SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: 12

SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: 12, 2024

MEMORIAL OF SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL, RELIGIOUS AND SAINT EUPLIUS, DEACON AND MARTYR

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION: REMINDER – The 2024 Novena for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven begins, Tuesday, August 6 and ends on August 15. 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]

Greetings beloved family and Happy Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time.

On this feast day, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the safety and well-being of our children and children all over the world, especially those beginning the new school year. We pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding and for God’s guidance and protection upon them during this school year and always. We also pray for all teachers and other workers. And we continue to pray for peace, love and unity in our family and our world. May God keep us all safe and well. Amen 🙏

We continue to pray for the sick and dying. 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 12, 2024 |

Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 12, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” |August 12, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 12, 2024 |

Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | August 12, 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 12, 2024
Reading 1, Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 148:1-2, 11-12, 12-14, 14
Gospel, Matthew 17:22-27

SAINTS OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL OF SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL, RELIGIOUS AND SAINT EUPLIUS, DEACON AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 12TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Jane Frances De Chantal, Religious and Saint Euplius, Deacon and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints Jane Frances de Chantal and Euplius on this feast day, we humbly pray for the safety and well-being of our children, students, youths, teachers and staff all over the world as they begin the new school year. We pray for parents who are separated from their children, for those who suffer the loss of parents and all widow, we pray for God’s grace and mercy upon them. We also pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the poor and needy, for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, 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 JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL, RELIGIOUS: St. Jeanne (Jane) Frances de Chantal (1572–1641) was born into nobility in Dijon, France on January 23, 1572. She was the daughter of the president of parliament of Burgundy and lived up to her noble status as a refined, cheerful, and beautiful woman. At the age of twenty she was married to the Baron de Chantal and together they had four children. She was strong in her faith, having daily Mass said in her castle, giving alms to the poor, and skillfully managing her household. St. Jane loved and served her young family deeply until the death of her husband in a hunting accident at age 28. For seven years she was forced to live in the house of her father in law, a trial which she was forced to bare patiently due to his ill-disposition towards her, and it was during this time that she took a vow of perpetual chastity. In all of her prayers, St. Jane asked God to send her a guide. In a vision, He showed her the spiritual director that He held in reserve for her. During Lent, in 1604, she visited her father at Dijon, where St. Francis de Sales was preaching at the Sainte Chapelle. She recognized in him the mysterious director who had been shown to her, and she placed herself under his guidance. Then began the famous correspondence between the two saints which produced volumes of letters of spiritual direction, some of which are available today, but most of which were destroyed by her upon the death of St. Francis. She went to Annecy in 1610, where she believed God was calling her to found an order for women and girls who felt called to live the life of Christian perfection, but not practice the severe asceticism of the religious orders of the time. At the age of forty-five, after meeting her family obligations, she and St. Francis founded a religious institute for women, the Congregation of the Visitation, which was to exemplify the virtues of the Virgin Mary at the Visitation.

The Congregation of the Visitation was canonically established at Annecy on June 6th, 1610, Trinity Sunday. The Visitation sisters accepted women who were rejected from other religious orders due to age or illness. They were notable for their charitable works. The method of spiritual perfection of the Visitation nuns was that of St. Francis, which consisted in always keeping one’s will united to the Divine will, in taking -so to speak- one’s soul, heart, and longings into one’s hands and giving them into God’s keeping, and in seeking always to do what is pleasing to Him. She also traveled extensively to found new Visitation houses, having established eighty-six at the time of her death 31 years later. St. Jane Frances de Chantal’s spirituality was a strong and resilient one; she did not like to see her daughters giving way to human weaknesses, and encouraged constant battle against the passions and habits which keep one from following God’s will. Her trials were continuous and borne bravely, and yet she was exceedingly sensitive. She endured interior crosses which, particularly during the last nine years of her life, kept her in an agony of soul, from which she was not freed until three months before her death. Her reputation for sanctity was widespread. Aristocrats and the nobilityQueens, princes, and princesses, flocked to Jeanne de Chantal’s reception-room of the Visitation to seek her counsel. Wherever she went to establish foundations, the people gave her ovations. “These people”, she would say confused, “do not know me-they are mistaken”. She underwent great trials, including the deaths of many of her close family and friends. St. Jane died on December 13, 1641at the Visitation Convent Moulins. Saint Jane Frances de Chantal was beatified in 1751 and was canonized in 1767 by Pope Clement XIII. Her body is venerated with that of St. Francis de Sales in the church of the Visitation at Annecy. She’s Patron Saint of forgotten people; in-law problems; loss of parents; parents separated from children; widows.

