SUNDAY OF THE SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 27, 2025
MEMORIAL OF SAINT CELESTINE I, POPE; SAINTS NATHALIA, AURELIUS, LILIOSA, FELIX, AND GEORGE, MARTYRS AND SAINT PANTALEON OF NICOMEDIA, PHYSICIAN AND MARTYR | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/category/saints-of-the-day
(Direct link to the detailed history of Saint Celestine, Saints Nathalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George and Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia| https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/saints-of-the-day-feast-day-july-27th/ )
WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY [The Catholic Church celebrates the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly each year on the Sunday closest to the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents. This year it’s celebrated on Sunday, July 27, 2025]
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN | July 27, 2025 | “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Live from St. Peter Square | Angelus with Pope Leo XIV | Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/catholic-daily-mass-141/
Greetings and blessings, beloved family and Happy World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly! 🙏🏾
To all grandparents and elderly loved ones today, we honor and celebrate you. Thank you for your enduring love, your prayers that uphold families, and the wisdom you pass on with gentle strength. Your lives are a gift to the Church and the world, a living testimony of faith, hope, and perseverance. May God bless you abundantly with peace, health, and joy. May you feel the love of your family, the embrace of the Church, and the presence of Christ, who walks with you always. We cherish you. We need you. We love you. 🌹❤️🌹
Today is Sunday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time! We give thanks to God for the gift of life and the grace to see this month. During this month of July, may the Precious Blood of Jesus cover and protect us, heal our wounds, and strengthen our faith. We pray for all those celebrating their birthdays, anniversaries, new beginnings, and special moments in this month of July. May God’s blessings overflow in their lives. May this month bring peace to troubled hearts, direction to the lost, comfort to the grieving, and strength to the weary. In all things, may His will be done and His name be glorified. Amen🙏🏽
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” ~ Matthew 5:4
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 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 🙏🏽 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints” ~ Psalm 116:15
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 🙏🏽
On this special feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we humbly pray for the well-being and safety of all grandparents and the elderly. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our divided and conflicted world today. We continue to pray for all families and for the safety and well-being of our children and children all over the world. We pray for all those who are marginalized in our society, the poor and the needy. We pray for the Church, the Clergy, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, the Cardinals, Bishops, all Priests, that they be sanctified in their ministry to God’s people. We pray for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world suffering from political and religious unrest. May God protect us all and keep united in peace, love and faith. Amen 🙏🏽
Through the intercession of St. Joseph, we pray for all fathers, workers and all those who labour in this world. May the Lord bless the work of their hands and may God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of the Ordinary Time. Wishing us all and our loved ones a joyful, peaceful, and grace-filled month of July.🙏🏽
LIST OF ALL NOVENAS | Month of July | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/list-of-all-novenas-july/
COMMON CATHOLIC PRAYERS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/common-catholic-prayers/
Daily Reflections with Philomena | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today’s Holy Mass, Sunday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Today’s Bible Readings: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | July 27, 2025
Reading 1: Genesis 18:20–32
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
Reading 2: Colossians 2:12–14
Gospel: Luke 11:1–13
Gospel Reading: Luke 11:1–13
“Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
“Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
In today’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, and in response, He gives them the Our Father a prayer that holds the essence of Christian life: reverence for God, surrender to His will, trust in daily provision, mercy, and protection. Jesus follows this with a parable encouraging persistence in prayer and absolute trust in the goodness of the Father. There are many different kinds of prayer. There is the prayer of listening where we hear or read a passage from the Bible, perhaps from the Gospels, and we try to listen to what the Lord may be saying to us through it. There is the prayer of thanksgiving, where we express our gratitude to God for some blessing that we have received. It is probably true to say that the prayer that comes most naturally to us is the prayer of petition. We turn to God in our need and we ask Him for something. We pray to God out of our poverty, recognizing that we need God’s help. Sometimes, we ask God for something for others, and our prayer of petition becomes a prayer of intercession.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus encourages us to pray this prayer of petition, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you’. We can ask for ourselves or for others. In the Gospels several people come up to Jesus and ask Him for help for themselves, and, sometimes, people come to Jesus and ask Him to help someone else. We have all had the experience of asking God for something important in prayer and not getting the response we had hoped for. We end up with the feeling that the Lord isn’t listening to us. We might ask that a loved one would recover from a serious illness and it doesn’t happen. At that point, we might find ourselves praying the prayer that Jesus prayed from the cross, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ We sense that God has not stood by us when we went to Him for help. Yet, Jesus does not make promises lightly and, so, when He says in today’s Gospel reading, ‘Ask and it will be given to you’, we have to take Him at His word. Jesus is the faithful one; he was faithful to us, even unto death. He is faithful to the promises He makes to us. Perhaps, then, our prayer of petition never goes unanswered, even if it is not answered in the way that we had hoped or expected. Saint Paul in one of his letters tells us that he had this experience. He had what he calls a ‘thorn in the flesh’. He never fully explains what this ‘thorn in the flesh’ is but it was clearly something that caused him a lot of distress and he wanted to be rid of. He tells us in his letter, ‘three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me’. Saint Paul had a very close relationship with the risen Lord. After all, the risen Lord had appeared to him. However, his prayer wasn’t answered in the way that he had hoped. His ‘thorn in the flesh’ didn’t leave him. Yet, his prayer did not go completely unanswered. Even though he was left with his ‘thorn in the flesh’, he heard the Lord say to him in prayer, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’. It is as if Jesus was saying to him, ‘I know you are struggling with this issue, but I am with you in your struggle, and my presence will get you through it. Also, I can work more powerfully in and through your life because of this very issue that you want so desperately to be rid of’. Paul’s prayer did not go unanswered. He came to see that the Lord was bringing great good out of what he was struggling with.
