Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 04-26-12

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 04-26-12 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

April 26, 2012

 

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

 

Reading 1 Acts 8:26-40

The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
"Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route."
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
"Go and join up with that chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
He replied,
"How can I, unless someone instructs me?"
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:

Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.

Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
"I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?"
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?"
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 6:44-51

Jesus said to the crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world."

[markomalley]

Vespers

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the victor’s triumph won:
O let the song of praise be sung.
Alleluia!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
On the third morn he rose again,
Glorious in majesty to reign:
O let us swell the joyful strain:
Alleluia!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
O risen Lord, all praise to thee,
Who from our sins has set us free,
That we may live eternally:
Alleluia!

Tune: Victory 888 with alleluias
Music: G.P. da Palestrina, 1588 adapted with alleluias by W.H. Monk, 1861
Text: Cologne, 1695
Translation: Francis Pott, 1861, alt.

Or:

Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands
For our offenses given:
But now at God’s right hand he stands
And brings us life from heaven;
Therefore let us joyful be,
And praise the Father thankfully
With songs of Alleluia.
Alleluia.

How long and bitter was the strife
When life and death contended,
The victory remained with life,
The reign of death was ended:
Stripped of power, no more it reigns,
And empty form alone remains.
Death’s sting is lost for ever.
Alleluia.

So let us keep this festival
To which Our Lord invites us,
The Savior who is joy of all,
The Sun that warms and lights us:
By his grace he shall impart
Eternal sunshine to the heart;
The night of sin has ended.
Alleluia.

Tune: Christ lag in Todesbanden
87.87.787 with alleluia
Music: Walther’s Gesangbuchlein, 1524
Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546, based on Victimae Paschali laudes
Translation: Richard Massie, 1800-1887, adapted by Anthony G. Petti

Or:

Ad cenam Agni providi,
stolis salutis candidi,
post transitum maris Rubri
Christo canamus principi.

Cuius corpus sanctissimum
in ara crucis torridum,
sed et cruorem roseum
gustando, Deo vivimus.

Protecti paschae vespero
a devastante angelo,
de Pharaonis aspero
sumus erepti imperio.

Iam pascha nostrum Christus est,
agnus occisus innocens;
sinceritatis azyma
qui carnem suam obtulit.

O vera, digna hostia,
per quam franguntur tartara,
captiva plebs redimitur,
redduntur vitae praemia!

Consurgit Christus tumulo,
victor redit de barathro,
tyrannum trudens vinculo
et paradisum reserans.

Esto perenne mentibus
paschale, Iesu, gaudium
et nos renatos gratiae
tuis triumphis aggrega.

Iesu, tibi sit gloria,
qui morte victa praenites,
cum Patre et almo Spiritu,
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 The Lord God has given him the throne of David his father, alleluia.

Psalm 132
God’s promises to the house of David

The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David (Luke 1:32).

I

O Lord, remember David *
and all the many hardships he endured,
the oath he swore to the Lord, *
his vow to the Strong One of Jacob.

“I will not enter the house where I live *
nor go to the bed where I rest.
I will give no sleep to my eyes, *
to my eyelids I will give no slumber
till I find a place for the Lord, *
a dwelling for the Strong One of Jacob.”

At Ephrathah we heard of the ark; *
we found it in the plains of Yearim.
“Let us go to the place of his dwelling; *
let us go to kneel at his footstool.”

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, *
you and the ark of your strength.
Your priests shall be clothed with holiness: *
your faithful shall ring out their joy.
For the sake of David your servant *
do not reject your anointed.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen

Ant. The Lord God has given him the throne of David his father, alleluia.

Ant. 2 Jesus Christ is supreme in his power. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, alleluia.

II

The Lord swore an oath to David; *
he will not go back on his word:
“A son, the fruit of your body, *
will I set upon your throne.

If they keep my covenant in truth *
and my laws that I have taught them,
their sons also shall rule *
on your throne from age to age.”

