Our Morning Offering – 30 April – Tuesday of the Second week of Easter
Be Merciful, Be Gracious By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Be merciful, be gracious, Lord, deliver me.
From the sins that are past,
From Your frown and Your ire,
From the perils of dying,
From any complying
With sin or denying
My God, or relying
On self,
at the last,
From the nethermost fire,
From all that is evil,
From the power of the devil,
Your servant deliver,
For once and forever,
By Your Birth and By Your Cross,
Rescue me from endless loss,
By Your death and burial,
Save me from a final fall,
By Your rising from the tomb,
By Your mounting up above,
By the Spirit’s gracious love,
Save me in the day of doom.
Our Morning Offering – 29 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Year C and the Memorial of St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
Holy Trinity, Holy Love By St Catherine of Siena
Holy Spirit, come into my heart;
draw it to Thee by Thy power,
O my God,
and grant me charity with filial fear.
Preserve me,
O beautiful love,
from every evil thought,
warm me,
inflame me with Thy dear love
and every pain will seem light to me.
My Father,
my sweet Lord,
help me in all my actions.
Jesus, love, Jesus, love.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Gospel: John 20:19–31
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “...John 20:21-22
Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church
First Sermon for Pentecost
‘He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit” ‘
Lord Jesus Christ, once again grant that of us, too, there may be but “one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32) for then there will be “a great calm” (Mk 4:39). My dear listeners, I exhort you to good will and kindness to one another and peace with all. For were we to have charity among ourselves, we would have both peace and the Holy Spirit. Let us undertake to become devout and pray to God… since the apostles persevered in prayer… If we set ourselves to fervent prayer then the Holy Spirit will enter us and say: “Peace be with you! It is I; be not afraid” (cf. Mk 6:50)… And what ought we to ask God for, my brethren? For all that is for His honour and the salvation of your souls and, in a word, for the help of the Holy Spirit – “Send forth your Spirit and they will be created” (Ps 104[103]:30) – peace and tranquillity…
We are to ask for this peace so that the Spirit of peace may come down on us. We should give thanks to God, too, for all His blessings if we want Him to grant us those victories that are the beginning of peace. And to obtain the Holy Spirit we should give thanks to God the Father for having first of all sent Him upon our Head, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and His Son… – for “from his fullness we have all received” (cf. Jn 1:16) – and for having sent Him upon His apostles that through their hands they might pass Him onto us. We should give thanks to the Son – as God, He sends the Spirit upon those who prepare themselves to receive Him. But, most especially, we should thank Him because, as man, He merited for us, the grace of receiving this divine Spirit…
And how has Jesus Christ merited the Holy Spirit’s coming? When “bowing his head, he gave up his spirit” (Jn 19:30), for, when He gave breathed His last and handed over His spirit to the Father, He merited the Father’s sending His Spirit upon His mystical body.
Quote of the Day – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday
“Oh, how great, is the goodness of God, greater than we can understand. There are moments and there are mysteries, of the Divine Mercy over which, the heavens are astounded. Let our judgement of souls cease, for God’s mercy upon them, is extraordinary.”
One Minute Reflection – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Gospel: John 20:19–31
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”…John 20:21–23
REFLECTION – “This Sunday, … concludes the week or, more properly, the “Octave” of Easter, which the liturgy considers as a single day: “the day which the Lord has made” (Ps 117[116]: 24). It is not a chronological but a spiritual time, which God opened in the sequence of days when He raised Christ from the dead. The Creator Spirit, infusing new and eternal life in the buried body of Jesus of Nazareth, carried to completion the work of creation, giving origin to a “firstfruits” – the firstfruits of a new humanity, which at the same time is a firstfruits of a new world and a new era.
This world renewal can be summed up in a single phrase, the same one that the Risen Jesus spoke to his disciples as a greeting and even more, as an announcement of his victory: “Peace be with you!” (Lk 24: 36; Jn 20: 19, 21, 26).
Peace is the gift that Christ left his friends (see Jn 14: 27) as a blessing destined for all men and women and all peoples. It is not a peace according to a “worldly” mentality, as an equilibrium of forces but a new reality, fruit of God’s Love, of His Mercy. It is the peace that Jesus Christ earned, by the price of His Blood and communicates to those who trust in Him.