Quotes of St. Jane Frances de Chantal: ☆”In prayer, more is accomplished by listening than by talking.” ☆”Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him. That is all the doing you have to worry about.” ☆”In prayer one must hold fast and never let go, because the one who gives up loses all. If it seems that no one is listening to you, then cry out even louder. If you are driven out of one door, go back in by the other.”

“In Madame de Chantal I have found the perfect woman, whom Solomon had difficulty finding in Jerusalem”. ~ St. Francis de Sales, her spiritual director.

PRAYER: God, You endowed St. Jane Frances with admirable qualities in various walks of life. Through her intercession help us to be true to our vocation and never fail to bear witness to the light You give us. Amen 🙏

SAINT EUPLIUS, DEACON AND MARTYR: St. Euplius’ name in Greek means “good sailing”. He died in 304 AD. He was a deacon, under Emperors Diocletian and Maximian was tortured for his confession of Christ and finally martyred by being put to the sword. According to the Passion of Saint Euplius, he was a deacon who was arrested for owning and reading from a copy of the Bible during the Diocletian persecution. On Aust 12, 304 A.D., during the persecution of Diocletian at Catania, in Sicily, a deacon named Euplius was brought to the governor’s hall and staunchly professed his faith. With the Book of Gospels in his hand, he was called before the governor of the city, Calvisian (Calvinian, Calvinianus), and commanded to read from it. The saint read the passage: “Blest are they who suffer persecution for justice’s sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” St. Euplius then read the passage: “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Questioned by the governor as to what this meant, the youth replied: “It is the law of my Lord, which has been delivered to me.” Calvisian asked: “By whom?” Euplius replied: “By Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.” With that, the governor ordered that he be led away to be tortured.

At the height of his torment St. Euplius was asked if he still persisted in Christianity. The saintly youth answered: “What I said before, I say again: I am a Christian and I read the Sacred Scriptures.” The governor realized that he would never give up his faith, and ordered him to be beheaded. He died April 29, 304 A.D., praising God all the while. Ruins of the old church of Saint Euplius are located in Catania near Piazza Stesicoro. This urban site coincides with the place of his martyrdom. With Saint Agatha, he is a co-patron of Catania in Sicily. He is also the Patron Saint of Francavilla di Sicilia and Trevico.

St. Euplius, Deacon and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏

SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:

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

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 17:22-27

“They will kill him and he will be raised. The subjects are exempt from the tax”

“As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were overwhelmed with grief. When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes,” he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.”

Today’s Gospel reading centres on the payment of the half shekel tax. This was not a tax imposed by the Romans. Rather, it was a Jewish tax. An annual tax that all Jews paid for the upkeep of the Temple in Jerusalem. Devout Jews paid the half-shekel tax to the Temple in Jerusalem every year to defray the costs of the sacrifices that were offered in the Temple. St. Peter is asked by the collectors of this tax whether His master, Jesus, paid it or not. St. Peter did not hesitate to say that Jesus did pay this annual tax. However, when Jesus had the opportunity to speak with St. Peter, He conveyed to him, in the words of the Gospel reading, that ‘the sons are exempt’ from this tax. The ‘sons’ were the members of the new family that Jesus was gathering about Himself. The question the Jewish tax collectors asked St. Peter was whether Jesus and His disciples were free from having to pay this tax. The question was testing Jesus’ credentials as a devout and orthodox Jew. After all, Jesus had declared that ‘something greater than the Temple is here’. The ‘something greater’ was Jesus Himself. He is the new Temple of God, the one in whom God is present. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us. If He is the new Temple, then strictly speaking the tax to the old Temple in Jerusalem does not need to be paid. That is what Jesus means when He says, ‘the sons are exempt’, the sons being the sons of God’s kingdom, Jesus’ disciples. However, even though Jesus no longer saw the Temple tax as obligatory for Himself or His disciples, in theory Jesus and His disciples are free from having to pay the tax, Jesus declares that they should pay the tax, He instructs St. Peter to go and pay it, ‘so as not to offend these people’, that is the Jewish tax collectors, so as to avoid giving scandal.

