Greetings and blessings, beloved family. Happy Sunday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time!
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 16, 2025
MEMORIAL OF SAINT JULIANA OF NICOMEDIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR AND SAINT ONESIMUS, MARTYR | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Holy Mass for the Jubilee of the Artists and the World of Culture | LIVE from the Vatican | February 16, 2025 | Holy Mass and Homily of His Holiness Read by Cardinal José Tolentino De Mendonça | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/16/holy-mass-for-the-jubilee-of-the-artists-and-the-world-of-culture-live-from-the-vatican-february-16-2025/
LIVE from St. Peter’s Basilica | Holy Mass presided over by Cardinale Tolentino de Mendonça for the Jubilee of the Artists and the World of Culture.
In the words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis on this Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time regarding the Beatitudes in today’s Gospel, “In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus proclaims the Beatitudes to His disciples and to a large crowd of people. We have heard them so many times, and yet they never cease to amaze us: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Lk 6:20–21). These words overturn our worldly mentality and invite us to look at reality with new eyes, with God’s gaze, so we can see beyond appearances and recognize beauty even amidst frailty and suffering.”
We thank God for His love and the gift of this day. Praying for His blessings, grace and mercy upon us as we continue to live our lives virtuously according to what the Lord Himself has taught and told His disciples and us all 🙏🏽
PRAYER FOR POPE FRANCIS: May we all unite as one voice to lift up the Vicar of Christ in prayer today. We pray for Pope Francis’ speedy recovery and God’s Divine healing and intervention.
Almighty God, we thank you for the loving service of Pope Francis and the hope he has inspired in so many in Your great mercy. Have mercy on him in his illness now, we pray, and guide the medical staff in his care. Grant him peace and healing. Through Christ our Lord. Amen🙏🏽
A Call to Prayer: Pray for Pope Francis | https://www.ncregister.com/features/mfva-pray-for-pope-francis-health
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN | “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/16/catholic-daily-mass-6/
Pope Francis’ Holy Mass – Angelus on the Jubilee of the Armed Forces | February 9, 2025 | Live from the Vatican | Holy Mass and Homily | EWTN | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/09/pope-francis-holy-mass-angelus-on-the-jubilee-of-the-armed-forces-february-9-2025-live-from-the-vatican-ewtn/
From St. Peter’s Square, Holy Mass on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel, presided by Pope Francis, followed by the recitation of the Angelus prayer
BLACK HISTORY MONTH | Saturday, February 1, 2025 – Saturday, March 1, 2025
The month of February is BLACK HISTORY MONT
Black History Month: A Faith-Based Reflection on Legacy and Justice
February is recognized as Black History Month, a time dedicated to honoring the rich heritage, achievements, and contributions of Black individuals throughout history. As people of faith, this month offers an opportunity to reflect on God’s call for justice, love, and unity while recognizing the resilience and faith of Black communities throughout history.
Read the Full Article | Black History Month | February 2025 | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/16/black-history-month/
DAILY SAINTS AND REFLECTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Today is the Memorial of Saint Juliana of Nicomedia (miracle-worker and is a Patron Saint of the sick) and Saint Onesimus, Martyr. May St. Juliana and all the Saints intercede for those who are sick and dying.
Most loving St. Juliana, patroness of the chronically ill, I humbly come before you asking your intercession on behalf of all those who suffer with chronic illness, especially those who are terminally ill and those suffering from cancers. Carry them to the Lord’s feet and beg that He bless them with the patience and courage needed to endure their illness and for relief from their pain and suffering. Plead their cause and ask that if it be God’s holy will that they be restored to health. If they must endure their illness, pray that God leads them to the best doctors and caregivers who will treat them with kindness, gentleness, understanding and dignity… Amen 🙏🏽
Saint Juliana of Nicomedia and Saint Onesimus, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Juliana of Nicomedia and Saint Onesimus, Martyr, we humbly pray for those who are sick, particularly those who are gravely ill and dying, especially those who are sick with cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. Amen. We pray 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 continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East, for an end to the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. May the Saints intercede for our children, children all over the world and us all. Amen 🙏🏽
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 good Lord grant us His grace during this Ordinary Time as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth. 🙏🏽
Pray “Holy Rosary for Peace with Pope Francis” | “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries | Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/30/holy-rosary-for-peace-with-pope-francis/
Please find below links to the websites for Daily Reflections, Foundation and interesting topics and articles about our Catholic faith and doctrines | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/30/daily-reflections-and-prayer-links/
THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2025: FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY – FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE | Let us pray that the ecclesial community might welcome the desires and doubts of those young people who feel a call to serve Christ’s mission in the priesthood and religious life.
https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2025 (See also http://www.popesprayerusa.net/.)