For the Lord has chosen Zion; *
he has desired it for his dwelling:
“This is my resting-place for ever, *
here have I chosen to live.

I will greatly bless her produce, *
I will fill her poor with bread.
I will clothe her priests with salvation *
and her faithful shall ring out their joy.

There David’s stock will flower: *
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed.
I will cover his enemies with shame *
but on him my crown shall shine.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you chose to suffer and be overwhelmed by death in order to open the gates of death in triumph. Stay with us to help us on our pilgrimage; free us from all evil by the power of your resurrection. In the company of your saints, and constantly remembering your love for us, may we sing of your wonders in our Father’s house.

Ant. Jesus Christ is supreme in his power. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, alleluia.

Ant. 3 Lord, who is your equal in power? Who is like you, majestic in holiness? alleluia.

Canticle: Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God

We praise you, the Lord God Almighty, *
who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power, *
you have begun your reign.

The nations have raged in anger, *
but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead: *
the time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you, *
the great and the small alike.

Now have salvation and power come, †
the reign of our God and the authority *
of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, *
who night and day accused them before God.

They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb †
and by the word of their testimony; *
love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens, *
and you that dwell therein!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit.
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Lord, who is your equal in power? Who is like you, majestic in holiness? alleluia.

READING
1 Peter 3:18, 22

The reason why Christ died for sins once for all, the just man for the sake of the unjust, was that he might lead you to God. He was put to death insofar as fleshly existence goes, but was given life in the realm of the spirit. He went to heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angelic rulers and powers subjected to him.

RESPONSORY

The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.

When they saw the risen Lord,
– alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. I am the living bread come down from heaven; anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world, alleluia.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My + soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. I am the living bread come down from heaven; anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

Christ rose from the dead as the firstfruits of those who sleep. In our joy let us praise him, and say:
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, remember your holy Church, built on the apostles and reaching to the ends of the earth,
– and let your blessing rest on all who believe in you.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.

You are the healer of soul and body,
– come to our aid, and save us in your love.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.

Raise up the sick and give them strength,
– free them from their infirmities.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.

Help those in distress of mind or body,
– and in your compassion lift up those in need.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.

Through your cross and resurrection you opened for all the way to immortality,
– grant to our deceased brothers and sisters the joys of your kingdom.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

(Rememer us, Lord, when you come to your kingdom and teach us how to pray:)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Father,
in this holy season
we come to know the full depth of your love.
You have freed us from the darkness of error and sin.
Help us to cling to your truths with fidelity.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

Almighty ever-living God,
let us feel your compassion more readily
during these days when, by your gift,
we have known it more fully,
so that those you have freed from the darkness of error
may cling more firmly to the teachings of your truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

[markomalley]

Compline

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of Conscience

A brief examination of conscience may be made. In the communal celebration of the Office, a Penitential Rite using the formulas of the Mass may be inserted here.

[I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

And, striking their breast, they say:

through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;

Then they continue:

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

The absolution by the Priest follows:

May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen..]

HYMN

At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious King,
Who has washed us in the tide
Flowing from his wounded side;
Praise the Lord, whose love divine
Gives his sacred blood for wine,
Gives his body for the feast,
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.

Where the Paschal blood is poured,
Death’s dark angel sheathes his sword;
Israel’s host in triumph go
Through the waves that drown the foe.
Christ the Lamb whose blood was shed,
Paschal victim, Paschal bread;
Let us with a fervent love
Taste the manna from above.

Mighty Victim from on high,
Pow’rs of hell now vanquished lie;
Sin is conquered in the fight:
You have brought us life and light;
Your resplendent banners wave,
You have risen from the grave;
Christ has opened Paradise,
And in him all men shall rise.

Easter triumph, Easter joy,
Sin alone can this destroy;
Souls form sin and death set free
Glory in their liberty.
Hymns of glory, hymns of praise
Father unto you we raise;
Risen Lord, for joy we sing;
Let our hymns through heaven ring.