The issue of the Temple tax is not our issue today, but the way Jesus deals with it can continue to speak to us. Jesus is declaring that just because we are legitimately free not to do something does not mean that we should not do it. Similarly, just because we are legitimately free to do something does not mean that we should do it. Freedom is not always the most important value for Jesus. The value of love is always more important in His eyes. Whatever promotes the well being of others always guides how we exercise our legitimate freedom. One expression of the love of others is not giving unnecessary offense or scandal. Although Jesus was not afraid to offend people when something of consequence was at stake, He didn’t go out of His way to offend people when the issue was not so important, as in this instance of the Temple tax. There were issues on which He took a stand and other issues which He let go. We all have to learn to make that distinction. When are we called to stand and fight and when can we just let things be? We look to the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom to make that judgement. The Gospel calls on all of us as Christians to do our part in obeying the laws, rules and regulations of our countries and states, of any organisations or places that we belong in, as long as they do not directly contradict our obligation and obedience to God, to His Law and commandments.

Our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel describes the moment when Ezekiel saw a heavenly vision from God. In that vision, Ezekiel saw the glory of God shown to him, manifested as the Great Throne of God and the Lord enthroned on it, above the Angels, the Seraphim and Cherubim surrounding Him, and the Thrones, the Angels supporting His Throne, revealing God Himself in all of His Divine and Almighty glory. The Lord showed Himself as a truly great and amazing Being beyond the comprehension of man, full of glory and power, and this is in fact a good reminder for us today, as people living in the world where many people have lost their faith in God in this much secularised world, where many marginalised God and His Presence in our midst, and others still also made God to be so personal and human-like that we end up forgetting that He is the Almighty God, Lord and Master of the whole Universe. Through His Incarnation in the flesh, by His coming into our midst as the Son of Man, in Our Lord Jesus Christ, God has indeed made Himself to be visible, approachable and within our reach, unlike how God had been depicted and shown in the Old Testament, such as in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel and also other occasions like that of Moses’ encounters on the Lord and the prophet Elijah who also encountered God face to face. Earlier on, no one could look at the Lord and live, except for those whom God allowed it, but even then, like what Ezekiel did, he still looked down and fell on his face when he saw God in all of His glory. Through His incarnation, God made Himself personal and approachable to us, by sharing in our human existence. However, this does not change the fact that He is still the same Almighty God, Lord and King over all of us, Whom we ought to obey and follow.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded to obey the Lord as we are all His people, and we are all created by Him and are all under His dominion and rule. At the same time, we are also reminded to show the same obedience to the laws and customs of the land, to the place and the states that we have pledged allegiance to, as far as we continue to carry out our obligations and responsibilities as God’s faithful and committed disciples and followers. Today’s discourses are reminders for us that we can indeed be both faithful Christians and also dutiful and law-abiding citizens of our respective countries, states and territories. Let us all therefore as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people continue to be truly faithful in all things, dedicated and committed in everything that we say and do so that we may always be sincere in our actions, our words and deeds, in everything that we do in life, so that we ourselves, like the Saints and Holy men and women, particularly St. Jane Frances de Chantal and St. Euplius, who we celebrate today, we may be good role models and examples for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. May all of us be blessed and strengthened by God, and may God continue to empower and encourage each and every one of us to live our lives to the fullest and to the best of our abilities in all things and circumstances. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace and the resources, we need to live as He is calling and desires us to live. May He be with us all and strengthen each one of us with the resolve to live ever more courageously in His path. May the good Lord bless our every good works and endeavours, all for His greater glory and for the good of our fellow men and women. 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 miraculous Lord, Your action in my life is truly glorious and amazing. You never fail to provide for me when I am in need. Help me to turn to You whenever I struggle so as to be filled with new hope in You. You are always faithful, dear Lord. I do place all my hope in 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 Most Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Jane Frances De Chantal and Saint Euplius ~ 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 month of August and week 🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖

Tag: SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: 12

NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME