whom he brought back to Nola. Even after Decius’ death in 251, St. Felix was a hunted man but kept well hidden until the persecution ended. When Maximus died, the people unanimously selected Felix as their Bishop, but he declined the honor in favor of Quintus, a senior priest. St. Felix spent the rest of his life on a small piece of land sharing what he had with the poor, and died there on January 14, 260. His tomb soon became famous for the miracles reported there, and when St. Paulinus became bishop of Nola almost a century later (410), he wrote about his predecessor, the source of information about him, adding legendary material that had grown up about St. Felix in the intervening century. St. Paulinus of Nola (feast June 22), who cherished a special devotion toward St. Felix, composed fourteen hymns (carmina natalicia) in his honor. In his day (fifth century) the saint’s tomb was visited by pilgrims from far and wide and was noted for its miraculous cures. St. Felix is the Patron Saint Against eye disease; against eye trouble; against false witness; against lies; against perjury; domestic animals; eyes and a helper of the poor.

Saint Felix of Nola, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT NINA (NINO), VIRGIN: St. Nina (fl. III/IV Century) was a Virgin and the Apostle of Georgia, also listed as Christiana. Christianity was first brought to Georgia, Iberia, at the end of the 3rd century, and ancient tradition attributes this fact to the witness and apostolate of St. Nina. Saint Nina was born in Cappadocia. Tradition says she was a relative of St. George who travelled to Iberia (Georgia) to convert the people to Christianity. Scholars believe she was a slave to whom the name Nino (the Georgian form of Nina) was given; she has also been identified as Christiana. The quiet piety of her life and her preaching converted many people, and she won the respect of many locals with her patience and goodness and by the miracles she supposedly performed by her power to cure diseases in the name of Christ her God. Her prayers obtained the cure of a dying child. Brought to the royal palace, she cured Queen Nana of a seemingly incurable disease and enabled the King—when lost while hunting—to find his way again by calling on Christ. Saint Nina converted the queen and the king. Both rulers received instruction and Baptism from St. Nina. Saint Nina was free to teach and preach and she continued to preach throughout Georgia and she helped to found the Church in Georgia. Under Saint Nina’s direction, a church was erected in such wondrous fashion that the people began to clamor to become Christians also. Hence, the King sent a legate to Emperor Constantine, asking for Bishop and priests to continue and extend St. Nino’s work, and so the Faith came to this region along the Black Sea. St. Nina retired to the life of a hermitess, spending the rest of her life in prayer until her death at Bodke. A church dedicated to the memory of St. George was built on the site of her grave.

PRAYER: God, through St. Nina, Your Virgin, You enabled those without the Faith to pass from darkness to the light of truth. Grant us through her intercession to stand fast in the Faith and remain constant in the hope of the Gospel that she preached. 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. We pray for peace, love and unity in our marriages, our families and our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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:

Most glorious Lord, You are abundantly generous in Your grace and mercy and desire to bestow Your love on all people. Thank You for calling us all to follow You without hesitation. Thank You for the joy of being Your disciple. Give me the grace to always know Your will for my life and help me to respond to You with total abandonment and trust. Please use me for Your divine mission of evangelizing the world. I say “Yes” to You, dear Lord. Use me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Infant Jesus of Prague, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Felix of Nola and Saint Nina (Nino) ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled Sunday and New Year! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖

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

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time!

Today, we continue to pray for God’s grace and mercy upon us through this Ordinary Time, and may the Lord grant us the grace to serve Him in spirit and in truth🙏
.
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on Friday, January 13, 2024 on EWTN” |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 13, 2024 |

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

Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday January 13, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Gospel, Mark 2:13-17

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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/

Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Saint Veronica of Milan, Virgin and St. Kentigern, Bishop.

SAINT HILARY OF POITIERS, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Hilary’s name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. Gallo-Roman doctor of the church who as bishop of Poitiers was a champion of orthodoxy against Arianism and was the first Latin writer to introduce Greek doctrine to Western Christendom. He was sometimes referred to as the “Hammer of the Arians” (Malleus Arianorum) and the “Athanasius of the West.”