Tune: Salzburg 77.77 D
Music: Jacob Hintze, 1622-1702
Text: Ad regias Agni dapes
Translation: Robert Campbell, 1814-1868, adapted by Geoffrey Laycock

Or:

We praise you, Father, for your gifts
Of dusk and nightfall over earth,
Foreshadowing the mystery
Of death that leads to endless day.

Within your hands we rest secure;
In quiet sleep our strength renew;
Yet give your people hearts that wake
In love to you, unsleeping Lord.

Your glory may we ever seek
In rest, as in activity,
Until its fullness is revealed,
O source of life, O Trinity.

Melody: Te lucis ante terminum (plainchant) L.M.
Music: Anonymous, Gregorian
Text: West Malling Abbey

PSALMODY

Ant. In you, my God, my body will rest in hope, alleluia.

Psalm 16
God is my portion, my inheritance

The Father raised up Jesus from the dead and broke the bonds of death (Acts 2:24).

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. †
I say to the Lord: “You are my God. *
My happiness lies in you alone.”

He has put into my heart a marvelous love *
for the faithful ones who dwell in his land.
Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows. †
Never will I offer their offerings of blood. *
Never will I take their name upon my lips.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; *
it is you yourself who are my prize.
The lot marked out for me is my delight: *
welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me!

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, *
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight: *
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad; *
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead, *
nor let your beloved know decay.

You will show me the path of life, †
the fullness of joy in your presence, *
at your right hand happiness for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. In you, my God, my body will rest in hope, alleluia.

READING
1 Thessalonians 5:23

May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, alleluia, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF SIMEON

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace, alleluia.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, + now you let your servant go in peace; *
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation *
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations *
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Lord God,
send peaceful sleep
to refresh our tired bodies.
May your help always renew us
and keep us strong in your service.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

BLESSING

May the all-powerful Lord
grant us a restful night
and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
The Son whom you merited 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!

Or:

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia,
quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia;
ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Or:

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this exile
show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.

Or:

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you!
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.

Or:

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
 vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve,
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
 in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
 illos tuos misericordes occulos
 ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
 nobis post hoc exilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

Or:

Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.

[Salvation]

Information: St. Marcellinus

Feast Day:	April 26
Born:	Rome, Italy
Died:	25 October 304 at Rome, Italy

[Salvation]

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Radbertus

Feast Day: April 26
Born: (around) 790 ::Died: 860

St. Radbertus was born in France. No one knows who his parents were. They left their newborn infant on the doorstep of the Notre-Dame of Soissons convent. The nuns loved and cared for the baby. They named him Radbertus.

When he was old enough for school, Radbertus was sent to the monks of St. Peter nearby. The boy loved learning and especially enjoyed the Latin classics. When he grew up, he spent many years in quiet study.

Then he felt God calling him to become a monk. He joined a community led by two good and pious abbots, St. Adalhard and his brother, Abbot Wala. Radbertus tried hard to be a holy monk and often went with the two abbots on their journeys. After they died, he wrote stories about their life called biographies.

Radbertus became a Scripture scholar (a person who learns especially about the Word of God). He wrote a long explanation about the Gospel of St. Matthew. He wrote explanations on other parts of the Bible, too. But his most well-known work is called "The Body and Blood of Christ."

He was a very good teacher and helped to make the monastery at Corbie one of the most famous places of learning in those days. He traveled all over Europe, speaking at councils, and acting as peacemaker in both political and religious disagreements. conflict.

Radbertus did not think he would make a suitable priest but he was made the head and abbot of the Corbie monastery for seven years. Although he did his best, his term as abbot was very difficult for him.

Then he insisted on returning to his life of prayer, meditation, study and writing. He spent the rest of his life as a hermit at the monastery at Saint Riquiet at Cenula. He wrote a lot about history, philosophy and religious studies.

