Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on February 12, 2025 on EWTN” |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | February 12, 2025 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | February 12, 2025 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” |
On February 11, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to 14-year-old French Peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous in the hollow rock of Massabielle in southern France. That year Bernadette would report a total of 18 apparitions of a woman she described as “lovelier than I have ever seen.” On March 25, when Bernadette asked the Beautiful Lady her name, she replied: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The woman in the vision revealed herself as the “Immaculate Conception,” in confirmation of this dogma of the Catholic faith which was infallibly defined by the Holy Father just four years prior. The Marian apparitions began Feb. 11, 1858, ended July 16 that year and received the local bishop’s approval after a four-year inquiry. Coming soon after the 1854 dogmatic definition of her Immaculate Conception, the Virgin Mary’s appearances at Lourdes turned the town into a popular travel destination. Our Lady told Bernadette to drink from an unseen fountain at the grotto, when Bernadette scratched at the ground, a stream of pure spring water surged forth. This stream demonstrated healing properties, and it continues to draw pilgrims to the grotto from around the globe. Thousands of people say their medical conditions have been cured through pilgrimage, prayer and the water flowing from the spring to which Bernadette was directed by the Blessed Virgin. Experts have verified 69 cases of miraculous healing at Lourdes since 1862. St. Bernadette also has her own liturgical memorial, which occurs on February 18th in France and Canada and April 16th elsewhere. Born in January 1844, the future visionary was the first child of her parents Francois and Louise, who both worked in a mill run by Francois. Their family life was loving but difficult. Many of Bernadette’s siblings died in childhood, and she developed asthma. Economic hardship and an injury suffered by her father cost them the mill in 1854. Years of poverty followed, during which Bernadette often had to live apart from her parents and work rather than attending school. In January 1858 she returned to her family, whose members were living in a cramped single room. Strongly committed to her faith, Bernadette made an effort to learn the Church’s teachings despite her lack of formal education.
On Feb. 11, 1858, Bernadette went to gather firewood with her sister and a friend. As she approached a grotto near a river, she saw a light coming from a spot near a rosebush. The light surrounded a woman who wore a white dress and held a rosary. Seeing the lady in white make the sign of the Cross, Bernadette knelt, took out her own rosary, and began to pray. When she finished praying, the woman motioned for her to approach. But she remained still, and the vision disappeared. Her companions had seen nothing. Bernadette described the lady in white to them, demanding they tell no one. But the secret came out later that day. The next Sunday, Bernadette returned to the grotto, where she saw the woman again. The identity of the apparition, however, would remain unknown for several weeks. Some adults accompanied Bernadette on her third trip, on Feb. 18, though they did not see the vision she received. The woman in white asked the girl to return for two weeks. “She told me also,” Bernadette later wrote, “that she did not promise to make me happy in this world, but in the next.” A group of family members and others went with her to the cave the next day, but only the young peasant girl saw the woman and heard her words. Over the next few days, the number of people in attendance at the cave swelled to more than 100. A parish priest, Father Peyramale, became concerned – as did the police. On Feb. 24, 250 people saw Bernadette break into tears, but only she heard the woman’s message: “Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners. Go, kiss the ground for the conversion of sinners.” A larger crowd was there on Feb. 25 – but they were shocked to see Bernadette drinking from a muddy stream and eating weeds. The apparition had told her to drink the water, and the weed-eating was a penitential act. Onlookers, meanwhile, saw only the girl’s unusual behavior, and popular fascination turned to ridicule and suspicion. On Feb. 27, Bernadette made a joyful discovery: the spring from which she drank was not muddy now, but clear. As the crowds continued to gather, this change was noticed, and a woman with a paralyzed arm came to the water hoping to be healed. Four years later, her case would be recognized as the first miraculous healing at Lourdes. Public interest continued, and Bernadette heard a recurring message from the vision: “Go, tell the priests to bring people here in procession and have a chapel built here.”
While others were quick to conclude that Bernadette was seeing the Virgin Mary, the visionary herself did not claim to know the woman’s identity. As she conveyed the repeated message to Fr. Peyramale, the priest grew frustrated and told Bernadette to ask the woman her name. But when she did so, the woman smiled and remained silent. Her identity remained a mystery after the initial two-week period. Three weeks later, on the Feast of the Annunciation, Bernadette visited the cave again. When she saw the lady, she kept asking to know her identity. Finally, the woman folded her hands, looked up and said: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The seer, devout but uneducated, did not know what these words meant. She related them to Fr. Peyramale, who was stunned and informed his bishop. Bernadette saw the Blessed Virgin Mary two more times in 1858: on the Wednesday after Easter, and on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The publicity given these miraculous events on the one hand and the seeming sincerity and innocence of the girl on the other made it necessary for the bishop of Tarbes to institute a judicial inquiry. In 1862, four years later bishop of Tarbes declared the apparitions to be supernatural and and worthy of belief and permitted the public veneration of the Immaculate Conception in the grotto. Soon a chapel was erected. St. Bernadette left Lourdes in 1866 to join a religious order in central France, where she died after several years of illness in 1879. By the time of her death, a basilica had been built upon the rock of the Massabielle at the apparition site in response to Our Lady’s request, and in 1876 it was consecrated as the “Church of the Rosary”, under the leadership of Fr. Peyramale. Since that time countless pilgrims come every year to Lourdes to fulfill promises or to beg graces. Due to the multitudes of medically documented miraculous healings, the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. Our Lady of Lourdes is the Patron Saint of Illness and Healing, sick people, protection from diseases, Lourdes, France, Quezon City, Tagaytay City, Barangay Granada of Bacolod, Daegu, South Korea, Tennessee, Diocese of Lancaster.
PRAYER: “Grant us, O merciful God, protection in our weakness, that we, who keep the Memorial of the Immaculate Mother of God, may with the help of her intercession, rise up from our iniquities. 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🙏
NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES | Novena – February 2-10 |Feastday: February 11th | Novena Prayer | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/02/novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes/
Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Saint Bernadette, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Daily Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/sick/documents/20250114-giornata-malato.html
“Hope does not disappoint” ~ Romans 5:5
Today, we celebrate the 33rd World Day of the Sick, which was established by Pope John Paul II, and is celebrated each year on February 11th, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. It is an opportunity to devote special attention to the sick and to those who provide them with assistance and care, both in health care institutions and within families and communities. As we celebrate the World Day of the Sick in this Jubilee year of Hope, we are all invited to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. We reflect on the hope that strengthens us in times of sickness. According to Pope Francis in his encouraging message taken from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, he reflects on this year’s theme, “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5); indeed, it strengthens us in times of trial. He goes on to say, ‘God does not abandon us and often amazes us by granting us a strength that we never expected and would never have found on our own’.”
Catholics and all Christians are being urged to reflect during this year’s World Day of the Sick on the “grace-filled encounters” which can emerge at times of adversity. Pope Francis goes on to say in his message, “How can we be strong, for example, when our bodies are prey to severe, debilitating illnesses that require costly treatment that we may not be able to afford?”, .“How can we show strength when, in addition to our own sufferings, we see those of our loved ones who support us yet feel powerless to help us? “In these situations, we sense our need for a strength greater than our own. We realise that we need God’s help, His grace, His Providence, and the strength that is the gift of His Spirit.” According to Pope Francis, God remains close to those who are suffering in three particular ways: through encounter, gift and sharing.
Pope Francis emphasized how suffering can become “an occasion for a transformative encounter” with God. The pontiff pointed out that these ways are profound paths of providential companionship during times of trial. He also addressed all those “who are ill or who care for the suffering,” telling them: “Your journey together is a sign for everyone: ‘a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope.’” The 88-year-old Pope wrote from personal experience, having faced several health challenges in recent years, including knee problems requiring a wheelchair, respiratory infections, and, most recently, a fall resulting in a forearm contusion. “In times of illness, we sense our human frailty on the physical, psychological, and spiritual levels,” the Pope wrote. “Yet we also experience the closeness and compassion of God, who, in Jesus, shared in our human suffering.” Pope Francis emphasized that God’s first way of being close is through presence, noting that suffering “becomes an occasion for a transformative encounter, the discovery of a solid rock to which we can hold fast amid the tempests of life.”
Addressing the second aspect, gift, Pope Francis cited Venerable Madeleine Delbrêl, emphasizing that hope comes primarily from the Lord as “a gift to be received and cultivated.”. In his message, the Pope explained that the third dimension of divine closeness manifests through sharing, particularly in health care settings where mutual enrichment often occurs between patients, medical staff, and family members. “How often, when we care for those in need, do we discover love! We realise that we are ‘angels’ of hope and messengers of God for one another … whether patients, physicians, nurses, family members, friends, priests, men and women religious, no matter where we are, whether in the family or in clinics, nursing homes, hospitals or medical centres. “We need to learn how to appreciate the beauty and significance of these grace-filled encounters. “We need to learn how to cherish the gentle smile of a nurse, the gratitude and trust of a patient, the caring face of a doctor or volunteer, or the anxious and expectant look of a spouse, a child, a grandchild or a dear friend. “All these are rays of light to be treasured.” The Pope’s message highlights the importance of the healing ministry, especially in the ‘dark night of adversity’ which we all face at different times of our lives. The legacy of our ministry and the people who have contributed continues to guide us to the most difficult of spaces, where we are called to serve, accompany, and provide care, hope and comfort to those who we serve at the most darkest times of their adversities.
The pope concluded his message with a special word of gratitude to health care workers and those who care for the sick, calling their shared journey “a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope.” He entrusted all who are ill to the intercession of Mary, Health of the Sick, and asked for prayers for himself.
The World Day of the Sick is traditionally celebrated on Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
PRAYER
Heal Your People, Hear Our Prayer (World Day of the Sick February 11, 2025)
“Lord, hear my prayer; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.” Psalm 102:2-3
Illness reveals our human vulnerabilities, which is exactly where God meets us.
Let us pray for God’s healing presence in all the world’s ailments:
For the sick and those impacted by illness of mind, body, or spirit,
For those bound by injustice or who live in fear.
God of wholeness and hope, heal your people
For the imprisoned and those who care for them,
For migrants and refugees escaping violence and those who welcome them,
For the elderly and anyone who feels forgotten by society,
God of wholeness and hope, heal your people
For safe spaces of healing in all corners of creation:
facilities, homes, churches, and everywhere in between,
For those who offer and those who receive compassionate care therein,
God of wholeness and hope, heal your people. Amen 🙏🏽
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 33rd World Day of the Sick, on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes | February 11, 2025 | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/11/message-of-his-holiness-pope-francis-for-the-33rd-world-day-of-the-sick-on-the-feast-of-our-lady-of-lourdes-february-11-2025/
Daily Reflections | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 10, 2025
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN | “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/10/catholic-daily-mass-daily-tv-mass-february-10-2025/
DAILY REFLECTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time!
Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río, Martyr. Saint Scholastica is the Patron Saint of Convulsive children; Nuns; Against rain and storms. And Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río is the Patron Saint of Persecuted Christians; Children; Adolescents; Sahuayo. Through the intercession of our Mother Mary, Saint Scholastica and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río, we humbly pray for Nuns and all religious and we pray for all those who are sick, particularly sick children and those suffering from convulsive disorder and mental illness. We also pray for youths, children and persecuted Christians all over the world. We pray for God’s Divine healing and intervention… Amen🙏
NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES | Novena Starts: February 2nd; Feastday: February 11th | Novena prayer | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/02/novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes/
We thank God for the successful completion of our Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes in preparation for the FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES tomorrow, February 11, 2025. May our Blessed Mother Mary continue to intercede for us… Amen🙏
We continue to pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. Amen. For those who are sick, especially those who are sick with cancers and other terminal diseases. 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. Saint Scholastica, Virgin and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río, Martyr ~ Pray for us🙏
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/
NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES [Novena Starts: February 2nd; Feastday: February 11th]
NOVENA PRAYER: Most Holy Mother Mary, at Lourdes you asked us to do penance and to pray for the conversion of sinners. Obtain for each of us the grace of true repentance. Help those for whom we pray, and especially those who most need God’s mercy. Your Divine Son so loves every soul that He gave His life to pay the price for our redemption. Help us to return His love by making the sacrifices needed to keep his commandments. Most Holy Mother you offered your Divine Son to the Eternal Father when you presented Him in the temple; offer us to the Father as your other children; watch over us and guide us. Blessed Mother, obtain for me the grace I most need, and especially these favors that I ask in this Novena, if they be in keeping with God’s will. Amen.
O Immaculate Virgin Mary, preserved from the slightest stain of sin, and enriched with all the treasures of divine grace, I thank you for the many blessings I have received through your most powerful intercession. You know my needs, my trials, my sufferings. Mother of mercy, I beseech you to hear my prayer, and to obtain for me of your Divine Son the favors I seek in this Novena. (Here make your requests.)
THE MEMORARE: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother; to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen 🙏🏽(Add your daily Rosary)
Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Saint Bernadette, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes Link | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/02/novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes/
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN AND SAINT JOSÉ LUIS SÁNCHEZ DEL RÍO, MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 10TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río, Martyr. Saint Scholastica is the Patron Saint of Convulsive children; Nuns; Against rain and storms. And Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río is the Patron Saint of Persecuted Christians; Children; Adolescents; Sahuayo. Through the intercession of our Mother Mary, Saint Scholastica and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río, we humbly pray for Nuns and all religious and we pray for all those who are sick, particularly sick children and those suffering from convulsive disorder and mental illness. We also pray for youths, children and persecuted Christians all over the world. We pray for God’s Divine healing and intervention… Amen🙏
Saint Scholastica, Virgin and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río, Martyr ~ Pray for us🙏
Saint (s) of the Day | February 10th | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN: St. Scholastica (480–543 A.D.) was born in Nursia, Italy on March 2, 480, to a noble Roman family, along with her twin brother, the famous St. Benedict of Nursia. Their mother died in childbirth. St. Scholastica, like her twin brother, St. Benedict was dedicated to God as a child, and from a young age both siblings sensed a special divine calling. They both entered religious life and established communities within five miles of each other; St. Scholastica led a convent near Monte Cassino where St. Benedict established his world-renowned monastery. Because of the isolated nature of their vocations, the siblings only met once a year at a local farmhouse to discuss spiritual matters. Inspired by St. Benedict’s teaching, St. Scholastica devoted her whole life to seeking and serving God.
Information on the virgin Scholastica is very scanty. In his Second Book of Dialogues (Ch. 33 and 34) Pope St. Gregory has described for us the last meeting between brother and sister, St. Benedict and St. Scholastica: “His sister Scholastica, who had been consecrated to God in early childhood, used to visit with him once a year. On these occasions he would go to meet her in a house belonging to the monastery a short distance from the entrance. For this particular visit he joined her there with a few of his disciples and they spent the whole day singing God’s praises and conversing about the spiritual life. When darkness was setting in they took their meal together and continued their conversation at table until it was quite late. Then the holy nun said to him, ‘Please do not leave me tonight, brother. Let us keep on talking about the joys of heaven till morning.’ ‘What are you saying, sister?’ he replied. ‘You know that I cannot stay away from the monastery.’ The sky was so clear at the time, there was not a cloud in sight.
At her brother’s refusal Scholastica folded her hands on the table and rested her head upon them in earnest prayer. When she looked up again, there was a sudden burst of lightning and thunder accompanied by such a downpour that Benedict and his companions were unable to set foot outside the door. By shedding a flood of tears while she prayed, this holy nun had darkened the cloudless sky with a heavy rain. The storm began as soon as her prayer was over. In fact, the two coincided so closely that the thunder was already resounding as she raised her head from the table. The very instant she ended her prayer the rain poured down. Realizing that he could not return to the abbey in this terrible storm, Benedict complained bitterly. ‘God forgive you, sister!’ he said. ‘What have you done?’ Scholastica simply answered, ‘When I appealed to you, you would not listen to me. So I turned to my God and He heard my prayer. Leave now if you can. Leave me here and go back to your monastery.’ This, of course, he could not do. He had no choice now but to stay, in spite of his unwillingness. They spent the entire night together and both of them derived great profit from the holy thoughts they exchanged about the interior life. The next morning Scholastica returned to her convent and Benedict to his monastery.