St. Hilary was born at Poitiers, France, of one of the most noble families of Gaul. He was brought up as a pagan. His own philosophic inquiries and the reading of the Bible led him to the knowledge of the true Faith and the reception of the Sacrament of Baptism. He then regulated his life according to the rules of the Faith he had embraced, and, though a layman, zealously endeavored to confirm others in true Christianity. His wife, to whom he had been married before his conversion and by whom he had a daughter named Abra, was still living when Hilary was chosen Bishop of Poitiers, about the year 353. His daughter, Abraham was a nun and saint who became known for her charity. According to the practice which then existed, married men were sometimes promoted to the episcopacy, but as St. Jerome clearly testifies, they ever after lived un continence. The Arian heresy principally occupied the Saint’s pen, and he became one of the most strenuous defenders of the Divinity of Jesus Christ. At the Council of Seleucia, in 360, he bravely defended the decrees of Nicaea, and then retired to Constantinople. St. Hilary died at Pointieres in the year 367 or 368. He was the mildest of men, full of condescension and affability to all, but against Emperor Constantius, who showed himself an enemy of the Church, he used the severest language. He’s Patron Saint Against snakes; snake bites, lawyers, sick people, backward children.

PRAYER: Grant, we beg You, Almighty God, that we may both readily understand and truly profess the Dignity of Your Son, which St. Hilary, Your Bishop, constantly proclaimed. Amen🙏
 
SAINT VERONICA OF MILAN, VIRGIN: Saint Veronica of Milan (1445-1497) was an Italian nun in the Augustinian Order. She was reputed to have received frequent visions of the Virgin Mary, and her local cultus was confirmed by Pope Leo X in 1517.

St. Veronica was born in a small village near Milan. Her parents were very poor but they were hard working and very pious. Because she was so poor, she never had the chance to learn how to read or write. But she learned from her devout parents how to pray. She prayed always and worked hard to help them.St. Veronica wanted to become a nun, but she was very worried  because she could not read or write. She used to rise at night to try to teach herself. One day Our Lady appeared to her and told her not to worry, because all she had to know were three things. The first was to be pure in intention, which meant to do all her duties only to please God. The second was to mind her own business and to hate grumbling and criticism. The third was to forget her own troubles in thinking of the sufferings of Jesus every day. Our Blessed Mother’s holy advice made Veronica very happy and she tried to practice it. After preparing herself for three years, Veronica was admitted into the convent of St. Martha of Milan. She was assigned to duty of begging for the daily food. Every moment of her life she tried to obey her superior, because she knew that if she obeyed her superior, she obeyed God. St. Veronica died a saint at the age of fifty-two on January 13, 1497, on the day she had foretold, after a six months’ illness, in the thirtieth year of her religious profession. She was beatified on1517 by Pope Leo X (cultus confirmed) and on 1672 by Pope Clement X (devotion extended universally)

“Let us, too, follow Our Lady’s advice; that is, let us do everything for the love of Jesus, never complain, and remember each day that Jesus suffered and died for us.”

Saint Veronica of Milan, Virgin ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT KENTIGERN, BISHOP: St. Kentigern of Glasgow (518-614) Founder and Archbishop of Glasgow, Missionary, Miracle-worker, known as “Saint Mungo” (“dear one” or “darling”), also known as Cantigernus or Cyndeyrn Garthwys) was the apostle of the Scottish Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century and the Founder and Patron Saint of the city of Glasgow.   

Saint Kentigern was born in c 518 at Culross, Fife, Scotland.  Saint Kentigern’s mother was a British princess named Thenaw (or Thaney or Theneva). When it was discovered that she was pregnant of an unknown man, she was hurled from a cliff and, when discovered alive at the foot of the cliff, was set adrift in a boat on the Firth of Forth. She reached Culross, was given shelter by St. Serf, and gave birth to a child to whom Serf gave the name Mungo. Raised by the saint, he became a hermit at Glasgow and was so renowned for his holiness that he was consecrated bishop of Strathclyde about 540. Driven to flight because of the feuds among the neighboring chieftains, he went to Wales, met St. David at Menevia, and founded a monastery at Llanelwy. About 553, Kentigern returned to Scotland, settled at Hoddam, and then returned to Glasgow, where he spent his last days. He died on January 13, 603 in Glasgow, Scotland of natural causes. He is considered the first bishop of Scotland and with Thenaw is joint patron of Glasgow. Patron: Glasgow, Scotland; salmon, those accused of infidelity; against bullies.

