EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy Sunday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time!
We thank God for the gift of life and for the new month of March. May His name be praised forever and ever. May God’s grace and mercy be with us all as we prepare to begin our Lenten journey in a few days (March 5th). The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ. May St. Joseph intercede for us all. Amen šš½
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 2, 2025
MEMORIAL OF SAINT ANGELA OF THE CROSS, RELIGIOUS AND BLESSED CHARLES THE GOOD, MARTYR | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN | “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/03/02/catholic-daily-mass-14/
WORLD PRAYERS FOR POPE FRANCIS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/26/world-prayers-for-pope-francis/
PRAYER FOR POPE FRANCIS: May we all unite as one voice to lift up the Vicar of Christ in prayer today as his health continues to improve after a prolonged respiratory crisis. We continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis’ speedy recovery and Godās Divine healing and intervention.
Almighty God, we thank you for the loving service of Pope Francis and the hope he has inspired in so many in Your great mercy. Have mercy on him in his illness now, we pray, and guide the medical staff in his care. Grant him peace and healing. Through Christ our Lord. Amenšš½
On this special feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to pray for the repose of their gentle souls and souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen š āļøšÆāļøšÆāļøšÆ
“Blessed are those who have died in the Lord; let them rest from their abors for their good deeds go with them.” ~ Rev 14:13
PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil, and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amenš
THE HOLY FATHER, POPE FRANCISā MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2025: FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH – For families in crisis: Let us pray that broken families might discover the cure for their wounds through forgiveness, rediscovering each otherās gifts, even in their differences. (https://popesprayerusa.net/popes-intentions/)
BLACK HISTORY MONTH | Saturday, February 1, 2025 ā Saturday, March 1, 2025 | Read the Full Article | Black History Month | February 2025* | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/02/16/black-history-month/
Pray “Holy Rosary for Peace with Pope Francis” | “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song”| “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteries | Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/30/holy-rosary-for-peace-with-pope-francis/
Please find below links to the websites for Daily Reflections, Foundation and interesting topics and articles about our Catholic faith and doctrines | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/30/daily-reflections-and-prayer-links/
DAILY SAINTS AND REFLECTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Angela of the Cross, who gave her life in service to the poor and Blessed Charles the Good, Martyr (Patron Saint of Crusaders, Counts, Diocese of Belgium). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the poor and the needy, for persecuted Christians, for an end to religious and political unrest, for justice and peace, love and unity in our world that is torn apart by war, terrorism, and countless other acts of violence against human life. We continue to pray for the intentions of our Holy Father. We pray for the Clergy, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and all the ministers, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, all religious, for vocations to the Priesthood and Consecrated life. For those consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience that they may seek to live their baptismal promises more intensely and have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord and serve with open hearts and willing spirits. We pray for the Divine healing upon those who are sick and dying, particularly pray for the speedy recovery and Divine healing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, we pray for those suffering from mental illness, cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for those who are physically and mentally suffering from stressful life events at these incredibly challenging times. We pray for the Church, for captives, prisoners, persecuted Christians, the conversion of sinners and all who have fallen away from the joy of living in God’s loving presence and grace. We pray for the renewal of our spirit and a burning desire to serve God all the days of our lives. We continue to pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, and Christians all over the world. We continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East, for an end to the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. May the Saints intercede for our children, children all over the world and us all. Amen šš½
Saint Angela of the Cross, Religious, who gave her life in service to the poor and Blessed Charles the Good, Martyr ~ Pray for us šš½
We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the good Lord grant us His grace during this Ordinary Time as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth. šš½
PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
