Quote/s of the Day – 14 April – St Justin Martyr (c100-165)
“The world suffers nothing from Christians
but hates them, because they reject its pleasures.”
“We have strayed from the Immortal’s ways
and worship IDOLS,
with a dull and senseless mind,
the workmanship of our own hands!”
MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2025/04/14/quote-s-of-the-day-14-april-st-justin-martyr-2/
One Minute Reflection – 14 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – St Justin Martyr (c100-165) – 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 1:30; – Luke 12:2-8 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.” – Luke12:7
REFLECTION – “Our beloved Saviour assures us in many places of His Holy Scriptures that He is constantly caring for and keeping watch over us, that He carries and will Himself, always carry us in His breast, His heart, His bowels. Nor is He content to say, just once or twice, that He will carry us in this way but He asserts and reasserts it, as many as five times in the same place.
Furthermore, He assures us that even if a mother were to be found who would go so far as to forget the child she had borne in her womb, yet He will never forget us; He has written us on His Hands so as to have us always under His Eyes; that whoever touches us, touches the Apple of His eye; that we should never be anxious about what we need to live and to clothe ourselves, that He knows well we need these things and takes care of them for us; that He has numbered the hairs on our head and not one of them will perish; that His Father Loves us as He Loves Him and that He Loves us as His Father Loves Him; that He Wills we should be where He is, that is to say that we should be at rest with Him in the breast and heart of His Father.” – St John Eudes (1601-1680) Apostle of the Two Holy Hearts Priest, Preacher, Founder (The Kingdom of Jesus, II, 30).
PRAYER – O God, Who through the preaching of the Cross,which is to them who perish, foolishness, didst wonderfully teach, unto thy blessed Martyr Justin, the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus Our Lord, grant unto us we beseech Thee, at his prayer,s the grace to cast off all false teaching and ever to hold fast to the Faith. Through the same 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).
Our Morning Offering – 14 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament”
Complete Us, O Lord Jesus Christ,
For the Glory of Thy Holy Name.
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Magnificent and Marian
Doctor of the Church
O Lord Jesus Christ,
our Redemption and our Salvation,
we praise Thee and give Thee thanks.
Although we are unworthy of Thy benefits
and cannot offer to Thee,
the devotion Thou deserves,
let Thy loving-kindness complete,
whatever our weakness attempts.
Before Thee, O Lord,
we lay all our desires
and whatever our heart rightly wishes,
it is because of Thy gifts.
Help us to love Thee as Thou commands.
Do not let Thy gifts be unfruitful.
Complete what Thou hast begun,
give what Thou hast made us desire,
convert our lukewarmness
into fervent love of Thee,
for the glory of Thy Holy Name.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 14 April – Saint Lambert (c625-c688), Bishop and Confessor of Lyons. Previously he had been the Abbot at Fontenelle Monastery. Born in France and died there in Lyons. Also known as – Lambertus, Landebert, Landebertus.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Lyons, St Lambert, Bishop and Confessor.”
St Lambert’s life was written by a Monk of Saint-Wandrille’s Monastery at the beginning of the 8th or 9th Centuries, according to different sources.
It is a precious document composed with the assistance of the Abbey’s records, unfortunately, it is incomplete and is interrupted before St Lambert’s promotion to the elevated Ecclesiastical office of the Bishop of Lyons.
Lambert belonged to a wealthy family in Therouanne, Not unlike all young men of his station, he was sent to the King’s Court to complete his education. Instead of choosing a lay career, he entered the Monastery of Fontenelle which had been founded by St Wandrille, who was still in office and governed over St Lambert from 664-668.
Upon the death of St Wandrille in 668, Lambert succeeded him and governed the Abbey for 10 years and five months, until 678. During this period the Abbey experienced a significant increase in assets. King Childeric II donated the properties of Ulmirus and Warinn, in the Arques valley, together with a part of the forest of Gemmeticus. King Theodoric III, also donated a property located in Donzère in Provence where, thanks to the work of the Monks of Fontenelle, a dependent Monastery was founded.
Another Monk of Fontenelle founded the Monastery of Indre on an Island in the Loire, to which the Motherhouse reserved the right to send the Abbot.
In 675, finally, the English Priest Condedus, who had founded a Monastery on an Island in the Seine, annexed it to Fontenelle.
On 1 November 678, Bishop Genesius of Lyons died and St Lambert was called to succeed him, while at Fontenelle he was replaced by Saint Abietta. There is no information about Lambert’s Episcopate; he appears in 683 with his title as a signatory to a document from Aiglibert, Bishop of Le Mans.
St Lambert died not many years thereafter, as his successor, Godinus, was already in office on 30 October 688. His Feast Day is celebrated today on 14 April, a date on which he already appears in several codices of the Martyrology of St Jerome and is recorded in the Roman Martyrology.
Santa Maria de Camarino / Our Lady of Guam, Mariana Islands (1825), Patron of Guam – 14 April:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/14/santa-maria-de-camarino-our-lady-of-guam-mariana-islands-1825-and-memorials-of-the-saints-14-april/
St Justin Martyr (c 100-165) Martyr, Layman, first Christian Philosopher, Apologist, Orator, Teacher, Writer, Missionary
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/06/01/saint-of-the-day-1-june-st-justin/
St Tiburtius of Rome (Died 3rd Century) Martyr, Layman
St Maximus of Rome (Died 3rd Century) Martyr, Layman
St Valerian of Trastevere (c177-c229) Martyr, Layman, brother of St Tiburtiusabove and husband of St Cecilia (Martyrs)
Their Holy Lives and Deaths:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/14/saints-of-the-day-14-april-st-tiburtius-st-valerian-and-st-maximus-died-3rd-century-martyr-layman/
St Abundius the Sacristan (Died c564) Confessor, Layman, Sacristan of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Pope St Gregory I, the Great wrote of his life, which was filled with many graces.
His Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/14/saint-of-the-day-14-april-st-abundius-the-sacristan-died-c564-confessor-sacristan/
St Ardalion the Actor
St Benezet the Bridge Builder (c 1163-1184) Shepherd, Mystic, miracle-worker, Founder of the Fratres Pontifices – the Bridge-Building Brotherhood. His body is incorrupt.
Wonderful St Benezet:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/14/saint-of-the-day-14-april-st-benezet-the-bridge-builder-c-1163-1184/
St Bernard (1046-1117) Monk, Abbot, Founder of the the Tiron Abbey and the Tironensian Order. St Bernard had a deep devotion to the Passion of Christ, teaching and instruction his disciples in the love of the Holy Cross.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “In the Monastery of Tiron near Chartres in France, Saint Bernard, Abbot, who on several occasions gave himself up to a hermit life in the woods and on the Island of Chausey but also dedicated himself to instructing and guiding the disciples, who in great numbers, flocked to him.”
St Bernard’s Life of Grace:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/14/saint-of-the-day-14-april-st-bernard-of-tiron-c-1046-1117/
St Domnina of Terni
St Fronto of Nitria Abbot
Bl Hadewych O.Praem. (c1150-c1200) Nun
St John OSB (Died 1095) the First Bishop of Montenarano, Italy in 1074, Benedictine Monk, Miracle-worker. He was Canonised in 1906 by Pope Pius X.
His Shepherd’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/14/saint-of-the-day-14-april-saint-john-of-montemarano-osb-died-1095/
St Lambert (c625-c688), Bishop and Confessor of Lyons
St Lydwina(1380-1433) Virgin of Schiedam, Mystic, Ascetic, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist and of Penance and Prayer,
Lovely St Lydwina:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/14/saint-of-the-day-14
St Peter Gonzalez OP (1190 – 1246) Castilian Priest and Friar of the Order of Preachers, Confessor. He was Canonised on 13 December 1741 by Pope Benedict XIV.
Holy and Ardent St Peter:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/saint-of-the-day-14-april-blessed-peter-gonzalez-o-p/
St Tassach of Raholp
St Thomaides of Alexandria
Thought for the Day – 13 April – During this Season of Alleluias and Joy, we will consider Fr von Cochem’s Reflections upon our Heavenly Homeland.
Nihil Obstat: Thomas L Kinkead, Censor Liborium
Imprimatur: Michael Augustine — Archbishop of New York (New York 5 Oct 1899)
1.2 Concerning the Size of Heaven:
(a) All we know is that it is immeasurable, inconceivable, incomprehensible!
A learned man, speaking on this subject, says : “If God were to make every grain of sand into a new world, all these innumerable spheres would not fill the immensity of Heaven.”
St Bernard too says, we are warranted in the belief that everyone of the saved will have a place and an inheritance of no narrow limits assigned him in the Celestial Country.
How immeasurably vast in extent must Heaven then be! Well may the Prophet Baruch exclaim: “O Israel, how great is the House of God and how vast is the place of His possession. It is great and hath no end; it is high and immense” (Baruch iii. 24, 25).
We can readily believe this, for we have before our eyes the boundless realms of space. But of the nature of the Infinite realms of Heaven, we know nothing and yet, we can to some extent, picture them in our imagination. It would be against common sense to think that these vast celestial domains are empty and bare, that the great Artificer, to whom the creation of worlds is a very little thing, would leave them unbeautified and unadorned.
If Princes and Lords fill every space and leave no corner in their palaces or their grounds unembellished and unadorned, shall we suppose that the great King of Heaven would permit His Regal Palace, His Celestial Paradise, to be lacking in magnificence and in beauty? What would there be to delight the senses of the Saints, if Heaven were a large empty space? What enjoyment, except the Beatific Vision of God, would there be for them, if they stood all together in a barren plain, like sheep in a penfold? Are we not justified in believing that there are splendid and spacious mansions in Heaven constructed of incorruptible materials?
Nay more, a learned expositor of Holy Scripture considers it probable that by the wondrous skill and wisdom of the great Creator, these fair palaces and dwellings are of varied form and size, some being lower, others higher, some more richly adorned than others. Towering above all and surpassing all in grandeur and magnificence, the Palace of the great King, Jesus Christ stands pre-eminent and next in splendour and dignity ranks the abode of our Sovereign Lady, the Queen of Heaven. Then come the twelve palaces of the Twelve Apostles which are so rich and beautiful that Heaven itself marvels at their magnificence.
Besides these are mansions and dwellings innumerable which render the heavenly Jerusalem indescribably imposing and attractive. These splendid abodes were created when Heaven itself was made and destined to be the dwellings of the redeemed.
The Church teaches us, in the Office for Martyrs that each one of the Elect will have his own place in the Kingdom of Heaven. … “I will give to My Saints an appointed place in the Kingdom of My Father.”
And the Royal Psalmist says: “The Saints shall rejoice in glory; they shall be joyful in their beds” (Ps cxlix. 5).
We have also Christ’s Own Words: “Make unto you friends of the mammon, of iniquity that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings” that is to say, spend what you have over and above on works of charity and benevolence that these may prove as friends to you, who will obtain for you admittance into the eternal and Celestial dwellings (Luke xvi. 9).
Again : “In My Father’s House there are many mansions.”
Hence it may be inferred that each one of the redeemed has his separate abode in Heaven. For as a just and prudent father divides his real and personal property amongst his children, assigning to each one his particular share, so our Heavenly Father apportions to each of His Elect a part of His Celestial Treasures, both visible and invisible, giving to each one more or less, according to the amount he deserves to receive.
Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Wisdom 5:1-5; Luke 14:26-33 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“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.”
“So likewise, everyone of you,
who does not renounce all
that he possesses,
cannot be My disciple.”
“Take nothing for your journey,
neither staff, nor bag,
nor bread, nor money;
neither have two tunics.”
“That is why all the faithful who love God
and their neighbour, truly drink the Cup
of the Lord’s Love, even though,
they may not drink the cup of His Bodily Suffering.
And becoming inebriated from it,
they put to death, whatever in their nature
is rooted in earth.
They clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ
and do not indulge fleshly desires.
They do not fix their gaze on visible things
but contemplate things, which the eye cannot see.
Thus they drink the Lord’s Cup
by preserving the holy bond of love –
without it, even if a man should deliver his body
to be burned, he gains nothing.
But the gift of love enables us to become,
in reality, what we celebrate
as Mystery in the Sacrifice.”
“What is not pleasing to God,
is anxiety and disquiet of mind.
The Lord wants our limitations
and weaknesses, to find their support
in His Strength; He wants us
to hope that His Goodness will complete
and perfect the imperfectness of our means.”
(Letter of 17 November 1555)
One Minute Reflection – 13 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – St Hermenegild (Died 585) Martyr, Confessor – Wisdom 5:1-5; Luke 14:26-33 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“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.” – Luke 14:26
REFLECTION – “On another occasion, the Lord says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children and brothers and sisters and even his own soul, cannot be my disciple.” As a rule, this is more upsetting to the mind of new Christians, who are eager to begin at once, to live in accordance with the precepts of Christ. To those who do not fully grasp its meaning, it would seem contradictory …. He has condescended to call His disciples to the eternal Kingdom. He also called them brothers. In the Kingdom these relationships are transcended because, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, neither slave nor freeman but Christ, is all things and in all.” The Lord says, “For in the resurrection, they will neither be married nor marry but will be as the Angels of God in Heaven.”
Whoever wishes to prepare himself now, for the life of that Kingdom, must not hate people but those earthly relationships, through which the present life is sustained, the temporary life that begins at birth and ends with death. Whoever does not hate this necessity, does not yet love that other life, in which there will be no condition of birth and death, the condition which makes marriages natural on earth.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father, Doctor of Grace (Sermon on the Mount,15).
PRAYER – O God, Who didst teach Thy blessed Martyr Hermenegild to choose a heavenly, rather than an earthly crown, grant, we beseech Thee, that we, like him, may so pass through temporal things that we finally miss not those which are eternal. Through esus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 13 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Wisdom 5:1-5; Luke 14:26-33 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
Suscipe
“Receive”
By St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Receive, O Lord,
all my liberty.
Take my memory, understanding
and entire will.
Whatsoever I have or hold,
Thou hast given it – I give all back to Thee
and commit it wholly to be governed by Thy Will.
Thy Love and Thy Grace give unto me
and I am rich enough
and ask for nothing more!
Amen
Saint of the Day – 13 April – Blessed Edward Catherick (c1605-1642) Priest Martyr. Born around 1605 in York, England and died in York, by being hung, drawn and quartered during the reign of Charles I. Also known as – Edmund.
Edward Catherick was born in 1605 in York. Drawn to the priestly life from a young age, he went to the continent to study and receive Ordination which took place in 1634.
Upon returning to England, he devoted himself fervently to his ministry, preaching the Word of God and administering the Sacraments to persecuted Catholics.
He was arrested in 1641, imprisoned in York along with John Lockwood. Despite the pressure and torture they endured during their imprisonment, both Priests remained steadfast in their faith. Lockwood, although eighty-seven years old and having already escaped capital punishment twice, chose to precede the younger Catherick to the scaffold, to encourage him to pursue his glorious Martyrdom. On 13 April 1642, the two Priests were led to the scaffold and hanged.
In 1929, Edward Catherick and John Lockwood were Beatified by Pope Pius XI. Their Liturgical memory is celebrated today 13 April, the day of their Martyrdom.
Santa Maria dei Voti / Our Lady of Mantua, Italy (1640) – 13 April:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/13/santa-maria-dei-voti-our-lady-of-mantua-1640-and-memorials-of-the-saints-13-april/
St Hermengild (Died 585) Martyr, Confessor, King.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “At Seville in Spain, St Hermenegild, son of Leovigild, Arian King of the Visigoths, who was incarcerated for the confession of the Catholic Faith. By order of his wicked father, he was beheaded because he had refused to receive communion from an Arian Bishop, on the Paschal Solemnity and thus exchanging an earthly for a heavenly Kingdom, he entered the abode of the blessed, both as a King and as a Martyr.”
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/13/saint-of-the-day-13-april-st-hermenegild-died-585-martyr-confessor/
St Pope Martin I (598-655) Martyr, The 74th Bishop of Rome.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/saint-of-the-day-13-april-st-pope-martin-i/
St Agathonica of Pergamus
St Agathodorus of Pergamus
Blessed Albertinus OSB (Died 1294) Monk, Prior General, talented Administrator and Peacemaker, not only in his Monastery at Fonte Avellana but also in the greater world outside it.
About Blessed Albertinus:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/13/saint-of-the-day-13-april-blessed-albertinus-of-fonte-avellana-osb-died-1294/
St Caradoc (Died 1124) Priest, Monk, Hermit, Miracle-worker, Musician.
About St Caradoc:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/13/saint-of-the-day-13-april-saint-caradoc-of-wales-died-1124/
St Carpus of Pergamus
Blessed Edward Catherick (c1605-1642) Priest Martyr
Bl Francis Dickenson
St Guinoc
St Ida (c1040-1113) Widow, Countess, Apostle of charity to the poor and needy, a lady of pious devotion and love for the Church to which she extended donations and assistance wherever needed. She supported and became a friend and correspondent of St Anselm of Canterbury who was deeply involved in the Cluniac reform in France. Born in c1040 in Ardennes, France and died on 13 April 1113 of natural causes. Patronage – of widows.
Devoted St Ida:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/13/saint-of-the-day-13-april-saint-ida-of-boulogne-c1040-1113/
Bl Ida of Louvain
Bl James of Certaldo
Bl John Lockwood
Blessed Margaret OP (1287-1320) Italian professed member of the Third Order of the Order of Preachers of St Dominic in Castello Margaret was disabled and became known for her deep faith and holiness. Her body is incorrupt. Beatified on 19 October 1609 by Pope Paul V (concession of indult for Mass and Office).
About Blessed Margaret:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/saint-of-the-day-13-april-blessed-margaret-of-castello-o-p-1287-1320/
St Martius of Auvergne
Bl Miles Gerard
St Papylus of Pergamus
St Proculus of Terni
St Ursus (Died c425) Bishop of Ravenna, in which Office he remained for 26 years. Born in Sicily in Italy and died in Ravenna, Italy of natural causes on 13 April in around 425. Patronages – of Furriers and Tanners, against kidney diseases, against fainting.
A Shepherd’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2025/04/13/saint-of-the-day-13-april-saint-ursus-died-c425-bishop-of-ravenna/
Martyrs of Dorostorum – 3 Saints: A lector and two students Martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Dadas, Maximus and Quinctillianus. Beheaded c303 in Dorostorum, Lower Mysia (modern Sillistria, Bulgaria.
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Thought for the Day – 12 April – During this Season of Alleluias and Joy, we will consider Fr von Cochem’s Reflections upon our Heavenly Homeland.
Nihil Obstat: Thomas L Kinkead, Censor Liborium
Imprimatur: Michael Augustine — Archbishop of New York (5 Oct 1899)
I.1 On the Nature of Heaven:
WE must not, as some do, picture Heaven to ourselves as a purely spiritual realm. For Heaven is a definite place, where not only God and the Angels are but where Christ is also in His Sacred Humanity and Our Lady with her human body. There too, all the blessed will dwell with their glorified bodies after the Last Judgement.
If Heaven is a definite locality, it must accordingly be a visible, not a spiritual Kingdom; for a place must, in its nature be to some extent conformable to those who abide in it.
Besides, we know that after the Last Judgement the Saints will behold Heaven with their bodily eyes and consequently it must be a visible Kingdom. We are ignorant of what the material structure of Heaven will be composed, we know only that it will be something infinitely superior to and more costly than, the matter of which the other spheres, the sun, the moon and other heavenly bodies, are formed.
For since God has created Heaven for Himself and for His Elect, He has made it so beautiful and so glorious that the blessed will never tire of the contemplation of its splendours for all eternity!
Yet, I repeat, it is not within the power of the writer to describe, nor within that of the reader, to comprehend, of what Heaven is actually composed of. Something may perhaps be learned concerning this from what St Teresa writes. Speaking of herself, she says :
“The Blessed Mother of God gave me a jewel and hung around my neck, a superb golden chain, to which a Cross of priceless value was attached. Both the gold and the precious stones thus given to me, are so unlike those which we have here in this world that no comparison can be instituted between them. They are beautiful beyond anything which can be conceived and the matter whereof they are composed, is beyond our knowledge. For what we call gold and precious stones, beside them appear dark and lustreless as charcoal! ”
From these words we may form some idea of the beauty, the rarity, the costly nature of the stones wherewith the walls of Heaven are built. We gather from them that the Light of Heaven is so dazzling as not only to eclipse the sun and stars but to cause all earthly brightness to appear as darkness. We have besides every reason to believe that in the Light of Heaven, all the colours of the rainbow are seen to flash, giving an indescribable charm to the eyes of the blessed. Moreover, the bodies of the redeemed are resplendent with light and the more Saintly their life on earth has been, the more brilliantly do they shine in Heaven.
What must be the glory of that celestial firmament, glittering with the radiance of many thousand stars! Nothing is more pleasing to the eye than light ; how brilliant, how beautiful must the light of Heaven be since, compared with it, the sun s bright rays are but darkness.
How the redeemed must delight in the contemplation of this clear and dazzling brightness!
O my God, grant me grace that on earth I may love the Light and eschew the works of darkness, in order that I may attain to the contemplation of the Eternal and Perpetual Light! Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 12 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Low Sunday, The Octave Day of Easter – 1 John 5:4-10, John 20. 19-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“ Blessed are they who have not seen
and have believed.”
“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!”
“I shall reflect the image of God
in that I feed on love;
grow certain on faith and hope;
strengthen myself, on the virtue of patience;
grow tranquil by humility;
grow beautiful by chastity;
am sober by abstention;
am made happy by tranquillity
and am ready for death,
by practising hospitality.”
“True piety admits no other rule than that,
whatsoever things have been faithfully received
from our fathers, the same are to be
faithfully consigned to our children
and that, it is our duty,
not to lead religion whither we would
but rather, to follow religion whither it leads
and that, it is the part of Christian modesty
and gravity, not to hand down our own beliefs
or observances to those who come after us
but, to preserve and keep what we have received,
from those who went before us.”
“We should also have great confidence
in the continual assistance which God offers us
in the temptations, troubles and trials of life.
When pain torments us,
when humiliations are difficult to bear,
when all is dark. we fear each moment
and we feel abandoned, let us trust in Him,
Who is the Way, the Truth and Life.
He says to us, as He said to Peter floundering in the waves:
“O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?” (Mt 14:31).
He is always ready to console and comfort.
He is always there waiting for our call.
We are not alone!”
One Minute Reflection – 12 April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – Low Sunday, The Octave Day of Easter – 1 John 5:4-10, John 20. 19-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“We have seen the Lord.” – John 20:25
REFLECTION – “While hiding in a house, the Apostles see Christ; He entered, all the doors being shut. But Thomas, who was absent at that time… shuts his ears and wants to open his eyes … He bursts out with his incredulity, hoping, in this way, his desire will be answered. “My doubts are not going to disappear until I see Him,” he says. “I shall put my finger in the marks of the nails and embrace this Lord of mine Whom I long for so much. Let Him reproach my lack of faith but let Him satisfy me with sight of Him. For now, I am unbelieving but, when I see Him, I shall believe. I shall believe when I clasp Him in my arms and gaze on Him. I wish to see the holes in those Hands which have healed the hands of Adam’s wrongdoing. I wish to see the Side which cast out death from mankind’s side. I wish, be my own witness, to see the Lord and another’s testimony is not enough for me. Your tales aggravate my impatience. The joyful news you bring does nothing but stir up my turmoil. I shall not be cured of this sickness, unless I touch its medicine with my own hands.”
The Lord appeared again and dispelled both the sadness and the doubt of His disciple. What am I saying? He did not dispel his doubts, He fulfilled his expectation! He entered, all the doors being shut!” – Basil of Seleucia (Died c468) Archbishop (Sermon for the Resurrection).
PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who have celebrated the Paschal Feast, may, by Thy bounty, retain its fruits in our daily habits and behaviour. 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).
Our Morning Offering – 12 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – The Octave Day of Easter or Low Sunday
“Victimae Paschali Laudes”
The Easter Sequence
By Father Wipo of Burgundy (c995– c1050) (Attrib)
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Offer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems,
Christ, Who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous.
The Prince of Life, Who died,
reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, Who is living,
the glory of Jesus’ Resurrection”
“Bright Angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting. ”
“Yes, Christ my Hope is arisen;
To Galilee He goes before you. ”
Christ indeed
from death is risen,
our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, Victor King,
ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia!
Before the Gospel is proclaimed, the ancient Sequence “Victimae Paschali Laudes” of Easter Sunday is read or sung.
The Sequence (Sequentia) is the Liturgical Hymn of the Mass which occurs on four Feasts:– Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi and Our Lady of Sorrows.
This sequence, “Victimae Paschali Laudes” is attributed to Wipo of Burgundy (c995– c1050) who was a Priest, Poet and Historian, the Chaplain of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II during the 11th Century and possibly the Tutor of his son Emperor Henry III.
Saint of the Day – 12 April – Saint Vissia (Died c250) Virgin Martyr of Fermo, Ascoli, Piaceno, Italy. Born on an unknown date in Fermo and died there during the persecution of Emperior Decius in around 250.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Fermo in the Marches, St Vissia, Virgin and Martyr.”
The life of our Saint Vissia is shrouded in mystery. The Roman Martyrology attests to her veneration, as explained below but is silent on biographical details .
Saint Vissia, who ennobled her hometown by her Martyrdom, her name being part of a list of Saints vnerated in Fermo, was on 5 August 1581 sent by a local Prelate to an Oratorian Priest and friend of Cesare Baronio, who, as is well known, compiled the first ‘Roman Martyrology’ and included the holy virgins and Martyr on 12 April.
The presence of the skulls of 2 Virgin Martyrs of Fermo in separate Reliquaries in Fermo Cathedral, suggests a possible contemporary Martyrdom, perhaps by beheading, during the 7th persecution under Emperor Decius (249-251).
Local tradition places their sacrifice around 250, while an inscription in the Cathedral celebrates Vissia as the glory of her native City. The uncertainty regarding the dates and circumstances of her Martyrdom does not obscure the popular devotion paid to her and her fellow Virgin and Martyr, St Sophia.
The Octave Day of Easter or Low Sunday
Quasimodo Sunday or Dominica In Albis
“At the end of the Octave, in the ancient Roman Church, the Newly-Baptised would remove their white Baptismal gowns which would be deposited at the Cathedral. Thus, the Saturday of the Octave is called “in albis” and the Sunday, which is technically outside the Octave and the beginning of the Easter season, is “in albis depositis.” Hitherto they were known as the “infantes… infants” in the Faith. In fact, the first Chant of Sunday’s Mass, in Introit, is from 1 Peter 2:2-3 in the Vetus Latina version which pre-dates the Vulgate of St Jerome. In the translation I’ll include the verse immediately before, because it is relevant to our work today:
Quasimodo Geniti I nfantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite ut in eo crescatis in salutem si gustastis quoniam dulcis Dominus. … [So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander.] Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk so that by it, you may grow up to salvation; for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
Nuestra Senora de la Caridad / Our Lady of Charity, Cobre, Cuba OR Our Lady of Cobre – 12 Apri;:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/12/our-lady-of-charity-cobre-cuba-and-memorials-of-the-saints-12-april/
St Acutina
St Ailell of Cologne (Died 1040) Priest, Abbot of Great Saint Martin’s Monastery and of St Pantaleon’s in Cologne, Missionary, a strict disciplinarian and a talented and skilled leader, running two separate Monasteries for years. He was also a skilled Musician and is held to be the first to introduce Roman chant to Cologne.
Talented St Ailell:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/12/saint-of-the-day-12-april-saint-ailell-of-cologne-died-1040-priest-abbot/
St Alferius Pappacarbone of La Cava (930–1050) Priest, Founder and Abbot of Arsicia (La Trinità della Cava) which follows the Benedictine Rule, nobleman, Diplomat to Prince Waimar III of Salerno, Cluniac reformer, cave Hermit, Mystic and Ecstatic, Miracle-worker.
The Roman Martyrology states: “In the Monastery of Cava de ‘Tirreni in Campania, Saint Alferius, Founder and first Abbot, who, after having been adviser to Guaimario, Duke of Salerno, who became a disciple of Saint Odilone in Cluny, learned, in an excellent way, the discipline of monastic life.”
The Renowned La Cava Saint:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/12/saint-of-the-day-12-april-saint-alferius-of-la-cava-930-1050/
Blessed Andrew of Montereale OSA (c1479-1764) Priest and Friar of the Order oif the Hermits of St Augustine, renowned Scholar, Preacher, Teacher, Reformer. Confessor and Spiritual Director to the Royal Court of France, Miracle-worker. His life was devoted to teaching, preaching and leading the Augustinians from several positions of leadership. He was hailed, even during his lifetime, as a pious Miracle worker.
Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso OFM (1411-1495) Religious Priest of the Friars’ Minor, Theologian, Teacher, Writer.
Blessed Angelo’s Zealous Life:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/12/saint-of-the-day-12-apil-blessed-angelo-carletti-di-chivasso/
St Artemón of Caesarea
St Basil of Parion
St Constantine of Gap (Died 529) Bishop and Confessor
St Damian of Pavia (Died c710) Bishop and Confessor, Defender of the Faith against heretics, Apostle of the poor and needy, In 679, Damian wrote a letter to Emperor Constantine IV on behalf of St Mansuetus, the Archbishop of Milan, against the heresy of Monothelitism. This letter, in a Latin edition, is the only extant writing from the hand of St Damian (sometimes attributed to St Mansuetus on whose behalf Damian was writing).
His Fervent Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2025/04/12/saint-of-the-day-12-april-st-damian-of-pavia-died-c710-bishop-and-confessor/
St Erkemboden of Thérouanne
St Florentin of Arles
St Pope Julius I (Died 337) Reign from 6 February 337 until his death on 12 April 352. He fought against the Arian Heresy and it is also believed that he is the Pope who set 25 December as the date of the Birth of Jesus.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “At Rome, the birthday of Pope St Julius, who vigorously combated for the Catholic Faith against the Arians. After a life of brilliant deeds and great sanctity, he rested in peace.”
His Zealous Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/12/saint-of-the-day-12-april-saint-pope-julius-i-died-337/
St Lorenzo of Belem
St Peter of Montepiano
St Sabas the Lector
St Tetricus of Auxerre
St Vissia (Died c250) Virgin Martyr of Fermo
St Wigbert
St Zeno of Verona (c300 – 371) Bishop of Verona, Monk, Confessor, Reformer, believed to be a Martyr the persecutions of Constantius II and Julian the Apostate.
About St Zeno:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/saint-of-the-day-12-april-st-zeno-of-verona-c-300-371/
“I am the Resurrection and the Life,
he who believes in Me,
although he be dead, shall live.”
John 11:25
Thank you for accompanying St Thomas Aquinas, on our Lenten journey.
I hope he inspired and educated you, as much as he did me, in a greater love and understanding of the Sacred Passion of Our Lord.
Today we rejoice and continue with joy singing in our hearts throughout Eastertide.
I am taking a few days rest but by the Grace of God, will be back by the end of the week. As we are moving house and Towns in May I will be absent then, for at least 2 weeks.
In the meantime, I will continue to offer my humbler prayers for you all. A special word of gratitude to the generous and loving benefactors who keep Breathing Catholic going!
Holy Saturday – 4 April – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
From the descent of Christ to hell, we may learn, 4 lessons for our instruction:
Those, who in their meditations, often descend to hell during life, will not easily succomb at death.
Such meditations are a powerful arm against sin and a useful aid to protect a man and convert him from sin.
Daily we see men kept from evildoing by the fear of the law’s punishments.
How much greater care should they not take, on account of the punishment of hell, greater in its duration, in its bitterness and in its variety.
“Remember thy last end and thou shalt never sin” (Ecclus vii. 40).
We assist the souls in Purgatory, chiefly by these three means, by Holy Masses, by prayers and by almsgiving.
Is it not wonderful that we can do so, in this world – a friend can make satisfaction for a friend.
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274)
Priest, Theologian, Dominican
Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor)
Doctor Communis (Common Doctor)
Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Quote/s of the Day – 4 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament – Holy Saturday – The Lord’s Vigil Mass of Easter – Matthew 28:1-7 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Today a great silence reigns on earth,
a great silence and a great stillness.
A great stillness because the King is asleep.
The earth trembled and is still
because God has fallen asleep in the flesh
and has raised up all who have slept,
since the world began…
I order you, O sleeper, to awake.
I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.
Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead.”
“It was very necessary that Christ
should rise during the night because,
His Resurrection has enlightened our darkness! …
Just as our faith,
strengthened by Christ’s Resurrection,
dispels all sleep, so this night,
lightened by our vigils, is filled with brightness.
He, Who has given us the glory of His Name (Ps 28:2)
has also illumined this night.
He to Whom we say “Thou lighten my darkness”
(Ps 18:28) sheds His brightness in our hearts.
Just as our dazzled eyes behold
these shining torches, so our enlightened spirits
enable us to see how luminous is this night,
this holy night in which our Lord
initiated, in His own flesh,
the Life which knows neither sleep nor death!”
“…He Slept,
so that We might be
Awakened,
He Died,
so that We might Live.”
One Minute Reflection – 4 April – Holy Saturday – The Lord’s Vigil Mass of Easter, Blessing of the Fire, Prophecies, Blessing of the Font, First Mass of Easter – Matthew 28:1-7 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And the Angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you, for I know that you seek Jesus Who was Crucified, He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.” – Matthew 28:5-6
REFLECTION – “When the third day dawned of the Lord’s Sacred repose in the tomb … Christ, the “power and Wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24), with the author of death lying prostrate, conquered even death itself and opened to us access to eternity, when He raised Himself from the dead by His Divine Power in order to make known to us the paths of Life.
Then there was a great earthquake, for an Angel of the Lord came down from Heaven, with raiment like snow and his countenance like lightening. He appeared attractive to the devout and severe to the wicked – for he terrified the soldiers and comforted the timid women, to whom the Lord Himself first appeared after rising because, their intense devotion, so merited. Then He was seen by Peter, then by the disciples going to Emmaus, then by all the Apostles except Thomas. Later He presented Himself to be touched by Thomas, who proclaimed his faith: “My Lord and my God.” And thus, during forty days, He appeared in many ways to His disciples, both eating and drinking with them.
He enlightened our faith with proofs and lifted up our hope with promises, so as finally, to enkindle our love with gifts from Heaven!” … St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – O God, Who dost illuminate this most holy night by the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, preserve in the new children of Thy family, the spirit of adoption which Thou hast given, that renewed in body and mind, they may render to Thee a pure service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 4 April – Holy Saturday
O Come And Mourn With Me Awhile
By Fr Frederick William Faber CO (1814-1863)
(This is the full, original text from an 1852 edition
of Fr Faber’s H ymnal “Jesus and Mary”)
O come and mourn with me awhile,
O come ye to the Saviour’s side,
O come, together let us mourn,
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
Have we no tears to shed for Him,
While soldiers scoff and foes deride?
Ah! Look how patiently He hangs,
Jesus, our Lord, is Crucified!
How fast His Hands and Feet are nailed,
His blessed Tongue with thirst is tied,
His failing Eyes are blind with blood,
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
His Mother cannot reach His Face;
She stands in helplessness beside.
Her heart is Martyred with her Son’s;
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
Seven times He spoke, seven words of love
And all three hours His silence cried
For mercy, on the souls of men.
Jesus, our Lord, is Crucified!
What was Thy crime, my dearest Lord?
By earth, by heaven, Thou hast been tried,
And guilty found of too much love.
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
Found guilty of excess of love,
It was Thine own sweet Will that tied
Thee tighter far than helpless nails;
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
Death came and Jesus meekly bowed;
His failing Eyes He strove to guide
With mindful love to Mary’s face;
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
O break, O break, hard heart of mine!
Thy weak self-love and guilty pride,
His Pilate and His Judas were!
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
Come, take thy stand beneath the Cross,
And let the Blood from out that Side
Fall gently on thee, drop by drop;
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
A broken heart, a fount of tears,
Ask and they will not be denied.
A broken heart, love’s cradle is,
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified!
O Love of God! O sin of man!
In this dread act, your strength is tried
And victory remains with love,
Jesus, our Lord, is Crucified!
Saint of the Day – 4 April – St Hildebert (Died c752) Abbot and Martyr of the Monastery of St Peter in Ghent, modern Belgium, Martyred for his uncompromising defence of Sacred Images. Also known as – Emebert.
St Hildebert dedicated his life to the service of God. He embraced the monastic life and joined Monks at the Monastery of St Peter in Ghen. Below is a beautiful example of Sacred Images the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck (1432). The Adoration of the Lamb at the end of the post is the lower section of the Altarpiece.
He was elected as the Abbot and unfailingly went to the defence of Sacred Images which had become a contentious issue. St Hildebert unwavering defence eventually led to his Martyrdom.
His death is not well documented but it is believed that he was killed due to the opposition he faced gy those destroying Sacred Images.
To this day, St Hildebert of Ghent is remembered and venerated, most particularly in Ghent.
HOLY SATURDAY– The LORD’s VIGIL MASS of Easter, Blessing of the Fire, Prophecies, Blessing of the Font, First Mass of Easter
First Saturday
Notre-Dame de Grace, Honfleur, Normandie / Our Lady of Grace, Normandy, France – 4 April:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/04/easter-sunday-2021-the-resurrection-of-the-lord-solemnity-of-solemnities-our-lady-of-grace-normandy-and-memorials-of-the-saints/
St Isidore of Seville (c560-636) Bishop, Confessor, Father & Doctor of the Church, Writer, Teacher, Reformer and Evangelist. Sometimes called – “The Last Scholar of the Ancient World.”