Saint Kentigern of Glasgow, Bishop ~ Pray for us 🙏

Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, on this feast day, we humbly pray and 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. We pray for peace, love and unity in our marriages, our families and our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mental and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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 First Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011324.cfm

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 2:13-17

“I did not come to call the righteous but sinners”

“Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

In today’s Gospel reading the religious experts, the scribes, express surprise at the company Jesus kept. They ask His disciples, ‘Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Someone like Jesus, a religious teacher, was expected to keep better company than that; He should be in the company of religious people like Himself. However, Jesus clearly did not restrict His company to those who were seen to have measured up in some way. He was happy to keep the company of those who were considered sinners, just as doctors are normally found in the company of the sick, at least during their working hours to help them get well. The Gospel reading reminds us that the Lord is happy to be in our company, even when we have fallen short of what some people expect of us, even when we are far from being all that God is calling us to be. Our failings and weaknesses do not drive the Lord away or drag Him down, rather His presence to us in our failings and weaknesses lifts us up. We always come before the Lord in our brokenness and he never drives us away. His table is always set for us and there is always a place for us there, regardless of where we are at in life. The Lord is always ready to sit with us, to share table with us, to enter into communion with us, in order that in our weakness we might draw from His strength and in our many failings we might draw from His goodness and love.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, in which the Lord gave His people, the Israelites, their first king, Saul, through the help of His prophet Samuel, who was also the Judge and leader over all of Israel. The context was that, the people were demanding that they have a king to rule over them just like that of their neighbours and other states around them, and not under the authority and rule of the Judges. At that time, the Judges were the leaders of the people, and guided them all through the Law and commandments of God. The people insisted that they must have a king to rule them, and hence, God gave them what they asked for, choosing Saul of the tribe of Benjamin to be the first king to rule over Israel. Saul was chosen from the smallest tribe among the Israelites, and from among the smallest clan in the tribe of Benjamin. He was just an ordinary man whom God called to be the leader over His people, fulfilling what the people requested of Him. But God did not choose by worldly standards, prestige or power, and instead, called those whom He deemed to be worthy, and helped and guided them to be truly worthy and capable in doing what they had all been entrusted to do. God empowered and guided Saul to be the worthy leader over all of his beloved people. Saul was called to follow the Lord and to put himself in the service of God, in doing whatever was necessary to lead and guide God’s people to their one true Lord and King. This was what God had entrusted to Saul to do, by making him as the king over all of His people.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us as Christians are reminded that God loves each and every one of us, and He gives His blessings unto us, consecrating us all to the truth, bringing us ever closer to His grace and love. Through Him, all of us have received the most graceful and generous bounty of forgiveness for our many sins, as well as the redemption of our souls, the promise of everlasting life, true and most wonderful happiness in each and every one of our lives, and in the world that is to come. We are all called to return to the Lord and to seek Him with faith, to love Him and follow Him at all times and all the days of our lives. As we reflect upon the lives of the Saints and the Holy men and women of God, especially the life and works of St. Hilary of Poitiers, great man and servant of God, who we celebrate today, let us all therefore reflect upon our respective calling and vocations in life as Christians. Each and every one of us have been entrusted and given the responsibilities and missions to do what God had called us to do, and we should commit ourselves to follow Him in all the things that He has shown us. Let us all be filled with faith and strength, with the courage and the hope that we all should do our best to love and serve the Lord, at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, so that in everything we say and do, we will always be ever faithful to Him, and that we will always strive to glorify Him in each and every moments by our lives, always. Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My dear Lord, thank You for calling us all to follow You without hesitation. Thank You for the joy of being Your disciple. Give me the grace to always know Your will for my life and help me to respond to You with total abandonment and trust. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year and a blessed and relaxing weekend! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖

FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ JANUARY 12, 2024

Greetings, beloved family and Happy Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time!

