Author: Resa

TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 31, 2024

Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Saturday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!

We thank God for the  gift of life and for bringing us safely and successfully to the end of the month of August. May God’s grace and mercy be with us all now and always🙏

On this feast day, we humbly pray for the poor and those in need, for persecuted Christians, for those who fight for truth, peace and justice, for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to pray for our children and children all over the world. With special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe andh well. Amen 🙏

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5

On this day, we especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | August 31, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 31, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 31, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 31, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday, August 31, 2024
Reading 1, First Corinthians 1:26-31
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 33:12-13, 18-19, 20-21
Gospel, Matthew 25:14-30

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINTS JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA AND NICODEMUS AND SAINT RAYMOND NONNATUS, CARDINAL ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 31ST: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saints Joseph Of Arimathea and Nicodemus and Saint Raymond Nonnatus, Cardinal. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We pray for all expectant mothers, newborn babies and obstetricians, we pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for gardeners and cabdrivers. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏

SAINTS JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA AND NICODEMUS: In the latest edition of the Roman Martyrology, the Church has coupled the feast of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the two holy men who took the Body of Jesus down from the Cross, wrapped it in cloths, and placed it in the tomb. The actions of these two influential Jewish leaders give insight into the charismatic power of Jesus and His teachings—and the risks that could be involved in following him. Little is known of St. Joseph except for the information that is recorded when he is mentioned in all four Gospels. St. Joseph was a respected, wealthy civic leader who had become a disciple of Jesus Christ from Arimathea, a place probably to the northwest of Jerusalem. He was a well-to-do, devout member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Israel, who was awaiting the Kingdom of God that had been foretold by the Prophets. However, out of fear, he remained a secret disciple. St. Joseph did not take part in the resolution of the Sanhedrin to put Jesus to death. Then after the crucifixion of our Lord (at which he was present), Joseph summoned up the courage to go to Pilate and ask for the Body of the Savior. St. Joseph obtained Jesus’ body from Pilate, wrapped it in fine linen and buried it. For these reasons, St. Joseph is considered the patron saint of funeral directors and pallbearers. More important is the courage St. Joseph showed in asking Pilate for Jesus’ body. Jesus was a condemned criminal who had been publicly executed. According to some legends, St. Joseph was punished and imprisoned for such a bold act.

St. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and, like St. Joseph, an important first-century Jew and very little is known about St. Nicodemus. We know from St. John’s Gospel that St. Nicodemus went to Jesus at night—secretly—to better understand his teachings about the kingdom. Later, he spoke up for Jesus at the time of his arrest and assisted in Jesus’ burial.
With the aid of St. Nicodemus, St. Joseph took down the Body of Jesus, wrapped it in cloths, and placed it in his newly hewn grave (in which no one had been placed) in a garden near Calvary. This fulfilled the words of Isaiah (53:9) that the tomb of the Messiah would be among the rich. Legends that cannot be authenticated have made St. Joseph of Arimathea a heroic figure in the spread of the faith to France and England. St. Nicodemus is known to us through the Gospel of John. He was a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin who was convinced by the miracles of Christ that He was sent from God. In a nighttime interview, Christ told this wealthy and learned inquirer that faith and baptism were necessary for eternal life. Nicodemus did not then understand but was deeply touched, although he did not yet have the courage to stand up for the Lord. Later, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when the Jewish authorities were planning to kill Jesus, Nicodemus spoke up—though timidly—in the Sanhedrin, reminding them that the Law did not condemn a man until he had been heard in his own defense. After Christ’s death, St. Nicodemus came boldly with about 100 pounds weight of merrh and aloes and assisted at Christ’s burial. Nothing else is known with certainty about St. Nicodemus, but legends about in the Apocryphal works, The Acts of Pilate and The Gospel of Nicodemus. Sts. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are Patron Saints of Funeral Directors and Pallbearers. 

PRAYER: God, You alone are holy and without You no one is good. Through the intercession of Sts. Joseph and Nicodemus, grant that we may so live as not to be deprived of Your glory. Amen 🙏

SAINT  RAYMOND NONNATUS, CARDINAL: St. Raymond Nonnatus (1204-1240) was born in Catalonia, Spain, to a noble family. His life was saved by caesarean section after his mother died in childbirth, earning him the nick name ‘Nonnatus’ meaning ‘one not born’ in Latin. St. Raymond was a pious child drawn to the religious life, but his father had plans for him to serve in the royal court of the King of Aragon. To distract St. Raymond from his vocation, his father sent him to tend the family fields. This had the opposite effect and gave Raymond greater opportunity to pray in the country chapel. He was a well-educated noble, called to the priesthood and his father eventually allowed him to join the Mercedarians, a religious order which ransomed Christian slaves from their Muslim captors. St. Raymund Nonnatus devoted his life to the ransoming of Christians held prisoner by the Mohammedans or Moors. He was one of the first members of the Order of Our Lady of Ransom (or Mercedarians) founded by St. Peter Nolasco and St. Raymund of Penafort.  St. Peter Nolasco was a native of Languedoc and he founded the Mercedarians in the early thirteenth century. Amongst those he received into the society was St. Raymond, a Catalonian. So determined was Saint Raymond Nonnatus that when St. Peter Nolasco retired as chief ransomer, the saint succeeded him in this office. St. Raymond became Master General of the order.

On a mission to Algeria, North Africa, he set off with a great sum of money, and there ransomed many slaves, he ran out of money and offered himself for others and was imprisoned. When his money ran out, Saint Raymond Nonnatus could have made his own escape. But this would have involved leaving several slaves behind. He gave himself up in exchange for their liberty. While in prison, St. Raymond was tortured throughout his imprisonment, yet he converted numerous people including Muslims to the Christian faith, angering his captors. To prevent him from preaching Christ, his captors pierced his lips with a red-hot iron and closed them with a padlock. His own life was now in great danger. The Moors of Algeria were enraged that he had managed to convert some of their number. The governor would have put him to death by impaling the saint on a stake. What saved him were others who realized that a rich ransom would be paid for this particular Christian. Even so, he was still whipped publicly in the streets — partly to discourage those who might be tempted to learn from him the Christian faith. Reports of his tortures probably exaggerated the cruelty of his Moorish captors but after eight months of torture, St. Peter Nolasco arrived with St. Raymond Nonnatus’s ransom. Even then he wanted to stay behind, hoping to convert still more men and women to Christianity; but St. Peter Nolasco forbade it. He was eventually ransomed by his order and returned to Spain. On his return, Pope Gregory IX made him a cardinal. The pope wished to see Raymond Nonnatus in Rome, but on his way there in the year 1240 he reached only Cardona near Barcelona, where he died at the age of thirty-six. After his death there was a dispute over who had the right to bury his body. To settle the matter, his body was placed on a blind mule and set loose. The mule went to the country chapel where Raymond had prayed in his youth, and it was there that he was buried. Many miracles were attributed to St. Raymond Nonnatus both before and after his death. Patron Saint of childbirth; children; expectant mothers; falsely accused people; fever; infants; midwives; newborn babies; obstetricians; pregnant women; caesarian sections; fever suffers, and obstetricians. His feast day is August 31st.

Saint Raymond Nonnatus, Cardinal ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 25:14-30

“Since you have been faithful in small matters, come, share your master’s joy”

“Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

In today’s Gospel reading according to St. Matthew, Jesus told His disciples and to all those who were there listening to Him a parable of the silver talents. In that parable, a master was going away overseas and chose to entrust three of his servants with some silver talents for them to make good use of and responsibly while he was away on his business. The three servants acted differently with the silver talents which had been given to them. Each one of them were entrusted with different amounts of silver talents, with the one who were given five and two talents of silver investing and making good use of them and they gained the same amount in silver talents each, doubling what they had earlier from the master. Meanwhile, the other servant who was only given one silver talent chose to hide it and not to use it at all, and because of that, by the time the master returns to ask for the results and reckoning the performance of his servants, that servant still had with him the same one silver talent. Those servants that had invested and doubled their investment were well-rewarded and entrusted by the master with great things, while the lazy and irresponsible servant faced the wrath of his master for his lack of action and irresponsibility. Instead of being rewarded, the lazy and irresponsible servant faced punishment and rebuke from the master, which is also a reminder for each and every one of us of what all of us are expected to do by God, our Lord and Master.

According to the Gospel, the wealthy property owner who was evidently a generous and trusting person, before departing on that journey abroad, entrusting very large sums of money to those three of his servants, to each in accordance with their ability to make good use of this generous gift. The property owner was not expecting these large sums of money back. He just wanted his servants to make good use of them. Those first two servants, recognizing the generous and trusting nature of their master, felt free to use well what they had been given in the trading market of the day. As a result, they increased the value of the asset they had been given. The third servant did nothing with what he had been given. Rather than recognizing the generous and trusting nature of his master, he was paralyzed by his image of his master as demanding and hard hearted. Fear of his master enslaved him and he did nothing with what he had been given, not even the minimal initiative of placing the investment in a bank to gain interest. What Jesus is saying to us through this parable drawn from daily life of the time is that perhaps, Jesus wants us to recognize how generous God has been with each one of us, how much he has entrusted to us. God has given us the greatest treasure of all, his Son. God has also given us abilities that allow us to share this gift of his Son with others, in how we think, speak, act and live. God wants us to respond to His generous and trusting investment in us by living fearlessly out of all that he has given us. We are to be courageous in our witness to his Son. We are to take risks in our efforts to ensure that the riches of the Gospel are received by as many as possible. God can deal with failure, even bringing great good out of it. However, there is little God can do with fearful inactivity. Our recognition of the Lord’s love for us gives us the freedom to make use of what He has given us, without being held back by the fear of failure or the fear of our own inadequacies. As Saint Mother Teresa, once said, the Lord does not ask us to be successful but only to be faithful. We do our best with what the Lord has given us, knowing that the Lord looks lovingly on our efforts and will work powerfully through our efforts, even when they seem to us to be a failure.

