FRIDAY OF THE EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 8, 2025

MEMORIAL OF SAINT DOMINIC, PRIEST; SAINT MARY MACKILLOP, RELIGIOUS (SOLEMNITY); SAINTS CYRIACUS, LARGUS AND SMARAGDUS, AND THEIR COMPANIONS, MARTYRS AND THE FOURTEEN HOLY HELPERS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/category/saints-of-the-day

(Direct link to the detailed history of Saint Dominic, Saint Mary MacKillop, Saints Cyriacus, Largus, Smaragdus, and Companions, and the Fourteen Holy Helpers| https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/saints-of-the-day-feast-day-august-8th/)

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary | EWTN | August 8, 2025 | “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” |  Pray “Holy Rosary Novena From Lourdes” | Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in song from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/catholic-daily-mass-153/

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: The 2025 Novena for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is scheduled to begin Wednesday, August 6 and end on August 14th. The novena is a prayer that commemorates the death of Mary and her assumption into Heaven, which is celebrated on August 15. Novena link below: https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/novena-to-our-lady-of-the-assumption/

NOVENA TO SAINT PHILOMENA | AUGUST 2ND-10TH  | The 2025 Novena to Saint Philomena is scheduled to begin Saturday, August 2nd and end on August 10th. This novena honors Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, a powerful intercessor and Wonder-Worker, asking her help for purity, courage, and trust in God. Feast of St. Philomena is celebrated on August 11th. She’s the Patron Saint of Children, youth, babies, infants, priests, lost causes, sterility, virgins, Children of Mary, The Universal Living Rosary Association and places.

Novena to Saint Philomena link: https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/novena-to-saint-philomena/

Daily Reflections with Philomena | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/

JUBILEE OF HOPE 2025: JUBILEE PRAYER | Link to the prayer of the Jubilee of Hope 2025 | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/08/the-jubilee-prayer/

Greetings and blessings, beloved family!

Today is Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time! We thank the Lord for the gift of this day! During this month of August, we entrust our lives, our plans, our fears, and our dreams into God’s loving hands. We pray that this month will be filled with divine blessings, new opportunities, and the strength to overcome every challenge that may come our way.

We pray and celebrate with those marking birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs, weddings, and other joyful milestones this August. May this be a month of peace for the anxious, healing for the sick, comfort for the brokenhearted, and provision for the needy. As we walk through the days ahead, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ go before us, the love of God surround us, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit guide every decision we make. May this month bring us closer to holiness, deeper in faith, and stronger in hope. In all things, may God’s name be paised. Amen🙏🏽

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” ~ Matthew 5:4

We remember in prayer all who began this journey of life with us but are no longer here, may their souls rest in perfect peace. Amen🙏🏽

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 continue to humbly pray for the well-being and safety of all parents, grandparents and the elderly. We pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our divided and conflicted world today. We continue to pray for all families and for the safety and well-being of our children and children all over the world. We pray for all those who are marginalized in our society, the poor and the needy. We pray for the Church, the Clergy, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, the Cardinals, Bishops, all Priests, that they be sanctified in their ministry to God’s people. We pray for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world suffering from political and religious unrest. May God protect us all and keep united in peace, love and faith. Amen 🙏🏽

Through the intercession of St. Joseph, we pray for all fathers, workers and all those who labour in this world. May the Lord bless the work of their hands and may God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this season of the Ordinary Time. Wishing us all and our loved ones a joyful, peaceful, and grace-filled month of August.🙏🏽

LIST OF ALL NOVENAS | Month of August | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/list-of-all-novenas-august/

COMMON CATHOLIC PRAYERS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/common-catholic-prayers/

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

Bible Readings for today’s Holy Mass, Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB |  https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Today’s Bible Readings: Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time |Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest | August 8, 2025
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 4:32–40
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 77:12–13, 14–15, 16 and 21
Gospel: Matthew 16:24–28

