THURSDAY OF THE NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
REMINDER: SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY INTO HEAVEN (Holy Day of Obligation) ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 15TH
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 14, 2025
MEMORIAL OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN MARY KOLBE, PRIEST AND MARTYR | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/category/saints-of-the-day
(Direct link to the detailed history of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/saint-of-the-day-feast-day-august-14th/)
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN | August 14, 2025 | “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/catholic-daily-mass-159/
NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: The 2025 Novena for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is scheduled to begin Wednesday, August 6 and end on August 14th. The novena is a prayer that commemorates the death of Mary and her assumption into Heaven, which is celebrated on August 15th. Novena link below: https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/novena-to-our-lady-of-the-assumption/
We thank God for the successful completion of our Novena to Our Lady of the Assumption. As we prepare to celebrate her Feast tomorrow, August 15th, may Our Blessed Mother Mary continue to intercede for us all. Amen 🙏🏽
Daily Reflections with Philomena | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
JUBILEE OF HOPE 2025: JUBILEE PRAYER | Link to the prayer of the Jubilee of Hope 2025 | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/08/the-jubilee-prayer/
Greetings and blessings, beloved family!
Today, Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, we thank the good Lord for the gift of this day! During this month of August, we entrust our lives, our plans, our fears, and our dreams into God’s loving hands. We pray that this month will be filled with divine blessings, new opportunities, and the strength to overcome every challenge that may come our way.
We pray and celebrate with those marking birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs, weddings, and other joyful milestones this August. May this be a month of peace for the anxious, healing for the sick, comfort for the brokenhearted, and provision for the needy. As we walk through the days ahead, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ go before us, the love of God surround us, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit guide every decision we make. May this month bring us closer to holiness, deeper in faith, and stronger in hope. In all things, may God’s name be paised. Amen🙏🏽
PRAYER FOR THE BEGINNING OF A NEW SCHOOL YEAR | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/prayer-for-the-beginning-of-a-new-school-year/
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5
On this feast day, as our children and children all over the world begin the new school year, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the ability to accept one another and courage to stand against any form of violence in treating others and courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe and well. Amen 🙏🏽
May Saint Joseph of Cupertino, Patron Saint of Students intercede for all students. Amen 🙏🏽
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” ~ Matthew 5:4
We remember in prayer all who began this journey of life with us but are no longer here. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died, that the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom.
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 & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏🏽
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 🙏🏽 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
With special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we continue to humbly pray for the well-being and safety of all parents, grandparents and the elderly. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our divided and conflicted world today. We continue to pray for all families and for the safety and well-being of our children and children all over the world. We pray for all those who are marginalized in our society, the poor and the needy. We pray for the Church, the Clergy, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, the Cardinals, Bishops, all Priests, that they be sanctified in their ministry to God’s people. We pray for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world suffering from political and religious unrest. May God protect us all and keep united in peace, love and faith. Amen 🙏🏽
Through the intercession of St. Joseph, we pray for all fathers, workers and all those who labour in this world. May the Lord bless the work of their hands and may God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of the Ordinary Time. Wishing us all and our loved ones a joyful, peaceful, and grace-filled month of August.🙏🏽
LIST OF ALL NOVENAS | Month of August | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/list-of-all-novenas-august/
COMMON CATHOLIC PRAYERS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/common-catholic-prayers/
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today’s Holy Mass, Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr | Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time | August 14, 2025
Reading 1: Joshua 3:7–10a, 11, 13–17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 114:1–2, 3–4, 5–6
Gospel: Matthew 18:21–19:1
Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 18:21–19:1
“I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times”
“Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells a parable about a servant who received the gift of forgiveness from his master but then refused to pass on that same gift to a fellow servant. It is a parable which both celebrates God’s readiness to forgive us whenever we ask for forgiveness and challenges us to be as ready to forgive each other as God is to forgive us. Jesus suggests that the gift of forgiveness we receive from God obliges us to pass on that same gift to others when it is asked for. The way God is with us is how we are to be with each other. That is what Jesus meant when, a little earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus called on His disciples to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. We can have all kinds of ideas about what being perfect means. However, in the Gospels God’s perfection consists in God’s love, and especially, in God’s willingness to forgive. The saying, ‘be perfect as your Father is perfect’ in Matthew’s Gospel is found in a slightly different form in Luke’s Gospel, ‘be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful’. The call to perfection is the call to be as generous and as forgiving in our love as God is. Along with the call, the Lord also provides us with the resource to respond to the call, and that resource is, of course, the Holy Spirit, what Paul calls the Spirit of God’s love that has been poured into our hearts.
In our Gospel today, Peter’s question reveals the human tendency to limit mercy to set boundaries on forgiveness. Jesus responds by shattering those limits, calling His disciples to forgive “seventy-seven times,” a phrase that points to boundless mercy. He illustrates this through the parable of the unforgiving servant: a man forgiven an unpayable debt refuses to forgive a small one. The contrast is deliberate our offenses against God are infinitely greater than anything done to us, yet God forgives us freely. The lesson is clear: mercy received must become mercy given. Forgiveness is not optional for those who have experienced the Father’s compassion; it is a non-negotiable mark of belonging to the Kingdom. And this forgiveness must come “from the heart,” not merely from the lips, mirroring the deep, unconditional love God extends to us.
The first reading from the book of Joshua speaks of God’s power and faithfulness as He miraculously stops the Jordan River so the Israelites can cross on dry ground. This event marks a turning point in their journey: they are no longer wandering in the wilderness but stepping into the Promised Land. God exalts Joshua in the sight of the people, affirming His presence just as He was with Moses. The crossing of the Jordan becomes a visible sign that the living God is among His people, guiding them to fulfill His promises. This passage reminds us that God’s power works through human leadership and that His presence can turn impossible barriers into open pathways.
The Responsorial Psalm poetically recalls God’s mighty acts in history the sea fleeing at the Exodus, the Jordan turning back, the mountains skipping like rams. It is a song of awe, joy, and recognition that creation itself responds to the presence of the Lord. This same divine presence is with us today, moving obstacles and making a way where there seems to be none.
Together, the readings call us to trust God’s power in our lives, to step forward in faith when He opens the way, and to extend the forgiveness we have so generously received. Just as God made a way for Israel through the Jordan, He calls us to clear the rivers of resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness in our hearts so that His grace can flow freely.
Reflecting on today’s readings, we might ask ourselves: Do I hold back mercy, setting limits on my forgiveness? Am I quick to forget the immense debt God has forgiven me? When I face barriers in life, do I trust God to make a way through them? Do I live with the awareness that His presence is always with me in prayer, in community, and even in life’s crossings into new territory? And like Joshua, am I willing to lead with courage, trusting that God is at work through me for the good of His people? May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace as we remain faithful and continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth.🙏🏽
Lord Jesus, You have forgiven me far more than I could ever repay. Teach me to forgive others from the heart, without keeping count or holding back mercy. Like Joshua, may I trust in Your presence and step forward when You open the way. Remove from me the rivers of pride and bitterness, and fill my heart with the joy and awe of Your saving deeds. May my life be a witness to Your boundless mercy and unfailing love. Amen. 🙏🏾
MEMORIAL OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN MARY KOLBE, PRIEST AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 14TH: Today, the Church honors Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe (Patron of families, journalists, prisoners, the pro-life movement, and those struggling with addiction), a Polish Franciscan priest and missionary remembered as the “martyr of charity” for offering his life in place of another prisoner at Auschwitz. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Maximilian Kolbe, we pray for our families and families across the world, for peace, unity, justice, and love in our communities, for the poor and needy, and for the sick and dying especially those suffering from cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, and terminal conditions. We lift up prisoners, journalists, those battling addiction, our Holy Father, the clergy, and all vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We also remember persecuted Christians, the conversion of sinners, and the strengthening of faith among believers everywhere. 🙏🏾
Saint(s) of the Day with Daily Reflections | August 14th | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com
(Direct link to the detailed history of Saint Maximilian Kolbe | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/saint-of-the-day-feast-day-august-14th/)
SAINT MAXIMILIAN MARY KOLBE, PRIEST AND MARTYR: Born Raymond Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in Poland, he grew up in a devout Catholic family. At age ten, a vision of the Virgin Mary offering him two crowns white for purity and red for martyrdom set the course for his life. He joined the Conventual Franciscan Order, was ordained a priest, and founded the Militia Immaculatae to promote consecration to Mary and the conversion of souls. Using modern media, he published the Knights of the Immaculata magazine, hosted radio broadcasts, and established missionary centers in Poland, Japan, and India.