Our first reading today is the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in which the Apostle told the people of God there how they have been chosen by God to be His disciples and followers, and many among them were not important, powerful or influential in the eyes of the world. This does not mean that God was against the rich, powerful and influential ones in the world, but rather, He wanted to highlight to His beloved people, to all of us that He did not choose or judge us by our worldly qualities, possessions or by any other parameters which we often categorise ourselves into, as all those things are ultimately superficial and not what is truly important for all of us. Unfortunately, many of us often spent a lot of time and effort in trying to seek all those things instead of seeking what is truly important for us in our lives. The Lord chose based on other qualities that often do not correspond with worldly standards of judgment, as this world often focuses on our material wealth, influence and fame, our physical appearances and other attributes which may prevent us from truly being able to follow the Lord faithfully, sincerely and with true commitment. That is because when we are obsessed with accumulating for ourselves those worldly things and matters, we often end up neglecting our responsibilities as Christians, in making good use of our gifts, talents and the guidance of God’s Wisdom, for the benefit of others around us. Instead, we often spend a lot of time and effort to try to garner for ourselves more of these worldly riches and possessions, all of which distract us from the true destination that we have in the Lord, as mentioned earlier in the Scriptures.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, all the children of mankind all have received the various gifts, talents and blessings from God. All of us have been entrusted with those gifts with the intention of the Lord calling on us to share them and to make good use of them for the benefit of all those around us, for the good and benefit of everyone and not just for our own selfish needs and desires. We have been entrusted with all these so that we may be part of God’s Church and mission, to proclaim His truth and Good News to everyone around us. It is important that we know and understand this mission which we have been entrusted with by the Lord, to show love, care and concern towards one another, to our fellow brothers and sisters who may need our help and attention, particularly all those who have no one to care for them, those who have been neglected, abandoned and ignored by all others. As Christians, whatever we have been blessed with by God, and the many opportunities we have been given, they should be used for the greater good of those who are around us. We should not ignore the plight of those who are in need, and we must also realise that we have been given the opportunities to contribute our good works and actions to advance further the cause of the Lord and to fulfil the missions we have been entrusted with. Let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord and do not allow ourselves to be led into inaction and ignorance of our responsibilities and missions as those whom God had called and chosen. Let us all be committed from now on to live lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, being good role models and inspiration for one another. May our lives as God’s holy and beloved people, as His faithful and committed disciples be inspiration and beacons of God’s light and truth to everyone. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to keep on responding generously to His call and may He empower each and every one of us to be ever faithful in our path towards Him, and may our lives truly be a reflection of our enduring and vibrant faith. May God bless us all in our every actions, good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST:

MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church dedicates the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, she was conceived without the corruption of sin through the foreseen and infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. Over the centuries, as saints and theologians reflected on how Mary pondered and treasured the sacred events from the life of Christ in her holy heart, as attested in Scripture, her pure heart was recognized as something to be imitated. Devotion to Our Lady’s purity of heart began to flower—so much so that in the 17th century, St. John Eudes promoted it alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion rose to a new level after the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, when Mary revealed an image of her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST – FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024

PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen 🙏🏾

During this Ordinary Time, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, Nigeria, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏🏾

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of the Ordinary Time, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. We pray for all mothers, wives, those going through challenges in their marriages, Victims of verbal and spousal abuse, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. For the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, grant me the Spirit of Wisdom, that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding, to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth; the Spirit of Counsel, that I may choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven; the Spirit of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with Thee and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge, that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints; the Spirit of Piety, that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable; the Spirit of Fear of the Lord, that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Virgin Mary; Saints Joseph Of Arimathea and Nicodemus and Saint Raymond Nonnatus ~  Pray for us 🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and relaxing weekend🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 30, 2024

Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!

On this feast day, we humbly pray for the poor and those in need, for persecuted Christians, for those who fight for truth, peace and justice, for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to pray for our children and children all over the world. With special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe andh well. Amen 🙏

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5

On this day, we especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | August 30, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 30, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 30, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 30, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

Today’s Bible Readings: Friday August 30, 2024
Reading 1, First Corinthians 1:17-25
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 33:1-2, 4-5, 10, 11
Gospel, Matthew 25:1-13

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT JEANNE JUGAN (SISTER MARY OF THE CROSS),  RELIGIOUS; SAINTS FELIX, PRIEST AND ADAUTUS, MARTYRS AND SAINT FIACRE, HERMIT ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 30TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Jeanne Jugan (Sister Mary of the Cross), Religious; Saints Felix, Priest and Adauctus, Martyrs and Saints Fiacre, Hermit. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We pray for the elderly and those who have no one to care for them, we pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for gardeners and cabdrivers. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏

SAINT JEANNE JUGAN (SISTER MARY OF THE CROSS), RELIGIOUS: St. Jeanne Jugan  (1792-1879), also known as Sister Mary of the Cross, L.S.P., was a French woman who became known for the dedication of her life to the neediest of the elderly poor. Her service resulted in the establishment of the Little Sisters of the Poor during the 19th century, who care for the elderly who have no other resources throughout the world with the goal of imitating Christ’s humility through service to elderly people in need. St. Jeanne Jugan was born on Oct. 25, 1792 in a port city of the French region of Brittany, St. Jeanne Jugan grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution. Four years after she was born, her father was lost at sea. Her mother struggled to provide for Jeanne and her three siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day. St. Jeanne worked as a shepherdess, and later as a domestic servant. At age 18, and again six years later, she declined two marriage proposals from the same man. She told her mother that God had other plans, and was calling her to “a work which is not yet founded.”

At age 25, the young woman joined the Third Order of St. John Eudes, a religious association for laypersons founded during the 17th century. Jeanne worked as a nurse in the town of Saint-Servan for six years, but had to leave her position due to health troubles. Afterward she worked for 12 years as the servant of a fellow member of the third order, until the woman’s death in 1835. During 1839, a year of economic hardship in Saint-Servan, Jeanne was sharing an apartment with an older woman and an orphaned young lady. It was during the winter of this year that St.  Jeanne encountered Anne Chauvin, an elderly woman who was blind, partially paralyzed, and had no one to care for her. St. Jeanne carried Anne home to her apartment and took her in from that day forward, letting the woman have her bed while St. Jeanne slept in the attic. She soon took in two more old women in need of help, and by 1841 she had rented a room to provide housing for a dozen elderly people. The following year, she acquired an unused convent building that could house 40 of them. During the 1840s, many other young women joined St. Jeanne in her mission of service to the elderly poor. By begging in the streets, the foundress was able to establish four more homes for their beneficiaries by the end of the decade. By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation that had become known as the Little Sisters of the Poor.

However, St. Jeanne Jugan – known in religious life as Sister Mary of the Cross – had been forced out of her leadership role by Father Auguste Le Pailleur, the priest who had been appointed superior general of the congregation. In an apparent effort to suppress her true role as foundress, the superior general ordered her into retirement and a life of obscurity for 27 years. During these years, she served the order through her prayers and by accepting the trial permitted by God. At the time of her death on Aug. 29, 1879, she was not known to have founded the order, which by then had 2,400 members serving internationally. Fr. Le Pailleur, however, was eventually investigated and disciplined, and St. Jeanne Jugan came to be acknowledged as their foundress. St. Jeanne died at the age of 86 on August 29, 1879. She was beatified on October 3, 1982, Vatican City, by Pope John Paul II and canonized on October 11, 2009, Vatican City, by Pope Benedict XVI. In his homily for her canonization in October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI praised St. Jeanne as “a beacon to guide our societies” toward a renewed love for those in old age. The Pope recalled how she “lived the mystery of love” in a way that remains “ever timely while so many elderly people are suffering from numerous forms of poverty and solitude and are sometimes also abandoned by their families.” St. Jeanne Jugan is the Patron Saint of the destitute elderly.

Saint Jeanne Jugan, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINTS FELIX, PRIEST AND ADAUTUS, MARTYRS: Sts. Felix and Adauctus (d. 303 AD) were Christian martyrs who were said to have suffered during the Great Persecution during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian. St. Felix was a Roman priest was martyred by beheading and St. Adauctus was a Christian layman who insisted on sharing the crown of the martyred priest. Since his name was not known, he was simply called by the Latin equivalent of “added on.” Thus, we refer to him as St. Adauctus rather than the name he was called on earth.  According to tradition, St. Felix was a holy priest in Rome, no less happy in his life and virtue than in his name. Being apprehended in the beginning of Dioclesian’s persecution, he was put to cruel torments, which he suffered with admirable constancy, and was at length condemned to lose his head. As he was going to execution he was met by a stranger, who, being a Christian, was so inflamed at the sight of the martyr, and the lively prospect of the glory to which he was hastening, that he was not able to contain himself, but cried out aloud: “I confess the same law which this man professeth; I confess the same Jesus Christ; and it is also my desire to lay down my life in this cause.” The magistrates hearing this, caused him forthwith to be seized, and the martyrs were both beheaded together about the year 303. The name of this latter not being known, he was called by the Christians Adauctus, because he was joined to Felix in martyrdom.

These holy martyrs are commemorated in the Sacramentary of St. Gregory the Great, and many ancient calendars. F. Stilting the Bollandist asserts the authenticity of their acts. Their church in Rome, built over their graves, in the catacomb of Commodilla, on the Via Ostiensis, near the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and restored by Pope Leo III, was discovered about three hundred years ago and again unearthed in 1905.  Pope Leo IV, about 850, is said to have given their relics to  Irmengard, wife of Lothair I; she placed them in the abbey of canonesses at Eschau in Alsace. They were brought to the church of St. Stephen in  Vienna in 1361. The heads are claimed by Anjou and Cologne. According to the “Chronicle of Andechs” Henry, the last count, received the relics from Pope Honorius III and brought them to the Abbey of Andechs.

Saints Felix, Priest and Adauctus, Martyrs ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT FIACRE, HERMIT: St. Fiacre (also known as Fiachra; Fiachrach; Fiacrius; Fiaker and Fevre) was a hermit at Kilfiachra, Ireland. St. Fiacre (d. 670 A.D.) was born in Ireland around the beginning of the 7th century and was raised from childhood in an Irish monastery. There he grew in knowledge as well as holiness, and became a priest. He retired to a hermitage to live in prayer and solitude, but men began to flock to him to imitate his way of life and become his disciples. To escape them, St. Fiacre left  Ireland to establish a new hermitage in France. He went to the bishop and was accorded a kind reception by St. Faro, Bishop of Meaux, France and he asked for land to plant a garden to grow food as well as herbs for medicinal healing, a science which he studied in the monastery. The bishop agreed to give Fiacre as much land as he could entrench. Fiacre picked a plot of land and walked around its perimeter, dragging his shovel behind him. Wherever his spade touched the ground, the land was miraculously cleared and the soil became entrenched. St. Fiacre began to lead the religious life he had led in Ireland, he  lived as a solitary at Breuil, Brie. St. Fiacre lived a life of great mortification in prayer, fasting, vigils, and manual labor in his garden. Soon, the people of the surrounding regions began coming in droves to learn about Christian faith from this man of God. Seeing their plight far from their homes and without shelter, St. Fiacre had compassion on them and determined to help them. With the aid of another grant of land from St. Faro, the saintly hermit himself chopped down trees to build a hospice to shelter them and cleared the soil in order to grow corn and vegetables to feed them. Disciples gathered around him again, and soon formed a monastery. St. Fiacre then built an oratory in honor of the Virgin Mary, a hospice in which he received strangers, travelers and a cell for his own dwelling. He attracted many disciples, was known for his charity and aid to the poor, and was consulted by many for his spiritual wisdom. His fame for performing miracles became widespread, his miracles of healing became legendary and his garden became a place of pilgrimage for centuries for those seeking healing.