Today, we continue to pray for God’s grace and mercy upon us through this Ordinary Time, and may the Lord grant us the grace to serve Him in spirit and in truth🙏
.
Watch “Holy Mass on Friday, January 12, 2024 | National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” |

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on Friday, January 12, 2024 on EWTN” |

Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | January 12, 2024 |

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

Today’s Readings: Friday, January 12, 2024
Reading 1, First Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 89:16-17, 18-19
Gospel, Mark 2:1-12

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY – MONTH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS: The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel appeared to St. Joseph and told him that the Child’s name should be called Jesus, meaning “God Saves.” According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth a male child was to be circumcised, receive his name, and become a full member of God’s covenant people. According to the old Roman liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus was celebrated on January 1st, eight days after Christmas, the same day that He was given His sacred name. Currently we celebrate the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st and honor the Holy Name of Jesus on January 3rd. For Catholics, Jesus’ sacred name is the object of a special devotion symbolized by the monogram “IHS,” (sometimes called a Christogram), which is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of His name.

On this feast day, we continue to remember our beloved late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the first memorial anniversary of his death. We pray for the repose of his gentle soul 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 the gentle soul of Pope Benedict XVI and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

Please let us continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in 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/

Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Benedict Biscop, Abbot and Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, Religious and Foundress.

SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ABBOT: St. Benedict (628-690), sometimes referred to as Bennet or Biscop Baducing, lived in the seventh century. He descended from a noble family and was an officer of the court of Oswi, the religious king of the Northumbers. At the age of 25 (c. 653) St. Benedict made the first of his five trips to Rome on a pilgrimage. He returned filled with a zeal and hunger for learning Holy Scripture and to living his faith. Soon after his return to England, Prince Alefrid, son of King Oswi, also wanted to make a pilgrimage to some shrines of the Apostles and asked Bennet to accompany him. However, the king would not allow his son to make the journey, so Bennet made a second trip to Rome. He was so filled with the Holy Spirit and the desire to grow in holiness that he yearned to learn as much as he could about divine things. So he went to the great monastery of Lerins which was famous for its discipline and there took the monastic habit, spending two years in observance of the rule.

When he returned to Rome again, he received an order from Pope Vitalian to accompany St. Theodorus, Archbishop of Canterbury, and St. Adrian to England. Upon his arrival at Canterbury, St. Theodorus put St. Benedict in charge of the monastery of Sts. Peter and Paul. He stayed two years in Kent, studying Scripture and living the monastic life. When he returned to Northumberland, King Egfrid gave him 70 ploughs of land for building a monastery. After the monastery was built, St. Benedict went to France and brought back skillful masons to build a stone church for the monastery. Stone buildings at that time were rare in Britain and most churches were made of wood. He also brought over glaziers from France, for the art of making glass was also unknown in Britain at that time. In yet a fifth trip to Rome, St. Benedict gathered a great stock of books, especially the writings of the Fathers, along with relics and holy pictures. St. Benedict continued to enrich the church with holy relics, pictures and books. In his zeal to make his monastery as close to the Roman models as possible, St. Benedict prevailed upon Pope Agatho to let him take back to England John, abbot of St. Martin’s and preceptor in St. Peter’s Church in Rome, and placed him in the monastery to teach the monks Gregorian chants and Roman ceremonies for singing the divine office. He also built another monastery six miles away at Jarrow, and ruled both since they were regarded as one. St. Benedict suffered from severe illness for three years and two months before his death, he appointed St. Ceolfrid abbot of his monastery. St. Benedict, holy and zealous worker of God died on January 12, 690.