Radbertus died in 860.

[Salvation]

 

Catholic

Almanac:

Thursday, April 26
Liturgical Color: White
During an address given this day in 1968, Pope Paul VI stressed the importance of Latin in the Liturgy. He reaffirmed that Vatican II did not intend to abandon the use of Latin when permitting use of the vernacular in the liturgy.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: April 26, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, let us feel your compassion more readily during these days when, by your gift, we have known it more fully, so that those you have freed from the darkness of error may cling more firmly to the teachings of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

• Honey Chiffon Pie

ACTIVITIES

• ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady
• A Single Branch Three Roses Bore
• Ave Maria Dear
• Beautiful, Glorious
• Celebrating the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin
• Mary Garden
• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: April
• Salve Regina
• Stella Matutina
• Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest

PRAYERS

• Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven)
• Prayers for the Easter Season
• Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God
• Novena to St. Catherine of Siena

LIBRARY

• Our Lady of Good Counsel | Zsolt Aradi

Easter: April 26th

  Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Good Counsel (Can) Old Calendar: Saints Cletus and Marcellinus, popes and martyrs

The devotion to our Lady of Good Counsel originated at Gennazzano, a village in the neighborhood of Rome, where an Augustinian church, in which is enshrined a miraculous picture of our Lady, had been for centuries a place of popular pilgrimage. This feast is observed in Canada.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Sts. Cletus and Marcellinus. St. Cletus, who is probably identical with St. Anacletus (his feast moved from July 13 before 1961), figures in the list of Popes as the second successor of St. Peter, A.D. 76-88. St. Marcellinus governed the Church two centuries later, from A.D. 296 to 304, during the terrible Diocletian persecution.

---

Our Lady of Good Counsel
On the Feast of Saint Mark, April 25 1467, the people of Genazzano, Italy witnessed a marvellous sight. A cloud descended upon an ancient church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel. When the cloud disappeared, an image of Our Lady and the Child Jesus was revealed which had not been there before. The image, on a paper-thin sheet, was suspended miraculously.

Soon after the image's appearance many miracles were attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Because of this, Pope Paul II ordered an investigation and the results have been preserved.

It was later discovered that the very same image had been seen in a church dedicated to the Annunciation in Scutari, Albania. The image in this church was said to have arrived there in a miraculous manner. Now, the image had been transported from Albania miraculously to avoid sacrilege from Moslem invasion.

A commission of enquiry determined that a portrait from the church was indeed missing. An empty space the same size as the portrait was displayed for all to see.

Many miracles continue to be attributed to Our Lady of Good Counsel. Pope Saint Pius V, for example, credited victory in the Battle of Lepanto to Her intercession.

Several Popes have approved the miraculous image. In 1682 Pope Innocent XI had the portrait crowned with gold. On July 2 1753 Pope Benedict XIV approved the Scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel, and was the first to wear it.

In 1884 a special Mass and Office of the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel was approved by Pope Leo XIII.

For more than 500 years the image has continued to attract countless pilgrims.

Although much of the church was destroyed during World War II, the image has remained intact — and continues to be suspended miraculously.

Patron: Albania, enlightenment.

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St. Cletus I
Emperor Vespasian reigned in Rome when Cletus assumed leadership of the Church. His specific responsibilities, like those of his predecessor Linus, can only be surmised because a monarchial episcopate had not yet emerged in Rome. Little is known of Cletus, perhaps due to the confusion over his name. Some historians refer to him as Anacletus or, more correctly, Anencletus, which is a Greek adjective meaning "blameless." There is, however, no doubt that he is recognized as the third successor and is commemorated in the ancient canon of the Mass.

According to tradition, he appointed twenty-five presbyters for Rome and erected a shrine over the burial place of Peter. He is said to have died a martyr, in the twelfth year of the reign of Emperor Domitian, and was buried on the Vatican Hill.