Three days later as he stood in his room looking up toward the sky, he beheld his sister’s soul leaving her body and entering the heavenly court in the form of a dove. Overjoyed at her eternal glory, he gave thanks to God in hymns of praise. Then, after informing his brethren of her death, he sent some of them to bring her body to the abbey and bury it in the tomb he had prepared for himself. The bodies of these two were now to share a common resting place, just as in life their souls had always been one in God.” St. Scholastica died on February 10, 543 A.D. at Monte Cassino, Italy. Her tomb is at Monte Cassino, Italy. St. Benedict followed her soon after she died. She was Canonized Pre-Congregation by St. Peter III. She’s the Patron Saint of convulsive children; nuns; Against rain and storms.
PRAYER TO SAINT SCHOLASTICA: “Loving mother, Scholastica, with a woman’s love and confidence in God, you moved the heavens with your tears for the sake of love. Teach me to live in love and share generously the gifts God has given to me. Show me how to surrender everything to God in full trust, even my smallest hopes and desires. Help me to grow in gentle patience. May the trials of daily life never take me away from the joy of living in God’s loving presence and grace. Intercede for my loved ones. May your prayers help them to live in the Way of God as did your prayers for your brother, Benedict. In Jesus Name we pray… Amen.”🙏
Quote of Saint Scholastica: “I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and He did listen.”
PRAYER: God our Father, today we celebrate the memory of St. Scholastica. Grant that, following her example, we may serve You with perfect love and rejoice in experiencing Your goodness. Amen🙏
SAINT JOSÉ LUIS SÁNCHEZ DEL RÍO, MARTYR: Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río (1913 – 1928) was born on March 28, 1913, Sahuayo, Mexico. He was a Mexican Cristero born to Macario Sánchez and Maria del Río. He lived during the turbulent Catholic persecution in Mexico, by the Calles government, called the Cristero War. St. Jose had a love for Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Blessed Sacrament. He pleaded to be a Cristero at the young age of 13 and was finally allowed. During a fierce battle, the general’s horse was shot in which St. Jose, gave him his own horse. This cost him his life. He was captured and imprisoned. St. Jose’s captures ordered him to renounce his faith, but with courage he would not, yelling “Viva Cristo Rey and Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe”. He died on February 10, 1928, Sahuayo, Mexico after being tortured, without a trial, at 14 years old. Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río was put to death by government officials because he refused to renounce his Catholic faith. His death was seen as a largely political venture on the part of government officials in their attempt to stamp out dissent and crush religious freedom in the area. Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río was dubbed “Joselito.”
Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río was declared to be venerable on June 22, 2004, by Pope John Paul II and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI – through the Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints – on November 20, 2005, in Mexico. Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to him on January 21, 2016, allowing for his canonization to take place; a date was determined at a consistory on March 15, 2016, and he was proclaimed to be a saint on October 16, 2016. Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río is the Patron Saint of Persecuted Christians; Children; Adolescents; Sahuayo.
Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Reading for today’s Holy Mass, Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time | Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time | February 10, 2025
Reading 1, Genesis 1:1-19
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35
Gospel, Mark 6:53-56
Gospel Reading ~ Mark 6:53-56
“As many as touched it were healed”
“After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and His disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.”
Today’s Gospel reading according to St. Mark the Evangelist, gives an account of the works of the Lord at the Lake of Galilee or the Lake of Gennesaret where He called His first disciples, the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James and John. It was there that many people came flocking to Him, seeking for Him to heal their sick ones, or their own infirmities. According to the Gospel, ‘people started hurrying all through the countryside’ and they ‘brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard He was’. It was told to us how He patiently cared for all of them, curing them and helping all those who had been downtrodden and afflicted. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who became incarnate in the flesh and appearing before us as the Son of Man, God made Himself approachable and tangible in His love, with Christ as the perfect manifestation of His love in this world amongst us all. Today’s Gospel reading brings home to us the extent to which Jesus drew people to Himself, especially those who were sick and broken. It was above all those in need of healing who reached out towards Jesus and sought to touch even the fringe of His cloak. They reached out to Him because they recognized Him as the source of life and healing. We ourselves very often reach out towards the Lord with greatest energy in those times when we experience our own need of healing, whether it is physical or emotional or spiritual healing. The struggles of life, the brokenness and suffering we experience in the course of our lives, can make us more aware of our need of the Lord and more open to His presence. It is often the cracks in our lives that allow the Lord’s light to enter and shine on us. It can sometimes be through our experience of the cross that we grow in our relationship with the risen Lord. The darker times of our lives can leave us more spiritually aware by bringing home to us our need of the Lord. It is in such moments that we truly make our own that prayer which forms part of a well-know hymn ‘Help of the helpless, o abide with me’. Those who were broken in body, mind or spirit wanted to draw upon God’s power that was at work in and through Him. The path to the Lord today for many people is often through their brokenness. When we are desperate, for whatever reason, we tend to approach the Lord with the greatest earnestness and passion. It is in our brokenness that we recognize our poverty and our need of the one who came as strength in our weakness, life in our death, light in our darkness. In the gospel reading the sick wanted to touch the fringe of the Lord’s cloak; they wanted not only a personal contact with Jesus. For us today, it is above all in the Eucharist that we touch the Lord and the Lord touches us. It is there above all that we bring our brokenness before Him for His healing touch.
Our first reading today from the beginning of the Book of Genesis gives an account of the Creation of the Universe, detailing how God created all things at the moment of Creation in the beginning of time, making all things to be as they exist to this day. We heard the first half of these events of Creation, as God created what we are all familiar with, beginning with Light, and then the world itself, and all the celestial bodies and structures, showing to us that God is truly the Lord and Master of all the whole Universe. Of course some would debate on whether God really created the world and the whole Universe in just seven days, but in truth, the Scriptures never truly said that God finish the Creation in seven literal days. One possible point of view is that, from the perspective of the storyteller and from those inspired by the Lord to write this account, the event took place over seven days, while the actual event might have spanned millennia and even millions of years, thus reconciling the view of how the Universe exists according to scientific beliefs and evidences and our Christian faith in the Creation of the Universe. After all, there are many things that Science and our understanding of this world and universe cannot explain, as we are limited in our capabilities to comprehend things that are truly beyond our imagination and ability to understand the true and full reality of this world and Universe around us. This is something that we have to keep in mind, just as we all also realise the nature of our own mortality, how our lives are all belonging to God, and have been given to us by God.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are reminded of the love of God which has been given to us, in His Creation of this whole world and universe, of everything present around us, our world and all the good things in it. Ultimately, we also recall our own gift of life, the most wonderful gift of this life which we have received from the Lord Himself through His Spirit, the Spirit of Life, giving us all the life that we are now experiencing and which we have gained by the great love that God has for each and every one of us. It was God’s love that made everything possible for us, even our lives and existence, for without His love, none of us would have existed and lived. As God’s beloved people, those whom He has created out of love, let us all realise how fortunate all of us have been to be loved in such a great manner by God, our Creator, and we ought to show Him our gratitude by loving Him in the same manner that He has loved us all first. We should also always strive to live our lives worthily and virtuously, filled with God’s grace and love, His truth and justice. We must not allow sin and darkness to corrupt us and lead us down the path towards ruin and destruction, but we ought to resist those temptations, keeping in mind that each one of us are meant to live and exist in the state of grace, as God has created us all, pure and blameless, free from the corruption of sin. May the Lord our loving God, Father and Creator continue to be with us always, and may He empower each one of us to walk ever more faithfully in His Presence from now on, doing our best to take good care of everything that He has created, this world and everyone around us. May all of us, as His disciples and followers, be good examples and inspirations for one another so that we may help lead more and more souls towards the salvation in God. Let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples, piety and faith of the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly those whom we celebrate today, Saint Scholastica and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río. Who have shown us, in all of their life and work, dedicating themselves wholly to the Lord and to His path. Let us all reject the temptations of worldly power and glory, and remind ourselves that we do not end up being swayed by all those things and fall into the path of sin and evil. Let us instead deepen our relationship with God by spending more quality time with Him, through prayer, charity and almsgiving, and by our exemplary way of life at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and look kindly upon us and show us His mercy, love and compassion and continue to bless us in everything that we say and do, and may He empower all of us to live ever more faithfully in His presence, now and always, and be good role models and inspirations to many others all around us. May God bless us always, our every good deeds and endeavours, all for His greater glory. 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 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. Every life is a gift. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints, we humbly pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. For persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world. We pray for all those who are sick, we particularly pray for sick children, the mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from breast cancer and other cancers and 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. We pray for an end to war, political and religious unrest. We pray for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. For God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. We continue to 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. 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. During this Ordinary Time, please let us all 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. Amen 🙏🏾
Let us pray:
My healing Lord, I thank You for the spiritual healing You continually offer me, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins on account of You suffering on the Cross. Fill my heart with a greater desire to come to You so as to receive the greatest gift I could ever receive: the forgiveness of my sins. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏🏽
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Scholastica and Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as during this Ordinary Time. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and fruitful week. May God keep us all safe and well ~ Amen 🙏🏽
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on February 11, 2025 on EWTN” |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | February 11, 2025 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | February 11, 2025 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” |
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on February 10, 2025 on EWTN” |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | February 10, 2025 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | February 10, 2025 |
*Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” |
FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 9, 2025
NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES | Novena Starts: February 2nd; Feastday: February 11th | Novena prayer | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/02/novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes/
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN | “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/09/catholic-daily-mass-3/
Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy Sunday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time!
