SECOND WEEK OF LENT
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 17, 2025
MEMORIAL OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND, BISHOP AND MISSIONARY| Daily Saints and Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Greetings and blessings, beloved family. Happy Monday, Second Week of Lent and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! 🍀
May Saint Patrick intercede for all those who bear the name Patrick and us all and may God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of our Lenten journey. Amen 🙏🏽
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/2025/03/17/catholic-daily-mass-daily-tv-mass-5/
NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH: Begins March 10–18, 2025 (in preparation for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2025) | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/03/11/novena-to-saint-joseph/
DAY 11: LENTEN PRAYERS AND REFLECTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/03/17/day-11-lenten-prayers-and-reflections/
WORLD PRAYERS FOR POPE FRANCIS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/26/world-prayers-for-pope-francis/
PRAYER FOR POPE FRANCIS: May we all unite as one voice to lift up the Vicar of Christ in prayer, during this time of his hospitalization after a prolonged respiratory crisis. We thank God as his health continues to improve and we continue to pray for our Holy Father, 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🙏🏽
LENT: | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/03/03/lent/
STATIONS OF THE CROSS | A JOURNEY WITH CHRIST | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/03/03/stations-of-the-cross/
THE LITURGICAL YEAR IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2024/12/03/the-liturgical-year-in-the-catholic-church/
Today, as we continue our Lenten journey, we reflect on Jesus’ words: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged.” Let us all therefore continue to journey through this time and season of Lent with contrite heart, desiring to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, and at the same time, showing mercy and love, compassion and kindness to those around us as well. May all of us be truly forgiven by God and be reconciled with Him through this great opportunity of this Lenten time and season.
Lent invites us to embrace this call to self-giving love. Jesus does not seek to avoid suffering but embraces it for the salvation of the world. His words challenge us: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” Are we willing to surrender our will, trusting that God’s ways lead to eternal life?
Heavenly Father, help us to follow Your Son in the way of self-sacrificial love. Give us the grace to let go of worldly attachments and embrace the path of holiness. May we, like Christ, glorify Your name in all that we do. Amen 🙏🏽
Wishing us all a grace-filled and spiritually uplifting Lenten journey. Amen. 🙏🏽
PRAYER FOR THE VICTIMS OF NATURAL DISASTER: We join our Holy Father, Pope Francis to pray for the people of Bahía Blanca, in Argentina, affected by the recent floods the area is suffering. We specifically pray for those who have lost their lives due to this natural disaster and their families and all those who are missing and displaced from their homes. May the good Lord grant them all peace and comfort during this challenging time.
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 and all those who mourn the loss of their loved ones and celebrate their memorial anniversary today. We pray for our loved ones who have recently died, for the victims of the recent flood in Argentina and we continue to pray for the repose of their gentle souls 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 🙏🏽
THE HOLY FATHER, POPE FRANCIS’ MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2025: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For families in crisis: Let us pray that broken families might discover the cure for their wounds through forgiveness, rediscovering each other’s gifts, even in their differences. (https://popesprayerusa.net/popes-intentions/)
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/
DAILY SAINTS AND REFLECTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Today, we honor and celebrate the Memorial of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Bishop, and Missionary. St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world’s most popular Saints. St. Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the “Apostle of Ireland”, he is the primary Patron Saint of Ireland, the other Patron Saints being Brigit of Kildare and Columba. St. Patrick was an influential Saint, a man of deep faith and unwavering mission who, 1,500 years ago, brought Christianity, the light of Christ to the people of the little country of Ireland. Enduring hardships, captivity, and opposition, he remained steadfast in his calling, transforming a once-pagan land into a stronghold of Christianity. Through his preaching, countless souls came to know the truth of the Gospel, and Ireland flourished as a center of faith and learning. St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland; Nigeria; diocese of Fort Worth, Texas; archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts; diocese of Burlington, Vermont; diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; archdiocese of New York; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; diocese of Portland, Maine; diocese of Sacramento, California; invoked against snakes; fear of snakes; sins; snake bites; against ophidiophobia; engineers; ophidiophobics; excluded people.
Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Patrick on this feast day, we humbly pray for all missionaries, that they may continue to spread the Good News with courage, faith and perseverance and for God’s protection and Christ’s presence in their lives. May we, like Saint Patrick, embrace our calling to witness Christ in our daily lives, bringing His love to those around us. May his example inspire us to trust in God’s providence, to forgive those who have wronged us, and to live with hearts on fire for the Gospel. We pray for bishops and leaders of the Church, for those who work for reconciliation, and for those called to the difficult mission of conversion and evangelization. We pray for priests, hermits, and those who dedicate themselves to prayer and penance. May their examples inspire us to trust in God’s providence, embrace sacrifice, and labor for the salvation of souls.
Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Bishop and Missionary ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
We thank God for His mercy and the gift of faith. May this Lenten season lead us to deeper conversion, greater love, and unwavering trust in His divine will. 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/
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. 🙏🏽
SAINT(S) OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND, BISHOP AND MISSIONARY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 17TH: Today, we honor and celebrate the Memorial of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Bishop and Missionary. The Patron Saint of Ireland; Nigeria; diocese of Fort Worth, Texas; archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts; diocese of Burlington, Vermont; diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; archdiocese of New York; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; diocese of Portland, Maine; diocese of Sacramento, California; invoked against snakes; fear of snakes; sins; snake bites; against ophidiophobia; engineers; ophidiophobics; excluded people. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Patrick on this feast day, we humbly pray for all missionaries, for courage and faith and for God’s protection and Christ’s presence in our lives. We pray for bishops and leaders of the Church, for those who work for reconciliation, and for those called to the difficult mission of conversion and evangelization. We pray for priests, hermits, and those who dedicate themselves to prayer and penance. May their examples inspire us to trust in God’s providence, embrace sacrifice, and labor for the salvation of souls.
Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Bishop and Missionary ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
Saint(s) of the Day | March 17th | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND, BISHOP AND MISSIONARY: St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world’s most popular saints. St. Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the “Apostle of Ireland”, he is the primary Patron Saint of Ireland, the other Patron Saints being Brigit of Kildare and Columba. St. Patrick was an influential Saint who, 1,500 years ago, brought Christianity to the little country of Ireland.
St. Patrick (387-461) was born in Kilpatrick, Scotland, to a wealthy Roman-British parents in 387 A.D., the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British deacon, and Conchessa. He was kidnapped by some Irish raiders at the age of sixteen while he was tending his sheep and sold as a slave to a Druid high priest. He served his heathen master as a shepherd and spent much time in prayer as he labored in the fields. Despite the harshness of the life there, he not only held on to his Faith but also learned the science of prayer and contemplation. Spending long hours in prayer, Patrick grew in faith, love for God, and trust in Divine Providence. He also acquired a perfect knowledge of the Celtic language and the Druid cult, which later enabled him to evangelize the Celtic people.
After six years of slavery and captivity, an angel appeared to him in a dream with a message from God in which he was told to flee his oppressive master in Ireland by going to the coast. St. Patrick effected a miraculous escape and there he found some sailors who took him back to his native land, Britain and he was reunited with his family. Upon returning to Britain, St. Patrick desired to devote himself to God’s service. A few years after returning home, St. Patrick saw a vision and he was told to go back and Christianize Ireland. Recognizing this as God’s call, the vision prompted his studies for the priesthood. St. Patrick pursued priestly studies in Gaul (modern-day France). He went to France and placed himself under the direction of St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, who ordained him a priest and was later ordained a bishop and sent to take the Gospel to evangelize the pagans in Ireland. In 431, after a period during which his vocation to Ireland was tested by the hesitancy of his superiors in entrusting such a mission to him, St. Patrick was sent to assist Bishop Paladius in Ireland. On the death of the latter, St. Patrick was consecrated Bishop by St. Germanus after receiving the approbation of Pope Celestine I to evangelize Ireland in 432 AD.