Excerpted from The Popes: A Papal History, J.V. Bartlett

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St. Marcellinus
St. Marcellinus was Pope during the Diocletian persecution (296-304). With wise forethought he ordered large rooms to be constructed in the catacombs for liturgical use. Such a chamber in the catacomb of Callistus still recalls his action. According to one ancient account (certainly erroneous), this pope strewed incense before the gods when arrested during the persecution, but later atoned for his weakness by a glorious martyrdom. His grave in the catacomb of Priscilla was an object of highest honor.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 8:26-40

“Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)

Philip might have been worried. An angel from God told him to approach the chariot of a powerful official from a foreign country. But how could he cut through the cul­tural barriers? How could he come up with an effective presentation of the gospel that would change this man’s heart? Wasn’t God asking too much of him this time?

As it turned out, God had already laid a lot of the groundwork for Philip. The official was already puz­zling over God’s word when Philip approached him. He was sincerely asking questions and was eager to hear whatever Philip had to say.

So it wasn’t about Philip after all! All he had to do was walk through a door that was already three-quarters of the way open. What a relief that must have been! God had taken great pains to prepare the man to receive his message, even before the messenger showed up.

We may feel intimidated about sharing our faith because we think it all depends on us. We worry about how to break through obstinate hearts, how to tear down years of resistance, or how to answer every possible objection anyone could think of. But that’s placing too much of the emphasis on us and forgetting how deeply God longs to touch each person with his love. The truth is, we aren’t meant to carry the load alone. God is already doing a lot of the prep work.

You will likely have a chance to witness to your faith today. Maybe the Spirit will bring to mind a rela­tive with whom you have not been on the best terms, and lead you to seek reconciliation. You may run into an old friend who needs a word of encouragement, or a neighbor who could use a helping hand. The Holy Spirit could nudge you to say something to the person next to you on the bus. Seize the opportunity to reach out. You may be surprised at how your words or actions can be used by God!

“Lord, thank you for going ahead of me today! Open my eyes to the opportunities you will give me to be your ambassador. I believe you will bless even my smallest effort!”

Psalm 66:8-9,16-17,20 John 6:44-51

[Salvation]

 

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for April 26, 2012:

You’ve heard of “Take your child to work day,” but what about “Take your spouse to work day”? Your spouse doesn’t need to take a day off work to join you, but does your beloved know enough about your work environment to understand your stresses? know your colleagues?

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

 

Bread for Eternity

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Father Daniel Ray, LC 

 

John 6: 44-51

Jesus said to the crowds: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here and now as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

Petition: Lord Jesus, help me value more the gift of yourself in the Eucharist.

1. A Gift from the Loving Father:  The Father is the one who sent him and who will draw souls to him. “No one can come to me unless the Father draw him.” So, those individuals who heard Christ’s words and were drawn to him that day were doing so because of a gift of faith from the Father. If we today have faith in Christ, it also is a gift from the Father, who wants to draw us to his Son. If we have doubts or weakness in faith, we should ask the Father to draw us nearer to his Son and to help us believe with our whole heart and mind.

2. The Word Was Made Flesh: Christ’s birth took place in the town of Bethlehem, which in Hebrew (bêth-lehem), means "house of bread." He was also laid in a manger, where food for animals would normally be placed. Before becoming bread which would be our food, Christ first became man. Merely giving us some specially blessed bread would not be nearly as significant as giving himself. That is how God always loves: by giving himself completely and without reserve.

3. His Flesh Was Made Bread: The Gospel accounts of Christ multiplying the loaves report he did so out of compassion for the crowd: "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way" (Matthew 15:32). This same compassion moves him to give himself as our bread in the Eucharist. He does not want us to die for lack of spiritual nourishment. Christ—in the greatest gesture of humility—became man like us, the same in every way except sin. But in an even greater gesture of humility, he descended further still to become our spiritual food.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, how can I not trust in you? You have already become human just like me. Then you descend to an even humbler state of service to become food for my soul. Help me to receive you in the Eucharist with gratitude, fully aware of your loving presence.