A PRAYER FOR PEACE: Lord Jesus Christ, You are the true King of peace. In You alone is found freedom. Please free our world from conflict. Bring unity to troubled nations. Let Your glorious peace reign in every heart. Dispel all darkness and evil. Protect the dignity of every human life. Replace hatred with Your love. Give wisdom to world leaders. Free them from selfish ambition. Eliminate all violence and war. Glorious Virgin Mary, Saint Michael the Archangel, Every Angel and Saint: Please pray for peace. Pray for unity amongst nations. Pray for unity amongst all people. Pray for the most vulnerable. Pray for those suffering. Pray for the fearful. Pray for those most in need. Pray for us all. Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear our prayers. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen š
Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today’s Holy Mass, Sunday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) | Sunday, March 2, 2025
Reading 1,Ā Sirach 27:4-7
Responsorial Psalm,Ā Psalms 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
Reading 2,Ā First Corinthians 15:54-58
Gospel,Ā Luke 6:39-45
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 6:39ā45
“From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks”
“Jesus told His disciples a parable, āCan a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brotherās eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, āBrother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,ā when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brotherās eye. āA good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.ā
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks about trees, specifically, fruit trees. He observes that it is only a healthy tree that gives good fruit. If the fruit of the tree is sound, then the tree itself is sound. Jesus speaks a lot about nature in the Gospels. When He does so, He is rarely talking just about nature. He is always talking about something else, about God or about our lives. In todayās Gospel reading, Jesus is saying that just as the quality of a treeās fruit shows whether or not the tree is sound and healthy, so the quality of the words we speak shows whether or not our inner core, our heart, is sound and good. As He says, āA personās words flow out of what fills their heartā. As the Gospel says, if there is a āstore of goodnessā in our heart, then we will draw out what is from our heart, and our words will reflect our inner goodness. It is true that Jesus was always very concerned about our actions, doing the will of God the Father, as He says. Yet, todayās Gospel reading suggests that Jesus is also very concerned about our words, how we speak. Indeed, it could be said that some of our most significant actions are the words that we speak. When we use words, we are doing something, we are acting. We know from our own experience that the words we speak or write can be just as powerful as any action we perform. What we say and how we say it has the potential for great good or great harm. We know from history, including recent history, the harm that certain words can cause, the suffering they can inflict on others. People say things or write things that are untrue and that motivate people to do terrible things. We have all become more aware of the destructive power of fake news. Sometimes it is the most vulnerable among us that suffer as a result. We are also aware of the great good that flows from the right words spoken at the right time. We may have had our own personal experience of the power for good of words. Someone speaks a word of encouragement to us when we are feeling low. Their words help us to keep going, to keep beginning again. Someone speaks words of guidance at a time when we are not sure what way to turn. What they say helps us to take the right path. Any one of us may have spoken such timely words to others, for which they will always be grateful to us. There can be no doubting the power of words, for good or ill.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus is saying that if there is goodness in our heart, in our deepest core, then that goodness will find expression in the words we use, in words that are good, good for others, good for our world. He refers there to a āstore of goodnessā in our heart. Jesus had the greatest possible store of goodness in His heart, which is why His words were always good words, words of life, words that are life-giving. Jesus had that store of goodness in His heart because His heart was completely open to God His Father who is all good. If we can open our hearts to Jesus, our risen Lord, then some of His store of goodness will enter into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit. The risen Lord pours His goodness into our hearts through the Holy Spirit so that our lives can bear good fruit, so that our words can reflect something of His own good words. We need to give the Lord the space to build up His store of goodness in our hearts. That will mean coming before the Lord in prayer, acknowledging our need of His Spirit in our lives and inviting Him to keep renewing the store of goodness in our hearts. If our hearts are centred on the Lord, we will speak well. The power of our words will be a power for good. Our words will reveal something of the Lord who is Himself the Word of God. We will be like the tree spoken of in todayās responsorial psalm, āPlanted in the house of the Lordā¦ still bearing fruit when they are old, still full of sap, still greenā. Wouldnāt it be wonderful if we were still bearing good fruit when we are old, speaking words and living lives that reveal the goodness that is at the heart of the Lord? Our ultimate destiny in eternal life is to fully become that goodness of the Lord. As St John says in his letter, āWe will be like God, for we will see Him as He isā. It is only then that the Lordās ongoing good work in our lives will be brought to completion.