Today, on this Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Teilo, Bishop; Saint Apollonia, Virgin and Martyr and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Religious. Through the intercession of our blessed Mother Mary, St. Apollonia (Patron Saint of Dentists, tooth disease, toothache) and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, for a courageous and holy death, especially the elderly, may beseech her to strengthen their faith as they weaken and approach death. And for people suffering from toothache and other dental diseases.
“O Glorious Apollonia, patron saint of dentistry and refuge to all those suffering from diseases of the teeth, I consecrate myself to thee, beseeching thee to number me among thy clients. Assist me by your intercession with God in my daily work and intercede with Him to obtain for me a happy death. Pray that my heart like thine may be inflamed with the love of Jesus and Mary, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 0 My God, bring me safe through temptation and strengthen me as thou didst our own patron Apollonia, through Christ our Lord….Amen.”🙏
We continue to pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. Amen. For those who are sick, especially those who are sick with cancers and other terminal diseases. 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. Saint Teilo, Bishop; Saint Apollonia, Virgin and Martyr and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Religious ~ Pray for us🙏
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/
DAILY REFLECTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
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/
NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES [Novena Starts: February 2nd; Feastday: February 11th]
NOVENA PRAYER: Most Holy Mother Mary, at Lourdes you asked us to do penance and to pray for the conversion of sinners. Obtain for each of us the grace of true repentance. Help those for whom we pray, and especially those who most need God’s mercy. Your Divine Son so loves every soul that He gave His life to pay the price for our redemption. Help us to return His love by making the sacrifices needed to keep his commandments. Most Holy Mother you offered your Divine Son to the Eternal Father when you presented Him in the temple; offer us to the Father as your other children; watch over us and guide us. Blessed Mother, obtain for me the grace I most need, and especially these favors that I ask in this Novena, if they be in keeping with God’s will. Amen.
O Immaculate Virgin Mary, preserved from the slightest stain of sin, and enriched with all the treasures of divine grace, I thank you for the many blessings I have received through your most powerful intercession. You know my needs, my trials, my sufferings. Mother of mercy, I beseech you to hear my prayer, and to obtain for me of your Divine Son the favors I seek in this Novena. (Here make your requests.)
THE MEMORARE: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother; to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen 🙏🏽(Add your daily Rosary)
Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Saint Bernadette, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes Link | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/02/novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes/
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today’s Holy Mass | Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) | February 9, 2025
Reading 1, Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8
Reading 2, First Corinthians 15:1-11
Gospel, Luke 5:1-11
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 5:1–11
“They left everything and followed Jesus”
“While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.”
Today’s Gospel reading this Sunday according to St. Luke the Evangelist, details the moment when the Lord went to the Lake of Galilee where He encountered His first disciples, the fishermen who worked at the lake, namely the two pairs of brothers, Simon and Andrew, as well as James and John. And it was there that the four fishermen, who were fishing by the lakeside, were told by the Lord to put their nets out into the deep water, despite them having caught nothing after many hours of labour. Simon, as the leader of the group spoke about his frustrations of not getting the fish all night long, but he obeyed the Lord’s command, and as soon as the nets were lowered according to the Lord’s commands, as we heard, there were so many fishes trapped that the two boats were almost sunk by them. This is an important reminder for all of us as Christians that as we embark on our journey of evangelisation as well as in our work of proclaiming the Good News of God to the people around us, we cannot do them without involving God and without putting our faith and trust in Him. And in every successes that we do and experience, the Lord is involved in them in some ways, beyond our knowledge, understanding and even ability to perceive. We must not be tempted or deluded into thinking that we can do everything by our own power and might, and as we respond to God’s call, in doing what He wants us all to do, in our outreach to everyone around us, in our respective communities and places, we must always root ourselves firmly in our faith in the Lord, and put Him at the centre of each and every one of our actions and works.
Our first reading this Sunday from the Book of the prophet Isaiah gives the account of how Isaiah witnessed a great heavenly vision from the Lord. At that time, Isaiah, who lived in the kingdom of Judah, was called by God to be His servant, His prophet to the people of Judah, and He revealed Himself to Isaiah, showing him all of His glory in Heaven, with all the glorious Angels surrounding Him and attending to Him, praising Him ceaselessly, and then a great Seraph, one of the chief Angels of God came to Isaiah, putting the coal from the heavenly Altar and purified Isaiah, who was therefore called and chosen to be God’s servant, as the prophet of God, and Isaiah responded positively to God calling on him to minister to His people. This was the beginning of Isaiah’s mission to the people of Judah, which had been alternating between rulers that were faithful to God and those who disobeyed God’s Law and commandments. King Uzziah, the king of Judah who had just passed away then, was one of those who disobeyed God and brought the people into sin, worshipping all sorts of pagan gods and idols. Meanwhile, the other kingdom of God’s people, the northern neighbour of Judah, the Kingdom of Israel had been been destroyed and conquered by the Assyrians a while earlier. Many of the people of the Kingdom of Israel had been uprooted from their homeland and forced to wander in exile in the distant lands of Assyria and Mesopotamia. Therefore, Isaiah had been called to proclaim God’s words of His people in Judah, firstly to warn them of the similar fate that they might be facing if they were to continue to walk down the path of rebellion and disobedience against Him, and at the same time, to provide them all with the message of assurance of God’s love and providence, His kindness and mercy, because despite of their rebelliousness and sins, God still loved His people nonetheless, and He has always been patient in loving and caring for them, providing them all with the means and ways for them to seek Him and His merciful love. God wants to let His beloved ones know that He is there for them, and if they are willing to repent and turn away from their sinful ways, then He will welcome them all back most warmly and lovingly.
Our second reading this Sunday from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Corinth, details the experiences which St. Paul mentioned to the faithful there on how he became a believer himself, after having received the truth of God from the Apostles and the other disciples, and after having encountered the Lord Himself in a vision that led to His conversion. He shared with all of them this story of his conversion and calling firstly to remind them all of the same truth which the faithful in Corinth have also believed in, and how he has been tasked with the mission to continue proclaiming the same Good News and truth to more and more people that he encountered throughout his journeys. Again, just like Isaiah before him, St. Paul had been called and sent to do God’s will, to continue the good works which He has initiated and started, and which He therefore entrusted to them. Through the good works that each of them had done, many more people came to know of the Lord, His love and mercy, and were led into the path of repentance and reconciliation, through which they were restored to grace in God and hence to the glorious inheritance that He has wanted to provide to them. And it is this same mission which all of us also share in, as our calling and responsibility as Christians, to be the ones to proclaim the Lord and His Good News to all the nations, to show the Lord to the world through our exemplary lives and actions, at all times.