Resolution: I will start preparing my heart today to attend Mass this Sunday and receive Christ lovingly in Communion.

[Salvation]

The Bread of Life Pt. 2

• Homily of the Day
• April 26th, 2012
• Food For Thought

God offers his people abundant life, but we can miss it.  What is the bread of life which Jesus offers?  It is first of all the life of God himself — life which sustains us not only now in this age but also in the age to come. The Rabbis said that the generation in the wilderness have no part in the life to come. In the Book of Numbers it is recorded that the people who refused to brave the dangers of the promised land were condemned to wander in the wilderness until they died. The Rabbis believed that the father who missed the promised land also missed the life to come. When Jesus offers us real life he brings us into a new relationship with God, a relationship of trust, love, and obedience.  And he offers us real life which last forever, a life of love, fellowship, communion, and union with the One who made us in love to be him forever.  To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come. Do you accept Jesus as the bread of life?

[Salvation]

 

Both men and women regret abortions.

 

But the babies are with God.

[annalex]

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 6
44.	No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day.	nemo potest venire ad me, nisi Pater, qui misit me, traxerit eum ; et ego resuscitabo eum in novissimo die.	ουδεις δυναται ελθειν προς με εαν μη ο πατηρ ο πεμψας με ελκυση αυτον και εγω αναστησω αυτον εν τη εσχατη ημερα
45.	It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to me.	Est scriptum in prophetis : Et erunt omnes docibiles Dei. Omnis qui audivit a Patre, et didicit, venit ad me.	εστιν γεγραμμενον εν τοις προφηταις και εσονται παντες διδακτοι θεου πας ουν ο ακουων παρα του πατρος και μαθων ερχεται προς με
46.	Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father.	Non quia Patrem vidit quisquam, nisi is, qui est a Deo, hic vidit Patrem.	ουχ οτι τον πατερα τις εωρακεν ει μη ο ων παρα του θεου ουτος εωρακεν τον πατερα
47.	Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life.	Amen, amen dico vobis : qui credit in me, habet vitam æternam.	αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ο πιστευων εις εμε εχει ζωην αιωνιον
48.	I am the bread of life.	Ego sum panis vitæ.	εγω ειμι ο αρτος της ζωης
49.	Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead.	Patres vestri manducaverunt manna in deserto, et mortui sunt.	οι πατερες υμων εφαγον το μαννα εν τη ερημω και απεθανον
50.	This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die.	Hic est panis de cælo descendens : ut si quis ex ipso manducaverit, non moriatur.	ουτος εστιν ο αρτος ο εκ του ουρανου καταβαινων ινα τις εξ αυτου φαγη και μη αποθανη
51.	I am the living bread which came down from heaven. 6:52 If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.	Ego sum panis vivus, qui de cælo descendi. 6:52 Si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in æternum : et panis quem ego dabo, caro mea est pro mundi vita.	εγω ειμι ο αρτος ο ζων ο εκ του ουρανου καταβας εαν τις φαγη εκ τουτου του αρτου ζησεται εις τον αιωνα και ο αρτος δε ον εγω δωσω η σαρξ μου εστιν ην εγω δωσω υπερ της του κοσμου ζωης

[annalex]

44. No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to me.
46. Not that any man has seen the Father, save he which is of God, he has seen the Father.

AUG. He took man's flesh upon Him, but not after the manner of men; for, His Father being in heaven, He chose a mother upon earth, and was born of her without a father. The answer to the murmurers next follows: Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Murmur not among yourselves; as if to say, I know why you hunger not after this bread, and so cannot understand it, and do not seek it: No man can come to Me except the Father who has sent Me draw him. This is the doctrine of grace: none comes, except he be drawn. But whom the Father draws, and whom not, and why He draws one, and not another, presume not to decide, if you would avoid falling into error. Take the doctrine as it is given you: and, if you are not drawn, pray that you may be.

CHRYS, But here the Manichees attack us, asserting that nothing is in our own power. Our Lords words however do not destroy our free agency, but only show that we need Divine assistance. For He is speaking not of one who comes without the concurrence of his own will, but one who has many hindrances in the way of his coming.

AUG. Now if we are drawn to Christ without our own will, we believe without our own will; the will is not exercised, but compulsion is applied. But, though a man can enter the Church involuntarily, he cannot believe other than voluntarily; for with the heart man believes to righteousness. Therefore if he who is drawn, comes without his will, he does not believe; if he does not believe, he does not come. For we do not come to Christ, by running, or walking, but by believing, not by the motion of the body, but the will of the mind. You are drawn by your will. But what is it to be drawn by the will? Delight you in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desire. There is a certain craving of the heart, to which that heavenly bread is pleasant. If the Poet could say, "Trahit sua quemque voluptas," how much more strongly may we speak of a man being drawn to Christ, i.e. being delighted with truth, happiness, justice eternal life, all which is Christ? Have the bodily senses their pleasures, and has not the soul hers? Give me one who loves, who longs, who burns, who sighs for the source of his being and his eternal home; and he will know what I mean. But why did He say, Except my Father draw him? If we are to be drawn, let us be drawn by Him to whom His love said, Draw me, we will run after You. But let us see what is meant by it. The Father draws to the Son those who believe on the Son, as thinking that He has God for His Father. For the Father begat the Son equal to Himself; and whoso thinks and believes really and seriously that He on Whom He believes is equal to the Father, him the Father draws to the Son. Arius believed Him to be a creature; the Father drew not him. Thomas says, Christ is only a man. Because he so believes, the Father draws him not. He drew Peter who said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God; to whom accordingly it was told, For flesh and blood, has not revealed it to you, but My Father which is in heaven. That revelation is the drawing. For if earthly objects, when put before us, draw us; how much more shall Christ, when revealed by the Father? For what does the soul more long after than truth? But here men hunger, there they will be filled. Wherefore He adds, And I will raise him up at the last day: as if He said, He shall be filled with that, for which he now thirsts, at the resurrection of the dead; for I will raise him up.

AUG. Or the Father draws to the Son, by the works which He did by Him.

CHRYS. Great indeed is the Son's dignity; the Father draws men, and the Son raises them up. This is no division of works, but an equality of power. He then shows the way in which the Father draws. It is written in the Prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. You see the excellence of faith; that it cannot be learnt from men, or by the teaching of man, but only from God Himself. The Master sits, dispensing His truth to all, pouring out His doctrine to all. But if all are to be taught of God, how is it that some believe not? Because all here only means the generality, or, all that have the will.

AUG. Or thus, When a schoolmaster is the only one in a town, we say loosely, This man teaches all here to read; not that all learn of him, but that he teaches all who do learn. And in the same way we say that God teaches all men to come to Christ: not that all do come, but that no one comes in any other way.

AUG. All the men of that kingdom shall be taught of God; they shall hear nothing from men: for, though in this world what they hear with the outward ear is from men, yet what they understand is given them from within; from within is light and revelation. I force certain sounds into your ears, but unless He is within to reveal their meaning, how, O you Jews, can you acknowledge Me, you whom the Father has not taught?

BEDE. He uses the plural, In the Prophets, because all the Prophets being filled with one and the same spirit, their prophecies, though different, all tended to the same end; and with whatever any one of them says, all the rest agree; as with the prophecy of Joel, All shall be taught of God.

GLOSS. These words are not found in Joel, but something like them; Be glad then you children of Sion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you a Teacher. And more expressly in Isaiah, And all your children shall be taught of the Lord.

CHRYS. An important distinction. All men before learnt the things of God through men; now they learn them through the Only Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.