St. Fiacre’s dedication and self-sacrifice brought about the conversion of the whole surrounding discrict and he was held in high esteem for his work with the spade. After his holy death about 670, St. Fiacre’s cult grew steadily and reached its height in 17th century, a thousand years later, when his shrine was famous for miraculous cures. The name Fiacre was given to the four-wheeled cab because when it first came into use (in Paris, 1640) its stand was close to the St. Fiacre Hotel so that it might take the pilgrims on the first stage of the journey to St. Fiacre’s shrine. St. Fiacre is best known as the patron of gardeners; florists; cab drivers; herbalist; florists; potters; needlemakers; cab drivers; against hemorrhoids; against syphilis; barrenness; box makers; fistula; hosiers; pewterers; taxi drivers; sterility; tile makers; against venereal disease.

PRAYER: Lord God, You alone are holy and no one is good without You. Through the intercession of St. Fiacre help us to live in such a way that we may not be deprived of a share in Your glory. Amen 🙏
 
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 25:1-13

“Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”

“Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells His disciples the parable of the wise and foolish handmaidens. There were five wise handmaidens and five foolish and lazy handmaidens, each of whom were supposed to welcome the bridegroom to a wedding celebration and be part of the celebrations and parties. However, they differed in that the wise handmaidens brought extra oil with them and were prepared in case they had to wait for the bridegroom, while the foolish handmaidens did not bring any extra oil for their lamps, and hence, when the bridegroom did come late, they were caught off-guard and had to go and seek for the oil, during which time, the bridegroom came and the doors to the celebration were closed. The foolish handmaidens returned only to find them excluded from the celebrations because they were late. The parable in today’s Gospel reading reflects a marriage custom in the time of Jesus whereby bridesmaids waited at the bride’s house for the arrival of the bridegroom. When he arrives they go out to meet him with lighted torches and then they escort the bridegroom and his bride to the house of the bridegroom where the marriage feast is ready and the guests are waiting. What distinguishes the five bridesmaids who are described as ‘sensible’ from the other five is that, when the bridegroom arrived much later than expected, they had enough oil to ensure that their torches did not go out. They were able to welcome the bridegroom as was expected of them and escort him and his bride to the bridegroom’s house.

Today’s Gospel reading speaks to us about the importance of being alert to the Lord’s coming. It is a call to be ready to welcome the Lord when He comes, whether it is His coming at the end of our lives, or His daily coming. In the Gospels, Jesus once referred to Himself as the bridegroom and John the Baptist spoke of himself as the friend of the bridegroom. We are all friends of the bridegroom, friends of the Lord, and He looks to us to be alert to His coming, whenever it happens and whatever form it takes. The parable encourages us to have our torches blazing brightly when the Lord comes to us, whenever that might be. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had said to His disciples, ‘You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works’. The parable could be calling on us to keep the light of our good works shining. We are not to allow that light to go out; we need to keep it burning for the long haul. We are to keep the flame of faith which shows itself in good works alive in our hearts to the very end. When the bridegroom, the Lord, comes at the end of time or at the end of our own earthly time, he will hope to see the flame of our loving faith burning brightly. The Lord who comes to us at the end is the Lord who is present to us now. If we are to welcome him with torches burning brightly at the end, we need to open ourselves to the oil of His presence now. We will stay the course only with the Lord’s help. We need to keep opening ourselves to the resource only He can give us if we are to reflect that light back to Him at His final coming. All of us are reminded that we should live righteously and in accordance of the path that the Lord has shown us.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth, St. Paul spoke to the faithful regarding everything which the people of God had received from him and from the other Apostles and disciples, the missionaries sent to them to reveal to them the truth and Good News of God. He reminded all of them not to veer away from the words or truth and all the things which he had taught and shown them, the Wisdom of God revealed through none other than His own Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all mankind and the whole world. And the Lord also gave His Wisdom through the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Whom He had sent into His Church, through His Apostles, and which had encouraged and strengthened all those who believed in the Lord. St. Paul spoke of how to the Jewish people and to the Greeks, which represented the main parts of the population at the time, referring to those who have not yet believed in the Lord, what he had taught the faithful were seen as folly and nonsense because they saw things from the eyes of the world and their limited understanding rather than through the eyes of faith and true Wisdom which God had imparted to His faithful ones. To the Jewish people, they considered the Lord Jesus Christ, the Crucified Messiah to be a blasphemy and erroneous teachings, as they refused the fact that the Almighty and All-Powerful God could have had a Son, and worse still, a Son Who had become incarnate in the flesh, to walk in their midst as the Son of Man, and then suffered and died a most humiliating and painful death on the Cross. In the meanwhile, to the Greeks and the other pagans, many of them considered it folly that the Christians believed in just one God, as they commonly believed in many gods and beings that came from their inspiration from their surrounding natural world, using those elements and observations to create and invent gods and divinities such as the Greek pantheon of pagan gods that very much mimic the people in their own behaviours and actions. But St. Paul showed the faithful and all those who were willing to listen to him and accept God’s truth that whatever those Jewish and Greek pagans believed, were in fact the erroneous and folly ones, while the truth and the reality lies with the Lord and with Him alone, He Who is the one and only True God, the Master of all things.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, the words of the Lord spoke to us regarding the matter of Wisdom, the Wisdom that He has imparted and bestowed upon us, but which we have often disregarded and refused to make good use of, and we often used the knowledge and intelligence of this world, our own abilities and thoughts instead of allowing God to perform His wonderful acts and Wisdom through us. We often closed our hearts and minds to the Lord speaking in the silence of our hearts and minds, as the Lord kept on patiently knocking on our hearts that we may come to know His truth and receive His Wisdom, and live our lives worthily according to what He has taught us to do. And we certainly do not want to be caught unprepared by the Lord’s coming, caught at the time when we are unfortunately unable to respond appropriately to His coming. We cannot and should not assume that we still have the time to prepare ourselves, as we do not want to be caught unprepared and then end up in eternity of regret. That is why, having been reminded and warned through our Scripture readings today, let us all continue to live our lives ever more worthily for the Lord, doing our very best so that we will always be exemplary in our lives and that we may inspire many others around us in how we all ought to live our lives with great faith and dedication to God. This is what we have been called to do, to be truly faithful to God in all things and to lead others towards Him. May the Lord continue to strengthen us and bless us all with His Wisdom, so that in everything that we decide to do, and in the path we walk in this life we will continue to strive to follow what He has shown and taught us, and not to be easily swayed by the temptations of this world. May we continue to trust in the Lord’s guidance and in His Wisdom, and always strive to live lives that are truly worthy of God in all things. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to keep on responding generously to His call and may God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST:

MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church dedicates the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, she was conceived without the corruption of sin through the foreseen and infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. Over the centuries, as saints and theologians reflected on how Mary pondered and treasured the sacred events from the life of Christ in her holy heart, as attested in Scripture, her pure heart was recognized as something to be imitated. Devotion to Our Lady’s purity of heart began to flower—so much so that in the 17th century, St. John Eudes promoted it alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion rose to a new level after the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, when Mary revealed an image of her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST – FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024

PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen 🙏🏾

During this Ordinary Time, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, Nigeria, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏🏾

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of the Ordinary Time, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. We pray for all mothers, wives, those going through challenges in their marriages, Victims of verbal and spousal abuse, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. For the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

My loving Lord, You showed us all that true love is selfless and sacrificial. You came to this world to serve and to give Your sacred life for us all. May I open my life more fully to Your love so that Your love may also affect and direct every relationship I have. Fill me with the gift of charity, dear Lord, so that I will be fully prepared for the day of my particular judgment. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Virgin Mary; Saint Jeanne Jugan; Saints Felix and Adauctus and  Saint Fiacre ~ Pray for us 🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled, and relaxing weekend🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

Thanking God for the gift of this day 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and fruitful week🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖
TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 29, 2024

Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!

On this special feast day, the Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist, we humbly pray for persecuted Christians, for those who fight for truth, peace and justice, for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to pray for our children and children all over the world. With special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe andh well. Amen 🙏

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5

On this day, we especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | August 29, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 29, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 29, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 29, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

Today’s Bible Readings: Thursday, August 29, 2024
Reading 1, Jeremiah 1:17-19
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17
Gospel, Mark 6:17-29

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF THE PASSION OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST AND SAINT SABINA OF ROME, MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 29TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Sabina of Rome, Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints John the Baptist and Sabina on this feast day, we humbly pray for persecuted Christians, for those who fight for truth, peace and justice, for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏

THE PASSION OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST: On this day, the universal Church marks the beheading of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. The Church, having celebrated the earthly birthday of St. John the Baptist on June 24, today honors the anniversary of his martyrdom. Besides our Lord and our Lady, St. John the Baptist is the only one whose birth and death are thus celebrated. St. John the Baptist was the son of Zachary and Elizabeth and cousin of Jesus and his mission was to preach repentance to Israel in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. St. John began his ministry around age 27, preaching a message of repentance to the people of Jerusalem. St. John, faithful to the inspiration of Divine grace, spent most of his life in the wilderness, and became the model of the many anchorites who later served God in the same manner. When thirty years old, he appeared before the world on the banks of the Jordan, after the Spirit inspired him, he went about preaching that the people should repent of their sins and be baptized in order to prepare for the Messiah. He was a preacher of penance, the precursor of Jesus Christ and “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” St. John converted many and prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. He had the honor of Baptizing his Divine Master, our Lord Jesus  Christ and pointing Him out as the Lamb of God. After which he stepped away and told his disciples to follow Jesus.

The occasion for the Saint’s martyrdom soon presented itself. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, the slayer of the Innocents, was then ruler, or tetrarch, of Galilee. He is the same one whom our Lord called a “fox”, and by whom the Savior was sent to Pilate. On a visit to Rome he had made the acquaintance of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, and he took her as his wife. His own spouse, the daughter of Aretas, an Arabian King, fled to her father, and a war in which the army of Herod was defeated resulted. St. John boldly denounced this adulterous and incestuous marriage. St. John the Baptist had the courage to blame Herod to his face for the scandal of his illegal union with his sister-in-law Herodias, whose husband was still alive. When John rebuked King Herod for his unlawful union with Herodias, his brother’s wife, Herodias contrived to make Herod imprison him. But Herodias wanted greater revenge: nothing but the head of her enemy, John the Baptist, could satisfy her. Herodias took advantage of an unexpected opportunity to obtain through her daughter Salome the beheading of the saint. On his birthday, Herod celebrated with a great feast as Salome, the daughter of Herodias, pleased him exceedingly by a graceful dance before his guests. Herod, pleased with Salome’s performance, promised to give her whatever she asked for, even up to half his kingdom. On the advice of her wicked mother, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod was grieved by this request, for he esteemed John the Baptist; yet he had the weakness to yield and to abide by his impious oath. Herod regretfully ordered the execution. An officer was dispatched to the prison, and St. John was beheaded to satisfy the revenge of a voluptuous woman. The death of St. John occurred about a year before of our Lord. St. John died in 30 AD.

According to the Roman Martyrology, this day marks “the second finding of his most venerable head.” The body of the saint was buried in Samaria. In the year 362 pagans desecrated the grave and burned his remains. Only a small portion of his relics were able to be saved by monks and sent to St. Athanasius at Alexandria. The head of the saint is venerated at various places. That in the Church of St. Sylvester in Rome belongs to a martyr-priest John. Also in the Dominican church at Breslau the Baptist’s head is honored. St. John the Baptist is the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, highly venerated by the Church. St. John the Baptist is the Patron Saint of Farriers, convulsions, epilepsy, hailstorms, baptism, converts, lambs, Jordan. The feast of his martyrdom is August 29th.