Reflecting on today’s Scripture readings, each of today’s three readings shows how God entered the lives of three very imperfect people, blessing them in a very striking way. While Isaiah was at prayer in the Temple of Jerusalem, he was blessed with a vision of God’s majesty, of the Lord seated upon a high throne, even though Isaiah, on his own admission, was a person of unclean lips who lived among a people of unclean lips. On the road to Damascus, St. Paul was blessed with a vision of the risen Lord, even though at that very moment he persecuting the followers of the Lord. St. Peter the fisherman was blessed with the gift of an extraordinary catch of fish, even though, as he acknowledged, he was a sinful man. The way the Lord relates to each one of us is how he related to the Prophet Isaiah, St. Paul and St. Peter. He bestows his favour upon us without waiting for us to do anything to deserve it. In our second reading Saint Paul says, ‘I hardly deserve the name apostle’. The Lord doesn’t relate to us on the basis of what we deserve but simply out of the abundance of his own goodness and his love for us. He doesn’t ask us to change for the better before giving us his favour. Rather, He bestows His favour on us to empower us to change for the better, to enable us to become the person he wants us to become and knows we can become. As a result of the Lord’s favour towards him, St. Paul the persecutor of the church became the great apostle to the pagans. Likewise, St. Peter the fisherman became the rock on which Jesus built His church and Prophet Isaiah became one of the greatest prophets of Israel. When Peter said to Jesus, ‘Leave me, Lord’, he was speaking out of a sense of unworthiness at being so greatly blessed. Yet, Jesus wasn’t asking him to be worthy or deserving. It’s as if Jesus was saying to St. Peter, ‘I know you are unworthy, but I have blessed you abundantly anyway, and I have a job for you to do’. The Lord, of course, can touch our lives at any time of the day, and He can do so even when we are not consciously seeking to be touched by the Lord’s presence. The Lord doesn’t ask any of us to be worthy or deserving. He wants to bless us with His presence, with His gifts, as we are, even if we are actively opposing Him, as St. Paul was at the time. If we say to Him, ‘Leave me, Lord, because I am sinful’, He will ignore us. He wants us, rather, to pray, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. He wants us to open ourselves to the many ways that He can bless and grace us. He can do that whether we are at prayer in a place of worship as Prophet Isaiah was, or going about our day job, as St. Peter was, or actively opposing the Lord’s good work, as St.Paul was. The Lord wants to touch our lives with His gracious and generous presence, wherever we happen to be on our life’s journey, and He will find a way to do so, if we give Him half a chance, if we can bring ourselves to say with all our heart, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’, rather than ‘Leave me, Lord’. When we open ourselves to the Lord’s coming, He will often move us to take a direction we would never have taken if left to ourselves. If left to themselves, Prophet Isaiah would never have become the prophet he was, St. Paul would never have become the apostle to the pagans, and St. Peter would never have become the leader of the early church. The Lord has something important for each of us to do, some vital contribution to make to his own good work in our world, and He can work powerfully even through our weaknesses, if we allow Him.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, we are all reminded of the calling which the Lord our God has given to each and every one of us, the mission that He Himself has entrusted to us through His Church. We are reminded today through the readings of the Scripture passages which all highlighted to us the importance of service and mission, and answering God’s call in our lives. Each one of us have been given the various gifts, talents, abilities and opportunities, all unique to us and our circumstances so that we may make good use of these things which God has given to us for the good of the Church and for the whole world, the salvation of all mankind. As we have discerned and discussed through these readings of the Sacred Scriptures which we have received this Sunday, we can see clearly how God has called on all of us, His disciples and followers, to be His missionaries and workers, the ones to proclaim His salvation, the Good News He has brought into our midst, and to reveal His love to everyone. We should be inspired to follow the good examples set by our predecessors, like that of the prophet Isaiah, the many other prophets, and the disciples of the Lord like the Twelve Apostles, four of whom were mentioned in our Gospel passage today, and also St. Paul the Apostle, who followed the Lord wholeheartedly and dedicated himself to decades of service in being a missionary disciple, spreading the faith to countless people he encountered, to the very end of his life. Let us all therefore do our best and strive to respond to God’s call, in His call for us to embrace our missions in life, to do what we can to glorify His Name, and also to save more and more people by showing them all the sure path towards God, by sharing our own faith with them and by becoming good examples, inspirations and as good role models ourselves in how we live our own lives as devoted and faithful Christians at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, be our Guide and may He grant us the grace to be humble and strengthen our resolve and commitment to live faithfully in His presence, always and at all times. May the Lord be with us always, and may He guide us to Himself, and help us to walk ever more faithfully in His Presence, and may the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to bless us all in our every good endeavours, and may He continue to empower and guide each one of us in everything we do now and forevermore. Amen 🙏🏽
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT TEILO, BISHOP; SAINT APOLLONIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR AND BLESSED ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH, RELIGIOUS – FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 9TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Teilo, Bishop; Saint Apollonia, Virgin and Martyr and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Religious. Through the intercession of our blessed Mother Mary, St. Apollonia (Patron Saint of Dentists, tooth disease, toothache) and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, for a courageous and holy death, especially the elderly, may beseech her to strengthen their faith as they weaken and approach death. And for people suffering from toothache and other dental diseases.
“O Glorious Apollonia, patron saint of dentistry and refuge to all those suffering from diseases of the teeth, I consecrate myself to thee, beseeching thee to number me among thy clients. Assist me by your intercession with God in my daily work and intercede with Him to obtain for me a happy death. Pray that my heart like thine may be inflamed with the love of Jesus and Mary, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 0 My God, bring me safe through temptation and strengthen me as thou didst our own patron Apollonia, through Christ our Lord….Amen.”🙏
Saint Teilo, Bishop; Saint Apollonia, Virgin and Martyr and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Religious ~ Pray for us🙏
Saint (s) of the Day | February 9th | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
SAINT TEILO, BISHOP: St. Teilo was a sixth-century monk and bishop who led the Church in the Llandaff area of present-day Cardiff. His time as bishop included a major disease outbreak, which forced the local church and its leader into temporary exile. St. Teilo was an important and revered figure, who became a popular namesake for churches in Wales. St. Teilo is sometimes known under alternate versions of his name, including Theliau, Elios and Eliud. According to tradition Teilo was born about the year 480 AD at either Gumfreston or Penally in south Pembrokeshire. There are indications that St. Teilo’s father was a man named Usyllt, who may have been canonized as “Saint Issell.” A clearer connection exists between St. Teilo and the well-known Welsh patron Saint David, Teilo’s fellow monk and bishop, who was also his cousin. Finally, it appears that Teilo’s nephew, St. Oudaceus, succeeded him as the Bishop of Llandaff.
St. Teilo’s education took place at two institutions directed by saints. The first was established by the renowned Church leader and educator Saint Dubric (or Dyfrig), while the second was the school directed by Saint Paulinus of Wales. Later, St. Teilo himself became a monk and headed a monastic school in Llandaff. According to tradition, St.Teilo’s made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with St. David and their companion St. Padarn, and that the three were made bishops by the Patriarch of Jerusalem in approximately 518. Afterward, St. Teilo purportedly went to France, serving the Church there for several years alongside his friend St. Samson of Brittany. St. Teilo became the bishop of Llandaff, he took over leadership after its previous bishop St. Dubric retired to a hermitage on Bardsey Island. St. Teilo earned the acclaim of the faithful as a worthy successor to St. Dubric. The depth of their trust became clear in 547, when a severe disease (Yellow Fever) outbreak prompted Teilo to lead a large portion of his flock into exile for several years to escape its effects. He and his followers fled to Cornwall, from Cornwall they travelled to Brittany, staying with St. Samson and waiting for the plague to pass. Almost eight years passed, during which time Teilo and his followers are said to have planted three miles of fruit trees before they returned to Wales. His admirable leadership continued in Llandaff for several years after the crisis, and he died peacefully in a local monastery in 566 AD. In the centuries that followed, St. Teilo was honored in parts of France as well as in and Wales. Several churches in south Wales and Brittany are dedicated to St Teilo. A town in northwestern France, “Saint-Thelo,” still bears his name. He’s Patron Saint of Horses and fruit trees.
