Day: April 25, 2026

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Thought for the Day – 25 April – Gospel Reading

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Thought for the Day – 25 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Gospel Reading

“It is not enough to read and to meditate on the Gospel.
We should do so with the correct dispossition, which are three in number.
In the first place, we should read the Gospel with the recollection of one who prays, “Prayer must often interrupt reading,” says St Bonaventure.
Now and again, while we are reading, we should lift our minds to God and ask Him to enlighten us and to inspire us, towards greater fervour.

Heavenly truths cannot be penetrated or understood without the light of Grace which comes from on high.
“I am the Way and the Truth and the Life,” Jesus said, “no-one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn 14:6).
The Gospel, therefore, cannot be read like any other book.
It is the Word of supernatural Life which cannot be infused into our souls, except by Grace, for which we should pray humbly and with fervour.

In the second place, we should read slowly and reflectively.
“Read with the heart and not with the eyes,” writes Bossuet.
“Profit by that which you understand, adore that which you do not”

In the Gospel, there is always something which is applicable to ourselves and to the particular circumstances in which we find ourselves.
The Saints found there, their own particular road to sanctity, to which they had been called; from our reflective and devout study of the Sacred pages, we also shall find what Jesus wants, in a particular way, from us!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/24/thought-for-the-day-24-april-gospel-reading/

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, BAPTISM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 25 April – “Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”- St Mark Evangelist

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Quote/s of the Day – 25 April – St Mark Evangelist

“For the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve and to give His Life
as a ransom for many …”

Mark 10:45

“Go into the whole world
and preach the Gospel
to every creature.”
Mark 16:15

“You have heard what the Lord said
to His disciples after the Resurrection.
He sent them out to preach the Gospel
and they did so.
Listen: “Through all the earth their voice resounds
and to the ends of the world, their message” (Ps 18[19],5).
Step by step, the Gospel has reached even to us
and the ends of the earth.
In a few words the Lord, addressing Himself
to His disciples, set out what we are to do
and what we have to hope for.
Just as you have heard, He said:
“Whoever believes and is Baptised will be saved.”
He asks for our faith and offers us salvation.
What He offers us, is so precious
that what He asks of us, is as nothing.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“At that time, the Lord appointed
seventy-two others
and sent them forth …”
Luke 10:1

“By saying that He is sending them
as the Father has sent Him, therefore,
He summarised, in a few words,
the character of the Apostles’ mission.
In this way, they would know that they were bound
to call sinners to repentance,
to heal the sick, whether of body or soul
and in all their dealings as stewards,
not by any means to follow their own will
but the will of Him Who sent them and,
finally, to save the world,
insofar as it received the teachings of the Lord.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (380-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Love is the most necessary of all virtues.
Love in the person who preaches the Word of God
is like fire in a musket.
If a person were to throw a bullet with his hands,
he would hardly make a dent in anything
but, if the person takes the same bullet
and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it can kill.
It is much the same with the Word of God.
If it is spoken by someone who is filled
with the fire of charity-
the fire of love of God and neighbor-
it will work wonders!”

St Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870)

“It is above all, the Gospel
which supports me during my prayer.
There, I find all which
my poor little soul needs.
There, I always discover new lights,
hidden and mysterious meaning.
… Just when I need it, I discover lights
which I had not seen before.”)

St Thérèse of the Child Jesus
and the Holy Face (1873 – 1897)

Posted in APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 Ap[ril– And He sent them two-by- two … Luke 10:1

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One Minute Reflection – 25 April – St Mark Evangelist – Ezekiel 1:10-14 – Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And He sent them two-by- two before His Face, into every city and place, whither He Himself was to come.” – Luke 10:1

REFLECTION – “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’ (Mt 13:31). This small seed for us, is the symbol of Jesus Christ, Who, sowed into the garden where He was buried, rose from it shortly after, through His Resurrection, as a big tree.

One could say that when He Died He was like a small seed, a small seed because of the humiliation of His Flesh but, a big tree because of the glorification of His Majesty. He was like a small seed when He appeared completely disfigured before our eyes but, like a large tree when He rose again like “the most handsome of men” (Ps 44:3).

The branches of this mysterious tree are the holy preachers of the Gospel, of whom the Psalmist indicates the reach: “Their report goes forth through all the earth, their message, to the ends of the world” (Ps 19:5; cf Rom 10:18). The birds rest on these branches while the souls of the just, who have been raised above earth’s attractions on the wings of holiness, find, in the words of these preachers of the Gospel, the consolation they need in the sorrows and difficulties of this life.” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father & Doctor of the Church (Sermons on Matthew, Ch 13).

PRAYER – O God, Who didst exalt Thy blessed Evangelist Mark, by giving him grace to preach Thine Evangel, grant unto us, we beseech Thee, ever to follow more and more what he teaches and ever to be shielded from all evil by his prayers. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Our Morning Offering – 25 April – Behold the Messengers of Christ

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Our Morning Offering – 25 April – Feast of St Mark Evangelist

Behold the Messengers of Christ
By Fr Jean-Baptiste Santeul (1630-1697)
Priest, Monk, Hymnist, Poet, Writer

Behold the Messengers of Christ,
Who sow in every place,
The unveiled Mysteries of God,
The Gospel of His Grace.