In our first reading this Sunday from the Book of the prophet Sirach, the prophet Sirach brought forth the wisdom of knowing a person by his or her deeds, using the comparison to that of a kiln and its pottery product, or a furnace and its products, a tree and its fruits, among others. It is a reminder for all of us that our faith that we have in us are all ultimately proven through our actions, lives and deeds, in how we all live our lives each day and at every moments of our lives. We cannot truly call ourselves as being faithful to the Lord, committed to Him and His path unless we truly embody our faith in everything that we say and do, in each and every moments of our lives. After all, how can we call ourselves as Christians if we do not live our lives as Christians should, in the manner that the Lord has taught us to do?
In our second reading this Sunday from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city of Corinth, we are all reminded of the dangers of sin which is death, and how St. Paul reassured the faithful that sin and death no longer have their hold and power over us because of what our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, had done for our sake, in offering Himself as the Paschal Lamb of sacrifice for the atonement of all of our innumerable sins and faults. We must first understand that disobedience leads to the existence of sin, as we and our predecessors since the days of Adam had disobeyed the Lord and His commandments, following instead the rebellion of Satan and the fallen angels, and hence, through sin, we have been sundered from the Lord and Master of Life, God Himself, and therefore, falls into the sufferings of death. However, God does not desire for any one of us to be destroyed because of sin and death, and that is why, He sent unto us His Son to be our Redeemer, and to open for us the sure path towards Himself and His loving Presence. Through Christ, all of us have received the assurance of eternal happiness and life with God, because by His most selfless and loving sacrifice on the Cross, He has offered on our behalf the only worthy sacrifice and offering to blot out all of the corruptions of sin and evil that have afflicted us, and by His perfect obedience, He as the Son of Man and the New Adam, has shown us all the antithesis of the disobedience of man that had led us all into sin and death in the first place. Therefore, through the great love and mercy of God, all of us have received this assurance of salvation.
Reflecting on all the Scripture readings today, there are several references to trees and the fruit that they bear. The first reading declares that the orchard where the tree grows is judged on the quality of its fruit. The responsorial psalm speaks of trees that still bear fruit when they are old. In the Gospel reading, Jesus declares that the nature of every tree can be told by its own fruit. In each of these three instances, the reference is not primarily to trees and their fruit as to people and their qualities. Jesus declares that just as good fruit reveals that the tree it came from is sound or healthy, so the goodness that someone displays by their words and deeds reveals that their āheartā contains a store of goodness. When Jesus speaks of āheartā here, He is speaking about the personās inner core,. If our inner core is good, it will be visible in what we say and do. In the very last sentence of the Gospel reading, Jesus highlights, in particular, how the words we speak often reveal the quality of that inner core, āa personās words flow out of what fills their heartā. We can all be good at hiding our true selves from others, and even from ourselves, but our speech often gives us away. In the Gospel reading, Jesus declares that a good person draws what is good from the store of goodness in their heart. There is a store of goodness in all of our hearts, even if often deeply buried. That is due to the work of the Lord in our lives, the work of the Holy Spirit. Our calling is to allow the Lord to keep building up that store of goodness within us on this side of eternity, so that our lives, our way of relating to others, flows from and is shaped by that store of goodness.
As we reflect on the Sacred Scriptures this Sunday, as we all celebrate the Eighth and the last Sunday before the beginning of the Season and time of Lent, we are all called to keep in mind how all of us carry ourselves in our lives, in our every actions, words and deeds. This is because all of us are ultimately accountable for our actions, and our faith in God truly ought to be made genuine, real and evident through our daily living, in how we carry ourselves and interact with one another, and in how we present ourselves in our society and world today, and not just merely paying lip service to the Lord. We are called to emulate the lives and examples of the Holy men and women, and all the Saints, particularly the Saints we celebrate today, Saint Angela of the Cross, Religious, and Blessed Charles the Good, Martyr. Each and every one of us must be active in living our faith in our daily lives, and be the good and worthy disciples and servants of God, in proclaiming Godās truth and love through our own lives and actions. Let us all continue to commit ourselves to the Lord each day, doing our best