St. Patrick traveled the length and breadth of Ireland, planting the Faith everywhere despite the hostility of the Druids, and succeeded in converting several members of the royal family. On a visit to Rome in 442, the Saint was commissioned by Pope Leo the Great to organize the Church of Ireland and on his return made Armagh the primatial See and established Bishop in various places. He divided the country into dioceses, held local Church councils, founded monasteries, and urged the people to greater holiness. In winning a pagan nation for Christ, St. Patrick established many monasteries for men and women and made it famous for its seats of piety and learning. In the ensuing centuries Irish monks carried the Faith to England, France, and Switzerland. Later, the missionaries sent from Ireland to Europe were largely responsible for the Christianizing of the continent.
St. Patrick suffered much opposition from the Druids and occult magicians, who, threatened by Christianity, conjured demonic power to defy St. Patrick. However, the prayer, faith, fearlessness, and episcopal authority of St. Patrick triumphed, and he was so successful in his endeavor that in the Middle Ages Ireland became known as the Land of Saints, and himself the “Apostle of Ireland.” St. Patrick succeeded in bringing Catholicism to Ireland, and in time, the whole country converted from their pagan gods to the one true God. Although a small country, Ireland has played a large role in saving and bringing Christianity throughout the world. During the early Dark Ages, the Irish monasteries preserved Western writings while Europe remained in darkness. But as the Catholic country remained solidly Catholic, the Irish spread the faith to all corners of the world.
Many legends are associated around St. Patrick, such as how he drove the snakes out of Ireland, and the use of the shamrock to teach the mystery of the Trinity. Some works are attributed to St. Patrick, one being his autobiography called Confessions. It is a short summary of the events in his life, written in true humility. Below is a short excerpt:
“I am greatly God’s debtor, because he granted me so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth, just as he once promised through his prophets: “To you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited naught hut lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.” And again: “I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth.”
After living a completely apostolic life of labor and prayer, St. Patrick died on March 17, 461, in the monastery of Saul, where he had built his first church, Down in Ulster, leaving behind his Confessions which gives a vivid picture of great man of God. His legacy remains a testament to the power of faith, perseverance, and missionary zeal. St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland; against snakes; snake bites; against ophidiophobia; excluded people; fear of snakes; diocese of Fort Worth, Texas; Nigeria; archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts; diocese of Burlington, Vermont; engineers; diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; archdiocese of New York; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; ophidiophobics; diocese of Portland, Maine; diocese of Sacramento, California.
PRAYER: God our Father, You sent Saint Patrick to bring the light of Christ and preach Your glory to the people of Ireland. Through his tireless preaching and unwavering faith, he led many souls to You. Through his merits and intercession grant that we who have the honor of bearing the name of Christian may constantly proclaim Your wonderful designs to others. May we grow in faith, courage, and missionary zeal. May we, like him, proclaim Your wonderful works to the world and lead others to Your love. Strengthen us to overcome sin, deepen our trust in You, and help us to remain steadfast in our Christian calling. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. 🙏🏽
“May the Strength of God pilot us. May the Power of God preserve us. May the Wisdom of God instruct us. May the Hand of God protect us. May the Way of God direct us. May the Shield of God defend us. May the Host of God guard us against the snares of the evil ones, against temptations of the world. May Christ be with us! May Christ be before us! May Christ be in us, Christ be over all! May Thy Salvation, Lord, always be ours, this day, O Lord, and evermore…Amen” 🙏🏽
May the life of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Bishop and Missionary inspire us to deepen our faith, trust in God’s providence, and extend His love to those in need. Amen 🙏🏽
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS
Bible Readings for today’s Holy Mass, Monday of the Second Week of Lent | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Monday of the Second Week of Lent, March 17, 2025
Reading 1, Daniel 9:4-10
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 79:8, 9, 11, 13
Gospel, Luke 6:36-38
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 6:36-38
“Forgive and you will be forgiven”
