Author name: sanjose

Matthew 6:21

Verse:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:21

Prayer For Humility

Lord, please forgive us for our selfish ambitions, holding onto our time and money as though it were ours. We recognize that everything we enjoy is a gift from You. It is only by Your mercies that are new every morning that we are not consumed. Thank You for Your great patience with us, for remembering that we are dust. Help us Lord, to recognize the greatness of Your power and Your Presence within us so that we can be led in righteousness for Your Great Name’s sake. Help us to humbly accept that which You died to give us. Amen.

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Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the order she founded in 1950, as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers, and an order of priests.

Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia, Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home. Blessed Teresa was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.

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23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Wis 9:13–18b

A reading from the Book of Wisdom

 

Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17

Response– In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge

You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.

R– In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge

You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.

R– In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!

R– In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R– In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge

Second Reading: Wis 9:13–18b

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to Philemon

 

I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.

 

Alleluia: Psalm 119:135

 

Alleluia, alleluia. Let your face shine upon your servant;
and teach me your laws. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Luke 14: 25-33

 

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

 

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”

The Readings and Gospel were sourced from:

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2 Corinthians 1:5

Verse:

“For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ“ - 2 Corinthians 1:5

Prayer For Daily Comfort

As I go to work, be with me Lord. Be the patience when I’m frustrated. Be the endurance when I am tired. Be the wisdom when I am uncertain. Be the inspiration when I’m out of ideas. Be comforter when I feel overwhelmed. Be the guide when I am confused. Be with me Lord, today. Amen

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Saint Rose of Viterbo

Even as a child, Rose had a great desire to pray and to aid the poor. While still very young, she began a life of penance in her parents’ house. She was as generous to the poor as she was strict with herself. At the age of 10, she became a Secular Franciscan and soon began preaching in the streets about sin and the sufferings of Jesus.

Viterbo, her native city, was then in revolt against the pope. When Rose took the pope’s side against the emperor, she and her family were exiled from the city. When the pope’s side won in Viterbo, Rose was allowed to return. Her attempt at age 15 to found a religious community failed, and she returned to a life of prayer and penance in her father’s home, where she died in 1251. Rose was canonized in 1457.

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Proverbs 3: 7-8

Verse:

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. - Proverbs 3: 7-8

Prayer Against Evil

Dear Father, I seek Your protection from the wickedness of the evil one. You are the Almighty God, and his power doesn’t stand a chance to the might You yield. I come to Your refuge with joy for You shelter me against the attack of the devil. Protect me, O Lord, from the craftiness of the enemy, and save me from his evil plots. Cover me with Your presence when I feel weak so that he will flee from my presence. Amen.

Sources:

https://dailyverses.net/2021/9

https://connectusfund.org/25-powerful-prayers-for-protection-against-evil

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Saint Gregory the Great

Gregory was born in Rome and followed the career of public service that was unusual for the son of an aristocratic family, finally becoming the prefect of Rome before he was 30. After five years in office he resigned, founded six monasteries on his Sicilian estate, and became a Benedictine monk in his own home at Rome. Ordained a priest, Gregory became one of the pope’s seven deacons, and also served six years in the East as papal representative in Constantinople. He was recalled to become abbot, but at the age of 50 was elected pope by the clergy and people of Rome. He is known for his reform of the liturgy, and for strengthening respect for doctrine. Whether he was largely responsible for the revision of “Gregorian” chant is disputed. An Anglican historian has written: “It is impossible to conceive what would have been the confusion, the lawlessness, the chaotic state of the Middle Ages without the medieval papacy; and of the medieval papacy, the real father is Gregory the Great.” He died on 12th of March 604, but as this date always fall within Lent, his feast is celebrated on the date of his election as Pope.

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Our Lady of Sorrows

Following August’s devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. It is centered on the exceptional and poignant suffering that Blessed Mother Mary went through during Christ’s Passion.

 

These sorrows of Blessed Mother Mary were the theme of a famous altarpiece by Albrecht Dürer, The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin. The altarpiece had a central panel surrounded by seven panels depicting seven scenes from Christ’s life which make up the seven sorrows that Mary experienced as a mother– The Circumcision and Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight to Egypt, the Loss of Jesus for Three Days, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus being taken down from the Cross, and Jesus being laid in the tomb.

 

Our dedication to Our Lady of Sorrows calls us to the spiritual martyrdom that Blessed Mother Mary experienced during the martyrdom of her son, Jesus Christ. It draws us to reflect that we are all sinners but we can conquer them through intense suffering. Mother Mary’s tears of grief and anguish symbolize our sins being washed away by God. This September, we are called to unite ourselves with the Blessed Mother in her sorrows.

Prayer for Our Lady of Sorrows

Our mother of sorrows, with strength from above you stood by the cross, sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, and with tender care you bore Him in your arms, mourning and weeping.

 

We praise you for your faith, which accepted the life God planned for you. We praise you for your hope, which trusted that God would do great things in you. We praise you for your love in bearing with Jesus the sorrows of His passion.

 

Holy Mary, may we follow your example, and stand by all your children who need comfort and love.

 

Mother of God, stand by us in our trials and care for us in our many needs. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
Amen!

Sources:

https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=2456

https://blog.aquinasandmore.com/september-is-the-month-of-our-lady-of-sorrows/

https://www.learnreligions.com/prayers-for-september-542771

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Psalm 119:11

Verse:

Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart  - Psalm 119:11

Prayer For Psalm 119 Reflection

May Your Word become to me my daily sustenance, and my life-support, knowing that it alone can keep me from the evil one and enable me to live a life that is pleasing to You. I pray that day by day, You will teach me and train me through Your Word, so that I do not go astray, and I further ask that You use me to guide others into You paths of peace. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

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Blessed John Francis Burte and companions

These priests were victims of the French Revolution. Though their martyrdom spans a period of several years, they stand together in the Church’s memory because they all gave their lives for the same principle. In 1791, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy required all priests to take an oath which amounted to a denial of the faith. Each of these men refused and was executed.

John Francis Burté became a Franciscan at 16 and after ordination taught theology to the young friars. Later he was guardian of the large Conventual friary in Paris until he was arrested and held in the convent of the Carmelites.

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