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that becoming His follower will not always be easy. What does it mean to follow the Lord today, to walk in His way? The Lord’s way is the way of self-giving love. It is the way of generous service of others. The words that Jesus speaks cuts through to the heart of Christian discipleship: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” These are not just poetic phrases or spiritual metaphors. They are real invitations to sacrifice, to surrender our own will, and to follow the narrow path of love that Christ walked even unto death. Jesus often speaks in ways that strike us as strange, such when He declares, ‘anyone who wants to save his life will lose it’. We might find ourselves wondering, ‘How could this be true?’ ‘What does Jesus mean by this?’ It is one of those sayings that requires a certain amount of teasing out. When Jesus speaks about the ‘one who wants to save his life’, He is probably referring to the person who selfishly seeks self-fulfilment, who grasps at life in a very self-centred and self-regarding way. Jesus is declaring that such a person will not live a truly fulfilled life; at the end of the day, they will lose their life. In contrast, those who lose their life for the sake of Jesus will find it; those who are prepared to give their lives away in love, because this is what Jesus did for us and asks of us, will receive the fullness of life as a gift of God. They will receive this fullness of life in eternity, but they will begin to experience it already here and now in this earthly life. Jesus is saying that we don’t find ourselves, our true selves, by focusing on ourselves. Rather, we find ourselves by focusing beyond ourselves, by focusing on others in love, by focusing on the Lord present in others and calling out to us through others. Jesus declares that it is possible to gain the whole world and to lose our very self, our true self, the self that is made in God’s image. The reverse is also true. We can lose everything, out of love for God and others, and, yet, find life to the full. It is above all the life and death of Jesus that reveals this to be so.

In our Gospel, Jesus asks a thought provoking question, ‘What will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins His life?’ Jesus is suggesting that we can gain a great deal of what the world has to offer and values, and, yet, lose out at some more fundamental level of our being. We can gain the whole world and, at the same time, lose our life, lose that which makes us truly alive with the life of God. Jesus declares that the opposite is also true. People can lose a great deal of what is highly valued in the world and yet preserve their life, be fully alive with the life of God. Jesus tells His disciples and all of us in today’s Gospel reading that it is in following Him that we will find this fullness of life. Following the Lord will often mean having to renounce ourselves; in that sense it will mean losing out in the eyes of many. Yet when this is done for the Lord’s sake, out of love for Him, out of our desire to be faithful to His values, we will grow into our true selves, the self that is made in the image and likeness of our Creator. The call to renounce ourselves can sound very negative to modern ears. Yet, the Lord’s call is a call to fullness of life. Our self-denial is in the service of that fullness of life which He desires for us all. As Jesus in the Gospel offers a divine paradox: “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This challenges us to rethink what it means to live a full and meaningful life. It is not about comfort, control, or gaining the world. It is about giving ourselves away in love, embracing the cross our struggles, sufferings, and sacrifices and following Him with courage and trust. The world may promise gain, but Jesus reminds us that true life is found only in Him.

The first reading from Deuteronomy is a powerful reflection on God’s faithfulness. Moses calls the people to remember: “Has anything so great ever happened before?” He recounts how God chose Israel, led them out of Egypt, and revealed His power through signs and wonders. Moses isn’t just recounting history he’s urging the people to keep this memory alive so they will remain faithful. “Fix in your heart that the Lord is God… and there is no other.” Gratitude and remembrance are vital for faithfulness. We forget God’s goodness when we stop remembering what He has done.

The Responsorial Psalm echoes this theme of remembrance: “I remember the deeds of the Lord.” Even in times of darkness or struggle, the psalmist chooses to remember God’s wonders. This is not passive nostalgia it’s an act of faith. When we feel burdened by our own crosses, looking back at God’s faithfulness gives us strength to persevere.

As we reflect and meditate on the Sacred Scriptures today, these readings converge on a single invitation: to live for God, not self. In the Gospel, Jesus calls us to a radical surrender; in Deuteronomy, Moses reminds us why God is worthy of that surrender; in the Psalm, we are encouraged to remember, even when it’s hard, that God is always at work. So today, we ask: What cross am I carrying right now? Do I try to avoid suffering or surrender it to Christ? Do I live with eternity in mind or am I grasping for things that cannot last? Do I take time to remember what God has done in my life, or do I focus only on what’s missing? The path of the cross is not easy, but it is the way of true life. May we choose to follow Christ, not just in word, but in the daily self-giving love that transforms us from within. He does not call us to carry a cross He has not already carried Himself. In Him, even suffering becomes redemptive, and even loss leads to eternal gain. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace to remain faithful as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth. 🙏🏽

Lord Jesus, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, the One who knows our hearts even when our faith falters. Thank You for revealing Yourself to us through the Scriptures and for calling us to follow You in truth and love. Teach us to confess You boldly, not only with our lips but with our lives. When we, like Peter, stumble in our understanding or resist the path of the Cross, correct us gently and lead us back to Your will. Strengthen our trust, deepen our love, and help us to live each day in the light of Your truth, guided by the Father and empowered by the Spirit. Amen.🙏🏾

MEMORIAL OF SAINT DOMINIC, PRIEST; SAINT MARY MACKILLOP, RELIGIOUS (SOLEMNITY); SAINTS CYRIACUS, LARGUS AND SMARAGDUS, AND THEIR COMPANIONS, MARTYRS AND THE FOURTEEN HOLY HELPERS ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 8TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest; Saint Mary MacKillop, Religious (Solemnity); Saints Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, and Their Companions, Martyrs; and the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for scientists, astronomers, and all who are falsely accused. We lift up the poor, the needy, the sick and the dying—especially those battling cancers and terminal illnesses. We pray for peace, love, and unity within our families and across the world. We continue to remember our Holy Father, the clergy, vocations to the priesthood and religious life, the Church, persecuted Christians, the conversion of sinners, and all the faithful around the world. 🙏🏾

Saint (s) of the Day with Daily Reflections | August 8th |  https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/

(Direct link to the detailed history of Saint Dominic, Saint Mary MacKillop, Saints Cyriacus, Largus, Smaragdus, and Companions, and the Fourteen Holy Helpers| https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/saints-of-the-day-feast-day-august-8th/)

SAINT DOMINIC, PRIEST: St. Dominic de Guzman (1170–1221) was born in Caleruega, Spain, into a noble family. His mother, Blessed Jane of Aza, prayed fervently for a son who would serve the Church and was granted a prophetic dream that her child would set the world ablaze with the light of truth. As a student, Dominic was known for his intellect and compassion. He once sold his treasured books to help the poor during a famine.

Dominic became a priest and soon joined Bishop Diego of Osma in a mission to reform the local Church. While traveling through France, Dominic encountered the Albigensian heresy, which denied the goodness of the material world. Moved to respond with truth and charity, he envisioned a new religious order dedicated to preaching and teaching.

In 1216, Pope Honorius III approved the Order of Preachers, now known as the Dominicans. St. Dominic emphasized poverty, prayer, and study. He promoted devotion to the Rosary, a powerful weapon against heresy and a source of meditation on the life of Christ. Dominic spent his final years spreading the faith and nurturing his order. He died on August 6, 1221, and was canonized in 1234.

Patron Saint: Scientists, astronomers, and those falsely accused.

PRAYER: God, let St. Dominic help Your Church by his merits and teaching. May he who was an outstanding preacher of truth become a most generous intercessor for us. Amen. 🙏

SOLEMNITY OF SAINT MARY MACKILLOP, RELIGIOUS: St. Mary MacKillop (1842–1909), also known as Saint Mary of the Cross, was the first Australian-born saint. Born in Melbourne to Scottish immigrants, Mary grew up in a poor but devout family. At a young age, she worked to support her family and felt a strong calling to serve the poor through education.

In 1866, she co-founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart with Fr. Julian Woods. The Josephites were dedicated to teaching and serving the poor, living in total poverty, and trusting completely in Divine Providence. Despite facing opposition and even temporary excommunication due to disputes over the governance of her order, Mary remained steadfast in her faith and mission.

Mary MacKillop traveled extensively to establish schools, orphanages, and charitable institutions across Australia and New Zealand. She welcomed all—Catholics, Protestants, Indigenous peoples, and the marginalized—with compassion. She died on August 8, 1909. She was canonized on October 17, 2010.

Patron Saint: Australia, Brisbane, Knights of the South.

PRAYER: O God, source of all goodness, who have shown us in Saint Mary a woman of faith living by the power of the Cross, teach us, we pray, by her example to live the gospel in changing times and to respect and defend the human dignity of all in our land. Amen. 🙏

SAINTS CYRIACUS, LARGUS AND SMARAGDUS, AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS: Saint Cyriacus was a Roman deacon who gave away his wealth to follow Christ. He suffered imprisonment and torture under Emperor Diocletian’s persecution. With his companions—Largus, Smaragdus, and twenty others—he was martyred for the faith. Among his miracles, he exorcised demons from both the daughter of Diocletian and that of the Persian king. Eventually, he and his companions were brutally tortured and beheaded.

Their relics were venerated from early times, and they are honored for their courageous witness to the faith.

PRAYER: Saints Cyriacus, Largus, Smaragdus, and your companions, Martyrs pray for us! 🙏

THE FOURTEEN HOLY HELPERS: The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints invoked especially during times of great suffering, most notably during the Black Plague in the 14th century. Each saint is associated with protection from a specific ailment or hardship:

  • Saint Blaise: Diseases of the throat
  • Saint George: Protection of domestic animals, skin diseases
  • Saint Acathius: Headaches and final agony
  • Saint Erasmus: Abdominal ailments, patron of sailors
  • Saint Vitus: Epilepsy, nervous disorders, storms
  • Saint Margaret of Antioch: Childbirth and backaches
  • Saint Christopher: Plague, sudden death, travelers
  • Saint Pantaleon: Physicians, protection against consumption
  • Saint Cyriacus: Eye diseases, temptation, demonic possession
  • Saint Giles: Plague, panic, epilepsy
  • Saint Eustace: Fire, family difficulties
  • Saint Denis: Headaches, demonic possession
  • Saint Catherine of Alexandria: Wisdom, sudden death
  • Saint Barbara: Fever, lightning, sudden death

Their joint feast is August 8th in some calendars, and they remain powerful intercessors in times of need.

PRAYER (By St. Alphonsus Liguori): Great princes of Heaven, Holy Helpers, who gave up everything for God and now rejoice in His glory, have compassion on me, a poor sinner. Obtain for me strength in suffering, perseverance in trials, and the grace to serve God faithfully until the end. Amen. 🙏

Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Dominic, Saint Mary MacKillop, Saints Cyriacus, Largus, Smaragdus, and Companions, and the Fourteen Holy Helpers ~ Pray for us. 🙏🏾

GENERAL PRAYERS AND INTENTIONS | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/general-prayers-and-intentions/

Please find below links to the websites for Daily Reflections, Foundation and interesting topics and articles about our Catholic faith and doctrines | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/2025/01/30/daily-reflections-and-prayer-links/

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2025: FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST: For mutual coexistence. Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons.

(https://popesprayerusa.net/popes-intentions/)

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST | MONTH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, inviting us to reflect on her pure love, deep sorrow, and unwavering obedience to God. Her heart, aflame with charity and pierced by suffering, mirrors the life of Christ and calls us to follow Him more closely through her example. This month, the Church encourages us to console her sorrowful heart and grow in holiness through prayers like the Rosary, the Litany of the Immaculate Heart, and the First Saturday Devotion. Through Mary’s heart, we are led ever closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“O Immaculate Heart of Mary, be our refuge and the way that leads us to God.”

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us and draw us into deeper love and trust in your Son. Amen🙏🏽

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=12540

PRAYER INTENTIONS: As we honor Saint Dominic, the tireless preacher of truth and model of deep contemplation, along with Saint Mary MacKillop, who served the poor with courage and compassion, and the heroic martyrs Saints Cyriacus, Largus, Smaragdus, and the Fourteen Holy Helpers, we are reminded that the path of holiness often demands sacrifice, perseverance, and unwavering trust in God. In today’s Gospel, Christ invites us to take up our crosses and follow Him—a call that echoes through the lives of these saints. With gratitude for God’s faithfulness, as proclaimed in Deuteronomy and echoed in the Psalm, we lift up all who struggle to carry their crosses today: those enduring trials in silence, those tempted to give up, and those seeking clarity in their vocation. May the memory of God’s past mercies strengthen them. We pray especially for preachers, teachers, and religious missionaries, that they may speak God’s truth with courage like Saint Dominic. We also remember the sick, the suffering, and the dying those in need of healing and consolation through the intercession of the Holy Helpers.

LET US PRAY

Most glorious God, Your will is perfect and is the one and only source of fulfillment in life. Please purify my soul of all desires pertaining only to this world. May my one and only desire in life be the fulfillment of Your holy will so that all I have will only be used for Your glory. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen 🙏🏽

Lord Jesus, You have called us not to comfort but to communion with You through the cross. Teach us, like Saint Dominic, to proclaim Your Word with boldness and to love truth more than self. Help us remember Your wonders and mercies, as Moses urged, so that gratitude may guard our hearts from despair. When our burdens feel too heavy, remind us through the psalmist that You are the God who works wonders still. May the example of Saint Mary MacKillop lead us to serve with humility and trust, and may the steadfast witness of the martyrs inspire us to embrace suffering with faith. Strengthen all who follow You in the path of the cross. May we lose ourselves in You and find eternal life. Amen.🙏🏾

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Dominic, Saint Mary MacKillop, Saints Cyriacus, Largus, Smaragdus, and Companions, and the Fourteen Holy Helpers ~ 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 Friday and relaxing weekend 🙏🏽

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 | https://youtu.be/gB31nuOFx0A?si=mSoZs-wiByhGs

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