In 1927, he founded Niepokalanów (“City of the Immaculata”), which became the largest Catholic monastery in the world. During World War II, he sheltered more than 3,000 refugees, including 2,000 Jews. Arrested by the Gestapo in 1941, he was sent to Auschwitz, where he ministered to fellow prisoners with hope and prayer. When a man cried out for his wife and children after being chosen for execution, Father Kolbe volunteered to take his place. After two weeks of starvation, he was killed by lethal injection on August 14, 1941, the eve of the Assumption.
Pope John Paul II canonized him on October 10, 1982, naming him a martyr of charity. Present at the canonization was the man whose life he had saved.
PRAYER: Lord, You filled Saint Maximilian with ardent love for the Immaculate Virgin and zeal for the salvation of souls. Through his intercession, grant that we may serve You with courage, love without counting the cost, and remain faithful to Christ until death. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 🙏🏾
Our Blessed Mother Mary, and Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe ~ Pray for us. 🙏🏾
GENERAL PRAYERS AND INTENTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/general-prayers-and-intentions/
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 AUGUST: For mutual coexistence. Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons.
(https://popesprayerusa.net/popes-intentions/)
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST | MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, inviting us to reflect on her pure love, deep sorrow, and unwavering obedience to God. Her heart, aflame with charity and pierced by suffering, mirrors the life of Christ and calls us to follow Him more closely through her example. This month, the Church encourages us to console her sorrowful heart and grow in holiness through prayers like the Rosary, the Litany of the Immaculate Heart, and the First Saturday Devotion. Through Mary’s heart, we are led ever closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“O Immaculate Heart of Mary, be our refuge and the way that leads us to God.”
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us and draw us into deeper love and trust in your Son. Amen🙏🏽
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12540
PRAYER INTENTIONS: On this Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, and in light of today’s Scriptures reminding us of God’s mighty power to lead His people through trials and the boundless mercy we are called to extend to one another, we lift up our hearts in prayer. We pray for the grace to forgive as generously as Christ has forgiven us, to stand firm in faith when faced with adversity, and to place our trust fully in the Lord who leads us through life’s deep waters. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Maximilian Kolbe, we pray for peace, unity, and reconciliation in our families and in the world; for the conversion of sinners; for persecuted Christians; and for all who risk their lives for truth and justice. We remember prisoners, the poor and homeless, refugees, and all who suffer from violence or oppression. We lift up those battling addiction, illness, or despair, especially those with cancer, heart disease, respiratory conditions, and terminal illnesses. We pray for our Holy Father, the clergy, religious, and for an increase in holy vocations. May we, like Saint Maximilian, live and die in love, courage, and total consecration to Christ through Mary. 🙏🏾
LET US PRAY:
My forgiving Lord, Your mercy is infinite and unfathomable. You desire to forgive every sin in my life and to restore me completely to a life of perfect union with You. I accept this gift of forgiveness in my life, dear Lord, and I freely choose to offer this same depth of mercy to everyone who ever has or ever will sin against me. I forgive as completely as I can. Please help me to imitate Your unending mercy. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen 🙏🏽
Lord God, You inspired Saint Maximilian Kolbe to follow Christ in loving devotion to the Immaculate Virgin and in heroic charity toward his neighbor. Grant us the strength to forgive without limit, the courage to stand for truth, and the faith to walk confidently wherever You lead us. Through his intercession, may we be steadfast in prayer, generous in mercy, and joyful in service, until the day we share in the fullness of Your glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 🙏🏾
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us. Amen 🙏🏽
Thanking God for the precious gift of this new day, and as we now enter the gentle rhythm of Ordinary Time, may our hearts remain open to the quiet working of the Holy Spirit who continues to guide, renew, and strengthen us each day. May this new month be filled with blessings, safety, and the quiet joy that comes from knowing that Christ walks with us always. Alleluia! Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled Thursday and a fulfilling week 🙏🏽
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
Daily Reflections with Philomena | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Sir G.L.I Opiepe’s Health and Education Foundation | https://gliopiepehe.org
Sir G.L.I Opiepe’s Health and Education Foundation | Global Missions Now Awards |
North Texas Catholic Magazine | Dr. Philomena Ikowe – Life on Purpose (pages 44-45) | https://www.flipsnack.com/A9DFE877C6F/north-texas-catholic-magazine-mar-apr-issue-2025/full-view.html