PRAYER: God, You chose St. John the Baptist to be the forerunner of Your Son Who was born and died for us. Grant that, as St. John was martyred for truth and justice, so we may energetically profess our faith in You. Amen 🙏
 
SAINT SABINA OF ROME, MARTYR: St. Sabina (d. 126 A.D.) was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, a widow and the daughter of Herod Metallarius. She was born in Vindena, Umbria, and became the wife of a notable person having the name Valentine. St. Sabina was converted to Christianity by her virtuous female slave, St. Serapia, a devout Christian virgin from Antioch who entered into voluntary slavery with Sabina after forsaking marriage and consecrating herself to Christ. Following her conversion, St. Sabina’s home became a secret meeting place for Christians where the sacraments were celebrated. St. Serapia was discovered to be a Christian and was burned alive and beheaded. When Serapia died a martyr’s death (her feast occurs on September 3), St. Sabina gave her servant’s holy body an honorable burial. St. Sabina recovered Serapia’s body and buried it in a tomb.

On that account St. Sabina was cast into prison by Emperor Hadrian and brought before the judge Elpidius. “Are you Sabina, illustrious by family and marriage?” he asked. “Yes, I am,” came the reply, “but I thank my Savior Jesus Christ that through His servant Serapia He has freed me from the power of hell.” Due to her contempt of the gods, she was condemned to death. Within the same year St. Sabina was also martyred for her faith and Christians buried her body in the same grave along side her teacher in the faith, St. Serapia. After Christianity was legalized in the 5th century, a basilica was built over St. Sabina’s home on Aventine Hill. Originally dedicated to both saints, it is known today as Santa Sabina, one of Rome’s most ancient churches. St. Sabina’s feast day is August 29th.

Saint Sabina of Rome, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Mark 6:17-29

“I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist”

“Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias’ own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.”

In today’s Gospel reading, John the Baptist was executed because he had challenged Herod for acting against the Jewish Law by marrying his brother Philip’s wife. St. John was a courageous witness to God’s will for our lives. According to the Gospel reading, John the Baptist stands out as a beacon of light against the darkness of the other characters, that unholy trinity of Herod, Herodias his wife, and her daughter. Between them they managed to eliminate what the Gospel reading refers to as a ‘good and holy man’, just as Jesus, the ultimate ‘good and holy man’, would be eliminated by another coalition of darkness. As said of Herod in today’s Gospel reading, he knew John the Baptist to be a good and holy man. That is a good description of what we call a saint, a good and holy person. Towards the end of June, precisely June 24th, we celebrated the birth of this good and holy man, John the Baptist. Today, we remember his death. In spite of the fact that Herod knew John to be good and holy and wanted to protect him, he had him beheaded. Having made a rash promise in public to his wife’s daughter from a previous marriage, he felt honour-bond to keep his promise. Instead of protecting John the Baptist, he gave priority to protecting his own honour, even though this meant executing someone whom he knew to be good and holy. Herod betrayed his best self, his deepest self. In contrast to Herod, John was faithful and true to what was deepest and best in himself, even though that meant incurring the anger of the powerful. John was faithful to the call of the Lord, even unto death. Herod heard the call of the Lord through John’s preaching; the Gospel reading says that Herod liked to listen to John. Yet Herod was not faithful to that call; he ended up responding to a different, more superficial call, the call to protect himself, his reputation, his honour. Herod’s dilemma is that of every human being, of every believer. The Lord calls from deep within us; we hear that call but we don’t always respond to it. We can end up responding to other calls that can be in conflict with the Lord’s call. John is an inspiration and an encouragement to us to keep responding generously and courageously to that deeper call in our lives, the Lord’s call that sounds from deep within us. It is in responding to that call that we will find life, both here and now and in eternity. John the Baptist is a great inspiration to us to allow the light of our faith to shine, the light of the Gospel, even when it is not popular or convenient to do so. Our calling is to allow the light we have received in Baptism to shine brightly, in season and out of season.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord reassured His people in the kingdom of Judah, to whom the Lord had sent Jeremiah to, that they should not be afraid or fearful of all their enemies and all those who sought to destroy them because He would be with them and protected them much as how He had done so in the earlier ages and eras. The Lord had always been with His people despite their many insubordinations, rebellions and refusals to obey Him and His Law, His commandments and ways. He had built His protections and barriers around them, coming in between them and their enemies, destroying many of those who plotted against them and sought their destruction on many occasions. And yet, they still hardened their hearts and minds against Him despite all these things which He had done for them. The Lord had patiently helped and showed them His messengers, His servants and more to help and lead them towards Him. Many of these were persecuted and oppressed by those who refused to listen to their words and reminders, which brought about God’s anger against them and their stubbornness. Yet, despite having shown them this displeasure and anger, warning them of the dangerous consequences should they continue in their rebellious paths, which was one of the major message theme that Jeremiah brought to the people of Judah, the Lord also reassured them at the same time that He would be willing to welcome them back should they choose to repent from their sins and trust in Him again.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, on this feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah, we are all reminded of the suffering, the great love and the commitment which a great servant of God had dedicated himself to His Lord and Master. This Passion of John the Baptist refers to the moment when St. John the Baptist suffered for his faith and dedication to the Lord, similar to that of the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, which we commemorate during the Holy Week in each liturgical year. St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah, the bearer of the Good News of the Lord’s imminent coming, all that this man of God had done for the sake of the people of God and for his love for them, and how he stood up courageously for the sake of God’s truth, resisting the evils and immoral ways of the world, persisting even against those who were powerful and mighty. The courageous story of the faith of St. John the Baptist, reminds all of us that we are called as Christians to received and respond to God’s call to serve Him faithfully in the manner that St. John the Baptist had done, in standing up for our faith in the Lord and in defending the important Christian values and teachings. Each and every one of us are called to be courageous champions and defenders of our faith, and at every available and possible opportunities, we may be called to be witnesses of the Lord and to be missionaries of faith, following in the footsteps of the Saints and martyrs. Today we ought to reflect in what way our lives can glorify God so that in all the things we say and do, we will always proclaim the truth and love of God. All of us have the important obligation and duty to follow the Lord and His ways in all things and at all times. However, we must also realise that there will often be a lot of obstacles and temptations that may distract and drag us away from the path towards God and His salvation. And if we are not careful, we may end up also being dragged into the sins and immorality found aplenty in this world. This is where we have to be inspired by St. John the Baptist and his examples, in giving our all to God. We must not easily allow the temptations of the world, the allures of worldly pleasures and desires to mislead us down the path of evil and vice, as it had done to King Herod, Herodias, many among the Pharisees and many others. On this day, we honor St. John the Baptist who had shared in the sufferings of the Lord, as the one who had prepared His path as His herald, and who therefore suffered and died before his own Lord and Master, courageously defending what he had believed in and everything that he had laboured for throughout his whole life. Therefore, as we reflect on the life and actions of the most courageous and faithful servant of God, St. John the Baptist, particularly in his sufferings and martyrdom, the memory of his Passion which he had gone through for the sake of the Lord and all that he has been entrusted to do, let us all therefore reflect upon our own lives and ask ourselves what we can do to commit ourselves to the Lord with the same fervour, dedication, zeal and commitment, not fearing the hardships and persecutions of the world. We should not allow ourselves to be dissuaded by the opposition, challenges, troubles and difficulties that we may have to endure, and instead, like St. John the Baptist, we should strive so that our lives and examples may inspire those around us so that we may help others who are struggling in their faith in God to remain strong and firm in their faith and commitment. May the Lord continue to strengthen our faith and may He encourage and empower us to persevere through the many challenges and trials that we may have to face in the midst of our journey in life, in our dedication and faith in Him, at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy grant us His grace and may St. John the Baptist, His herald and faithful servant continue to inspire us all and pray for each and every one of us, holy and beloved people of God as we keep on going with our daily struggles and perseverance in faith. May God bless us in our every endeavours, good works and efforts, now and always. Amen 🙏🏾

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST:

MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church dedicates the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, she was conceived without the corruption of sin through the foreseen and infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. Over the centuries, as saints and theologians reflected on how Mary pondered and treasured the sacred events from the life of Christ in her holy heart, as attested in Scripture, her pure heart was recognized as something to be imitated. Devotion to Our Lady’s purity of heart began to flower—so much so that in the 17th century, St. John Eudes promoted it alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion rose to a new level after the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, when Mary revealed an image of her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST – FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024

PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen 🙏🏾

During this Ordinary Time, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, Nigeria, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏🏾

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of the Ordinary Time, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. We pray for all mothers, wives, those going through challenges in their marriages, Victims of verbal and spousal abuse, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. For the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

Most glorious Lord, You invited Saint John the Baptist to prepare the way for Your coming and Your death. He gave his life as a martyr, and this sacrifice bore an abundance of good fruit. Please give me the grace to walk in his footsteps by faithfully fulfilling my mission in life with courage and strength. May I never waver in the face of injustice so that I can embrace it and make it my spiritual offering to You. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Virgin Mary;  Saint John the Baptist and Saint Sabina of Rome, Martyr ~  Pray for us 🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and fruitful week🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 28, 2024

Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Wednesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!

On this special day, the Feast Day of Saint Augustine, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to pray for our children and children all over the world. With special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe andh well. Amen 🙏

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5

On this day, we especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | August 28, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 28, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 28, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 28, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

Today’s Bible Readings: Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Reading 1, Second Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 128:1-2, 4-5
Gospel, Matthew 23:27-32

SAINT MONICA: The Novena to Saint Monica is traditionally prayed every day from August 18–26 (Or any time of the year). Novena to Saint Monica is eqspecially prayed for wayward children. [Novena link – https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/novena-to-saint-monica/]

Memorial of Saint Monica is August 27
Memorial of Saint Augustine is August 28

REFLECTION: “The circumstances of St. Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she didn’t give way to any of these temptations”. St. Monica cried to our God for help, her tears and persistent intercessory prayer for her son St. Augustine, whom we celebrate tomorrow was delivered from his evil ways. Through the intercession of St. Monica, may God in His infinite mercy hear our cry and grant our children His divine grace and favor and bless our marriages with love, peace, understanding, endurance and patience…Amen!🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH AND SAINT HERMES,  MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 28TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Doctor of the Church and Saint Hermes, Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints Augustine and Hermes on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are sick with the eye diseases, mental illnesses, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 A.D.) was born in Tagaste (now Souk-Ahras in modern day Algeria), North Africa to a pagan father, Patricius and a devout Christian mother, St. Monica on November 13, 354 A.D. He was the first of three children and grew to become one the most significant and influential thinkers in the history of the Catholic Church. His teachings were the foundation of Christian doctrine for a millennium. His life is one of the greatest sinner-to-saint stories in the history of the Church. St. Augustine eventually became a priest, bishop, theologian, writer, and the founder of a religious order of priests. He was declared a Doctor of the Church and is considered one of the most influential saints and theologians to have ever lived, one whose writings are widely read to this very day. The story of his life, up until his conversion, is written in the autobiographical Confessions, the most intimate and well-known glimpse into an individual’s soul ever written, as well as a fascinating philosophical, theological, mystical, poetic and literary work.

St. Augustine’s mother, St. Monica did her best to raise him in the Christian faith, but St. Augustine, a brilliant and promising young student, was carried away into wordly attractions, lust for women, and pagan philosophies. This put his faith and morals into a state of crisis for many years. In spite of the piety of his holy mother, St. Monica, he fell at an early age into the greatest disorders, and even at a later period became a heretic of the sect of the Manichaeans. Still unbaptized and burning for knowledge, he came under the influence of the Manichaeans, which caused his mother intense sorrow. His waywardness gave his holy mother great pain and anxiety as she watched her son pursue materialistic ambitions and keep company with heretical sects. Unfortunately, his father, Patricius, was then an idolator, so that the youth met with little or no restraint on his side. In the beginning of 370 he continued his studies at Carthage, and the following years his father died, after being converted to Christianity. Some time later, he took up his abode at Carthage and opened a school of rhetoric. Later he left Africa for Rome, deceiving his mother, who was ever anxious to be near him. She prayed and wept. A bishop consoled her by observing that a son of so many tears would never be lost. Yet the evil spirit drove him constantly deeper into moral degeneracy, capitalizing on his leaning toward pride and stubbornness. From Rome he then went to Milan, where he also began to teach rhetoric. Here God’s grace and through the constant prayers of his mother, who had followed him to Italy, as well as the instructions of saintly friends, particularly holy preaching of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, affected his conversion and St. Augustine came to recognize the truth of Christianity; but only after several spiritually tumultuous years of seeking God through his philosophical studies. He abandoned the sect of the Manichaeans, and after some time gave himself entirely to God. He underwent a profound conversion and was baptized, after which he lived a holy life of purity, prayer, and penance. St. Ambrose administered to him the Sacrament of Baptism on Easter eve, 387.

On his return to Africa, to his hometown of Tagaste, St. Augustine lost his mother at Ostia in the same year, and in 388 he arrived at Carthage. He distributed his goods to the poor and lived a common life with his friends, “having now cast off from himself the cares of the world, he lived for God with those who accompanied him, in fasting, prayers, and good works, meditating on the law of the Lord by day and by night.” On a visit to Hippo, in 391 he was ordained priest at Hippo, in 394 made coadjutor to bishop Valerius, and then from 396 to 430 bishop of Hippo at the age of 41 against his will. He later accepted it as the will of God and spent the rest of his life as the pastor of the North African town, where he spent much time refuting the writings of heretics. He became a great luminary of the African Church, one of the four great founders of religious orders, and a Doctor of the universal Church. From this period until his death St. Augustine’s life was one of ceaseless activity. He governed his church, preached to his people, and wrote voluminous works that have received the admiration of the ages. His humility prompted him to write his Confessions about the year 397, from which we have a detailed account of his early years. St. Augustine also wrote, The City of God, against the pagans who charged that the fall of the Roman empire, which was taking place at the hands of the Vandals, was due to the spread of Christianity. On August 28, 430, as Hippo was under siege by the Vandals, St. Augustine died, at the age of 76. His legacy continues to deeply shape the face of the Church to this day. St. Augustine is the Patron Saint of Brewers; sore eyes; printers; diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut; Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan; city of Saint Augustine, Florida; diocese of Saint Augustine, Florida; diocese of Superior, Wisconsin; theologians; diocese of Tucson, Arizona. His feast day is celebrated on August 28.

QUOTES OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: ☆”Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” ☆”Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” ☆”God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” ☆”It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”☆”The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” ☆Our hearts are made for you O Lord and they are restless until they rest in you.”

PRAYER: Lord, renew in Your Church the spirit that You inspired in St. Augustine, Your Bishop. Filled by this spirit, may we thirst after You as the true Source of wisdom and seek after You as the Author of Heavenly love. Amen 🙏
 

SAINT HERMES, MARTYR: St. Hermes was born in Greece, died in Rome as a martyr in 120, probably in Diocletian’s persecution. The Acts of Pope St. Alexander I depict St. Hermes as a wealthy freedman who with his companions was martyred in Rome, being killed on the orders of a judge named Aurelian. He is mentioned in the Depositio Martyrum of the year 354. He was buried in a cemetery on the Salarian Way. There was a large basilica over his tomb that was built around 600 by Pope Pelagius I and restored by Pope Adrian I. A catacomb in the Salarian Way bears his name. His existence is attested by his early cult. However, his Acts, included in those of Pope Alexander I, are legendary.

Some of the relics of St. Hermes were given to Spoleto by Pope Gregory the Great. Other relics went to Lothair I by  Pope Leo IV; Lothair brought them first to  Cornelismünster, near Aachen. The relics later came to Ronse in the 9th century. During those times, Viking raids forced the monks to flee the town more than once, and the monastery was burnt by the Normans in 880. The relics were recovered in 940 and housed in a Romanesque-style crypt in 1083. The church of Saint Hermes, which was later built on top of the crypt, was consecrated in 1129. A pilgrimage in honour of the saint, who had by then become known for curing mental illnesses, sustained the local economy. There is still a   French saying today which translates as “Saint Hermes cures the area’s madmen but keeps the Ronse dwellers as they are”. Although he is recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church, the commemoration of Saint Hermes in the General Roman Calendar was removed in 1969 because of the paucity of information about him. Their cult was confined to local calendars in 1969. St. Hermes is a Patron Saint invoked against mental illnesses; Forte dei Marmi; Ronse; Acquapendente.

Saint Hermes, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today, Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 23:27-32

“You are the children of those who murdered the prophets”

“Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus criticizes those who look well on the outside but within leave a lot to be desired. He criticizes those same people for being more preoccupied with appearances, what is on the outside, than with what is within, what Scripture call the heart. Today, even more than in the time of Jesus, appearances, image, has become all important. People who have a certain image receive the most adulation, have the biggest following and, often, get the biggest salaries. We are easily taken in by appearances. We all know that appearances can be deceptive. There isn’t always a good fit between the person we present to others and the person we are in our heart of hearts. It is clear from the Gospel reading that Jesus is more interested in how people are in their heart than in how they appear. He wants His followers to attend to what is within first, their basic attitudes and values, and not to be worried about appearances. If what is within is right, then it will show itself in how we appear to others. Jesus praised Nathanael as a person who was incapable of deceit, or, in an older translation, a ‘man in whom there is no guile’. In other words, there was a harmony between what was within him and what was evident to others. Nathanael had plenty of work to do on what was within, as Jesus went on to point out, but, at least, he wasn’t pretending to be someone he was not. The Gospels suggest that Jesus had a very strong aversion to pretence. He looks for openness and honesty, a harmony between who we are in reality and how we appear to others, even if who we are in reality is not yet all that the Lord is calling us to be. The Lord recognizes that we are all on the way; we have not yet arrived; we are pilgrims. He just wants us to be honest pilgrims.

Jesus invites us to look at little deeper, which is how God looks. According to one of the books of the Jewish Scriptures, ‘we look at appearances, God looks at the heart’. The ‘heart’ in the Jewish Scriptures and in the New Testament is the seat of the emotions, the intellect and the will. What matters to God is the heart, how we feel, how we think, how and what we desire. We are to bring our feeling, our thoughts, our desires into line with how God feels, how God thinks, what God desires for us. Our hearts are to reflect, in some way, God’s heart, which means Jesus’ heart. As Jesus says elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel, ‘Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart’. It is the Holy Spirit who comes to us from God and the risen Lord who can mould our hearts into images of the Lord’s heart. We pray today that this work of the Spirit will be brought to completion in us.

In our first reading today, St. Paul the Apostle continuing with the exhortation to the people of God and the faithful Christians in the city and region of Thessalonica in what is now part of Greece. The Apostle exhorted the faithful people of God to obey the Lord and to do whatever they can so that they would do their part as members of the Church of God, to live their lives virtuously and righteously in the manner that the Lord has shown and taught us. At that time there were those who thought that since the Lord was coming soon, then they did not need to do anything and since they had been saved, then they could just enjoy and await the Lord’s coming, which is contrary to what the Lord had entrusted to them that is the mission to proclaim His truth and Good News, to evangelise to the whole world. And there were also others who did not do their part as Christians because they were afraid of persecutions, trials and challenges that they were facing amidst their lives among the mainly still pagan populations of the Roman Empire. St. Paul strengthened them and reminded them and others that to be disciples of Christ, sufferings and hardships are part of the journey, and that they must not easily lose heart because the Lord would be with them throughout their journey, and they would not be alone. That is why, like St. Paul and the other Apostles themselves had shown them by example, they all should support one another, helping each other to remain firmly faithful in the Lord, resisting the temptations of worldly wickedness and sins, while living righteously as God’s holy and beloved people.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are reminded and called again to be truly faithful to God in all things, in our every words, actions and deeds, in every moments throughout our whole lives so that we may indeed be fully committed in all of our ways, in everything that we carry out in life so that we may always inspire others around us to be ever more faithful and committed to the Lord. As Christians we have to be truly sincere in our faith, obedience and dedication to God, to do whatever we can so that by our lives we may truly proclaim the Lord our God to everyone whom we encounter in life, and be the shining beacons of His truth and Good News, at all times. Through the examples of the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly St. Augustine of Hippo, our great and holy predecessor, our brilliant role model, who we celebrate today, we can see how we can truly change our lives when we have the right focus in mind. St. Augustine found his refuge and satisfaction in the Lord, which no worldly pleasures or philosophical discourses he sought for earlier in his life could afford to give him. We are all inspired to live our lives with true faith and dedication to the Lord as well. Therefore, since we have heard of his examples, let us all therefore be inspired to follow in his footsteps and continue to do our part in contributing to the works and missions of the Church. Let us all put the Lord back at the centre of our lives, and let us all inspire many others to come ever closer to God, through our actions and efforts which hopefully become good inspiration for others around us. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to distance ourselves from the dangerous temptations of pride and greed, excise from us that pride and greed, that ego and ambition, and instead, may we serve the Lord humbly at all times, and do our best to glorify God by our lives at each and every opportunities. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, and bless our every works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen. 🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST:

MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church dedicates the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, she was conceived without the corruption of sin through the foreseen and infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. Over the centuries, as saints and theologians reflected on how Mary pondered and treasured the sacred events from the life of Christ in her holy heart, as attested in Scripture, her pure heart was recognized as something to be imitated. Devotion to Our Lady’s purity of heart began to flower—so much so that in the 17th century, St. John Eudes promoted it alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion rose to a new level after the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, when Mary revealed an image of her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST – FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024

PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen 🙏🏾

During this Ordinary Time, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, Nigeria, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏🏾

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of the Ordinary Time, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. We pray for all mothers, wives, those going through challenges in their marriages, Victims of verbal and spousal abuse, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. For the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

My passionate Lord, You hate sin but love the sinner. You perfectly desire to rid me of all sin and all attachment to sin. Please open my mind and heart to hear Your rebukes of Love so that I may respond to Your invitation to repent with all my heart. I love You dear Lord. Free me from sin so that I may love You more. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Virgin Mary; Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Hermes  ~  Pray for us 🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and fruitful week🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 27, 2024

Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!