The things through mists and shadows dim
By holy prophets seen,
In the full Light of Day, they saw
With not a cloud between.

What Christ, true Man, Divinely wrought,
What God in Manhood bore,
They wrote, as God inspired, in words
Which live forevermore.

Although in space and time apart,
One Spirit ruled them all
And in their Sacred pages still
We hear that Spirit’s Call.

To God, the blessèd Three in One,
Be glory, praise and might,
Who called us from the shades of death
To His Own glorious Light.
Amen.

Trans. Compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861.
This Hymn was used for Vespers I & II and Nocturns on the Feasts of St Mark and St Luke in the Paris Breviary (1736). Cardinal Newman’s Hymni Ecclesiae has it listed for the same hours, as the Common of Evangelists in the Paris Breviary (presumably a later edition).
Tune: “Tiverton“ Rev J Grigg, c1791.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 25 April – St Stephen (Died c471) Bishop Martyr of Antioch,

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Saint of the Day – 25 April – St Stephen (Died c471) Bishop Martyr of Antioch, Defender of the Truth and the Church of Christ. Born in Antioch and died their by drowing. Bishop of Antioch from 451 to 471. The image below is St Stepehn the Fiorst Martyr with the Palm of Martyrdom.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Antioch, St Stephen, Bishop and Martyr, who suffered much from the heretics opposed to the Council of Chalcedon and was precipitated into the River Orontes in the time of the Emperor Zeno.”

Information about Stephen’s birth and youth is fragmentary. We know that he was born in Antioch in Syria, at the time an important cultural and religious centre, into a fervent Christian family.

His theological education likely took place in Antioch itself, where he distinguished himself by his intellectual acumen and profound knowledge of the Scriptures.

In 451, Stephen was Consecrated as the Bishop of Antioch, succeeding Maximus II. His Episcopate coincided with a period of Ecclesiastical turmoil, marked by the Monophysite heresy which divided the Church.

Stephen firmly supported the orthodox doctrine, defined at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 which condemned Monophysitism and affirmed the dual natures of Christ, human and divine.

His theological positions attracted opposition from Monophysite heretics, who persecuted him bitterly. Stephen faced slander, violence and even exile. In 471, under Emperor Zeno, who favoured Monophysitism, his suffering reached its peak and he was arrested, tortured and finally thrown into the Orontes River, where he died by drowning.

Saint Stephen is venerated as a Martyr and his liturgical Feast is celebrated on today.

Posted in ROGATION DAYS, SAINT of the DAY

St Mark the Evangelist, Rogation Day – The Greater Litanies and the Saints for 25 April

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St Mark the Evangelist – Also known as John Mark (Born 1st Century – Martyred 25 April 68 at Alexandria, Egypt) – St Marks is symbolised by the Winged Lion.
St Mark:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/25/saint-of-the-day-25-april-st-mark-the-evangelist/
And:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/saint-of-the-day-25-april-st-mark-the-evangelist-solemnity/

Rogation Day – The Greater Litanies
(Sometimes called “St Mark’s Procession”):
The procession for the Greater Litanies is held on St Mark’s day, 25 April that, for the Rogations, or Lesser Litanies, may be recited on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension day.
About Rogation Days HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/05/23/virgen-de-gracia-virgin-of-grace-aes-puente-viesgo-pas-miera-cantabria-spain-1575-and-memorials-of-the-saints-23-may/

St Agathopodes of Antioch

St Anianus (Died c 86) 2nd Bishop of Alexandria, after St Mark and succeeding him. Consecrated by St Mark and disciple of St Mark. He was Ordained by St Mark and was also the first convert Mark won for Christ in the region, in c 48.
As St Mark was entering Rakotis, a suburb of Alexandria, the strap of his sandal broke. He found a cobbler, St Anianus, to repair it. While he was working on the sandal, the awl slipped in Anianus’ hand, piercing it. Anianus cried ‘“He is ho Theos” (“God is one”) in response to the pain. Mark took the opportunity to preach the Gospel of Christ to him, at the same time.
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/25/saint-of-the-day-25-april-st-anianus-of-alexandria-died-c-86-sucessor-and-disciple-of-st-mark-the-evangelist/

Blessed Boniface (Died 1243) Bishop of Valperga, Italy. Distinguished by his love for the poor and his great humility -his spiritual depth and holiness of life, made him very popular, even among the simplest people.
This Holy Boniface:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/25/saint-of-the-day-25-april-blessed-boniface-of-valperga-died-1243-bishop/

St Callista of Syracuse
St Clarentius of Vienne
St Erminus of Lobbes (Died 737) Bishop and Confessor
St Evodius of Syracuse

Saint Franca Visalta O.Cist. (1170-1218) Virgin Abbess in Piacenza and Pittolo, Foundress of a Cistercian Convent.
Her Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/25/saint-of-the-day-25-april-saint-franca-visalta-o-cist-1170-1218-virgin-abbess/

St Heribaldus of Auxerre
St Hermogenes of Syracuse
St Kebius
St Macaille
St Macedonius
St Mario Borzaga
St Pasicrate of Mesia
St Phaebadius of Agen
St Philo of Antioch
St Robert of Syracuse
Bl Robert Anderton
St Stephen (Died c471) Bishop Martyr of Antioch
St Valenzio of Mesia
Bl William Marsden