Whenever we ask the Lord for something in prayer, we have to trust that the Lord is not ignoring our prayer, just as, according to Jesus in the Gospel reading, a father would not ignore his son if he asked for food, or a man would not ignore the desperate pleas for help of his friend who knocked on his door at midnight. Prayers that don’t seem to be answered are often being answered in ways that we very often don’t see at the time. If we keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, the Lord will respond to our prayers in ways that will surprise us. What we ask the Lord to change may not change, but we will be changed for the better. Sometimes, the Lord answers our prayers not by changing the situation outside ourselves but by changing ourselves, changing our hearts and minds. We might receive the grace of acceptance, the gift of a deep peace; we might be helped to see the situation in a way we never saw it before. Very often God will give us even more than we ask for. At the end of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says, ‘how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him’. Jesus is saying there that if we come before God in our need, asking Him for help, He will share the life of the Spirit with us. He will always give us a share of His own Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Whenever we petition God, we receive an increase of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the Spirit will help us in ways that we could never imagine. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that if even flawed human parents know how to care for their children, how much more will our perfect Heavenly Father give us the Holy Spirit when we ask? This is not just about asking for things this is a call to deep, relational prayer that seeks the presence of God Himself. Jesus urges us to keep praying with confidence, even when answers seem delayed. God’s timing is not our own, but He is always listening and always loving.
In today’s first reading, Abraham’s daring and compassionate intercession for Sodom shows us a glimpse of God’s justice balanced with His mercy. Abraham appeals to God’s righteousness, and God responds patiently, showing willingness to spare an entire city for the sake of just ten righteous people. This dialogue teaches us about the power of intercession, the value of every righteous soul, and God’s desire for mercy over destruction. Like Abraham, we are called to stand in the gap for others in prayer and trust that God’s justice is never separated from His compassion.
Reflecting on the Responsorial Psalm, “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.” This Psalm overflows with gratitude and trust in God’s faithfulness. In moments of trouble, when enemies rise or strength fails, the psalmist teaches us to turn to God in praise. God does not ignore the lowly or reject the humble heart. His kindness is enduring, and His hand is ever at work completing what He started in us. Our song of thanksgiving is a sacrifice of praise a testimony of God’s unwavering presence.
In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us that we were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him through faith. Even when we were dead in sin, Christ brought us to life. Our sins were nailed to the Cross obliterated. This is a message of radical grace: we are not defined by our past but transformed by Christ’s victory. Let this truth free us from shame and draw us into joyful discipleship.
Reflecting on the words of the Sacred Scriptures thjs Sunday, we are challenged to ask: Am I persistent in prayer, trusting that God hears and answers in His time? Do I intercede for others as Abraham did, pleading for mercy rather than judgment? Do I judge or lose patience with others, forgetting that God is still working in them (and in me)? Do I offer God sincere praise, especially in hard times? How do I live out the reality that my sins have been nailed to the Cross? Beloved, today’s Scriptures call us to pray with trust, intercede with love, and walk humbly with God. Like Abraham, may we plead for mercy not only for ourselves, but for our communities and the world. Like the psalmist, may we worship with gratitude, even when life feels uncertain. Like Paul, may we live as people who have truly died and risen with Christ. And like the disciple in the Gospel, may we cry out, “Lord, teach us to pray,” and then live that prayer daily boldly, persistently, and faithfully. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and even when life feels overrun by weeds or uncertainty, we can be assured that God is still growing the wheat the good in us and in others. Be patient. Be faithful. Let grace do its work, and trust in the Father’s perfect love. 🙏🏽
Heavenly Father, You are patient and just, slow to anger and rich in mercy. Teach us to trust in Your timing and to grow with perseverance, even when evil seems to prevail. Purify our hearts from the weeds of judgment, pride, and despair. Help us to be faithful to Your covenant, to live out Your Word in both word and deed, and to offer You the true sacrifice of praise from sincere hearts. May we remain rooted in Your love until the day of harvest, when You gather Your people into eternal joy. As Jesus taught us, may we persist in prayer, forgive as we have been forgiven, and rely daily on Your grace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 🙏🏾
MEMORIAL OF SAINT CELESTINE I, POPE; SAINTS NATHALIA, AURELIUS, LILIOSA, FELIX, AND GEORGE, MARTYRS AND SAINT PANTALEON OF NICOMEDIA, PHYSICIAN AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 27TH: Today, the Church honors Saint Celestine I (Patron of the papal magisterium), Saints Nathalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George (Martyrs and patrons of steadfast faith under persecution), and Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia (Patron of physicians, midwives, and the sick). These faithful souls bore witness to Christ in times of doctrinal confusion, violent persecution, and cultural hostility. Their lives speak to us of courage, fidelity, and compassionate service.
Through their intercession and that of Our Blessed Mother Mary, we lift up today all physicians and healthcare workers, especially those serving in difficult or under-resourced conditions. We pray for the sick and dying, especially cancer patients and those with terminal illnesses. We entrust to God the persecuted Church, widows, the poor, and all struggling in hidden ways. May families be strengthened in love and truth, and may we, like these saints, remain unshaken in our devotion to Christ and His Church. 🙏🏽
Saint (s) of the Day with Daily Reflections | July 27th | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
(Direct link to the detailed history of Saint Celestine, Saints Nathalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George and Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia| https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/saints-of-the-day-feast-day-july-27th/ )
SAINT CELESTINE I, POPE (D. 432): A Roman deacon and close associate of St. Ambrose, Pope Saint Celestine I led the Church during a turbulent era of heresy and political collapse. He vigorously defended the faith against Nestorianism, which denied the divine maternity of Mary, and Pelagianism, which downplayed the need for divine grace. Celestine sent missionaries like St. Palladius and St. Patrick to evangelize Ireland, and he empowered St. Cyril of Alexandria at the Council of Ephesus (431) to defend the title of Mary as Theotokos. Amid barbarian invasions, he worked to restore destroyed churches and developed the use of nuncios (papal ambassadors). He also introduced the Responsorial Psalm to the Roman liturgy.
PRAYER: O God, who guided Pope Saint Celestine to defend true doctrine and send missionaries to spread the Gospel, grant us courage to remain faithful amid confusion and to bear witness to Christ with clarity and love. Amen. 🙏🏾
SAINTS NATHALIA, AURELIUS, LILIOSA, FELIX, AND GEORGE, MARTYRS (D. 852): These heroic martyrs of Córdoba, Spain died under Islamic persecution for refusing to renounce Christ. Aurelius and Nathalia, born of Muslim fathers and Christian mothers, secretly embraced the Christian faith and eventually lived it openly. Their courage inspired Felix (Aurelius’s cousin, a former Muslim), and his wife Liliosa, to do the same. They were arrested for apostasy and martyred after refusing to deny Christ. A monk named George, a foreigner who spoke against Islam, chose martyrdom over exemption. Together, these saints shine as lights of fidelity in the face of deadly pressure.
PRAYER: Almighty God, who strengthened Saints Nathalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George to witness to Christ even unto death, grant us the grace to stand firm in our faith and to be faithful even in trials. Amen. 🙏🏾
SAINT PANTALEON OF NICOMEDIA, PHYSICIAN AND MARTYR (C. 275–305): Once a physician to Emperor Maximian, Pantaleon drifted from his Christian upbringing until a holy priest, Hermolaus, rekindled his faith. After his reconversion, Pantaleon gave away his wealth and healed the sick without charge, earning the name “the all-compassionate.” Refusing to renounce Christ during the Diocletian persecution, he performed a healing miracle before being brutally tortured. Miraculous events marked his attempted executions, until he surrendered himself to martyrdom, praying for his persecutors. Widely venerated as a Wonder-Worker and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, he is a powerful intercessor for the sick, physicians, and those facing persecution or loneliness.
PRAYER: O merciful Lord, who glorified Your servant Pantaleon with healing gifts and unwavering courage, grant that we may serve others with compassion and witness to Your love without fear. Amen. 🙏🏾
Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Celestine, Saints Nathalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George and Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia ~ Pray for us. 🙏🏾
GENERAL PRAYERS AND INTENTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/general-prayers-and-intentions/
Please find below links to the websites for Daily Reflections, Foundation and interesting topics and articles about our Catholic faith and doctrines | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/30/daily-reflections-and-prayer-links/
THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2025: FOR THE MONTH OF JULY: For formation in discernment. Let us pray that we might again learn how to discern, to know how to choose paths of life and reject everything that leads us away from Christ and the Gospel.
(https://popesprayerusa.net/popes-intentions/)
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF JULY | MONTH OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS: July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ a profound devotion that honors the redeeming power of Christ’s Blood shed for our salvation. Flowing from His Sacred Heart, this Blood is the price of our redemption, the source of grace in the sacraments, and the seal of the New Covenant. It reminds us that salvation was not won lightly, but through the ultimate sacrifice of love. This month, the Church invites us to meditate on the infinite value of Christ’s Blood poured out during His Passion from Gethsemane to Calvary and in every celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We are called to offer acts of reparation for the sins of the world and to intercede for the conversion of souls. Devotions such as the Litany of the Precious Blood, the Chaplet of the Precious Blood, and daily consecration to the Precious Blood help deepen our union with Christ crucified.
As Saint John Chrysostom once said, “The Precious Blood is the salvation of souls; it purifies, sanctifies, and strengthens.” In our trials, let us take refuge beneath the cross, trusting in the Blood that speaks of mercy, victory, and eternal life.
“Precious Blood of Jesus, save us and the whole world.”
O Most Precious Blood of Jesus, fountain of salvation, we adore You. Wash us clean of sin, protect us from evil, and draw us into deeper love and union with You. Amen. 🙏🏽
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12540
PRAYER INTENTIONS:
Today on this World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, we thank you lord for blessing us with the wisdom of age and the energy of youth. We honour the lives of Saint Celestine I, Saints Nathalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George, and Saint Pantaleon, we lift our hearts in prayer for all who defend the truth in our modern world especially priests, missionaries, healthcare workers, and those who suffer for their Christian faith. We remember the sick, the abandoned, and those facing spiritual confusion or persecution. We pray for those who struggle to find hope in their suffering, for families facing division, and for the strengthening of the Church in times of trial. May God raise up within us the faith of the saints: steadfast, joyful, and rooted in love.
LET US PRAY
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen 🙏🏽
On this World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, we give thanks for the gift of our elders those who have passed down faith, wisdom, and love through generations. We pray for grandparents who feel forgotten, for the elderly who live in isolation, and for those nearing the end of life without comfort or companionship. May families be united in love, and may younger generations listen attentively to the stories and guidance of their elders. We also pray for all caregivers, both family and professional, who serve with compassion and dignity.
Lord our God, Your Word teaches us today through parables that the Kingdom of Heaven grows quietly yet powerfully, like a mustard seed and leaven in dough. Help us to trust in the hidden work of grace in our lives and to remain faithful even when we do not see immediate fruit. May we not turn away from You, as the Israelites did, but return daily in repentance, trusting Your mercy. Through the intercession of Pope Saint Celestine, may we speak the truth in love; through the witness of the Cordoban martyrs, may we remain unshaken in our profession of faith; and through the compassion of Saint Pantaleon, may we serve the suffering with tender hearts. Strengthen us, O Lord, to live as seeds of hope and agents of renewal in our families, communities, and Church. Amen. 🙏🏾
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Celestine, Saints Nathalia, Aurelius, Liliosa, Felix, and George and Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us. Amen 🙏🏽
Thanking God for the precious gift of this new day, and as we now enter the gentle rhythm of Ordinary Time, may our hearts remain open to the quiet working of the Holy Spirit who continues to guide, renew, and strengthen us each day. May this new month be filled with blessings, safety, and the quiet joy that comes from knowing that Christ walks with us always. Alleluia! Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled Sunday and week ahead 🙏🏽
Blessings and Love always, Philomena 💖
Daily Reflections with Philomena | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/
Sir G.L.I Opiepe’s Health and Education Foundation | https://gliopiepehe.org
Sir G.L.I Opiepe’s Health and Education Foundation | Global Missions Now Awards |
North Texas Catholic Magazine | Dr. Philomena Ikowe – Life on Purpose (pages 44-45) | https://www.flipsnack.com/A9DFE877C6F/north-texas-catholic-magazine-mar-apr-issue-2025/full-view.html