“Jesus, I trust in you” these words summarise the faith of the Christian, which is faith in the omnipotence of God’s merciful Love.”…Pope Benedict XVI – REGINA CÆLI – Second Sunday of Easter, 15 April 2007
PRAYER – Almighty Father, grant we pray that with Mary’s help, Mater Misericordiae, Mother of Jesus who is the incarnation of Divine Mercy, that we become renewed in the Spirit, in order to cooperate in the work of peace which You are accomplishing in the world and which is not just talk, but which is actualised in the countless gestures of charity by all his sons and daughters. Grant we pray, that we taste the beauty of the encounter with the Risen Lord and draw from the source of His merciful love, to be apostles of His peace. Through Christ, Redeemer and Merciful Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday
In the Jubilee Year 2000, St Pope John Paul II proclaimed that from that year forward, the Second Sunday of Easter, where we remember the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, would be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. This was proclaimed at the Canonisation Mass of St Faustina Kawalska, who worked throughout her life to make all aware of the merciful love of God. For this is the God who leans in and waits with bated breath for us to whisper through the screen, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”
St Faustina (1905–1938) was born and raised in Poland. Following a vocation to religious life, she was accepted by the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. As a member of the Congregation, she worked as a cook, gardener and porter. In her mystical spiritual life, her contemplation on the Mercy of God led her to develop a childlike trust in God and deep love for her neighbour.
In her years in the convent, St Faustina heard a call from God to make God’s mercy known to the world so that the world may more fully receive God’s healing grace. St Faustina promoted the Chaplet of Divine Mercy which consists of the recitation of prayers to the Eternal Father with the use of the rosary for the sake of Christ’s sorrowful passion.
Divine Mercy 3 O’Clock Prayer St Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938)
You expired, O Jesus,
but the source of life
gushed forth for souls
and an ocean of mercy
opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life,
unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world
and empty Yourself out upon us.
O Blood and Water,
which gushed forth
from the Heart of Jesus
as a fount of mercy for us,
I trust in You.
Amen
Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday *2019
St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716) (Optional Memorial) St Louis’s story: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/28/saint-of-the-day-28-april-st-louis-marie-grignion-de-montfort-1673-1716/
St Peter Chanel SM (1803-1841) Martyred aged 37 (Optional Memorial) Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/28/saint-of-the-day-28-april-st-peter-chanel/
St Adalbero of Augsburg
St Agapio of Cirtha
St Artemius of Sens Bl Itala Mela ObSB (1904–1957)
St Benedict of the Bridge
St Cronan of Roscrea
St Cyril of Turov
Bl Gerard of Bourgogne St Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962)
Bl Józef Cebula
Bl Luchesius
St Pamphilus of Sulmona
St Prudentius of Tarazona
—
St Alexander
St Aphrodisius of Beziers
St Berthold
St Buonadonna
Carino Peter of Balsamo
St Firmiano
St Germaine
St Guido Spada
St Luchtighern of Ennistymon
St Marie Louise Trichet Jesus
St Mark of Galilee
St Peter of Bearn
St Primianus
St Probe
St Tellurium
Thought for the Day – 27 April – Saturday of Easter week
“He is not here, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him” (Mk 16:6)
“There is another important aspect (in the Resurrection), Jesus show Himself in the act of departure.
This is clearest in the event of Emmaus and in His meeting with Mary Magdalen. He summons us to go with Him.
Resurrection is not an indulgence of curiosity – it is MISSION. It’s intention is to transform the world! It calls for an active joy, the joy of those who are themselves going along the path of the Risen One.
That is true today too – He only shows Himself to those who walk with Him. The angel’s first word to the women was “He is not here, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him” (Mk 16:6). So once and for all, we are told where the Risen One is to be found and how we are to meet Him – HE GOES BEFORE YOU. He is present in preceding us. By following Him, we can see Him!”
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)
The Word of the Witnesses – Seek that Which is Above
One Minute Reflection – 27 April – Saturday of Easter week, Gospel: Mark 16:9–15
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation...Mark 16:15
REFLECTION – “Evangelisation takes place in obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20)… The risen Christ sent His followers to preach the Gospel in every time and place, so that faith in Him might spread to every corner of the earth.
The word of God constantly shows us how God challenges those who believe in Him “to go forth”. Abraham received the call to set out for a new land (Gen 12:1-3). Moses heard God’s call: “Go, I send you” (Ex 3:10) and led the people towards the promised land. To Jeremiah God says: “To all whom I send you, you shall go” (Jer 1:7)… All of us are called to take part in this new missionary “going forth”. Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out but all of us are asked to obey His call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the “peripheries” in need of the light of the Gospel.
The Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy. The seventy-two disciples felt it as they returned from their mission (Lk 10:17). Jesus felt it when He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit… This joy is a sign that the Gospel has been proclaimed and is bearing fruit. Yet the drive to go forth and give, to go out from ourselves, to keep pressing forward in our sowing of the good seed, remains ever present. The Lord says: “Let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out” (Mk 1:38)… In fidelity to the example of the Master, it is vitally important, for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all – to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear.”…Pope Francis – Apostolic Exhortation « The Joy of the Gospel / Evangelii Gaudium » §19-23
PRAYER – Lord our God, You increase and multiply Your faithful by Your abundant gift of grace. Look now on Your chosen people and clothe forever in the garment of eternal life, all those who have been reborn in baptism. Grant that the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the saints and angels, may accompany us on our journey. Through our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 26 April – Friday in the Octave of Easter
The Anointing with the Holy Spirit
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Bishop, Father & Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from his Mystagogical Catechesis 3
When we were baptised into Christ and clothed ourselves in Him, we were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God. Having destined us to be His adopted sons, God gave us a likeness to Christ in His glory and living as we do, in communion with Christ, God’s anointed, we ourselves are rightly called “the anointed ones.” When He said: Do not touch my anointed ones, God was speaking of us.
We became “the anointed ones” when we received the sign of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, everything took place in us by means of images, because we ourselves are images of Christ. Christ bathed in the river Jordan, imparting to its waters the fragrance of His divinity and, when He came up from them, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, like resting upon like. So we also, after coming up from the sacred waters of baptism, were anointed with chrism, which signifies the Holy Spirit, by whom Christ was anointed and of whom blessed Isaiah prophesied in the name of the Lord – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor.
Christ’s anointing was not by human hands, nor was it with ordinary oil. On the contrary, having destined Him to be the Saviour of the whole world, the Father Himself anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. The words of Peter bear witness to this – Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit. And David the prophet proclaimed: Your throne, O God, shall endure for ever; your royal sceptre is a sceptre of justice. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above all your fellows.
The oil of gladness with which Christ was anointed was a spiritual oil, it was in fact the Holy Spirit Himself, who is called the oil of gladness, because He is the source of spiritual joy. But we too have been anointed with oil and by this anointing, we have entered into fellowship with Christ and have received a share in His life. Beware of thinking that this holy oil is simply ordinary oil and nothing else. After the invocation of the Spirit it is no longer ordinary oil but the gift of Christ and by the presence of His divinity, it becomes the instrument, through which we receive the Holy Spirit. While symbolically, on our foreheads and senses, our bodies are anointed with this oil that we see, our souls are sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit.
One Minute Reflection – 26 April – Friday of Easter week, Gospel: John 21:1–14 and the Memorial of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus...John 21:4
REFLECTION – “Today’s Gospel, tells us much but let us look at two things:
1. there is no guarantee that, just because a persons has ‘seen’ and ‘heard’ Jesus, he/she will obey His commands or continue His mission. It is possible that, even after such an experience, one will continue in the old ways; and 2. any mission that is undertaken without the help of the Lord, will rarely meet with success as is evident in the disciples’ failure to catch anything, even after all their strenuous efforts.
Sometimes, it is the words of a stranger that result in the transformation of a situation. To hear these words, it is important to be as open and receptive as the disciples were, though they did not know who that stranger was. If the disciples, instead of listening to what the stranger was saying, had acted arrogantly and with pride, they would never have made the miraculous catch and may never have encountered Jesus.”…Fr Errol Fernandes SJ
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, You offer the covenant of reconciliation to mankind in the mystery of Easter. Cleanse our hearts by Your truth and guide our lives by Your holiness, may we do what is right and pleasing to You. Grant that what we celebrate in worship, we may carry out in our lives. May our Holy Mother of Good Counsel, ever keep us in her prayers and care. Through Christ, our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour to You, forever, amen
Our Morning Offering – 26 April – Friday of Easter week
You are the King of All St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Universal Doctor
We pray to You, O Lord,
who are the supreme Truth,
and all truth is from You.
We beseech You, O Lord,
who are the highest Wisdom,
and all the wise depend on You
for their wisdom.
You are the supreme Joy,
and all who are happy owe it to You.
You are the Light of minds,
and all receive their understanding from You.
We love, we love You above all.
We seek You, we follow You,
and we are ready to serve You.
We desire to dwell under Your power
for You are the King of all.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 25 April – Thursday in the Octave of Easter
Congratulations to those who entered the Church through the Sacraments of Initiation, (Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion) at the Easter Vigil. You are now members with us, in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Welcome Home!
Baptism is a symbol of Christ’s passion
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Bishop, Father, Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from his Mystagogical Catechesis 3
You were led down to the font of holy baptism just as Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb which is before your eyes. Each of you was asked, “Do you believe in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?” You made the profession of faith that brings salvation, you were plunged into the water and three times you rose again. This symbolised the three days Christ spent in the tomb.
As our Saviour spent three days and three nights in the depths of the earth, so your first rising from the water represented the first day and your first immersion represented the first night. At night a man cannot see but in the day he walks in the light. So when you were immersed in the water, it was like night for you and you could not see but when you rose again, it was like coming into broad daylight In the same instant, you died and were born again, the saving water was both your tomb and your mother.
Solomon’s phrase in another context is very apposite here. He spoke of a time to give birth and a time to die. For you, however, it was the reverse – a time to die and a time to be born, although, in fact, both events took place at the same time and your birth was simultaneous with your death.
This is something amazing and unheard of! It was not we who actually died, were buried and rose again. We only did these things symbolically but we have been saved in actual fact. It is Christ who was crucified, who was buried and who rose again and all this has been attributed to us. We share in His sufferings symbolically and gain salvation in reality. What boundless love for men! Christ’s undefiled hands were pierced by the nails, He suffered the pain. I experience no pain, no anguish, yet, by the share that I have in His sufferings, He freely grants me salvation.
Let no one imagine that baptism consists only in the forgiveness of sins and in the grace of adoption. Our baptism is not like the baptism of John, which conferred only the forgiveness of sins. We know perfectly well that baptism, besides washing away our sins and bringing us the gift of the Holy Spirit, is a symbol of the sufferings of Christ. This is why Paul exclaims: Do you not know that when we were baptised into Christ Jesus we were, by that very action, sharing in His death? By baptism we went with Him into the tomb.
One Minute Reflection – 25 April – Thursday of Easter week, Gospel: Luke 24:35–48 and the Memorial of St Mark the Evangelist and St Giovanni Battista Piamarta (1841 – 1913)
As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”…Luke 24:36
REFLECTION – “Rebellious people had chased peace from the earth… and thrown the world into its primordial chaos… Among the disciples as well, war was waging, faith and doubt fought furious assaults on one another… Where a storm was raging, their hearts could find no peaceful harbour, no calm port.
At the sight of that Christ who plumbs the hearts, who commands the winds, who is master over tempests and who with a simple sign changes the storm into a serene sky, strengthened them with his peace, saying: “Peace be with you!
It is I, fear not.
It is I, who was crucified, who was dead, who was buried.
It is I, your God become man for you.
It is I. Not a spirit clothed with a body but truth itself become man.
It is I, the living one among the dead, who have come from heaven to the heart of hell.
It is I, before whom death fled, whom hell feared. In its terror, hell proclaimed me to be God. Do not be afraid, Peter, you who denied me, nor you, John, who fled, nor all of you who abandoned me, who thought of nothing but betraying me, who do not yet believe in me, even though you see me.
Do not be afraid, it really is I.
I have called you with grace,
I have chosen you with forgiveness,
I have upheld you with my compassion,
I have carried you in my love and I am taking you today solely because of my kindness.”...St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Lord God, let there be one faith in our hearts, one love for You, one Way in You, for You are the One Truth and the only Way. We linger in Your light and beg Your unending kindness. Grant that by the prayers of Your saints we may obtain Your strength. St Mark, pray for us. St Giovanni Piamarta, pray for us. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 25 April – Thursday of Easter week
Grant us Your Light, O Lord By St Bede (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church (From ‘On the Apocalypse’)
Grant us Your light, O Lord,
so that the darkness of our hearts,
may wholly pass away
and we may come at last,
to the light of Christ.
For Christ is that morning star,
who, when the night of this world has passed,
brings to His saints,
the promised light of life
and opens to them,
everlasting day.
Amen
St Mark the Evangelist (Feast) Also known as John Mark (Born 1st century – martyred 25 April 68 at Alexandria, Egypt) – The Winged Lion (This year, 2019, as St Mark’s Feast falls within the Easter Octave, it is not celebrated in the usual way, as the Easter Solemnity, obviously takes precedence). St Mark – https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/25/saint-of-the-day-25-april-st-mark-the-evangelist/
St Agathopodes of Antioch
Bl Andrés Solá Molist
St Anianus of Alexandria
Bl Antonio Pérez Lários
St Callista of Syracuse
St Clarentius of Vienne
St Ermin of Lobbes
St Evodius of Syracuse
St Franca Visalta St Giovanni Battista Piamarta FN (1841 – 1913)
St Heribaldus of Auxerre
St Hermogenes of Syracuse
Bl José Trinidad Rangel y Montaño
St Kebius
St Macaille
St Macedonius
St Mario Borzaga
St Pasicrate of Mesia
St Paul Thoj Xyooj
Pedro de San Jose Betancur
Phaebadius of Agen
Philo of Antioch
Robert of Syracuse
Bl Robert Anderton
Stefano of Antioch
St Valenzio of Mesia
Bl William Marsden
—
Martyrs of Yeoju – 3 saints: Three Christian laymen martyred together in the apostolic vicariate of Korea. 25 April 1801 in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
They were Beatified15 August 2014 by Pope Francis
• Ioannes Won Gyeong-do
• Marcellinus Choe Chang-ju
• Martinus Yi Jung-bae
Thought for the Day – 24 April – Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
Christ the source of resurrection and life
“This is the Day!”
Ancient Christian Author
Anonymous
An excerpt from an Easter Homily
Saint Paul rejoices in the knowledge that spiritual health has been restored to the human race. Death entered the world through Adam, he explains but life has been given back to the world through Christ. Again he says – The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature, the second man is from heaven and is heavenly. As we have borne the image of the earthly man, the image of human nature grown old in sin, so let us bear the image of the heavenly man, human nature raised up, redeemed, restored and purified in Christ. We must hold fast to the salvation we have received. Christ was the first fruits, says the Apostle, He is the source of resurrection and life. Those who belong to Christ will follow Him. Modelling their lives on His purity, they will be secure in the hope of His resurrection and of enjoying with Him the glory promised in heaven. Our Lord Himself said so in the gospe -: Whoever follows me will not perish but will pass from death to life.
Thus the passion of our Saviour is the salvation of mankind. The reason why He desired to die for us was that He wanted us, who believe in Him, to live forever. In the fullness of time, it was His will to become what we are, so that we might inherit the eternity He promised and live with Him forever.
Here, then, is the grace conferred by these heavenly mysteries, the gift which Easter brings, the most longed for feast of the year, here are the beginnings of creatures newly formed – children born from the life-giving font of holy Church, born anew with the simplicity of little ones and crying out with the evidence of a clean conscience. Chaste fathers and inviolate mothers accompany this new family, countless in number, born to new life through faith. As they emerge from the grace-giving womb of the font, a blaze of candles burns brightly beneath the tree of faith. The Easter festival brings the grace of holiness from heaven to men. Through the repeated celebration of the sacred mysteries they receive the spiritual nourishment of the sacraments. Fostered at the very heart of holy Church, the fellowship of one community, worships the one God, adoring the triple name of His essential holiness and together with the prophet, sings the psalm which belongs to this yearly festival –
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.
And what is this day? It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the author of light, who brings the sunrise and the beginning of life, saying of Himself – I am the light of day, whoever walks in daylight does not stumble. That is to say, whoever follows Christ in all things will come by this path to the throne of eternal light.
Such was the prayer Christ made to the Father while He was still on earth – Father, I desire that where I am, they also may be, those who have come to believe in me and that as you are in me and I in you, so they may abide in us.
One Minute Reflection – 24 April – Wednesday of Easter week, Gospel: Luke 24:13–35 and the Memorial of St Benedict Menni (1841-1914)
“Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them....Luke 24:29
REFLECTION – “When the disciples on the way to Emmaus asked Jesus to stay “with” them, He responded by giving them a much greater gift, through the Sacrament of the Eucharist He found a way to stay “in” them.
Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus. “Abide in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4). This relationship of profound and mutual “abiding” enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth. Is this not the greatest of human yearnings? Is this not what God had in mind when He brought about in history His plan of salvation? God has placed in human hearts a “hunger” for His word (cf. Am 8:11), a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with Him. Eucharistic communion was given, so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfilment in heaven.
This special closeness which comes about in Eucharistic “communion” cannot be adequately understood or fully experienced apart from ecclesial communion… The Church is the Body of Christ – we walk “with Christ” to the extent that we are in relationship “with his body”. Christ provided for the creation and growth of this unity, by the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. And He Himself, constantly builds it up by His Eucharistic presence. It is the one Eucharistic bread which makes us one body. As the Apostle Paul states: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1Cor 10:17)…Saint John Paul II (1920-2005) – Apostolic Letter “ Mane nobiscum Domine ” §19-20
PRAYER – Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, so that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me Lord, for You are my life and without You, I am without fervour.
Stay with me Lord, for You are my light and without you, I am in darkness.
Stay with me Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You…. St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) (Excerpt)
And grant holy Father, that the prayers of St Benedict Menni, may assist us on our way. Through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 24 April – Wednesday of Easter week
An Ancient Easter Prayer Roman Missal, Easter Vigil
O God of unchangeable power and light eternal,
look kindly upon the wonderful mystery of Your Church
and by the tranquil operation of Your perpetual providence,
carry forward, the work of human salvation
and let the whole world feel and see,
that things, which were cast down
are being raised up,
that things which had grown old,
are being made new
and all things are returning to perfection,
through Him, in whom they have their source,
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen
Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – Thought for the day – 23 April – Tuesday of Easter Week
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know, where they have laid him.”…John 20:2
“Church of men, Church of women”
By Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)
In the Gospel, Mary of Magdala, the first person to see the open grave, rouses the two most important disciples – Peter (ecclesial office) and John (ecclesial love).
Both disciples run there “together” yet not together, for, unburdened by the cares borne by Office, Love runs faster. Yet Love yields to Office when it comes to examining the tomb and Peter thus becomes the first to view the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head and establish that no theft had occurred. That is enough to permit Love to enter, who “sees and believes” – not precisely in the Resurrection but in the correctness of all that has happened with Jesus. This is as far as the two symbolic representatives of the Church go – things have happened properly, faith in Jesus is justified, despite all the opaqueness of the situation.
It is the woman for whom this first turns into genuine belief in the Resurrection. She does not “go home” but perseveres at the place where the dead one disappeared, searching for Him.
The empty place becomes luminous, measured off by the two angels at the head and the foot. But this luminous emptiness is not enough for the Church’s love – the forgiven woman here, seems to represent the Woman herself, Mary the Mother, she has to have her one true Love. This she receives in Jesus’ call – “Mary!” With that, everything is more than complete – the sought after corpse is the eternally Living One. But she dare not hold Him, for He is on His way to the Father and earth ought not hold Him back. Instead it must consent. As it was with His Incarnation, so now with His return to the Father.
This Yes, turns into the happiness of the mission to the brethren, giving is more blessed than holding on.
The Church is Woman at her most profound depths, as woman she embraces both ecclesial office and ecclesial love, which belong together. “The woman will encompass the man” (Jer 31:22).
Remember to exchange your Angelus prayer for the Regina Coeli as from Easter Sunday for the next 50 days of Eastertide.
The Regina Cæli or Regina Cœli “Queen of Heaven”, is an ancient Latin Marian Hymn of the Christian Church.
It is one of the four seasonal Marian antiphons of the Blessed Virgin Mary, prescribed to be sung or recited in the Liturgy of the Hours at the conclusion of the last of the hours to be prayed in common that day, typically night prayer (Compline or Vespers). Anyone of these four or of other suitable antiphons may now be sung at any time of the liturgical year. The Regina Coeli is sung or recited in place of the Angelus during the Easter season, from Easter Sunday until Pentecost.
While the authorship of the Regina Caeli is unknown, the hymn has been traced back to the 12th century. It was in Franciscan use, after Compline, in the first half of the following century. According to Catholic tradition, St Gregory the Great (540-604) heard angels chanting the first three lines one Easter morning in Rome, while following barefoot in a great religious procession of the icon of the Virgin painted by St Luke the Evangelist. He was thereupon inspired to add the fourth line.
The Regina Coeli
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia. For He whom thou did merit to bear, alleluia. Has risen, as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, O virgin Mary, alleluia. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the virgin Mary, His mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen
Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – 22 April – Monday of Easter Week
The Easter praise of Christ
Saint Melito of Sardis (Died 180)
Apostolic Father of the Church, Bishop and Martyr
An excerpt from his Easter Homily
We should understand, beloved, that the paschal mystery is at once old and new, transitory and eternal, corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortal. In terms of the Law it is old, in terms of the Word it is new. In its figure it is passing, in its grace it is eternal. It is corruptible in the sacrifice of the lamb, incorruptible in the eternal life of the Lord . It is mortal in his burial in the earth, immortal in his resurrection from the dead.
The Law indeed is old but the Word is new. The type is transitory but grace is eternal. The lamb was corruptible but the Lord is incorruptible. He was slain as a lamb. he rose again as God. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, yet he was not a sheep. He was silent as a lamb, yet he was not a lamb. The type has passed away; the reality has come. The lamb gives place to God, the sheep gives place to a man and the man is Christ, who fills the whole of creation. The sacrifice of the lamb, the celebration of the Passover and the prescriptions of the Law have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Under the old Law and still more under the new dispensation, everything pointed toward Him.
Both the Law and the Word came forth from Zion and Jerusalem but now the Law has given place to the Word, the old to the new. The commandment has become grace, the type a reality. The lamb has become a Son, the sheep a man and man, God.
The Lord, though he was God, became man. He suffered for the sake of those who suffer, He was bound for those in bonds, condemned for the guilty, buried for those who lie in the grave but He rose from the dead and cried aloud: Who will contend with Me? Let him confront Me. I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against Me? I, He said, am the Christ, I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one and taken men up to the heights of heaven – I am the Christ.
Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you. I am your forgiveness. I am the Passover that brings salvation. I am the lamb who was immolated for you. I am your ransom, your life, your resurrection, your light, I am your salvation and your king. I will bring you to the heights of heaven. With my own right hand I will raise you up and I will show you the eternal Father.
One Minute Reflection – 22 April – Monday of Easter Week, Gospel: Matthew 28:8–15
And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!”...Matthew 28:9
REFLECTION –
At dawn you were mourned
By women bearing spices,
Grant that my heart may also shed
Tears of fire for your burning love.
By grace of the angel’s tidings
Shouted from the pinnacle of the rock (Mt 28,2),
Let me hear the last trumpet sound
Proclaiming the resurrection.
With your body born of a Virgin
You were raised from a tomb, virgin and new,
You became for us the first-fruits
And firstborn from the dead
As for me, bound by the Foe
With the evil of bodily sin,
Set me free once more
As you have freed souls in the dwelling of the dead (1Pt 3:19).
You revealed yourself in the garden
To Mary Magdalene,
But have not consented to approach
One who is yet part of a fallen race.
Show yourself also to me on the eighth day,
At the great and final dawn
And graciously grant my unworthy soul
To draw near you at that time.
St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173) Armenian Catholic Patriarch
PRAYER – Lord God, grant that Your people may hold fast in life to the mystery of new birth, which they received in faith. May Your glorified Son, Jesus our Hope, who broke the power of hell, destroying sin and death, stay ever with us in our struggles against temptation and guide our steps along the path that leads to a holy earthly end and to You in everlasting life. Mary, holy Mother, please help your children. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 22 April – Monday of Easter Week
Easter Prayer By St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) One of the original four Doctors of the Latin Church
It is only right,
with all the powers of our heart and mind,
to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Father,
by Your wondrous condescension
of Loving-Kindness toward us, Your servants,
You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus,
You paid the debt of Adam for us,
to the Eternal Father by Your Blood
poured forth in Loving-Kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin
by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death
and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled Heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness
before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins,
restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!
We pray You, Lord, to preserve Your servants
in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with God The Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.
Amen
Christós anésti.
Jesus Christ is risen! He is truly risen!
Alleluia
Amen
“The star of Bethlehem
shines forth in the dark night of sin.
Upon the radiance
that goes forth from the manger,
there falls the shadow of the cross.
In the dark of Good Friday,
the light is extinguished
but it rises more brightly, as the sun of grace.
on the morning of the resurrection.
The road of the incarnate Son of God,
is through the cross and suffering.
to the splendour of the resurrection.
To arrive with the Son of Man,
through suffering and death,
at this splendour of the resurrection,
is the road for each one of us,
for all mankind.”
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
[Edith Stein] (1891-1942)
Day of resurrection, day of our joy !
A homily attributed to Saint John Chrysostom (345-407) – Father & Doctor
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Ps 118:24) Why? Because the sun is no longer darkened and everything is illuminated, the curtain in the Temple is no longer torn, the Church is revealed; we are no longer holding palm branches, we are surrounding the newly baptised.
“This is the day the Lord has made”… This now is the day in the real sense of the word, the triumphant day, the day consecrated to celebrating the resurrection, the day when we adorn ourselves with grace, the day when we share the spiritual Lamb, the day when we give milk to those who have just been born, the day when the plan of Providence for the poor is realised. “Let us rejoice and be glad in this day.”
This is the day when Adam was freed, when Eve was delivered from her pain, when savage death shuddered, when the power of rocks was broken, when the bars of the tomb were torn away…, when the unchangeable laws of the powers of hell were abrogated, when the heavens were opened because Christ, our Master, rose.
This is the day when, for the good of humankind, the green and fertile plant of the resurrection multiplied its offshoots all over the world as in a garden, when the lilies of the newly enlightened opened…, when the crowd of believers rejoices, when the martyrs’ crowns again grow green.
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Thought for the Day – 27 December – the Feast of St John the Apostle and Evangelist “The Disciple whom Jesus Loved” and the 3rd Octave Day – “The Greatest Easter Painting Ever Made”
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him.” Peter then came out, with the other disciple and they went toward the tomb. They both ran but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him and went into the tomb, he saw the linen cloths lying and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in and he saw and believed...John 20:2–8
Tucked away in a central Parisian museum that was once a railway station, there hangs an Easter painting quite unlike any Gospel masterpiece created before or after it. It is not painted by a Rembrandt or a Rubens or the patron saint of artists, Fra Angelico. The painting is the work of a little-known Swiss painter. For those who make a trip to see it, viewing the canvas is a special spiritual experience in their lives.
The work does not even show the risen Jesus. It merely portrays two witnesses, Jesus’ oldest and youngest apostle. The youngest who was the only man brave enough to stay by Jesus’ cross and the only one who did not die a martyr’s death as a result of it. The oldest apostle, who first denied Jesus in fear, yet ultimately chose to be crucified upside down by the Roman authorities, rather than deny Christ’s resurrection.
Anton van Dyck
In “The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection” by Eugène Burnand, John clasps his hand in prayer while Peter holds his hand over his heart. The viewer feels the rush as their hair and cloaks fly back with the wind. They are sprinting towards discovery of the moment that forever altered heaven and earth. As you look at it, engage for a moment in what the Catholic blogger Bill Donaghy calls “the visual equivalent of Lectio Divina.” As Donaghy notes, “This Resurrection scene does not put us before still figures near a stagnant stone, or figures standing with stony faces in a contrived, plastic posture, pointing to an empty tomb. This scene is dynamic; we are in motion.”
During his time, Burnand was fascinated by the possibilities of the emerging art of photography. Ironically, he would later be dismissed in the twentieth century as too “bourgeois” and anti-modernist when in fact he was merging his love of tradition with his interest in new technological ways of capturing the human person. His painting feels cinematic long before cinema existed as a major art form.
Through the movement and immediacy of the scene, the preceding minutes with Mary Magdalene are palpable. In a sense, she is in the painting too. “You can almost hear her voice in the background, can you not, a few minutes earlier, as she burst into their house…” writes the Episcopal Bishop Dorsey McConnell in an Easter sermon meditating on the painting.
Apart from Jesus’ mother, no other three participants capture the closeness of Jesus’ encounter with humankind quite like John, Peter and Mary of Magdala. Their interactions with Christ embody a relationship to God previously unimaginable to mankind. Jesus turning to Peter as they sit by the fire and asking three times, “Do you love me?”, thereby washing away the sin of the three denials past; Christ turning to John in the midst of his suffering and saying, “Behold, your mother,” giving her to the Church entire. And, of course, the beautiful moment about to transpire in which Jesus’ merely says Mary’s name and she recognises Him with a cry of “Rabbouni!” They are the moments which cause one to wonder, how those who truly hate Christianity (not merely disbelief it) can remain so hostile to its narrative beauty.
By Rogier van Weyden (1400-1464)By William Dyce (1806-1864)
Look into Peter’s wide open eyes and John’s intense gaze. Their eyes contain a mix of anxiousness and hope, the way a parent or grandparent’s eyes look at the news of an impending birth. A new life is about to emerge but there is still uncertainty because it is a mystery beyond full human comprehension or control. Peter and John’s faces capture the same sense of anticipation.
Burnand created a sparse, simple painting capturing two of the most important players in the greatest story ever told. Meditate upon their faces, as Burnand intended you to do and through them, discover the empty tomb.
Thought for the Day – 12 May – Saturday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide – Today’s Gospel John 16:23-28.
Saint John-Mary Vianney (1786-1859) Curé of Ars
“Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (Jn 16:23)
Children, your heart is small but prayer expands it and make is capable of loving God. Prayer is a foretaste of heaven, an outflow from paradise. Never does it leave us without sweetness. It is a honey that comes into the soul and sweetens everything. All our troubles melt away before a well-made prayer like snow before the sun. Prayer makes the time pass speedily and with such enjoyment that we don’t notice its length…
You can tell well enough who they are who lose themselves in prayer like a fish in water because they belong entirely to God. There is no division in their hearts. How I love generous souls like those! Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Collette saw our Lord and talked to him as we talk to each other. But as for us, how often do we come to church not knowing what we’ve come for and what we want to ask! And yet, when we visit someone’s house we know perfectly well why we’re going there. There are some people who appear to be saying to the good God: “I’ve just come to say a word or two so that I can be done with you.” How often I have thought that we would obtain everything we want if, when we come to worship our Lord, we were to ask him for it with a truly living faith and pure heart.
Our Morning Offering – 10 May “Mary’s Month” and Thursday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
Easter Act of Consecration Prayers of the Church
Mary,
We sing our Alleluias today, for Jesus is risen.
Our souls proclaim the greatness of God,
Our spirits rejoice in our Risen Saviour.
May your song be sung in our lives
At every moment of this day, so that God’s power,
Which can do far more than we can ask or imagine,
May continue to call life from death
and light from darkness,
Transforming our meager efforts
Into your Son’s victory over death.
Holy Mother of God,
Mary ever Virgin,
intercede for us with the Lord our God.
Amen
AnaStpaul 
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