PRAYER: Lord, amid the things of this world, let us be wholeheartedly committed to heavenly things in imitation of the example of evangelical perfection You have given us in St. Benedict the Abbot. Amen.🙏
 
SAINT MARGUERITE, BOURGEOYS, RELIGIOUS AND FOUNDRESS: Saint Marguerite (1620-1700) was a French nun and founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal in the colony of New France, now part of Québec, Canada and was also instrumental in establishing the Canadian city of Montreal. She was devoted to the needs of the poor and uneducated, from whom people of both European as well as Native-American descent in 17th century Canada benefited from her great zeal and unshakable trust in God’s Providence. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys was born on on Good Friday, April 17, 1620 in Troyes, France to a devout parents from a middle-class family, Abraham Bourgeoys, a candle-maker and Guillemette Garnier, she was the seventh of their thirteen children. When she was nineteen years old, her mother died. The following year she was inspired to consecrate herself to serving God. She joined a lay group of young women dedicated to teaching poor children. The governor of Montreal, Canada, was in France looking for teachers for the New World. He invited Marguerite to come to Montreal to teach school and religion classes. She agreed and, upon her arrival in 1653, she began to teach the local French and Indian children. Life in the colony was physically very difficult. Marguerite discovered that many children, due to disease or malnutrition, were not likely to survive to an age suitable for attending school. Nevertheless, she began to work with the nurse in charge of Montreal’s hospital and eventually established her first school in a stable.

Marguerite made three trips across the Atlantic, returning to France to recruit more teachers for her mission and fledgling Order, which was named the Congregation of Notre Dame (Our Lady). It was a unique Order in that the sisters were teachers and were not cloistered (living together in prayer). Mother Marguerite, as she was now known, fought to keep her mission independent from other Orders and to convince the bishop to let her sisters travel as teachers in the wild ranges of the Canadian wilderness. Though the teaching sisters often lived in huts and suffered other hardships, the Order grew. They did not dedicate themselves to teaching solely children, but also set up schools wherein they taught new immigrants how to survive in their new environment. As the Order expanded, which was formally approved by the Church in 1698, Mother Marguerite passed leadership on to one of the other sisters, and spent her last few years praying and writing her autobiography. On the last day of 1699, one of the young members of her congregation lay dying. Mother Marguerite asked the Lord to take her own life in exchange. By the morning of January 1, 1700, the young sister had recovered and Mother Marguerite had a raging fever. She suffered for 12 days and on January 12, 1700, after 60 years of blessed labor for our Lord teaching and reaching out to the poor, God called her home. St. Marguerite was beatified on November 12, 1950 by Pope Pius XII and was canonized a Saint on October 31, 1982 by Pope John Paul II and she became Canada’s first female Saint. She’s the Patron Saint against poverty; impoverishment; loss of parents; people rejected by religious orders; poverty.

PRAYER: “O Mother Bourgeoys, you, whose compassionate power is ever increasing, show us your way of Truth, Faith and Holiness. Make us humble enough to abandon ourselves to the Will of God, generous enough to find in the Cross the joy of the Loving Giver. May your fidelity to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament lead us ever nearer to this source of light and peace. May your spirit of openness help us to be concerned for our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Finally, may Our Lady of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bring us to this unity of eternal grace to which God has called you for all eternity. Amen”🙏

Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, on this feast day, we humbly pray and 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! Through the intercession of St. Marguerite, we pray for the poor, the needy, torture victims and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth. We pray for peace, love and unity in our marriages, our families and our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for an end to wars, political and religious unrest. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for 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 First Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

“Gospel Reading ~ Mark 2:1-12”

“The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”

“When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way?  He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” –he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