On this special feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to pray for our children and children all over the world. With special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe andh well. Amen 🙏

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5

On this day, we especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | August 27, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 27, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 27, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 27, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

Today’s Bible Readings: Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Reading 1, Second Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-16
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 96:10, 11-12, 13
Gospel, Matthew 23:23-26

SAINT MONICA: The Novena to Saint Monica is traditionally prayed every day from August 18–26 (Or any time of the year). Novena to Saint Monica is eqspecially prayed for wayward children. [Novena link – https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/novena-to-saint-monica/]

Memorial of Saint Monica is August 27
Memorial of Saint Augustine is August 28

REFLECTION: “The circumstances of St. Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she didn’t give way to any of these temptations”. St. Monica cried to our God for help, her tears and persistent intercessory prayer for her son St. Augustine, whom we celebrate tomorrow was delivered from his evil ways. Through the intercession of St. Monica, may God in His infinite mercy hear our cry and grant our children His divine grace and favor and bless our marriages with love, peace, understanding, endurance and patience…Amen!🙏

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST OF THE SEVEN JOYS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY; SAINT MONICA, WIDOW AND SAINT CEASARIUS OF ARLES, BISHOP ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 27TH: Today, we celebrate the  Feast of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Saint Monica, Widow and Saint Ceasarius of Arles, Bishop. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We pray for all mothers, all wives, those going through difficulties marriages, troubled children, alcoholics and abuse victims. We pray for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world and also pray for the poor and needy. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏

FEAST OF THE SEVEN JOYS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: The feast of The Seven Joys of Our Lady (also known as The Franciscan Crown Rosary) is a very special feast of the Franciscan Order. The Franciscan Crown Rosary, properly known as “The Franciscan Crown of Our Lady’s Joys” dates back to approximately the year 1422. According to tradition, as related by the famous Franciscan historian Father Luke Wadding, a very pious young man who had been admitted to the Franciscan Order in that year was saddened and had decided to return to the world and quit the cloister. Before his entry into the Order, it was his custom to adorn a statue of the Blessed Virgin with a wreath of fresh and beautiful flowers. Now, he was unable to continue his act of piety and devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Our Lady appeared to him and prevented him from taking such a step as he had planned. “Do not be sad and cast down, my son,” she said, “because you are no longer permitted to place wreaths of flowers on my statue. I shall teach you to change this pious practice into one that will be far more pleasing to me and more meritorious to your soul. In place of the flowers that soon wither and cannot always be found, you can weave for me a crown from the flowers of your prayers that will always remain fresh and can always be had.” When Our Lady had disappeared, the overjoyed Novice at once began to recite the prayers in honor of her Seven Joys, as she had directed. While he was deeply engrossed in this devotion, the Novice Master happened to pass by and saw an angel weaving a marvelous wreath of roses. After every tenth rose, he inserted a golden lily. When the wreath was finished, the angel placed it on the head of the praying Novice. The Novice Master demanded the Novice tell him the meaning of this vision. The joyful Novice complied. The good priest was so impressed that he immediately made it known to his brethren. Thus, the practice of reciting the Franciscan Crown of Our Lady’s Joys soon spread as a favorite devotion of the Friars. Pope St. Pius X authorized them to celebrate this feast in 1906. Our Lady’s joys are seven and are celebrated within the octave of the feast of her Immaculate Heart. The original day was the Sunday after the octave of the Assumption, but in 1914 it was transferred to the octave day itself; and in 1942, when the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was assigned to that day, that of the Seven Joys was moved to August 26 or 27. The Franciscans celebrate this feast August 27 and the Conventuals on August 26.

The Seven Joys of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary: (1) The Annunciation of the Angel to Mary; (2)The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth; (3)The Nativity of Our Lord; (4)The Adoration of the Magi; (5)The Finding of Jesus in the Temple; (6)The Resurrection of Our Lord and (7)The Crowning of Our Lady, Mary, in Heaven as Queen. At each decade it is well to reflect on the sweet joy Our Lady experienced on the occasions indicated. Said in this way, the rosary will be very pleasing to Mary, and you will learn to love it more and more.

How to Pray This Devotion: The Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary is recited in its honor the Franciscan Crown which is composed of seven decades of one Our Father and ten Hail Marys each. At the end two Hail Marys are added. It is concluded with the Our Father and Hail Mary. The last Our Father and Hail Mary are prayed for the Holy Father’s intentions in order to gain the indulgence. The seventy-two Hail Marys correspond to the seventy-two years the Blessed Virgin is supposed to have lived and when she died and was assumed into Heaven. The seven decades need not be recited at once, but the single decades may be separated provided that the whole Rosary is said on the same day. One need not meditate on the mysteries of this Rosary. It suffices to pray the single decades in honor of the respective mystery. Devotion to the seven joys of Mary is a beautiful counterpart to the seven sorrows and helps balance a person’s spiritual life, recognizing that existence is not just filled with sorrows, but also contains many joys in this life and the life to come. Our Lady’s Sorrows are also seven and are celebrated twice during the year — on the Friday before Good Friday and on September 15.

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 thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do 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🙏

PRAYER: O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for Thy Son; we beseech Thee, that, as by the foreseen death of the same Thy Son, Thou didst preserve Her from every stain, so mayest Thou grant us also, through Her intercession, to come to Thee with pure hearts. Through the same Christ Our Lord.  Amen 🙏

SAINT MONICA, WIDOW: St. Monica (331-387 A.D.), is the mother of St. Augustine (whose feast we celebrate tomorrow,  August 28th). St. Monica’s holy example and fervent intercession led to one of the most dramatic conversions in Church history. St. Monica was born into a Catholic family in 331, in the North African city of Tagaste located in present-day Algeria. She was raised by a maidservant who taught her the virtues of obedience and temperance. Early in life she struggled with alcoholism, sneaking draughts of wine from the family cellar, before being caught and overcoming the habit. She was later given in marriage to an ill-tempered and adulterous pagan Roman official, Patricius, who had disdain for his wife’s religion. She suffered greatly on account of her husband, and that of her unkind mother-in-law with whom she lived.  St. Monica dealt patiently with his distressing behavior, which included infidelity to their marriage vows and she fervently prayed for their conversion over the course of many years. Her patience and kindness became a source of encouragement to other unhappy housewives with whom she came in contact.

St. Monica experienced a greater grief when her husband, Patricius would not allow their three children – Augustine, Nagivius, and Perpetua – to receive Baptism. When Augustine, the oldest, became sick and was in danger of death, Patricius gave consent for his Baptism, but withdrew it when he recovered. St. Monica’s long-suffering patience and prayers eventually helped Patricius to see the error of his ways, and he was baptized into the Church one year before his death in 371. Her oldest son, however, soon embraced a way of life that brought her further grief, as he fathered a child out of wedlock in 372. One year later, he began to practice the occult religion of Manichaeism. In her distress and grief, Monica initially shunned her oldest son. However, she experienced a mysterious dream that strengthened her hope for Augustine’s soul, in which a messenger assured her: “Your son is with you.” After this experience, which took place around 377, she allowed him back into her home, and continued to beg God for his conversion. But this would not take place for another nine years. In the meantime, St. Monica sought the advice of local clergy, wondering what they might do to persuade her son away from the Manichean heresy. One bishop, who had once belonged to that sect himself, assured St. Monica that it was “impossible that the son of such tears should perish.” These tears and prayers intensified when Augustine, at age 29, abandoned St. Monica without warning as she passed the night praying in a chapel. Without saying goodbye to his mother, Augustine boarded a ship bound for Rome. Yet even this painful event would serve God’s greater purpose, as Augustine left to become a teacher in the place where he was destined to become a Catholic. Under the influence of the bishop St. Ambrose of Milan, Augustine renounced the teaching of the Manichees around 384. St. Monica followed her son to Milan, and drew encouragement from her son’s growing interest in the saintly bishop’s preaching. After three years of struggle against his own desires and perplexities, Augustine succumbed to God’s grace and was baptized in 387.

Shortly before her death, St. Monica shared a profound mystical experience of God with Augustine, who chronicled the event in his “Confessions.” Finally, she told him: “Son, for myself I have no longer any pleasure in anything in this life. Now that my hopes in this world are satisfied, I do not know what more I want here or why I am here.” The only thing I ask of you both,” she told Augustine and his brother Nagivius, “is that you make remembrance of me at the altar of the Lord wherever you are.” St. Monica died at age 56, on August 27, 387 AD, Ostia Antica, Italy as she and her son gazed at the sea and discoursed about the joys of the blessed. She is remembered and honored for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly the suffering caused by her husband’s adultery, and her prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his Confessions. Popular Christian legends recall Saint Monica weeping every night for her son Augustine. In modern times, she has become the inspiration for the St. Monica Sodality, which encourages prayer and penance among Catholics whose children have left the faith. She is the patron saint of wives, mothers, married women, difficult marriages, conversions, alcoholics and abuse victims,  disappointing children, victims of adultery or unfaithfulness, victims of (verbal) abuse, and conversion of relatives.

PRAYER: God, Comforter of the afflicted, You accepted St. Monica’s tears to bring about the conversion of her son St. Augustine. Through their intercession, grant that we may have contrition for our sins and experience the grace of Your pardon. Amen 🙏

SAINT CAESARIUS OF ARLES, BISHOP: St. Caesarius of Arles (470-542) was born at Chalon-sur-Saone in 470 of a good Gallo-Roman family. He entered the monastery of Lerins at the age of twenty and in 503 he was chosen Bishop of Arles. He led an austere life as a monk which he retained as a devout Bishop. This devout Bishop played a prominent role in the ecclesiastical administration of southern Gaul and established the claim of Arles to be the primatial See in Gaul. The most important problem for St. Caesarius was the efficiency of the bishop’s fulfillment of his pastoral duties. By that time, preaching had already become part of the standard church service in Gaul; many bishops recognized the importance of such a means of educating morality and encouraged it. However, Caesarius’ enthusiasm was outstanding in its own way, and he urged his clergy to preach as often as possible, in the church and outside it, to the willing and the opposing. St. Caesarius’ sermon topics generally dealt with moral issues.

St. Caesarius formed the clergy and organized his diocese and zealously defended the church against heresy.  He fought strenuously against Arianism and was largely instrumental in securing the condemnation of Semi-Pelagianism at the Council of Orange in 529 (one of several over which he presided by order of the Pope). He stressed brevity and clarity of language in his sermons that have come down to us and he, himself was a celebrated preacher. He founded a nunnery where his sister was and wrote a Rule for it. The modernity of his Rule can be seen in its provisions. In this Rule, it provided that every nun learn to read and write, and it also established that the nuns should be allowed to choose their Abbess. It has for a long time remained the frame of life for a great number of religious.

