THIRD WEEK OF LENT
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 4, 2024
Greetings beloved family and Happy Monday of the Third Week of Lent! May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey🙏
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | March 4, 2024 on EWTN” |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 4, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | March 4, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 4, 2024 |
Pray “Chaplet of the Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | March 4, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Monday, March 4, 2024
Reading 1, Second Kings 5:1-15
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4
Gospel, Luke 4:24-30
40 Days in the Desert. A Lenten journey with our Lord | Day Seventeen: Sacred Places | Monday of the Third Week of Lent | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-in-the-desert-a-lenten-journey-with-our-lord/day-seventeen-sacred-places/
40 Days at the foot of the Cross. A Gaze of Love from the Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary | Day Seventeen – Entering into Jerusalem | https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/day-seventeen-entering-into-jerusalem/
A PRAYER TO WALK HUMBLY THROUGH LENT: Father, In Micah 6:8, You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen 🙏
God of goodness and mercy, hear my prayer as I begin this Lenten journey with you. Let me be honest with myself as I look into my heart and soul, noticing the times I turn away from you. Guide me as I humbly seek to repent and return to your love. May humility guide my efforts to be reconciled with you and live forever in your abundant grace. Transform me this Lent, heavenly Father. Give me the strength to commit myself to grow closer to you each day. Amen🙏
LENTEN FAST AND ABSTINENCE (Lenten Fast and Abstinence regulations from the USCCB): Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.
For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards
Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH: MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH: “His was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lord’s father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lord’s father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a trade”
THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For the new Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.
During this Liturgical season of Lent, we continue to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings which culminated in His death on the Cross for the redemption of mankind.
On this special feast day, as we continue our Lenten journey, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
During this season of Lent, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏
PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil, and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen🙏
A PRAYER FOR PEACE: Lord Jesus Christ, You are the true King of peace. In You alone is found freedom. Please free our world from conflict. Bring unity to troubled nations. Let Your glorious peace reign in every heart. Dispel all darkness and evil. Protect the dignity of every human life. Replace hatred with Your love. Give wisdom to world leaders. Free them from selfish ambition. Eliminate all violence and war. Glorious Virgin Mary, Saint Michael the Archangel, Every Angel and Saint: Please pray for peace. Pray for unity amongst nations. Pray for unity amongst all people. Pray for the most vulnerable. Pray for those suffering. Pray for the fearful. Pray for those most in need. Pray for us all. Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear our prayers. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen 🙏
Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/
SAINT OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Casimir whose life of service to God has made him a Patron Saint of Poland, Lithuania, and young people. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children, all youths, our families, our leaders, the poor and the needy, for persecuted christians, for an end to religious and political unrest, for justice and peace, love and unity in our world that is torn apart by war, terrorism, racism and countless other acts of violence against human life… Amen🙏
Saint Casimir, we ask your intercession to aid all leaders of governments, churches, and families to emulate your virtues; to be poor in spirit, just, pure, and faithful. With your aid, may leaders guide those under their authority to love and serve their country and their God with greater fervor…Amen🙏
SAINT CASIMIR OF POLAND: St. Casimir of Poland (1458-1484), born Casimir Jagiellon on October 5, 1458, he was the second son of Poland King Casimir IV and Queen Elizabeth of Austria, he was third of the thirteen children born to them in the royal palace at Cracow. St. Casimir committed his life to God from an early age, thanks in part to a brilliant and pious priest who served as the royal tutor. He and several of his brothers studied with the priest and historian John Dlugosz, whose deep piety and political expertise influenced St. Casimir in his upbringing. St. Casimir, the young prince had a distaste for the luxury of courtly life, he turned away from the privileges of his station in life and instead exercised extreme asceticism and self-denial. He wore a hairshirt under his clothes, slept on the cold ground, and knelt in prayer for long hours outside of locked churches and would spend much of the night in prayer and meditation on the suffering and death of Christ. St. Casimir showed his love for God through these exercises of devotion, and also through his material charity to the poor. He was known as a deeply compassionate young man who felt others’ pains acutely. One of his principal devotions was to the Blessed Virgin, in whose honor he composed, or at least frequently recited, the well-known “Hymn of St. Casimir.”