“In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus was in a house in Capernaum, preaching the word of God. A paralysed man wanted to get to Jesus but he was completely dependent on others to carry him to Jesus. Fortunately, he had good friends who were determined to bring him to Jesus, to do for him what he could not do for himself. Such was their determination, that they created an opening in the roof of the house where Jesus was preaching so as to lower their friend in front of Him. The paralysed man’s faith in Jesus was matched by their faith in Jesus. Their struggle to get their friend to Jesus was inspired by their faith in Him. The Gospel reading shows that Jesus saw their efforts not as an unwelcome disturbance but as a powerful act of faith, ‘Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “My child, your sins are forgiven”’. It was the faith of his friends which allowed this man to meet Jesus personally and to hear Jesus’ very personal and liberating word to him. Even before his physical healing, the paralytic needed reassurance that God loved him unconditionally and had forgiven his sins. It was his friends that made it possible for him to hear this liberating word from God. Each one of us has a role to play in helping others to hear God’s live-giving word, spoken to us through his Son who is with us until the end of time.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Samuel, the people of Israel were very indignant and insistent before the prophet Samuel, who was also the Leader and Judge over the whole people of Israel, demanding that a king should rule over them just like those of the other nations and states around them. Why did the people make such a demand from Samuel and God? At that time, God was the One Who was King and Ruler over the Israelites, and even after the days of the kings, the Lord was indeed still the one and only true King over them. He exercised His power and authority through the Judges whom He had called and chosen, in a line of Judges up to the prophet Samuel. But, the people insisted that they must have a king over them, likely because to have a king to rule them brought the people much prestige and power. Despite prophet Samuel efforts to persuade them otherwise by stating how the people might be exploited, oppressed and unjustly treated by their kings, especially if those kings were corrupt and selfish. With all the persuasion, the people of Israel were still very adamant and insisted that a king be appointed to rule over all of them. The Lord listened to those demands and told Samuel that He would choose a king to rule over His people, ending the days and time of the rule and guidance of the Judges. But eventually, what Samuel had predicted and told the people of Israel would come to reality as some of those kings who would rule over them were tyrannical and selfish, exploitative and harsh in their rule and the exercise of their power. That is what they got for putting their faith and trust in man instead of in God as they should have done. They refused to listen to the Lord and decided to take things into their own hands, choosing to follow the whim of their desires and ambitions, the temptation of worldly glory and fame all around them rather than to listen to the words of the Lord and His Wisdom speaking in their hearts and minds.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded of the faith that we have in God, the faith that we have in His providence and might, in His truth and love, and then what each one of us should do in proclaiming that same truth and faith amongst all the people we encounter in our various respective communities. We must always be centred on God and be faithful to Him, and not to allow the temptations of worldly desires, attachments, or our pursuits of worldly glory to distract and mislead us all down the wrong path in life. This is why we must always remind ourselves that above all else, it is the Lord our God Who is the true centre and focus of our lives, and in whatever capacity and area of life, we must not allow ourselves to be swayed by those temptations that we end up causing hardships to others because of our selfish ways and actions. We must not allow pride, ego and worldly ambitions, temptations and all those things from distracting us and keeping us away from the path of the Lord and His righteousness. As Christians, we must always keep in mind that we have to remain focused on the Lord, and keep ourselves open-minded, and be humble in our ways and thoughts, in our actions and interactions with one another. Otherwise, our pride and ego, our greed and desires will easily lead us down the same path of ruin which the people of Israel and those Pharisees had treaded upon, in failing to follow and obey God’s will. Let us all therefore lead by our own examples in life, in striving to live our lives with humility and faith from now on. Let us all seek the Lord with contrite hearts and open minds, like that of the paralysed man and his friends, who went through the trouble and efforts to bring him close to the Lord, that he might be healed from his afflictions. Each and every one of us are also afflicted with the afflictions of sin and other forms of troubles we have in life, and we should seek the Lord, our most loving God and Father, and entrust ourselves to Him, rather than to trust in worldly means and attachments we have. May the Lord be with us all, at all times, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us, in living our lives worthily and full of God’s grace and love, and may all of us continue to walk down the path of righteousness and truth, and continue to persevere in faith regardless of the challenges and trials we may have to face for the Lord’s sake. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen🙏

Let you pray:

My precious Jesus, fill my heart with charity toward those who need You the most but seem incapable of overcoming the sin in their lives that keep them from You. May my unwavering commitment to them be an act of charity that gives them the hope they need to surrender their life to You. Use me, dear Lord. My life is in Your hands. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Benedict Biscop and St. Marguerite Bourgeoys ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as we begin this Ordinary Time. Wishing all of us a most blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and grace-filled New Year! Amen🙏

Blessings and  love always, Philomena💖