to walk in the path of the Lord, being devoted servants of God and being good examples to others, while giving our support to our fellow brethren who may be struggling in their faith and lives. And the best day that we can do this is by trying our best to live lives that are truly committed and obedient to the will of God in our own capacity, and strive to support our brethren in their own efforts and actions, that together as the members of Godās Church, we may persevere together throughout whatever challenges and trials we may have to face along our journey together as one united people of God. May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God and Father, continue to guide us all through this journey of faith and life, especially as we begin to prepare ourselves for the upcoming season and time of Lent, to be more aware of our sinfulness and the need for conversion and renewal in our lives, to renew our faith in the Lord and to attune ourselves once more with Him, so that we may draw ever closer to His loving Presence and be ever more courageous in committing ourselves to the path of virtue and righteousness, distancing ourselves from all that is sinful and evil. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen šš½
SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT ANGELA OF THE CROSS, RELIGIOUS AND BLESSED CHARLES THE GOOD, MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 2ND: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Angela of the Cross, who gave her life in service to the poor and Blessed Charles the Good, Martyr (Patron Saint of Crusaders, Counts, Diocese of Belgium). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the poor and the needy, for persecuted Christians, for an end to religious and political unrest, for justice and peace, love and unity in our world that is torn apart by war, terrorism, and countless other acts of violence against human life. šš½
Saint Angela of the Cross, Religious, who gave her life in service to the poor and Blessed Charles the Good, Martyr ~ Pray for us šš½
Saint(s) of the Day | March 2nd | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
SAINT ANGELA OF THE CROSS, RELIGIOUS: St. Angela of the Cross is the Foundress of the Institute of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross. Born on January 30, 1846 in Seville, Spain, and given the baptismal name “Maria of the Angels” Guerrero Gonzalez, the future Saint was affectionately known as “Angelita”. Her father worked as a cook in the convent of the Trinitarian Fathers, where her mother also worked doing the laundry. They had 14 children, with only six reaching adulthood. Angelita was greatly influenced by the teaching and example of her pious parents, and was taught from an early age how to pray the Rosary. She could often be found in the parish church praying before the image of “Our Lady of Good Health”, while her mother prepared a nearby altar. In their own home, a simple altar was erected in honour of the Virgin Mary during the month of May, where the family would recite the Rosary and give special honour to Our Lady.
Angelita made her First Communion when she was eight, and her Confirmation when she was nine. She had little formal education, and began work as a young girl in a shoeshop. Her employer and teacher of shoe repair, Antonia Maldonado, was a holy woman; every day the employees prayed the Rosary together and read the lives of the Saints. Canon JosĆ© Torres Padilla of Seville was Antonia’s spiritual director, and had a reputation of “forming saints”. Angelita was 16 years old when she met Fr. Torres and was put under his direction. Angelita’s desire to enter religious life was growing, and when she was 19, she asked to enter the Discalced Carmelites in Santa Cruz but was refused admission because of her poor health. Instead, following the advice of Fr Torres, she began caring for destitute cholera patients, because a cholera epidemic was quickly spreading among the poor. In 1868 Angelita tried once again to enter the convent, this time the Daughters of Charity of Seville. Although her health was still frail, she was admitted. The sisters tried to improve her health and sent her to Cuenca and Valencia, but to no avail. She left the Daughters of Charity during the novitiate and returned home to continue working in the shoeshop.
Fr Torres believed that God had a plan for Angelita, but this plan was still a mystery. On 1 November 1871, at the foot of the Cross, she made a private vow to live the evangelical counsels, and in 1873 she received the call from God that would mark the beginning of her “new mission”. During prayer, Angelita saw an empty cross standing directly in front of the one upon which Jesus was hanging. She understood immediately that God was asking her to hang from the empty cross, to be “poor with the poor in order to bring them to Christ”. Angelita continued to work in the shoeshop, but under obedience to Fr Torres she dedicated her free time to writing a detailed spiritual diary that revealed the style and ideal of life she was being called to live. On 2 August 1875 three other women joined Angelita, beginning community life together in a room they rented in Seville. From that day on, they began their visits and gave assistance to the poor, day and night.