Brilliant St Isidore’s life:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-st-isidore-of-seville-father-and-doctor-of-the-church/
St Benedict of Palermo OFM (1526-1589) Friar Minor of the Observance, Confessor.
Celebrated yesterday 3 April and today on some calendars.
About St Benedict:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-st-benedict-of-sicily-o-f-m-1526-1589/
St Aleth (1064-1106) Laywoman, Mother of 7, 4 of whom are Saints including the Doctor of Light, St Bernard (of Clairvaux), The other 3 Saints are St Humbeline of Jully (c1091-c1136) a Benedictine Nun, St Gerard of Clairvaux (Died 1138) Bernard older brother, Blessed Nivard of Clairvaux (c1100-c1150) Bernard’s youngest brother.
Lovely St Aleth:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-saint-aleth-of-dijon-1064-1106-laywoman/
St Guerir (8th Century) Monk and Hermit in Liskeard, Cornwall, England, known for his ascetic life of prayer and mortifications. His sanctity drew great admiration. Upon his death, the King of England, St Alfred the Great, when visiting his grave was miraculously cured of a serious illness.
His Life of Fervent Prayer:
https://anastpaul.com/2025/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-saint-guerir-8th-century-hermit/
St Henry of Gheest
St Hildebert (Died c752) Abbot and Martyr of Ghent
St Peter of Poitiers (c1130-1215) Bishop
St Plato (c734-813) Monk, Confessor, Defender of sacred images and of the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders.
St Plato’s Courageous Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-saint-plato-c-734-813/
St Theodulus of Thessalonica
St Theonas of Egypt
St Tigernach of Clogher
St Zosimus (Died c560) Priest, Monk, Hermit.
As already reported in the legendary life of St Mary of Egypt, St Zosimus, a Monk and Hermit, is the one who discovers St Mary in the desert and gave her Holy Communion shortly before her death.
The Roman Martyrology reports: “In Palestine, the Anchorite, St Zosimus, who buried the remains of St Mary of Egypt.”
His Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-st-zosimus-of-palestine-c-460-c-560-priest-hermit/
Martyred in Cairo
François de la Terre de Labour
Nicolas of Montecorpino
Martyrs of Thessalonica – 14 Saints: Fourteen Christians who were Martyred together, date unknown. No other information, except the names of 12 of them, has survived – Ingenuus, Julianus, Julius, Matutinus, Orbanus, Palatinus, Paulus, Publius, Quinilianus, Saturninus, Successus, Victor and two whose names have not come down to us.
Agathopus the Deacon, Theodulus the Lector.
Good Friday – 3 April – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church The Death of Christ
The Expediency of the Death of Christ:
As to the increase of hope, St Paul writes, “He Who spared not even His Own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how hath He not also, with Him, given us all things?“ (Rom viii. 32).
God cannot deny us this, for to give us all things is less than to give His Own Son to Death for us.
St Bernard says, “Who is not carried away to hope and confidence in prayer, when he looks upon the Crucifix and sees how Our Lord hangs there, His Head bent as though to kiss, His Arms outstretched in an embrace, His Hands pierced to give, His Side opened to love, His Feet nailed to remain with us.”
“Come, my dove, in the clefts of the rock” (Cant ii. 14). It is in the Wounds of Christ where the Church builds its nest and waits, for it is in the Passion of Our Lord she places her hope of Salvation and thereby trusts to be protected from the craft of the falcon, that is, of the devil.
With regard to the increase of charity, Holy Scripture says, “At noon he burneth the earth” (Ecclus xliii. 3), that is to say, in the fervour of His Passion, He burns up all mankind with His Love.
So St Bernard says, “The chalice Thou didst drink, O good Jesus, maketh Thee lovable above all things.”
The Work of our Redemption easily, brushing aside all hindrances, calls out in return the whole of our love. This it is which more gently draws our devotion, builds it more straightly, guards it more closely and fires it with greater ardour.
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274)
Priest, Theologian, Dominican
Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor)
Doctor Communis (Common Doctor)
Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Quote of the Day – 3 April – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
“Look on thy God, Christ hidden in our flesh.
A bitter word, the Cross and bitter sight –
Hard rind without, to hold the Heart of Heaven.
Yet, sweet it is, for God upon that tree
Did offer up His Life upon that rood –
My Life hung, that my Life might stand in God.
Christ, what am I to give Thee for my life?
Unless, take from Thy Hands, the cup they hold,
To cleanse me with the precious draught of death.
What shall I do? My body to be burned?
Make myself vile? The debt is not paid out yet.
Whate’er I do, it is but I and Thou,
And still do I come short, still must Thou pay
My debts, O Christ, for debts Thyself had’st none.
What love may balance Thine? My Lord was found
In fashion like a slave that so His slave
Might find himself in fashion like his Lord.
Think you the bargain’s hard, to have exchanged
The transient for the eternal, to have sold,
Earth to buy Heaven? More dearly God bought me!”
One Minute Reflection – 3 April – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John 18:1-40.19:1-42 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“There they Crucified Him and with Him two others, one on either side and Jesus between them. ” – John 19:18
REFLECTION – “Truly, you are a hidden God!” (Is 45:15). Why hidden? Because He had neither form nor beauty, yet Power was in His Hands. It was there His fortitude was hidden.
Was He not hidden when He submitted His Hands to brutes and His Palms received the nails? The print of the nails gleamed on His Hands and His innocent Side received the Wound. They shackled His Feet in fetters, the iron pierced His soles and His Feet were fastened to the tree. These wounds did God suffer on our behalf, at the hands of His own people, in His own home. O how marvellous are His Wounds by which the wounds of the world were healed! How victorious His Wounds, by which He slew death and stung hell! … Therefore, O Church, O dove, You have coverts in the rock and a hollow in the wall in which to rest (cf. Sg 2:14). …
And what will you do … when He comes in the clouds with great power and majesty? (cf Mt 24:30) He will come down with Heaven and earth ablaze and by the terror of His coming, He will dissolve the elements. When He has come, the Sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky and the beloved One will show the scars of His Wounds and the prints of the nails, by which He was transfixed in His own home!” … St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159) – Cistercian Monk, Bishop
PRAYER – Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present and to come and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin and secure from all disturbance. 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.
Faithful Cross! above all other, One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thy peer may be.
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee. (Antiphons).
Our Morning Offering – 3 April – Good Friday
A Prayer of the Passion
By St Melito of Sardis (Died 180)
Bishop of Sardis, Apologist, Father
Lord Jesus Christ,
Thou were bound as a ram,
Thou were shorn like a lamb,
Thou were led to the slaughter like a sheep,
Thou bore the wood of the Cross on Thy shoulders,
Thou were led up the hill of Calvary,
Thou were displayed naked on the Cross,
Thou were nailed to the bitter Cross by three spikes,
Thou delivered Thy last Seven Words from the Cross
Thou died on the Cross, with a shout of victory,
Thou were buried in noble Joseph’s rock-hewn tomb,
By Thy boundless suffering on our behalf,
fix our eyes unceasingly on Thy broken Body
and the Blood which poured
from Thine Hands, Feet and Side.
By the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
which each day renews Thy Sacrifice
of the Cross on our Altars,
apply the merits of the Cross to all humanity
and, especially to those, who worship it daily
and who offer themselves back to Thee,
our great High Priest
and perpetual Intercessor,
before the Eternal Throne of God.
Thou livest and reigns,
throughout all the ages of ages.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 3 April – Saint Vulpian (Died c306) Martyr of Tyre, Phoenicia, Syria. Born and Martyred as a teenager in Syria. Also known as – Ulfianus, Ulpian, Ulpiano, Ulpianus, Vulpianus.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Tyre, the Martyr, St Vulpian, who was sewn in a sack with a serpent and a dog and drowned in the sea during the persecutions of Maximian Galerius.”
The Martyrdom of St Vulpian of Tyre, who lived during the persecution of Maximinu, has come down to us through the Roman Martyrology which celebrates his memory today.
His life and death, although brief and tragic, offers food for thought on the unwavering faith of a young Christian in the face of such violent adversity.
Unfortunately, information on St Vulpian is scant. We know only that he was a teenager from Tyre, a City in Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon), who lived in the early 4th Century. His Martyrdom occurred during the period of Christian persecution under Emperor Maximinus (305-313), known for his ferocity against the Church.
Vulpian, still a young man, was arrested for his faith in Christ. The authorities attempted to make him recant but he remained steadfast in his great love for Christ and His Church. Faced with his steadfast resistance, his persecutors devised a particularly cruel Martyrdom by sewing him into a sack with a dog and a snake and then throwing him into the sea.
GOOD FRIDAY – FAST and ABSTINENCE
The Office of Tenebrae
The public singing of part of the Divine Office, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings in Holy Week, anticipating Matins and Lauds of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
This custom goes back centuries and acquired the name because of the mourning ritual surrounding the ceremony which includes a triangular candlabra bearing fifteen candles. These are extinguishedt one by one until, after the last candle is extinguished, a prayer is said in darkness, one candle is lit and the assembly dispersed in silence.
St Attala of Taormina
St Benedict of Palermo OFM (1526-1589) Lay Friar of the Order of Friars Minor of the Observance, Confessor, spiritual counsellor, Apostle of the poor and needy, graced with the gift of healing the sick.
St Benedict’s gifts for prayer, his love for the Blessed Virgin and the Infant Jesus and the wisdom displayed in his guidance of souls, earned him, a reputation for holiness, throughout Sicily. Following the example of St Francis, Benedict kept seven 40-day fasts throughout the year. He also slept only a few hours each night.
His body is incorrupt.
Kind and Holy Benedict:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-st-benedict-of-palermo-ofm-1526-1589-lay-friar/
St Burgundofara / more commonly known as Fara (c595-c 643) Virgin, Nun, Abbess, Founder of the famous Evoriacum Monastery, near Paris which after her death was renamed in her honour, Faremoutiers Abbey (Fara’s Monastery). She is celebrated on 7 December in France.
Her Pious and Zealous Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/12/07/saint-of-the-day-7-december-st-burgundofara-c-595-c-643-virgin/
St Chrestus
St Comman
St Evagrius of Tomi
Blessed Gandulphus OFM (c1200-1260) Priest, Friar of the First Order of St Francis. He was a renowned Preacher mainly in Sicily, Hermit, Miracle-worker . He was one of those who entered the Order while the Seraphic Father was still alive and the life he led was one of great self-abnegation. He was Beatified on 10 March 1881 by Pope Leo XIII.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-blessed-gandulphus-of-binasco-ofm-c-1200-1260/
Blessed John of Penna OFM (c1193-1271) Priest, Friar of the First Order of St Francis and became a Franciscan during St Francis’ lifetime. Founder of the Order in France, Mystic and gifted with the charism of prophecy. He was Beatified on 20 December 1806 by Pope Pius VII.
His Ardent Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-blessed-john-of-penna-ofm-c-1193-1271/
St Liutberga (Died c870) Virgin, Recluse.
Her Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2025/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-saint-liutberga-died-c870-virgin/
St Nicetas (c760-824) Abbot of Medicion Abbey in Bithynia (in modern Turkey).
The Roman Martyrology reads: “In the Monastery of Medicion, in the East, the Abbot, St Nicetas, who suffered much for the worship of holy images, in the time of Leo the Armenian.”
Courageous St Nicetas:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-saint-nicetas-of-medicion-c760-824-abbot/
St Papo
St Richard (1197-1253) Bishop of Chichester , Teacher, Reformer, Apostle of charity, Writer, Miracle Worker.
Great St Richard:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-st-richard-of-chichester-1197-1253/`
St Urbicius of Clermont
St Vulpian (Died c306) Martyr of Tyre, Syria
Martyrs of Greece – 4 Saints: A group of young Christian men who protested to City authorities that gifts to temples of pagan gods should be used to feed the poor during a regional famine. When the officials refused, the group went to local temples, broke up the idols and fixtures and gave the gold and silver bits to the poor to use to buy food. The group was imprisoned and executed. The only other thing we know about these Martyrs are the names – Bythonius, Elpideforus, Dius and Galycus. They Died in the 3rd Century at an unknown location in Greece.
Martyrs of Tomi (Romania) – 9 Saints who were Martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names – Arestus, Benignus, Chrestus, Evagrius, Papo, Patricius, Rufus, Sinnidia and Zosimus. They Died at Tomi, Scythia (modern Constanta, Romania).
AnaStpaul 
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