Saint Teilo, Bishop ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINT APOLLONIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: St. Apollonia was a deaconess of advanced age and noted sanctity. She was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius about 250. After a life spent in self-sacrifice and works of charity, this holy woman fell prey to a howling mob venting its fury on any Christians it could find. Enraged at St. Apollonia’s courageous refusal to sacrifice to idols, some in the mob struck out at her and knocked out all her teeth. St. Apollonia was then threatened with being burnt alive in a fire that was enkindled. She asked for a few moments to think things over. Then, so anxious was she embrace martyrdom that she tore free from the hands of her tormentors and, prompted by the Holy Spirit, leapt into the fire before they were ready. And the pagans remained amazed to see a weak woman more anxious to die for Christ than the cruel pagans were to torment her.
The story of St. Apollonia’s martyrdom was told to Fabius, the Bishop of Antioch, by St. Dionysius, the Bishop of Alexandria (died 265), a contemporary. The Martyrology reads: “At Alexandria the holy virgin Apollonia—under the Emperor Decius (249-251) her teeth were beaten out; then the executioners built and lit a funeral pyre, and threatened to burn her alive unless she would repeat their blasphemies. After some reflection she suddenly tore herself loose from her tormentors and threw herself into the flames. The fire of the Holy Spirit that glowed within her was more intense than the burning pyre. Her executioners were astounded to see a weak woman willingly embracing death with such determination before they were ready to carry out their threats.”
Theologians have debated about whether St. Apollonia’s act of throwing herself on the fire could be considered suicide. This would have been the “honorable” choice of good pagan Romans or Greeks when public humiliation or fall from power was inevitable. But the Church has never condoned suicide and St. Augustine, among others, defended the saint’s actions as noble, showing that she preferred martyrdom to giving up her faith and that she was merely proceeding with the inevitable. As was true for many of the early martyrs, St. Apollonia was immediately revered as a saint. She was especially venerated in the West and, in the Middle Ages, became known as the saint whose intercessions could help with problems of the teeth. She is invoked against toothaches and dental diseases. She’s the Patron Saint of Dentists; tooth disease; toothache. We praise God for the fearless courage of those early saints and ask that those who are in danger of mob violence in our day may be aided by the prayers of St. Apollonia.🙏
PRAYER: Lord God, You showered heavenly gifts on St. Apollonia. Help us to imitate her virtues during our earthly life and enjoy eternal happiness with her in heaven. Amen🙏
BLESSED ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH, RELIGIOUS: Bl. Anne Catherine was born “Anna Katharina” on September 8, 1774 in Flamsche, Westphalia, Germany. She was a German nun and mystic whose visions were recorded in The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1833) and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1852), by the German Romantic writer Clemens Brentano. Bl. Anne Catherine was the fifth of nine children born to a poor farming family. Parents were Bernard Emmerich, Anne Hiller. From her earliest years she demonstrated religious devotion and the desire for a life of prayer. At that young age she received divine knowledge imparted to her through extremely detailed visions of the lives of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. As a child her guardian angel often appeared to her, and Jesus Himself visited her while she was tending sheep. The suffering souls in purgatory often called upon her assistance to offer prayers and penances on their behalf. Bl. Anne Catherine worked on the family farm which afforded her little opportunity to learn to read and write, however, her attempts to join a religious community were largely unsuccessful because of her family’s poverty. Bl. Anne Catherine’s failure to learn to play the organ undermined her admission to the Poor Clares, a Franciscan order in Münster. Finally, in 1802, at the age of 28, after many years of longing for the religious life, Anne Catherine entered the novitiate with the Augustinian community at Agnetenberg, but her poverty and intense devotion alienated her from the other nuns. In 1811 the convent was suppressed by order of Napoleon as part of his secularization of church property, and Bl. Emmerick was taken in as a housekeeper for a priest in Dülmen. She devoted her life to waging a spiritual battle for suffering souls, and in her great charity she accepted extreme physical, yet supernatural, sufferings which ultimately left her bedridden in 1813 after long suffering from illness and in great pain and remained so until her death 11 years later; her only nourishment during this time was the communion wafer. This strange phenomena of physical suffering for the spiritual condition of other souls was not always accepted by others, and she endured much ridicule due to the astonishing manner in which her experiences displayed themselves.
Bl. Anne Catherine soon received the stigmata and began to experience mystical visions of the Virgin Mary and, especially, of the sufferings and Passion of Jesus. Her experiences became widely known, and her visions were recorded and published by Brentano, who stayed with her from 1818 until her death. Brentano’s posthumously published The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary discusses Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerick’s visions of a house near the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (now in western Turkey) in which Mary, according to one tradition, spent her last years. In 1881 ruins of a house answering Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerick’s description were discovered by a French priest, and the site subsequently became a shrine. The house was visited by several Popes including, Pope Paul VI in 1967, Pope John Paul II in 1979 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 visited the house and treated it as a Shrine and Holy Place. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich died on February 9, 1824 (aged 49) at Dülmen, Germany. She was Beatified on October 3, 2004 by Pope John Paul II, who emphasized her suffering, especially the stigmata and her generosity. She was beatified solely on the basis of her own personal sanctity and virtue. She had supernatural insight when working with the sick and poor. She was a model of heroic virtue for her contemporaries, and for us today.
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏
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 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. Every life is a gift. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints, we humbly pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. For persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world. We pray for all those who are sick, we particularly pray for sick children, the mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from breast cancer and other cancers and 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. We pray for an end to war, political and religious unrest. We pray for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. For God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. We continue to 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. 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. During this Ordinary Time, please let us all 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. Amen 🙏🏾
Let us pray:
My miraculous Lord, You gave a command of love to Saint Peter, and he obeyed You with generosity. As a result, You brought forth an abundant catch. Please give me the strength of will to obey all that You speak to me, so that You will bring forth an abundance of good fruit in my life also. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Teilo; Saint Apollonia and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as during this Ordinary Time. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled Sunday and fruitful week. May God keep us all safe and well ~ Amen🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on February 9, 2025 on EWTN” |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | February 9, 2025 |
Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | February 9, 2025 |
Pope Francis’ Holy Mass – Angelus on the Jubilee of the Armed Forces | February 9, 2025 | Homily of the Holy Father | https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250209-omelia-giubileo-forzearmate.html
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
FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 8, 2025
11TH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND AWARENESS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING | [Link below]
Theme of the 11th Edition of IDPAAHT 2025: “Ambassadors of Hope: Together Against Human Trafficking”
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN | “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/08/holy-masses/
Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time!
Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin and Saint Jerome Emiliani, Priest and Founder. St. Josephine Bakhita is a Sudanese nun, who as a child had the traumatic experience of being a victim of human trafficking. She’s the Patron Saint of Sudan and human-trafficking survivors. Her Feast day today, February 8th, has been designated the International Day of Prayer to Stop Human Trafficking. Saint Jerome Emiliani is the Patron Saint of Orphans and Abandoned Children. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints Josephine Bakhita and Jerome Emiliani on this Feast day, we humbly pray for orphaned and abandoned children and for an end to all forms of Human Trafficking. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. Amen. For those who are sick, especially those who are sick with cancers and other terminal diseases. 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. St. Josephine Bakhita, whose love and hope transformed the wounds of slavery into forgiveness and freedom and St. Jerome Emiliani, helper and father of orphans ~ Pray for us🙏
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. 🙏🏽
11TH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND AWARENESS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING | [Link below] https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/08/11th-international-day-of-prayer-and-awareness-against-human-trafficking-idpaaht/
11TH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND AWARENESS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING (IDPAAHT) | POPE FRANCIS’ MESSAGE | FEBRUARY 8, 2025 | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/08/international-day-of-prayer-and-awareness-against-human-trafficking/
NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES | Novena Starts: February 2nd; Feastday: February 11th | Novena prayer | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/02/novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes/
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 REFLECTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
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/
NOVENA IN HONOR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES [Novena Starts: February 2nd; Feastday: February 11th]
NOVENA PRAYER: Most Holy Mother Mary, at Lourdes you asked us to do penance and to pray for the conversion of sinners. Obtain for each of us the grace of true repentance. Help those for whom we pray, and especially those who most need God’s mercy. Your Divine Son so loves every soul that He gave His life to pay the price for our redemption. Help us to return His love by making the sacrifices needed to keep his commandments. Most Holy Mother you offered your Divine Son to the Eternal Father when you presented Him in the temple; offer us to the Father as your other children; watch over us and guide us. Blessed Mother, obtain for me the grace I most need, and especially these favors that I ask in this Novena, if they be in keeping with God’s will. Amen.
O Immaculate Virgin Mary, preserved from the slightest stain of sin, and enriched with all the treasures of divine grace, I thank you for the many blessings I have received through your most powerful intercession. You know my needs, my trials, my sufferings. Mother of mercy, I beseech you to hear my prayer, and to obtain for me of your Divine Son the favors I seek in this Novena. (Here make your requests.)
THE MEMORARE: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother; to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen 🙏🏽(Add your daily Rosary)
Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Saint Bernadette, Pray for us 🙏🏽
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes Link | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/02/novena-to-our-lady-of-lourdes/
11TH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND AWARENESS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING (IDPAAHT) | POPE FRANCIS MESSAGE | FEBRUARY 8, 2025
Theme of the 11th Edition of IDPAAHT 2025: “Ambassadors of Hope: Together Against Human Trafficking”
The commemoration of the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking (IDPAAHT) took place during the week of February 2–8, 2025, culminating on February 8th. The theme of the 11th edition of IDPAAHT this Jubilee year of Hope is “Ambassadors of Hope: Together Against Human Trafficking”, this is inspired by Pope Francis’ call to “be pilgrims of peace and apostles of hope.”
Since its establishment by Pope Francis in 2015, IDPAAHT has been observed worldwide on February 8th, on the Feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese nun, who as a child had the traumatic experience of being a victim of human trafficking. She’s the Patron Saint of Sudan and human-trafficking survivors. This is a universal symbol of the Catholic Church’s commitment to eradicating human trafficking and modern slavery. Pope Francis has also inspired this year’s theme for the Jubilee 2025: “During the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for our brothers and sisters experiencing difficulties of any kind” (Spes non confundit, 10). This year’s IDPAAHT aims to address the horrific global reality of human trafficking through concrete actions.
As the international Church observes Jubilee 2025, the event’s promoters, the Unions of Superiors and Superiors General of Religious Institutes (UISG/USG), together with partner organizations organized and invited everyone to participate in a week-long pilgrimage of hope to end human trafficking. Over 100 participants from around the world—including young people, lawyers, activists, survivors, migrants, displaced persons, and public figures from the arts and film industries gathered in Rome in person or join virtually in the scheduled events from February 2 to 8, 2025. As Christians, we are called to support in this important awareness-raising event on the reality of human trafficking. According to Pope Francis, ‘in this jubilee year, let us also walk together, as ‘pilgrims of hope’, on the road against trafficking.’
PRAYER:
Let us pray: Saint Josephine Bakhita, you were sold into slavery as a child and endured unspeakable hardship and suffering. Once liberated from your physical enslavement, you found true redemption in your encounter with Christ and His Church. O Saint Josephine Bakhita, assist all those who are entrapped in slavery; Intercede on their behalf with the God of Mercy so that the chains of their captivity will be broken. May God Himself free all those who have been threatened, wounded, or mistreated by the trade and trafficking of human beings. Bring comfort to survivors of this slavery and teach them to look to Jesus as an example of hope and faith so that they may find healing from their wounds. We ask you to pray for us and to intercede on behalf of us all: that we may not fall into indifference, that we may open our eyes and be able to see the misery and wounds of our many brothers and sisters deprived of their dignity and their freedom, and may we hear their cry for help. Amen 🙏🏽
St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Patron Saint of Sudan and human-trafficking survivors), whose love and hope transformed the wounds of slavery into forgiveness and freedom ~ Pray for us🙏
IDPAAHT | February 8, 2025 | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/08/11th-international-day-of-prayer-and-awareness-against-human-trafficking-idpaaht/
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA, VIRGIN AND SAINT JEROME EMILIANI, PRIEST AND FOUNDER – FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 8TH:* Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin and Saint Jerome Emiliani, Priest and Founder. St. Josephine Bakhita is a Sudanese nun, who as a child had the traumatic experience of being a victim of human trafficking. She’s the Patron Saint of Sudan and human-trafficking survivors. Her Feast day today, February 8th, has been designated the International Day of Prayer to Stop Human Trafficking. Saint Jerome Emiliani is the Patron Saint of Orphans and Abandoned Children. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints Josephine Bakhita and Jerome Emiliani on this Feast day, we humbly pray for orphaned and abandoned children and for an end to all forms of Human Trafficking. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. Amen🙏
St. Josephine Bakhita, whose love and hope transformed the wounds of slavery into forgiveness and freedom and St. Jerome Emiliani, helper and father of orphans ~ Pray for us🙏
Saints of the Day | February 8, 2025 | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA, VIRGIN: St. Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947), was a Canossian Sister who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan. St. Josephine was born in 1869, in a small village in the Darfur region of Sudan into a wealthy Sudanese family. She was kidnapped while working in the fields with her family and subsequently sold into slavery. Her captors asked for her name but she was too terrified to remember so they named her “Bakhita,” which means “fortunate” in Arabic. Retrospectively, Bakhita was very fortunate, but the first years of her life do not necessarily attest to it. She was tortured by her various owners who branded her, beat and cut her. In her biography she notes one particularly terrifying moment when one of her masters cut her 114 times and poured salt in her wounds to ensure that the scars remained. “I felt I was going to die any moment, especially when they rubbed me in with the salt,” Bakhita wrote. She bore her suffering valiantly though she did not know Christ or the redemptive nature of suffering. She also had a certain awe for the world and its creator. “Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: ‘Who could be the Master of these beautiful things?’ And I felt a great desire to see Him, to know Him and to pay Him homage.”
After being sold a total of five times, Bakhita was purchased by Callisto Legnani, the Italian consul in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan in 1883. He treated her well. Two years later, he took Bakhita to Italy to work as a nanny for his colleague, Augusto Michieli. He, in turn, sent Bakhita to accompany his daughter to a school in Venice run by the Canossian Sisters. Bakhita felt called to learn more about the Church. In the meantime, Michieli wanted to take Josephine and his daughter back to Sudan, but Josephine refused to return. The disagreement escalated and was taken to the Italian courts in 1889. The Italian courts ruled that Bakhita was enslaved illegally and declared her a free woman because slavery was not recognized in Italy and it had also been illegal in Sudan since before Josephine had been born. She became enamored with the Catholic faith and chose to stay in Italy. Bakhita was baptized in 1890 and received her First Holy Communion from the future Pope St. Pius X. She took the Christian name of “Josephine Margaret”, and in 1893 entered the Institute of Canossian Daughters of Charity. She made her profession in 1896 and was sent to Northern Italy, where she dedicated her life to assisting her community and teaching others to love God. She was known for her smile, gentleness and holiness. St. Josephine Bakhita was affectionately called “Our Black Mother” by the Italians, as her amiable spirit and warm heart won the admiration of many people during her fifty years of religious life. She was known for her charity towards children and the poor, her indomitable spirit during the hardship of slavery, and her joy in religious life. She even went on record saying, “If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today.” She served as faithful Canossian for some fifty years. She died on February 6, 1947, and was revered by the people of her adopted land. She was beatified in 1992 by Pope John Paul II and canonized in 2000 by the same Pontiff, who has called her a “universal sister … who can reveal to us the secret of true happiness.” She is the first person to be canonized from Sudan and is the patron saint of the country. St. Josephine Bakhita is the Patron Saint of Sudan and human-trafficking survivors and her feast day, February 8th, has been designated the “International Day of Prayer to Stop Human Trafficking.”