These Sisters of the Company of the Cross, under the guidance of Angelita, named “Mother Angela of the Cross”, lived an authentically recluse contemplative life when they were not among the poor. Once they returned to their home, they dedicated themselves to prayer and silence, but were always ready when needed to go out and serve the poor and dying. Mother Angela saw the sisters as “angels”, called to help and love the poor and sick in their homes who otherwise would have been abandoned. In 1877 a second community was founded in Utrera, in the province of Seville, and a year later one in Ayamonte. Fr Torres died that same year, and Fr JosĆ© MarĆa Alvarez was appointed as the second director of the Institute. While Mother Angela was alive, another 23 convents were established, with the sisters edifying everyone they served by their example of charity, poverty and humility. In fact, Mother Angela herself was known by all as “Mother of the Poor”. Mother Angela of the Cross died on 2 March 1932 in Seville. She was Beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 5, 1982 and Canonized on May 4, 2003, Madrid, Spain, by Pope John Paul II. With her characteristic humility, she once wrote these words: “The nothing keeps silent, the nothing does not want to be, the nothing suffers allā¦. The nothing does not impose itself, the nothing does not command with authority, and finally, the nothing in the creature is practical humility
PRAYER: Blessed Angela, your decision to serve and live with the poor leads me to examine my own attachment to wealth and comfort. Amenš
BLESSED CHARLES THE GOOD, MARTYR: Blessed Charles the Good (1083ā1127), also known as Charles I and the Count of Flanders, was born in Denmark, the only son of King Canute IV (St. Canute) and Adela of Flanders. He was five years old when his father was assassinated in the Odense Cathedral, after which he and his mother fled for their lives to the court of Robert, Count of Flanders, his maternal grandfather. He grew up in the royal court in that country, he became aĀ Knight and accompanied his maternal grandfather, Robert, a Count, on a crusade to the Holy Land where he distinguished himself; on their return. After his grandfather, Robert’s death,Ā his son Baldwin succeeded him and designated Charles as his heir. Blessed Charles became an advisor to the next Count, his uncle. At the same time, he arranged for Blessed Charlesās marriage to the daughter of the Count of Clermon. During Baldwinās rule, Charles was closely associated with him, and the people came to have a high regard for his wise and beneficent ways as well as his personal holiness. Blessed Charles also fought against the English with his uncle. At Baldwinās death, in 1119, the people made his cousin their ruler, Blessed Charles became Count. He was highly regarded by the people for his holiness and virtue. Blessed Charles ruled his people with wisdom, diligence, and compassion; he made sure that times of truce were respected and fought against black marketers who hoarded food and were waiting to sell it at astronomical prices to the people and opposed the prominent Erembald family who gained their financial prosperity through this unjust practice. This incurred their undying wrath and one day on March 2, 1127, while Charles was in church of St. Donatian praying, he was slain by soldiers loyal to the Erembald family, in the same manner his father was killed. His death sparked a public outcry and uprising against the Erembald family, while Blessed Charles was immediately looked upon as a martyr and saint. His feast day is March 2nd. He’s the Patron Saint of Crusaders, Counts, Diocese of Belgium.
PRAYER:Ā Almighty, ever-loving God, You enabled Blessed Charles to fight to the death for justice. Through his intercession enable us to bear all adversity and with all our strength hasten to You Who alone are life. Amenš
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MARCH | MONTH OF ST. JOSEPH: The month of March is dedicated toĀ St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ. āHis was the title of father of the Son of God, because he was the Spouse of Mary, ever Virgin. He was our Lordās father, because Jesus ever yielded to him the obedience of a son. He was our Lordās father, because to him were entrusted, and by him were faithfully fulfilled, the duties of a father, in protecting Him, giving Him a home, sustaining and rearing Him, and providing Him with a tradeā. āThis patronage must be invoked as ever necessary for the Church, not only as a defense against all dangers, but also, and indeed primarily, as an impetus for her renewed commitment to evangelization in the world and to re-evangelization,ā wrote St. John Paul II inĀ Redemptoris CustosĀ (Guardian of the Redeemer). St. John Paul II further said, āBecause St. Joseph is the protector of the Church, he is the guardian of the Eucharist and the Christian family. Therefore, we must turn to St. Joseph today to ward off attacks upon the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and upon the family. We must plead with St. Joseph to guard the Eucharistic Lord and the Christian family during this time of peril.ā
The first four days of March fall during the liturgical season known as Tempus per Annum or Ordinary Time (formerly known as Time after Epiphany) which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green, the symbol of hope, is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. The remainder of the month of March is the liturgical season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color violet or purple ā a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart. All saint days that are usually Memorials are shifted to Optional Memorials during the season of Lent. As we continue our journey “up to Jerusalem” during the month of March, three prominent ideas are proposed for our contemplation by the liturgy of Lent: the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, baptism, and penance. The Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19) is a special landmark this month in which we will celebrate the great honor bestowed upon the foster father of Jesus. The Solemnity of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25. And if you are Irish, St. Patrick’s feast is another cause for a joyful celebration. The Saints that we will focus on this month and try to imitate are: St. Katharine Drexel (March 3); St. Casimir (March 4); Sts. Perpetua and Felicity (March 7); St. John of God (March 8); St. Patrick (March 17); St. Cyril of Jerusalem (March 18); and St. Joseph (March 19). The Optional Memorials of St. Frances of Rome (March 9) and St. Turibio de Mogrovejo (March 23) are superseded by the Lenten Sunday liturgy.
A Time of Penance and Promise: The Churchās vibrant new life has been obscured by the austerity of the penitential season of Lent. But that life is indisputable, and it will burgeon forth on Easter as Christ coming forth from His tomb! At the beginning of this month we will embark on our journey to the cross by receiving ashes and donning the purple of penance. During this month our journey to the cross with our acts of penitence. We will reflect on our mortality (Remember man thou art dust) and the shortness of life (and to dust thou shall return). We will heed the call, Now is the acceptable time, now is āthe day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).ā Just like Our Lord’s earthly life every moment of our lives is leading up to the last momentāwhen for eternity we will either go to God or suffer the fires of hell.
The Solemnity of the Annunciation bravely appears during Lent; a pure white flower in the purple Lenten landscape. It seems to be, at first glance, a Christmas feast, but upon reflection we grasp that the feast is intimately linked to the Paschal mystery. For what Christ inaugurated at His Incarnation in accepting to offer Himself for the human race, He will complete in His sacrifice on the cross. We prepare to accept the cross of blessed ashes on Ash Wednesday, falls on March 5, 2025, marking the beginning of the Lenten season and plunge ourselves into anticipating the major exercises of Lentāfasting, prayer, almsgivingālaying our thoughts and prayers on the heart of our Mother Mary. She, who offered her Son in the temple and on the Cross, will teach us how to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow after her Son. As the weeks of Lent progress let us not be tired of doing our good works and penance, but continue with the enthusiasm of the catechumens on their way to Easter and Baptism. May our Lenten observance be a joyful journey ā and not a forced march. šš½
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12540
PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for the gift of His Son and pray for His grace as we serve Him in truth and love. During this Ordinary Time, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother and the Saints we honor today, we pray for the sick and suffering, especially children and those battling epilepsy, strokes, heart disease, cancer, and other terminal illnesses. May God restore them to health and bring them comfort and peace. Every life is a gift.
We pray for the safety of our families and loved ones, for healing in marriages, and for unity in a world divided by violence and conflict. May God deliver us from hopeless situations and impossible causes.
We remember the souls in Purgatory, asking for Godās mercy upon them. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
We pray for widows, widowers, and all who are grieving. May the Lord strengthen them in their trials.
We continue to pray for Pope Francis, the Clergy, and all those spreading the Gospel. May God bless vocations to the priesthood and religious life and protect persecuted Christians worldwide. We pray for peace in our families and throughout the world. Amen. šš½
Let us pray:
My divine Teacher, I turn to You, the Lord of all, and seek to fix my gaze upon You. As I see You, please remove my blindness and confusion. In place of these, give me wisdom so that I will always allow You to live in me and act through me, bearing an abundance of good fruit. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen šš½
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Angela of the Cross and Blessed Charles the Good ~ pray for us šš½
With gratitude for the gift of this new year, we pray for justice, peace, love, and unity within our families and throughout the world. May God’s Divine Mercy and Grace be upon us all during this Ordinary Time. Wishing us all a blessed, safe, grace-filled Sunday and week. May God keep us all safe and well. Amen šš½
Blessings and Love always, Philomena š