The young prince, St. Casimir was only 13 years old when his father was asked by the Hungarians to offer his son as their new king. St. Casimir was eager to aid the Hungarians in their defense against the Turks, so he accepted and went to be crowned in the hope of defending the Christian nation against the Turks. St. Casimir marched at the head of an army of 20,000 men to the frontier, to comply with his father’s will. The reigning King of Hungary whom the people wished to dethrone was Matthias Corvinus. On reaching the frontier and learning that the differences between King and people had been adjusted, the plan did not come to fruition. St. Casimir gladly returned home to Poland to continue his life of prayer, penance, and generosity to the poor. Realizing afterward injustice of the attempt against the King of Hungary, he could never be prevailed upon to assume the crown when the Hungarian again offered to him. After his return St. Casimir resumed his studies with the priest and historian, John Dlugosz, while developing a canny grasp of politics by observing his father’s rule. In 1479 the king left Poland to attend to state business in Lithuania, leaving Prince Casimir in charge of the realm between 1481 and 1483.
St. Casimir took a vow of celibacy which he upheld despite immense political pressure to marry. Advisers to the prince joined his father in trying to convince St. Casimir to marry. But he preferred to remain single, focusing his life on the service of God and the good of his people. St. Casimir suffered from a chronic lung condition (tuberculosis), he foresaw his death and prepared for it by deepening his devotion to God. He died en route to Vilna, the capital of Lithuania on March 4, 1484 at the age of 25 and was buried with a copy of a Marian hymn he frequently recited. Many miracles were attributed to his intercession after his death. Pope Adrian VI canonized him in 1522. One hundred and twenty-two years after his death Saint Casimir’s tomb in the cathedral church of Vilna was opened, that the holy remains might be transferred to the rich marble chapel where it now lies. The place was damp, and the very vault crumbled away in the hands of the workmen; yet the Saint’s body, wrapped in robes of silk, still intact, was found whole and incorrupt, and emitting a sweet fragrance which filled the church and refreshed all who were present. Under his head was found his hymn to Our Lady, which he had had buried with him.
Five centuries after his death, in 1984, Pope John Paul II addressed Lithuanian pilgrims commemorating the 500th anniversary of the prince’s death. He said the Church “proclaimed Casimir a saint and placed him before us not only to be venerated but also that we might imitate his heroic virtues and follow his example of holiness.” Pope John Paul II recalled how St. Casimir “embraced a life of celibacy, submitted himself humbly to God’s will in all things, devoted himself with tender love to the Blessed Virgin Mary and developed a fervent practice of adoring Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament.” “His witness of great faith and fervent piety continues to have special meaning for us today,” the Pope said, noting especially the “challenging call” he offers to young people. “His life of purity and prayer beckons you to practice your faith with courage and zeal, to reject the deceptive attractions of modern permissive society, and to live your convictions with fearless confidence and joy.” “To all,” the Pope said, “he was a shining example of poverty and of sacrificial love for the poor and needy.”
Saint Casimir Jagiellon life of service to God has made him a Patron Saint of Poland, Lithuania, and young people.
PRAYER: O God Almighty, to serve You is to reign. We pray through Saint Casimir’s intercession, that we may constantly serve you in sanctity and justice. And our services reflected in a holy way of life and justice. Help us to deepen our trust in You our Heavenly Father. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…. Amen🙏
PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we begin the Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS
Bible readings for today, Monday of the Third Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 4:24-30
“Like Elijah and Elisha, Jesus was sent not only to the Jews”
“Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus was rejected in His own hometown of Nazareth, as the people there refused to believe in what the Lord had said and proclaimed, simply because they judged Him and thought that they knew Who He truly was, the Son of a lowly village carpenter, that is His foster-father St. Joseph. The people of Nazareth hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord and rejected Him, in contrast to how the attitude of Naaman, the Syrian general had been. This was highlighted by the Lord Himself, Who said that prophets were never respected and honoured in their own lands, and gave the example of Naaman himself, who believed in God and was healed by the prophet Elisha, while so many others in the land of Israel refused to believe in Elisha and even persecuted the man of God. The people of Nazareth were enraged at Jesus because of the message that He preached. They were angry because the words of Jesus challenged their somewhat narrow view of God and what God was about. Jesus identified Himself with two prophets who ministered not just within Israel but far beyond Israel – Elijah in Sidon, and Elisha in Syria. Jesus was revealing a God who was just as concerned about the sick and suffering outside of Israel as the sick and suffering within Israel. He proclaimed a God who welcomes all sorts, sinners and tax collectors, people from outside Israel, even from Israel’s traditional enemies, such as the Syrians. Jesus was showing the people of Nazareth that God’s horizons were much wider than they had realized. They didn’t like their image of God being challenged and that is why they rejected Jesus, and would have killed him if they could have. Jesus will always challenge our image of God, because he knows God more deeply than we do. The God of Jesus is a big God, with a big heart, a wide horizon, a generous purpose for our lives. Our vision of God can sometimes be too restricted. We need to keep on being exposed to Jesus’ vision of God. That is one of the reasons why we need to keep reading, reflecting upon and praying the Gospels that have been entrusted to us by the evangelists. It is above all in the Gospels that we meet the living and true God, whom Jesus reveals by His words, His deeds, His death and His resurrection. Our calling today is to allow Jesus to shape our image of God, to rejoice, rather than to be angry at the generous and expansive God that Jesus reveals.