PRAYER: O God, You led St. Josephine from abject slavery to the dignity of being Your child and a spouse of Christ. Grant us, we beg You, after her example to follow the crucified Lord Jesus with constant love and obtain Your mercy by persevering in charity. Amen🙏
SAINT JEROME EMILIANI, PRIEST AND FOUNDER: St. Jerome Emiliani (1481-1537) is the founder of the Clerks Regular of Somaschini. Bon in 1481, St. Jerome was a Venetian nobleman who joined the army and in 1508, he was the military commander of Venice, fighting the League of Cambrai, when he was taken, prisoner. In prison, he gave his life to Christ and was miraculously released. The miraculous liberation was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, he decided to begin a new life entirely devoted to charity toward the poor, especially orphans. In 1518, Jerome was ordained to the priesthood at thirty-seven and plunged into his real life’s work. He gave his whole life to the poor and suffering, founding orphanages, hospitals and shelters for prostitutes. In the year of plague and famine (1528), he seemed to be everywhere, and showed his zeal especially for the orphans, whose number had so greatly increased. He rented a house for them near the church of St. Rose and, with the assistance of some pious laymen, ministered to their wants. To his charge was also committed the hospital for incurables, founded by St. Cajetan.
In 1531 he went to Verona and induced the citizens to build a hospital; at Brescia he founded the first known orphanage of modern times, at Bergamo one for boys and another for girls. Here also he founded the first home for fallen women who wished to do penance. Two priests, Alessandro Besuzio and Agostino Bariso, now joined him in his labours of charity, and In 1532, St. Jerome established the religious society, congregation of Clerks Regular of Somascha, a secluded hamlet between Milan and Bergamo, which looked after the education of youth in colleges, academies, and seminaries. He was the first to teach children the Faith by using questions and answers. In the rule, Jerome puts down as the principal work of the community the care of orphans, poor, and sick, and demands that dwellings, food and clothing shall bear the mark of religious poverty. Jerome fell a martyr to his zeal; contracting a disease at Bergamo, he died at Somascha on February 8, 1537, a victim of an epidemic then raging, while ministering to those stricken by it. He was beatified by Benedict XIV in 1747, and canonized by Clement XIII in 1767. The Office and Mass in his honour were approved eight years later. He’s the Patron Saint of orphans and abandoned children.
PRAYER: God, Father of mercies, You made St. Jerome the helper and father of orphans. By his intercession help us to preserve that spirit of adoption by which we are called, and really are, Your children. Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings today, Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time | February 8, 2025
Reading 1, Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
Gospel, Mark 6:30-34
Gospel Reading ~ Mark 6:30-34
“They were like sheep without a shepherd.”
“The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.”
In today’s Gospel reading, the disciples return to Jesus after the period of mission on which Jesus had sent them. They were keen to share with Him all they had done and taught. The response of Jesus was to take them away to a deserted place where they could rest. Jesus thereby affirms the value of rest and recreation. He consecrates this time of rest. However, when Jesus got to the lonely place, He discovered to His surprise that it had become a crowded place; the crowd had got there ahead of Him. He didn’t respond with annoyance to this unexpected interruption; He didn’t turn away from the new and unexpected situation, but engaged with it compassionately. According to the Gospel, He had compassion on the crowd and set Himself to teach them. He saw them all as sheep which were without a shepherd, scattered and lost, and thus, as mentioned, Him being our Good Shepherd, He gathered all of them and showed them all His most wonderful and patient love, ministering to them and caring for them, teaching them even though He Himself, in His humanity, must have felt so tired and exhausted after all the endless works that He had performed with His disciples. And yet, He kept pushing on and showed His continued love to us, because He truly loves each and every one of us, without exception. Jesus heard God’s call in this unexpected situation and responded generously. We too have to keep listening to the Lord’s call even in those situations that are not of our making and that leave us feeling, initially at least, very put out. The unexpected interruptions can be moments of grace. Jesus’ plans did not work out, but something else happened that served God’s purpose. When our own plans fail to materialize, sometimes something better can come to pass, which would never have happened if our plans had worked out. The Lord’s purpose is always greater than our plans. Whenever we have to let of our plans, the Lord’s life-giving purpose for our lives will always prevails. The Lord can work powerfully in the openings that the failure of our plans creates. We need the freedom to let go of our plans when a greater good, a greater purpose, beckons to us.
Our first reading today is the continuation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author of this Epistle to the Hebrews spoke about the love and the great, wonderful things which God had done for their sake through the sacrifice and offerings of Christ, the Good Shepherd, and our High Priest, for our salvation. The author had been spending a lot of time throughout the Epistle to convince and strengthen the faith of the believers from among the Jewish community by going through with them the true nature and the identity of Jesus Christ, the One Who had been prophesied by the prophets, the Son of God Who had been incarnate in the flesh, coming into our midst to give unto us the sure hope of God’s salvation, which He had done by laying down His own life, to suffer and die for us all, the sheep of the Lord’s flock. Like in the parable of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Himself told us all that He will always be going forth to seek us, the lost sheep of God, who have been scattered in this world because of our disobedience and sins. He does not want us all to be lost forever to Him, and He opened the path for us to seek Him, to embrace His love and mercy, to call on us all to return back once again to God’s Holy Presence, leaving behind our sinful existence and actions, embracing instead the holiness and virtues of the Lord in all things. We have been scattered and lost from Him because we have allowed our sins to tempt and pull us away from the Lord, and the Lord did everything that He could to reach out to us and to bring us all back to His loving embrace, to forgive us our many sins.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded of the love of God which has been revealed to us so generously and wonderfully through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God Who has embraced our humanity and existence in the flesh, becoming our Shepherd and Guide, as our Good Shepherd, the One to gather each and every one of us, the lost sheep of the Lord’s flock. Each one of us are reminded of how precious all of us are to the Lord, our loving God and Father, and how much He wants us all to be reconciled to Him, which He gave us the best help and means through the giving of His own Son to be our Saviour. This is why as we reflect upon these words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we should do our best to follow the leads of our loving Good Shepherd. Let us all therefore be reminded always of God’s love for us, the love that our loving Shepherd, Father and Creator has for all of us. And let us all therefore respond to Him with the same love, devotion and commitment, one that has also been shown by our many holy predecessors, particularly from the examples of St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita who we celebrate today. We are called to reflect on the lives and works of the Saints and Holy men and women of God. Let us all be inspired by them and do our best in our own respective areas and communities, to be truly dedicated to God and His cause, and to show His love to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, so that hopefully, many more people may come to believe in God through us and our good examples. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to let our lives be shining beacons of God’s light and truth, inspiring many others to follow in our footsteps as we we continue to live our lives in faith, making use of all the gifts that God has given us. May God be with us all in our every missions, good works and endeavours, and may St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita continue to intercede for us all sinners. 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 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. Every life is a gift. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints, we humbly pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. For persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world. We pray for all those who are sick, we particularly pray for sick children, the mentally and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from breast cancer and other cancers and 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. We pray for an end to war, political and religious unrest. We pray for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. For God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for all widows and widowers. We continue to 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. 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. During this Ordinary Time, please let us all 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. Amen 🙏🏾
Let us pray:
My generous Lord, You gave of Yourself without reserve. People came to You in their need, and You did not hesitate to serve them out of love. Give me a heart that imitates Your generosity and help me to always say “Yes” to the charitable work to which I am called. May I learn to find great joy in serving others, especially in those unplanned and unexpected circumstances of life. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏🏽
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Josephine Bakhita and Saint Jerome Emiliani ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
Thanking God for the gift of this new year and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all as during this Ordinary Time. Have a blessed, safe and grace-filled and relaxing weekend. May God keep us all safe and well ~ Amen 🙏🏽
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