“Jesus said to His disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus Himself tells His disciples to be merciful just as the Father is and has been merciful to all of them. He told them all that they should all continue to love one another and to be kind, compassionate and merciful, because they themselves have been shown great mercy, love and forgiveness from God. Jesus calls upon us not to judge and not to condemn. He did so in the knowledge that judging and condemning others can sometimes come all too easily to us. In judging and condemning others we can easily forget that we are not paragons of virtue ourselves. In contrast to judging and condemning others, Jesus calls on us in our dealings with others to be compassionate and to grant pardon. These are contrary attitudes to judging and condemning, and Jesus implies that there are much more in keeping with how God relates to us than judging and condemning are. It seems that God is much more in the business of showing us compassion and granting us pardon when we seek it, than He is in the business of judging and condemning us. As people made in the image of God we are to be as compassionate and as pardoning as God Himself. Jesus of course was the perfect image of God and He gave expression to God’s compassionate and pardoning love in the most complete way possible. In the Gospel reading, Jesus asks us to be as compassionate and as merciful as God is, which will mean being slow to judge, slow to condemn others. We live in a culture where there is so often a rush to judgement. Jesus calls on us to take our lead not from the culture but from God who never rushes to judgement. The Gospel reading assures us that when, like Jesus, we are God-like in our dealings with other, then we open ourselves to receive an abundance from God.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus tells His disciples and us all clearly to be merciful in our actions just as God our loving Father has shown us lots of mercy and compassion. Just like in the prayer which the Lord Jesus Himself had taught them and us all said, that, ‘Forgive us our trespasses just as we forgive those who have trespassed against us’. And this is an important reminder for us all that just as we seek to be forgiven from our many sins and mistakes, we too should be ready to forgive others around us, be it our own family members, relatives, colleagues and even strangers who have caused hurt to us, or those who have wronged and done mistake to us. To forgive others is something that is not easily done, but we must still strive to do it nonetheless. And the best example we can follow is none other than the Lord Himself, our most loving and generous Father, Who has loved us all and desired to forgive us our sins should we come to Him with sincere repentance and desire to be forgiven from those sins. Not only that, but He has also given us all His own only Begotten Son to save us from our fated destruction, and through this same Son, Who was punished for our sins, He forgave us all the trespasses, mistakes and sins we have committed, just as His Son forgave those who have persecuted and condemned Him to death from His Cross, praying for them to the Father not to count their sins against them. This is an example of forgiveness and mercy that all of us as Christians ought to follow.
Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Daniel is the prayer and supplication which the prophet Daniel made on behalf of all the people of Israel, many of whom at that time were suffering in exile away from their homeland, having been brought out of the Promised Land and the land of their forefathers by their conquerors, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, who sent them to the far-off lands, to be exiled and humbled, to be reviled and humiliated by the nations, for their sins and evils, their wickedness and failures to obey the Lord’s Law and commandments. They have abandoned the path that the Lord had taught and shown them, and they have rejected the many prophets and messengers sent to them to remind and help them to return to the right and virtuous path. The Book of Daniel is one of the great acts of sorrow to God for sin in the Bible. It is prayed on behalf of the whole people. It is a prayer that expresses both a great sorrow for sin and a great confidence in God’s mercy, ‘we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God, mercy and pardon belong, because we have betrayed Him’. Humility and trust are very clearly revealed in the prayer. We need both when we come before the Lord, the humility to acknowledge that we have not always lived as God calls us to live, and the total trust in God’s mercy which is always stronger than sin.
Reflecting on our first reading, the Prophet Daniel beseech the Lord and asking Him to show mercy and compassion on His people, the Israelites and their descendants. They and their ancestors had rebelled and sinned against God, and therefore they had been cast out of the land that had been promised to them, the Land of Canaan, which their ancestors had dwelled in, but which by the time of Daniel, foreigners like the Assyrians and the Babylonians had conquered their kingdoms, destroyed their cities and exiled many among them to the distant lands, as Daniel himself had experienced and suffered. And in those distant lands, they had to bear the humiliation of their fate, the loss of their homeland, and the ignominy of their exile. Daniel gathered the prayers and thoughts of the people of God, many of whom had repented from their sins in their time and period of exile from their homeland. He asked the Lord on their behalf, presenting their sorrow and repentance, their regret for all of their mistakes and sins in the past, seeking God to forgive them their sins so that they might once again be loved and blessed by Him, and be allowed to return to their homeland, after their punishment and sufferings had come to an eventual end. He showcased Israel’s regret for their many disobedience and sins, and this is showing us how our attitude should be like in how we live our lives especially during this penitential time and season of Lent. We should also seek God’s generous mercy and forgiveness, and commit ourselves to His path, from now on.