St. Caesarius is considered to be of the last generation of church leaders of Gaul that worked to promote large-scale ascetic elements into the Western Christian tradition. St. Caesarius is depicted as having the reputation of a “popular preacher of great fervour and enduring influence”. Among those who exercised the greatest influence on Caesarius were Sts. Augustine of Hippo, Julianus Pomerius, and John Cassian. St. Caesarius died on August 27, 542 AD

PRAYER: God, Light and Shepherd of souls, You established St. Caesarius as Bishop in Your Church to feed Your flock by his word and form it by his example. Help us through his intercession to keep the faith he taught by his word and follow the way he showed by his example. Amen 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Bible Readings for today, Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time |Memorial of Saint Monica | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 23:23-26

“But these you should have done, without neglecting the others”

“Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus criticizes those who give too much attention to the less important laws and regulations and too little attention to what was really important, what Jesus calls the weightier matter of the Law. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for being so preoccupied with unimportant details relating to the tithing of herbs while neglecting the core values and the more important aspects that the Jewish Law sought to uphold, such as justice, mercy and faith. The background to what Jesus says here may be the prophet Micah’s understanding of what God desires of us, ‘to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God’. The context of Micah’s statement was the people’s concern about what kind of animal sacrifice should be offered to God. Micah was saying to the people that their preoccupation is wide of the mark; it does not correspond to what God really wants. Jesus stands in the line of the prophets who sought to bring people back to what was really important, what really mattered to God. When it comes to our relationship with God, Jesus wants us to put our energy into getting the basics right. It would be difficult to come up anything more basic than the ‘justice, mercy and faith’ that Jesus refers to in the Gospel reading. Justice and mercy have to do with how we relate to others. We are to be just and merciful in our dealings with each other. Faith has to do with how we relate to God. We are to be faithful to God, which means being faithful to Jesus and to all he stands for, even though that may cost us a great deal at times. There is clearly a close link between faith, on the one hand, and justice and mercy, on the other. Faithfulness to Jesus entails showing justice and mercy to others, as He did. When we find ourselves getting very worked up about something in the religious sphere, it can be good to step back and ask ourselves just how basic, how fundamental, the issue in question really is. As disciples of Jesus, we have to keep on returning to the essentials, to what is at the heart of the message of Jesus, what is at the heart of God. It would be hard to find a better statement of those essentials than that trinity of values given to us by Micah and by Jesus, the exercise of justice and mercy towards others and a humble, trusting faith in God. These were the values which Jesus embodied in His life and in His death. To live by them is, in the language of Paul, to put on Christ, which is the core of our baptismal calling.

Our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica, in what is now part of Greece, is the continuation from our reading from yesterday, the Apostle reminded the people of God not to be easily swayed and tempted by various false messages and misleading details which might tempt them to give up their faith in God. That is why the people of God must have strong and enduring faith to persevere amidst the various challenges, trials and temptations surrounding them. There were a lot of misleading teachings and messages going around even since the very earliest days of the Church as evidenced in that Epistle that St. Paul wrote and sent to the Thessalonians. There were quite a few of those who tried to appropriate Church and Christian teachings to suit their own agenda. That was why they mixed parts of the Christian teachings and truth with their own misinformation and ideas, which resulted in not few among the Christians to be swayed into their erroneous and heretical paths. St. Paul was working hard against all those heretics and all the false prophets and messengers, all those irresponsible and wicked people who sought to lead the people of God into the wrong paths for their own selfish agenda and benefits. He persevered through the challenges to slowly and patiently guide the people of God to return back once again to Him, and to return to the path of virtue and righteousness, abandoning whatever wrong and misguided ideas that they had been exposed to through those false leaders and heretics.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today which details the continuation of the discourse on the woes of the Pharisees in our Gospel reading today as the Lord continued on His criticism and rebuke on the Pharisees, the religious elite of the Jewish community who often opposed the Lord in His ministry and works, as well as the exhortation by St. Paul to the faithful people of God in Thessalonica on how they ought to stand firm to their faith in God, not allowing themselves to be easily swayed by falsehoods and temptations around them, to prevent them from falling into sin. Through all these, we are all reminded that we should continue to be faithful as Christians in all of our lives and actions, to be truly faithful to God and not merely be outwardly pious but having no love for God in us. As we reflect on the lives of the Holy men and women, particularly, St. Monica who went through it all patiently, always there to pray and support her son, praying for his conversion and change of heart. Slowly but surely, this impacted the members of her family, beginning from her husband, who converted to be a Christian before he passed away, and then St. Augustine of Hippo himself, who was called by God and then, under the tutelage of St. Ambrose of Milan, finally embraced the Christian faith and the Lord fully, abandoning his past wicked way of life. St. Monica was by her son’s side throughout the whole entire journey, and has always shown her love to him, reminding us all what it means for us to be a Christian and a disciple of Christ, in how we ought to love one another and to help one another in our path towards the Lord’s salvation. Let us all therefore continue to do our best to proclaim the Lord ever more faithfully in our whole lives, and do our part as Christians to be good role models and inspirations for everyone around us. May God in His infinite grace and mercy grant us the grace and may the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to bless and guide us in our journey, strengthening us all to walk ever more faithfully in His path, now and always. Amen 🙏🏾

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST:

MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church dedicates the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, she was conceived without the corruption of sin through the foreseen and infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. Over the centuries, as saints and theologians reflected on how Mary pondered and treasured the sacred events from the life of Christ in her holy heart, as attested in Scripture, her pure heart was recognized as something to be imitated. Devotion to Our Lady’s purity of heart began to flower—so much so that in the 17th century, St. John Eudes promoted it alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion rose to a new level after the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, when Mary revealed an image of her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST – FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024

PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen 🙏🏾

During this Ordinary Time, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, Nigeria, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏🏾

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of the Ordinary Time, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. We pray for all mothers, wives, those going through challenges in their marriages, Victims of verbal and spousal abuse, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. For the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen 🙏

Let us pray:

Lord of true holiness, You desire to cleanse my soul, and You invite me to meet You there within. Please give me the grace I need to care more about my holiness within than the external perceptions and judgments of others. May I become holy, dear Lord, and learn to become an instrument of that holiness for others. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Blessed Mother Virgin Mary; Saint Monica, Widow and Saint Ceasarius of Arles, Bishop ~  Pray for us 🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and fruitful week🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

TWENTY- FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 26, 2024

Greetings and blessings beloved family and Happy Monday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time!

On this special feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We continue to pray for our children and children all over the world. With special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially those beginning the new school year. May God grant them the courage to face new challenges and wisdom to make good choices. We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We pray for safe travels, to and from school. We also pray for all teachers, staff and parents, and guardians. May the good Lord provide for those in need. And we continue to pray for peace, love, and unity in our families and our world. May God keep us all safe andh well. Amen 🙏

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” ~ James 1:5

On this day, we especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son & the Holy Spirit forever & ever. Amen🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN on YouTube | August 26, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 26, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 26, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| August 26, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |

Today’s Bible Readings: Monday August 26, 2024
Reading 1, Second Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 96:1-2, 2-3, 4-5
Gospel, Matthew 23:13-22

NOVENA TO SAINT MONICA: Traditionally prayed every day from August 18–26 (Or any time of the year). Novena to Saint Monica is eqspecially prayed for wayward children. [Novena link – https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/novena-to-saint-monica/]

We thank God for granting us the grace to successfully complete our Novena to Saint Monica today. May St. Monica intercede for us as we celebrate her feast day tomorrow, August 27th. St. Monica ~ Pray for us 🙏

Memorial of Saint Monica is August 27
Memorial of Saint Augustine is August 28

Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine. She is credited for being a holy and faith-filled mother whose prayers brought about the conversion of her son, Augustine. This novena can be prayed for any intention, especially for wayward children.

Dear Saint Monica, you were once the mournful mother of a prodigal son. Your faithfulness to prayer brought you and your son so close to God that you are now with him in eternity. By your intercession and God’s grace, your son St. Augustine became a great and venerable Saint of the Church. Please take my request to God with the same fervor and persistence with which you prayed for your own son. (Mention your intentions here)

With your needs, worries and anxieties, you threw yourself on the mercy and providence of God. Through sorrow and pain, you constantly devoted yourself to God. Pray for me that I might join you in such a deep faith in God’s goodness and mercy. Above all, dear Saint Monica, pray for me that I may, like your son, turn from my sin and become a great Saint for the glory of God.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be… Amen 🙏

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA, THE BLACK MADONNA; SAINT JEANNE ELIZABETH BICHIER DES AGES, VIRGIN; SAINT ZEPHYRINUS, POPE AND MARTYR AND SAINT ORONTIUS OF LECCE, BISHOP AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 26TH: Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Black Madonna of Częstochowa); Saint Jeanne Elizabeth Bichier des Ages, Virgin; Saint Zephyrinus Pope Martyr and Saint Orontius of Lecce, Bishop and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Czestochowa and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We pray for the safety and well-being of all students and youths, for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏

OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA, THE BLACK MADONNA: Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is a venerated icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland. Several Pontiffs have recognised the venerated icon, beginning with Pope Clement XI, who issued a Canonical Coronation to the image on 8 September 1717 via the Vatican Chapter. The revered icon of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus said to be one of those painted by St. Luke the Evangelist (who was an artist, as well as a writer and physician) as Our Lady relayed to him the stories of Jesus’ life contained in his Gospel account. Also known as the “Black Madonna”, the icon is painted on a cypress wood panel from a table used by the Holy Family in Nazareth, according to tradition the very wood of the Holy Family’s tabletop built by Jesus himself, and the icon was discovered and brought from Jerusalem by St. Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine and collector of Christian relics in the Holy Land. The icon was then enshrined in the imperial city of Constantinople, according to the legend, where it remained for the next 500 years. It was given to a Greek princess married to a Ruthenian nobleman and it was housed in the royal palace at Belz in the Ukraine for the next 600 years. Art historians believe it is a Byzantine icon of the Hodigitria type dating from the 6th – 9th Century.

This icon of Our Lady has held a special place of honor at the heart of the Catholic faith in Poland for at least the last 600 years. The two sword slashes on Our Lady’s face, and a scar from an arrow to the throat, sustained in the 15th century from separate attacks by enemy invaders, has given hope to the Polish people of the Blessed Mother’s special protection, and comfort in their many sorrows, throughout centuries of devastating invasions to their country.Numerous miracles have been attributed to the icon, which is kept and venerated at Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa, Poland. In 1656 King Casimir declared Our Lady of Czestochowa “Queen of Poland” and made the city the spiritual capital of the nation, now the third-largest Catholic pilgrimage site in the world. She is the Patron Saint of Poland. August 26th is the feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Our Lady of Czestochowa, pray for us!

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA: Holy Mother of Czestochowa, Thou art full of grace, goodness and mercy. I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts, words and actions—my soul and body. I beseech Thy blessings and especially prayers for my salvation. Today, I consecrate myself to Thee, Good Mother,  totally —with body and soul amid joy and sufferingsbto obtain for myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and eternal life in Heaven. Amen 🙏

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. … Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.🙏

SAINT JEANNE ELIZABETH BICHIER DES AGES, VIRGIN: St. Jeanne Elizabeth Bichier des Ages (1773-1838) was born at La Blanc, France, on July 5, 1773. She was a French religious sister, commonly referred to as Elizabeth Bichier. She was Christianed Joan Elizabeth but commonly called by her second name, Elizabeth. Born to nobility and educated in a convent school, St. Jeanne Elizabeth witnessed closely and was personally affected by the events of the French Revolution which shook France when she was just 16 years old. St. Joan was of noble birth, but she committed herself to the service of oth­ers. Educated in a Poitiers convent, she waged a successful fight to save family property from the National Assembly after the death of her father. Upon the death of her father, she moved to La Guimetiere with her mother, and in 1796, realizing that she needed to do something to defend the Church and keep the faith alive amidst the attacks of the revolutionaries, she decided to begin a ministry of teaching and serving the poor. She gathered groups of faithful in the town – which was at this point without a priest or community of religious – and organized meetings of prayer, studying of the Scriptures, and singing hymns.

She entered a Carmelite convent upon her mother’s death in 1804, and later the Society of Providence, with the advice of Saint Andrew Fournet, an underground priest who was forced to remain clandestine because he refused to make a pledge of allegiance to the government of the new republic. St. Andrew Fournet encouraged Elizabeth to devote her life to education and the care of the sick. She’s Foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, a disciple of St. Andrew Fournet. She lived for a whole with the Carmelites and the Society of Providence in order to prepare herself for the religious life.Under Fournet’s direction, Elizabeth was put in charge of group of women dedicated to Catholic education and care for the sick and aged. St. Andrew Fournet realized that she was the one God had called to lead a community of women he had gathered, and she cofounded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross with him in 1807 to care for the sick and poor, and to teach the faith. At her suggestion, she also helped to inspire the founding of a community of Priests dedicated to missionary service, the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Betharram. Her congregation was designed for teaching and hospital service. By 1830 had established sixty houses in France. She died at Le Pay, Poitiers, France. St. Jeanne Elizabeth died on August 26, 1838. She was beatified on May 13, 1934 by Pope Pius XI and Canonizedon on July 6, 1947 by Pope Pius XII.

PRAYER: Lord, our God, grant that Your faithful spouse, St. Elizabeth, may enkindle in us the flame of Divine love that she enkindled in other virgins for the everlasting glory of Your Church. Amen 🙏

SAINT ZEPHYRINUS, POPE AND MARTYR: Pope St. Zephyrinus was a Bishop of Rome and Pope in the 3rd Century. He was the bishop of Rome from 199 to his death on December 20, 217. He was born in Rome, and succeeded Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, Callixtus I. He is known for combating heresies and defending the divinity of Christ. He faced one of the earliest upheavals in Papal history. The schism began because of Hippolytus, who, because he was well-schooled, thought he “knew it all.” There was a big debate over the Logos, the second person of the Trinity. Hippolytus was a Modalist and Patripassian,  who believed it was God, the Heavenly Father, who had been Crucified, not Jesus Christ. Since Zephyrinus was a simple and less educated person, Hippolytus thought he could bully the Pope. But Zephyrinus preferred a practical approach and just wanted everyone to get along. He believed that one God, the Son, had been Crucified, not the Heavenly Father. And he also had a job to do, so he did not get all swept up in the debate at hand. It was a difficult time for Zephyrinus. He accepted that people will sometimes disagree, yet knew that should not end the Papacy, and he served ably until the year 217. This Pope abolished the use of wooden chalices, decreeing that these be replaced with glass ones if metal was too expensive. He also required all the faithful to receive Holy Communion at Easter. St. Zephyrinus won the crown of martyrdom on August 26, 217. His relics are enshrined in San Silvestro at Rome, the church for English Catholics in the Eternal City.

Saint Zephyrinus, Pope and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SAINT ORONTIUS OF LECCE, BISHOP AND MARTYR: St. Orontius of Lecce (1st c.) was the son of the Roman imperial treasurer in Lecce, Italy. Upon his father’s death he inherited the position. St. Orontius was converted to the Christian faith along with his nephew, Fortunatus, by Justus, a disciple of St. Paul the Apostle. St. Orontius was later denounced to the authorities as a Christian and was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan gods. He refused and was arrested, removed from his office, tortured, and exiled to Corinth together with Fortunatus. In Corinth the pair met St. Paul the Apostle, who consecrated St. Orontius as the first bishop of Lecce. When St. Orontius and Fortunatus returned to Lecce they were persecuted and imprisoned again, but were released and ordered to stop preaching. They continued to preach in the surrounding cities, and were arrested a third time and executed. St. Orontius’ feast day is August 26th.

Saint Orontius of Lecce, Bishop and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS

Bible Readings for today, Monday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 23:13-22

“Woe to you, blind guides”

“Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’ Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’ You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is very critical of those who shut up the kingdom of God in people’s faces, refusing to go in themselves and preventing others from doing so. Jesus came to proclaim the presence of the kingdom of God and to invite people to savour the goodness of God’s kingdom, the loving power of God’s presence, here in this present life and, to a fuller extent, in eternity. Yet, some of Jesus’ contemporaries, the experts in the Jewish Law, were trying to close off this wonderful gift to others. Not only have they been rejecting Jesus’ message for themselves but they have been making it difficult for others to accept it. Jesus was often critical of people who were an obstacle to other people coming to faith in Him. He was critical of His own disciples for trying to prevent children drawing near to Him, in spite of the wishes of the children’s parents for Jesus to bless their children. John the Baptist had done the opposite. He had worked to open up people to the presence of God’s kingdom in the person of Jesus. There will always be those who try to block others from coming to know the Lord and all that He offers and, thankfully, there will always be others who do the opposite, who try to open up others to faith in the Lord and all that flows from it. One of the great services of love we can render others, according to Jesus, is to support them as they try to respond to God’s call through Jesus. Because there will always be those who shut up the kingdom of God in people’s faces, the Lord needs us to keep doing the opposite. Rather than shutting up the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces, Jesus wants us to open up the kingdom of heaven to each other. We are to bring each other to the Lord, to reveal the Lord to each other, and, in so doing, to support one another on our journey towards the kingdom of heaven. There are many people in the Gospels who brought others to Jesus and who can be an inspiration to us. We only have to think of John the Baptist, whose life mission was to lead people to Jesus, to open up the kingdom of heaven to others. We need the support of each other’s faith, each other’s witness, as we journey on our pilgrim way through life. Jesus calls us to be a John the Baptist in our day, to live in ways that open people up to the presence of the Lord and the fullness of life that He brings. It is a task that the Lord needs each of us to be engaged in, and there is not more important task in life. The Lord wants to work through each one of us to bring one another to a deeper faith.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, St. Paul greeted the faithful people of God in Thessalonica, in what is today part of Greece, praying for them and encouraging them amidst the many challenges and trials that they had to endure in their path and commitments as Christians, as those who have faith in the Lord and believed in Him. St. Paul reminded the faithful that the Lord would always be with them and they should not give up in enduring the many persecutions and challenges because rich would be their rewards in the Kingdom of God, the assurance that the Lord Himself has given to them, that they would be well taken care of, and no one who had made commitment and sacrifices for the Lord would be abandoned by Him. This letter from St. Paul to the Thessalonians highlighted the reality of being a Christian, a follower and believer of Christ at that time, during the early years of the existence of the Church. At that time, the Christian faith was still a relatively new faith and faced many opposition and challenges from those who disagreed with the Lord’s teachings and from the pagans and also the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem. Being persecuted and enduring trials and tribulations were part and parcel of being Christians then, and many among the faithful had to face these difficulties on a daily basis. And yet, this did not discouraged many of them from continuing to follow the Lord faithfully as the persecutions in fact strengthened their desire to continue to serve and follow the Lord faithfully.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded to be truly faithful to God and not to be merely paying lip service to Him, or to be like hypocrites and all those who did not truly have genuine faith and trust in the Lord. Each and every one of us as Christians must always be sincere and genuine in our faith and belief in the Lord, and we should not merely be living our lives without commitment and the desire to live them in accordance to the faith and belief which we have in God. In each and every moments of our lives, we should always strive to do our best, to be exemplary and role model for one another in all things, to be true Christians not just in name, but also in our every efforts, endeavours, our words, actions and deeds. As Christians, we should always lead by example in all of our actions, words and deeds, in each and every moments of our lives. We should always be centred on the Lord in all things, doing our best at all opportunities given to us to proclaim Him through our examples, even in the smallest things that we do. We should never underestimate the impact of what we are doing, as often we may not realise that our every actions have wider consequences and implications that we may not be aware of. Through our actions and deeds, even the smallest and seemingly least significant ones among them, we may either show many others the truth and love of God, calling many more towards Him and His salvation, or we may end up scandalising His Holy Name instead, turning many away from God and His grace.The decision on which path we are to embark on is ours alone, brothers and sisters in Christ. God has given us all the free will to decide and choose our path, and we should consider carefully how we are to proceed from now on so that we do not end up falling into the wrong path. Let us all henceforth renew our commitments from now and beyond, to continue to glorify the Lord by our lives and to do our best so that in everything that we say and do, we will continue to be the faithful and committed disciples and followers of the Lord in all things. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace and empower each one of us to walk in His path and to embark on this journey of faith, now and always, to the end of our days and everlasting life with Him. Amen.🙏

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST:

MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church dedicates the month of August to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is a dogma of the Catholic faith that Mary is the Immaculate Conception; that is, in preparation for the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in her womb, she was conceived without the corruption of sin through the foreseen and infinite merits of her Son, Jesus Christ. Over the centuries, as saints and theologians reflected on how Mary pondered and treasured the sacred events from the life of Christ in her holy heart, as attested in Scripture, her pure heart was recognized as something to be imitated. Devotion to Our Lady’s purity of heart began to flower—so much so that in the 17th century, St. John Eudes promoted it alongside the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion rose to a new level after the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, when Mary revealed an image of her Immaculate Heart to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST – FOR POLITICAL LEADERS: We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024

PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen 🙏🏾

During this Ordinary Time, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, Nigeria, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏🏾

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of the Ordinary Time, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. We pray for all mothers, wives, those going through challenges in their marriages, Victims of verbal and spousal abuse, we pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. For the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen 🙏🏾

Let us pray:

My saving Lord, You desired deeply that the religious leaders of the time be powerful instruments of Your saving Gospel by presenting all truth in pure love. Please free me from every error so that Your Holy Word will be alive in me and will be sent forth to others through the manifestation of the many virtues You wish to bestow. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Most Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Czestochowa; Saint Jeanne Elizabeth Bichier des Ages and Saint Zephyrinus ~ Pray for us 🙏

Thanking God for the gift of this day 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. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled, and fruitful week🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