We continue to pray for the intentions of our Holy Father. We pray for the Clergy, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, all religious, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. For those consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience that they may seek to live their baptismal promises more intensely and have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord and serve with open hearts and willing spirits… Amen 🙏🏽
On this special feast day, 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 pray for the repose of the gentle souls of the recent plane crashes and 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 and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
“Blessed are those who have died in the Lord; let them rest from their abors for their good deeds go with them.” ~ Rev 14:13
PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil, and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen🙏
PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
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’s Holy Mass | Sunday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Sunday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time | February 16, 2025
Reading 1, Jeremiah 17:5-8
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6
Reading 2, First Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
Gospel, Luke 6:17, 20-26
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 6:17, 20–26
“Blessed are the poor. Woe to you who are rich”
“Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
Today’s Gospel reading this Sunday, from the Gospel according to St. Luke, gave an account of the famous teaching of the Lord to His disciples and all the other people listening to Him, known as the Sermon on the Mount or the Eight Beatitudes. In that sermon, the Lord proclaimed a series of blessings for those who have lived their lives virtuously according to what the Lord Himself has taught and told His disciples. He reminded them all that those who truly believe in God ought to have the qualities that He had highlighted, namely, being poor and hungry, those who did not put their focus in life on material goods and pursuit of wealth and glory, as well as those who are seeking for justice and work for peace, among others. In the Gospel reading, when Jesus looked out on His disciples, He recognized people who were in something of a wilderness. He addresses His disciples there as poor, hungry and weeping. In a sense, life had become more of a struggle for them since they left their nets to follow Jesus. Getting involved in Jesus’ way of doing things had brought new demands, and, in one way, left them poorer, more vulnerable. Yet, Jesus declares to His struggling disciples that they are blessed, because in getting involved in His way of doing things, and in remaining with Him, they would come to experience the abundance of God’s generosity. When our own following of the Lord makes demands on us and leaves us feeling vulnerable, the Lord declares us blessed too. Our efforts to walk in the way of the Lord will make demands on us; it will often mean taking the path less travelled. Some people looking at our lives might see us as loosing out. Yet, the Lord assures us that what we might have put aside in order to be faithful to Him will seem very little in comparison to what we will receive from Him. Our remaining in the Lord can appear to leave us more vulnerable at times. The Gospel reading assures us, however, that in our vulnerability we will know the Lord’s strength. We will find our happiness in remaining in the Lord and in allowing Him to live out His life in us.
According to the Gospel reading, the Lord makes a promise to His struggling disciples, ‘yours is the kingdom of God’. That same promise is made to disciples in every generation, to us all today. That promise begins to be fulfilled for us in this life. We begin to experience the presence of the kingdom of God, as we come to know the Lord’s strength in our weakness, the Lord’s life in our barren times. We believe, however, that we will only experience the fullness of God’s kingdom in the next life. St. Paul says in the second reading, ‘if our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people’. We look forward in hope to that eternal moment when, in the words of the book of Revelation, the Lamb will guide his followers to springs of the water of life.
The Gospel reading suggests that appearances can be deceptive. Those who seem to be loosing out, because they place their trust in the Lord rather than in themselves are, in reality, blessed. Those who seem to have it all are in reality unfortunate, in so far as their trust is only in themselves. Today’s Scripture readings invite us to root our lives in the Lord, and to go where He takes us, in the hope and trust that He is leading us to springs of living water.
In our first reading this Sunday, from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord told His people in the kingdom of Judah of the futility and foolishness of those who put their faith and trust in man and other worldly means instead of trusting and having faith in God. This must be understood in the context of how many among the people of Judah at that time had not obeyed the Lord, turned away from Him and abandoned His Law and commandments, persecuted the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them in order to remind them and guide them to the right path. They hardened their hearts and minds against God and His prophets, and instead of listening to the truth, they chose to delude themselves through all sorts of temptations present around them, the temptations of worldly ambitions and power, of pleasures and satisfaction of the flesh. That was why they ended up falling ever further away from the Lord and His path, and we are all reminded that we should not follow the same path that they had trodden and walked, or else, we may end up falling into this same path towards our downfall as well. Nonetheless, the Lord has always loved us and He has always been patient in caring for us. He never gave up on us and despite our rebelliousness and waywardness, He still patiently sent His helpers and messengers to guide us all down the right path. That God still sent Jeremiah to remind those wayward people and even reassuring them of His care and compassion, was proof enough of how precious and dear each one of us are to Him, and we really should not take this for granted.