Reflecting on both readings as we journey through Lent, let us echo this prayer: “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.” May we open our hearts to God’s grace, allowing Him to transform us from within. Heavenly Father, You call us to follow Your Son on the path of self-sacrificial love. Help us to die to ourselves so that we may bear fruit for Your kingdom. Cleanse our hearts, renew our spirits, and write Your law upon our souls. May we always seek Your glory and trust in Your divine plan. Strengthen us to follow Jesus, even when the path is difficult, so that we may one day share in His resurrection. Amen 🙏🏽
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded of the great mercy which the Lord, our most loving God and Father has shown to each and every one of us, the compassion and love which He has given to us all as His beloved people. We are reminded especially during this time and season of Lent, we have been given the opportunity to turn away from our sins and wickedness, and we have been given the generous opportunity to return to our loving God and Father, embracing His compassion and kindness, in His desire to reconciled and reunited with all of us. God has been generous in His mercy, and today we are all reminded to be thankful and appreciative of what we have received from Him. We are called to emulate the Saints, the holy men and women, particularly St. Patrick, who we celebrate today. Reflecting on our Sacred Scripture readings and from the life and works of St. Patrick, we are reminded to be aware of our sinfulness and seek God for His forgiveness and mercy, for Him to heal us from our sins and corruptions, so that we may once again be worthy to come to His Holy Presence and embrace Him fully in His love. And we are also reminded that we have the calling and obligation to be missionary as what St. Patrick and our other holy predecessors had done in their respective lives and works. That is why all of us are called to remember today our faith in the Lord and the generous mercy that God has given and reassured us with. We should not take God’s love for granted any longer, but appreciate every opportunities that we have been given. Let us all therefore continue to journey through this time and season of Lent with contrite heart, desiring to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, and at the same time, showing mercy and love, compassion and kindness to those around us as well. May all of us be truly forgiven by God and be reconciled with Him through this great opportunity of this Lenten time and season. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and be with us always and may He bless us all in everything that we do, in our every good efforts and endeavours, during this Lenten season and always. Amen 🙏🏽
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH | MONTH OF ST. JOSEPH: The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ. “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”. “This patronage must be invoked as ever necessary for the Church, not only as a defense against all dangers, but also, and indeed primarily, as an impetus for her renewed commitment to evangelization in the world and to re-evangelization,” wrote St. John Paul II in Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer). St. John Paul II further said, “Because St. Joseph is the protector of the Church, he is the guardian of the Eucharist and the Christian family. Therefore, we must turn to St. Joseph today to ward off attacks upon the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and upon the family. We must plead with St. Joseph to guard the Eucharistic Lord and the Christian family during this time of peril.”
As the weeks of Lent progress let us not be tired of doing our good works and penance, but continue with the enthusiasm of the catechumens on their way to Easter and Baptism. May our Lenten observance be a joyful journey and not a forced march. 🙏🏽
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12540
PRAYER INTENTIONS: As we reflect on Christ’s Transfiguration, we pray for the grace to listen to Him and be transformed by His presence. May this Lenten journey deepen our faith, strengthen our trust in God’s promises, and renew our commitment to live as citizens of heaven. We also pray for those struggling with doubt and uncertainty, that they may find hope in God’s faithfulness. Joining Pope Francis in his March prayer intention, we pray for families in crisis, that they may experience healing through forgiveness and a renewed appreciation for one another. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. Amen 🙏🏽
LET US PRAY:
My most merciful Jesus, I thank You for Your infinite mercy. Help me to see clearly my sin so that I, in turn, may see my need for Your mercy. As I do, dear Lord, I pray that my heart will be open to that mercy so that I can both receive it and share it with others. Make me a true instrument of Your divine grace. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen. 🙏🏽
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Bishop and Missionary ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
May this Lenten season bring us deeper conversion, unwavering trust, and a heart open to God’s transforming love. Wishing us all a safe, blessed, grace-filled and fruitful week. Amen. 🙏🏽
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