Our first reading today from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, details the story of how Naaman, a great and respected general of the Kingdom of Aram-Damascus, was afflicted with the terrible leprosy disease that was not yet easily curable at that time. That disease made one to be shunned and rejected from the community, and that must have been a really terrible blow for such a high-ranking and well-respected man. Then, Naaman came to the land of Israel hearing that there was a prophet there, the prophet Elisha, who was renowned for his many miracles and good works in ministering to the Israelites, showing God’s power and miracles to them. Naaman went to Elisha with the hope that the man of God could heal him from his conditions. Therefore, Elisha told Naaman to go and bathe in the River Jordan seven times and then he would be healed from his leprosy. Naaman became angry, expecting that the man of God should have come to him and perform his miracles to him in person, and not to ask him to do such trivial tasks, even arguing that there were better rivers in his own land. This was where Naaman’s servant reminded him that such a task was not really difficult to do, and if Naaman really wanted to be healed, then he should have just listened to Elisha and do as he was asked to do. We heard how Naaman obeyed eventually and was therefore healed from his afflictions, and was restored to good health through his obedience and faith in God. Our first reading today reminds us of how the Lord loved all of His people, including even the people who did not belong to the nation of Israel. The Aramaeans were enemies of the Israelites for much of their existence, and yet, God showed His mercy, love and healing for one of their most renowned generals. Naaman was also a representation of all of us, who are sinners and unworthy of God, and yet, through His most wonderful and generous mercy, love and compassion, Naaman was healed and therefore in the same way, all of us can and will be healed as well, as long as we allow ourselves to be healed by the Lord, healed from the taint and corruption of our many sins and wickedness, which have caused us to be separated from God and His love. The leprosy mentioned in our reading today is a representation of our sins, which are also akin to the disease in how they afflict us. Unlike leprosy, which can ultimately still be cured by earthly means, only the Lord alone can heal us from our sins, by His forgiveness and mercy. Through God’s forgiveness and grace, we will once again be in His favour, reconciled to Him, while having those sins cleared and forgiven from us. We will therefore no longer suffer the consequences of those sins which we have committed, and we will once again be filled with God’s grace, and reassured of His salvation and eternal life. All these can only happen if we allow ourselves and are open to the mercy and kindness of God that He has shown to all of us, just as He has shown it to Naaman who listened to Him and obeyed His commands through the prophet Elisha.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of several very important things that we must heed as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, called to repentance from our many sins and wickedness, and reminded to return to the Lord, our most loving God, Who alone can heal us from our fallen state, our troubled and corrupted beings, because of the corruption and the wickedness caused by our many sins. Through the story of the healing of Naaman the Syrian from the Old Testament to the story of how the Lord Jesus was rejected in His own hometown of Nazareth in the Gospels, we are all reminded that we should put our trust in the Lord and not in the ways of the world, many of which may lead us astray and down the wrong path in life. We are all called to repent from our sins, to be open-minded and exclude from our hearts and minds all the taints of pride and ego, all the things that have often prevented us from returning to God and being reconciled with Him. It was our ego, just as Naaman had once experienced, that kept us away from being healed and made whole again by God, which in Naaman’s case was to be healed from his leprosy. And we all must know and realise that sin is just like leprosy, a corruption that attacks not just our body but worse still, the soul and our whole being. Let us all make good use of the opportunities given to us especially during this time of Lent that we may find our path towards God and turn away from all of our past transgressions and wickedness, embracing instead the path of righteousness and virtue in life. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us always and may He continue to empower us all to live ever more faithfully as His disciples and followers, doing the best we can to proclaim His glory and to serve Him most faithfully at all times. May He bless us and strengthen us that we may continue to persevere in faith and remain firm in our commitments to Him, now and always. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
God of all wisdom, I know that You know all things and that all things can be used for Your glory and for the salvation of my soul. Help me to trust You, especially when I endure suffering in life. May I never despair when treated unjustly and may my hope always be in You and in Your power to redeem all things. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Casimir of Poland ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for us all during this season of Lent, let us be renewed by prayer, fasting, and giving to the poor. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well during these challenging times and may this season of Lent bring us all true salvation in Christ as we remain united in peace, love and faith. Have a blessed, safe, fruitful and grace-filled third week of Lent ~ Amen🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
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