In our second reading this Sunday, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, the Apostle spoke about the matter of the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the One Whom God had sent into this world in order to bring about our salvation. St. Paul spoke of how the Lord has risen from the dead and how this Resurrection indeed truly happened, and because of that, those who have believed in the Lord and His Resurrection will be assured of the salvation which God has given to them, and they were not foolish in believing and putting their trust in the Lord and His Resurrection into glory. They were not believing in a lie or falsehood, but were believing in something that many had suffered and died in testifying for the truth. We are all reminded that since Christ has risen from the dead and conquered death itself, therefore our faith and trust in Him is not something that is meaningless or useless, as we shall be triumphant with Him and we will share in His glory and the joy that He has promised us all if we remain true to our faith in Him. We should not easily be dissuaded from following the Lord and we have to hold firmly our faith in Him because after all, what we have believed is indeed the truth, and countless people throughout the history of the Church, many martyrs and saints had endured lots of obstacles, hardships and persecutions in the Name of the Lord, and yet, they never gave up their faith in God. That is likely because they stood up for what they themselves had witnessed or what their predecessors themselves had seen and experienced. No one would have been willing to suffer and face death in the manner of the Martyrs and Saints, if what they had believed in was false or not really true. Instead, the very fact that truth is what they stood up for allowed them all to endure even the most terrible persecutions and punishments is a testimony showing that what our Christian predecessors have believed in about the Lord, His mission, His works and ultimately, His own suffering, death and resurrection are truly real and not merely a myth or a made-up story or tale. Therefore, all of us should also be strengthened in our own faith and belief in God as well.
Reflecting on the Scriptures Readings today, in both the first reading and the psalm, the tree that is fully alive, because it is planted alongside flowing waters, is an image of those who put their trust in the Lord, who have the Lord for their hope, and who delight in what the Lord wants. These are the truly happy and blessed people, because they have entrusted themselves to the Lord, who is the true source of life, and who alone can sustain and nurture us, even in times of heat and drought, when life becomes a real struggle. All of today’s readings invite us to ask, ‘Who are the truly blessed or happy people?’ That is the question Jesus is inviting us to ask in today’s Gospel reading. He suggests there that the people the world considers happy are not always the truly blessed ones. Jesus refers to the very rich who have their fill of everything, who are always celebrating, who are spoken well of by others. Most people would think that they have really made it and might look upon them with envy. However, Jesus is saying there that those who appear to have everything are often the least fortunate and blessed, because when all is going well we can easily forget God. We can cut ourselves off from God who is the source of true happiness and blessedness. Another questions that the readings this Sunday invite us to ask is, ‘Where do we really place our trust?’ If we place our trust, our hope, in the Lord, and live out of that trusting relationship, we will be like that tree planted alongside flowing waters whose foliage stays green, even when the heat comes, even in the year of drought. In the words of the Gospel reading, we will be happy and blessed, even if we appear to be losing out by the standards of the age. The Lord invites us to keep seeking Him out, just as the tree seeks out the life-giving stream by means of its roots. If we do so, we will have a foretaste of the joy of our eternal destiny. In the second reading, Saint Paul says that our final destiny is to share in the Lord’s own risen life, a life over which death has no power. In this earthly life, the Lord fixes His eyes on us, as He fixed His eyes on the disciples in the Gospel reading, and He calls out to us to come to Him to find life in the here and now, to become fully alive as human beings, and so become a source of life for others.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, all of us are reminded of the need for us all as God’s faithful people, His holy and beloved ones to follow His path and Law, to obey His will and to do what is right and just, and not to allow ourselves to be easily tempted and swayed by the pleasures and comforts, wicked desires of this world around us. All of us should always live our lives faithfully and dedicate ourselves thoroughly to the cause of the Lord, being reminded of the manner in which we should carry out in our daily living as Christians, that is as God’s holy and worthy people, those whom He had called and chosen to be His own. We should not be ignorant of the mission and calling which each one of us have been entrusted with by God. The Sermon on the Mount or the Eight Beatitudes and all the readings and teachings from today’s Scriptures ought to serve as guide and inspiration for all of us to follow in our own lives so that by our every actions, works and endeavours, we will always strive to be good examples for others around us, full of hope and faith in the Lord, virtuous and just, as we are all called to have those virtues in us, to be the ones whose lives are truly dedicated to God and a reflection of the light of God, His hope, truth and love. Can we therefore be this shining beacon of hope and inspiration to others? Can we be the ones to help those around us to come ever closer to God and to do God’s will, obeying His Law and commandments to the best of our abilities? Each and every one of us are reminded of this important mission and responsibility that we have so that we can help to bring others around us, our brethren, ever closer to God. We are called to emulate the lives and examples of the Holy men and women, and all the Saints, particularly those whom we celebrate today, Saint Juliana of Nicomedia and Saint Onesimus, Martyr. May the Lord, our most loving God, our Master and Creator, continue to strengthen us and empower us in our everyday living, giving us all the courage and the power to carry out the missions entrusted to us all as members of this Church of God. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless us always and may He bless our every good works and endeavours, our efforts to glorify His Name, now and always. Amen 🙏🏽
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT JULIANA OF NICOMEDIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR AND SAINT ONESIMUS, MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 16TH: Today is the Memorial of Saint Juliana of Nicomedia (miracle-worker and is a Patron Saint of the sick) and Saint Onesimus, Martyr. May St. Juliana and all the Saints intercede for those who are sick and dying. 🙏🏽
Most loving St. Juliana, patroness of the chronically ill, I humbly come before you asking your intercession on behalf of all those who suffer with chronic illness, especially those who are terminally ill and those suffering from cancers. Carry them to the Lord’s feet and beg that He bless them with the patience and courage needed to endure their illness and for relief from their pain and suffering. Plead their cause and ask that if it be God’s holy will that they be restored to health. If they must endure their illness, pray that God leads them to the best doctors and caregivers who will treat them with kindness, gentleness, understanding and dignity… Amen🙏
Saint Juliana of Nicomedia and Saint Onesimus, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
Saint (s) of the Day | February 16th | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
SAINT JULIANA OF NICOMEDIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: St. Juliana of Nicomedia also known as St. Juliana of Cumae, was a Christian virgin of Cumae, Italy, was born in the 3rd century in c. 270 A.D. at Nicomedia, a Greek city in ancient Turkey. St. Juliana was martyred by beheading for the faith when she refused to marry a Roman prefect. Although her father Africanus was a pagan and hostile to the Christians, St. Juliana secretly accepted baptism. She was scourged by her father Africanus because of her strong attachment to Christianity. Her father later arranged her marriage to a pagan nobleman and Roman senator, prefect Evilasius. When the time for her wedding came, St. Juliana refused her consent to be married unless her betrothed converted to the Christian faith. Her father retaliated by mercilessly abusing her, but Juliana would not give in. Her betrothed, prefect Evilasius, then denounced her as a Christian before the tribunal under the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. When she refused to marry the prefect Evilasius, she was tortured by her father and then thrown into prison.
According to Legend, while in prison Juliana wrestled with the devil who appeared in the form of an Angel. Despite terrible physical assaults on her body, St. Juliana refused to give up her Faith. She was unwavering in her faith, even after the devil himself appeared to tempt her during her sufferings, seemingly evil spirits could not move her after she suffered terrible ordeals. Eventually St. Juliana was condemned to death. Although thrown into a fiery furnace and later into a cauldron of boiled oil, she remained unharmed. As a result, she was beheaded. Some accounts say she died together with St. Barbara. Many were converted to the Christian faith upon witnessing her fortitude in the face of her tortures. According to legend, St. Juliana actually suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia and that her relics were later transferred to Cumae. St. Juliana is the Patron Saint of sickness and bodily ills.
PRAYER: All-powerful and ever-living God, You choose the weak in this world to confound the powerful. As we celebrate the anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Juliana, may we like her remain constant in Faith.
“O God, who gladdens us today with the annual commemoration of blessed Juliana, graciously grant that we may be helped by her merits, just as our lives are lit up by the splendor of her example of chastity and fortitude. 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🙏
SAINT ONESIMUS, MARTYR: St. Onesimus was a native of Phrygia and slave to Philemon. St. Onesimus offended Philemon and fled in order to escape any sort of retribution. He then met St. Paul while St. Paul was in a Roman prison. The Apostle converted him to Christianity, baptized him, and sent him back to Colossae with a letter to Philemon, his former master, beseeching his pardon and freedom, so Onesimus could become one of his own assistants. This letter is the Epistle to Philemon and entreats Philemon to accept Onesimus “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me.” This letter written by the hand of St. Paul himself had the desired effect. St. Onesimus obtained pardon of Philemon and returned to St. Paul, whom he afterward faithfully served. We know that St. Paul made him, with Tychicus, the bearer of his Epistle to the Colossians. (Col. 4:7-9)
The letter written by St. Paul of Tarsus to Philemon, Epistle to Philemon 1:10–16 reads (in part): “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”
Later, as St. Jerome and other fathers testify, he became an ardent preacher of the Gospel and succeeded St. Timothy as bishop of Ephesus. St. Onesimus went from slave to brother to bishop. He was cruelly tortured in Rome, for 18 days, by a governor who was infuriated by his preaching on the merit of celibacy. St. Onesimus’ legs and thighs were broken with bludgeons before he was stoned to death. His martyrdom occurred under Domitian in the year 90.
PRAYER: Almighty, ever-living God, You enabled St. Onesimus to flight to the death for justice. Through his intercession enable us to bear all adversity and with all our strength hasten to You Who alone are life. Amen🙏
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY | MONTH OF THE HOLY FAMILY The month of February is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Family. Between the events which marked Christmas and the beginning of Christ’s public life the Church has seen fit to recall the example of the Holy Family for the emulation of the Christian family. The Feast of the Presentation (February 2) or Candlemas forms a fitting transition from Christmas to Easter. The small Christ-Child is still in His Mother’s arms, but already she is offering Him in sacrifice.
The Saints that we will focus on this month and try to imitate are:
St. Blaise and St. Ansgar (February 3); St. Agatha (February 5); St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita (February 8); St. Scholastica (February 10); Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11); Sts. Cyril and Methodius (February 14); Seven Founders of the Orders of Servites (February 17); St. Peter Damian (February 21); Chair of St. Peter (February 22) and St. Polycarp (February 23). The Optional Memorial of Polycarp (February 23), is superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.
From Feast to Fast: Though the shortest month of the year, February is rich in Liturgical activity. It contains a feast (Presentation of our Lord) that bridges two other seasons (Christmas and Easter). The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd harkens back to the Christmas mystery of Light except that now, Christ, the helpless babe, is “the Light of Revelation to the Gentiles who will save His people from their sins.” Candles, symbolizing Christ our Light, will be carried in procession this day, as will be the Paschal candle during the Easter Vigil Liturgy. In addition, the faithful may receive in February two of the four major public sacramentals that the Church confers during the liturgical year: blessed candles and the blessing of throats. “The Light of Revelation” shines more brightly with each successive Sunday of Ordinary Time, until its magnificence–exposing our sinfulness and need for conversion–propels us into the penitential Season of Lent. We prepare to accept the cross of blessed ashes on Ash Wednesday, falls on March 5, 2025, marking the beginning of the Lenten season and plunge ourselves into anticipating the major exercises of Lent–fasting, prayer, almsgiving–laying our thoughts and prayers on the heart of our Mother Mary. She, who offered her Son in the temple and on the Cross, will teach us how to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow after her Son. 🙏🏽
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12539
PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for the gift of His Son and pray for His grace as we serve Him in truth and love. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother and the saints we honor today, we pray for the sick and suffering, especially children and those battling epilepsy, strokes, heart disease, cancer, and other terminal illnesses. May God restore them to health and bring them comfort and peace.
We pray for the safety of our families and loved ones, for healing in marriages, and for unity in a world divided by violence and conflict. May God deliver us from hopeless situations and impossible causes.
We remember the souls in Purgatory, asking for God’s mercy upon them. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
We pray for widows, widowers, and all who are grieving. May the Lord strengthen them in their trials.
We continue to pray for Pope Francis, the clergy, and all those spreading the Gospel. May God bless vocations to the priesthood and religious life and protect persecuted Christians worldwide. We pray for peace in our families and throughout the world. Amen. 🙏🏽
Let us pray:
Lord of holiness, I do desire to follow You and become truly holy. Please free me from my sin so that I am able to avoid the consequences of those sins. Please help me to also desire the heights of holiness so that I will receive the great rewards that You promised to the saints in Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏🏽
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Juliana and Saint Onesimus ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
With gratitude for the gift of this new year, we pray for justice, peace, love, and unity within our families and throughout the world. May God’s Divine Mercy and Grace be upon us all during this Ordinary Time. Wishing you a blessed, safe, grace-filled Sunday and week. May God keep us all safe and well. Amen 🙏🏽
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