AUG. All that are taught of God come to the Son, because they have heard and learnt from the Father of the Son: wherefore He proceeds, Every man that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to Me. But if every one that has heard and learnt of the Father comes, every one that has not heard of the Father has not learnt. For beyond the reach of the bodily senses is this school, in which the Father is heard, and men taught to come to the Son. Here we have not to do with the carnal ear, but the ear of the heart; for here is the Son Himself, the Word by which the Father teaches, and together with Him the Holy Spirit the operations of the three Persons being inseparable from each other. This is attributed however principally to the Father, because from Him proceeds the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore the grace which the Divine bounty imparts in secret to men's hearts, is rejected by none from hardness of heart: seeing it is given in the first instance, in order to take away hard-heartedness. Why then does He not teach all to come to Christ? Because those whom He teaches, He teaches in mercy; and those whom He teaches not, He teaches not in judgment. But if we say, that those, whom He teaches not, wish to learn, we shall be answered, Why then is it said, Will you not turn again, and quicken us? If God does not make willing minds out of unwilling, why prays the Church, according to our Lord's command, for her persecutors? For no one can say, I believed, and therefore He called me: rather the preventing mercy of God called him, that he might believe.

AUG. Behold then how the Father draws; not by laying a necessity on man, but by teaching the truth. To draw, belongs to God: Every one that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to Me. What then? has Christ taught nothing? Not so. What if men saw not the Father teaching, but saw the Son. So then the Father taught, the Son spoke. As I teach you by My word, so the Father teaches by His Word. But He Himself explains the matter, if we read on: Not that any man has seen the Father, save He which is of God, He has seen the Father; as if He said, Do not when I tell you, Every man that has heard and learnt of the Father, say to yourselves, We have never seen the Father, and how then can we have learnt from Him? Hear Him then in Me. I know the Father, and am from Him, just as a word is from him who speaks it; i.e. not the mere passing sound, but that which remains with the speaker, and draws the hearer.

CHRYS. We are all from God. That which belongs peculiarly and principally to the Son, He omits the mention of, as being unsuitable to the weakness of His hearers.

47. Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes in me has everlasting life.
48. I am that bread of life.
49. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51a. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.

AUG. Our Lord wishes to reveal what He is; Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes in Me, has everlasting life. As if He said; He that believes in Me has Me: but what is it to have Me? It is to have eternal life: for the Word which was in the beginning with God is life eternal, and the life was the light of men. Life underwent death, that life might kill death.

CHRYS. The multitude being urgent for bodily food, and reminding Him of that which was given to their fathers, He tells them that the manna was only a type of that spiritual food which was now to be tasted in reality, I am that bread of life.

CHRYS. He calls Himself the bread of life, because He constitutes one life, both present, and to come.

AUG. And because they had taunted Him with the manna, He adds, Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. Your fathers they are, for you are like them; murmuring sons of murmuring fathers. For in nothing did that people offend God more, than by their murmurs against Him. And therefore are they dead, because what they saw they believed, what they did not see they believed not, nor understood.

CHRYS. The addition, In the wilderness, is not put in without meaning, but to remind them how short a time the manna lasted; only till the entrance into the land of promise. And because the bread which Christ gave seemed inferior to the manna, in that the latter had come down from heaven, while the former was of this world, He adds, This is the bread which comes down from heaven.

AUG. This was the bread the manna typified, this was the bread the altar typified. Both the one and the other were sacraments, differing in symbol, alike in the thing signified. Hear the Apostle, They did all eat the same spiritual meat.

CHRYS. He then gives them a strong reason for believing that they were given for higher privileges than their fathers. Their fathers eat manna and were dead; whereas of this bread He says, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. The difference of the two is evident from the difference of their ends. By bread here is meant wholesome doctrine, and faith in Him, or His body: for these are the preservatives of the soul.

AUG. But are we, who eat the bread that comes down from heaven, relieved from death? From visible and carnal death, the death of the body, we are not: we shall die, even as they died. But from spiritual death which their fathers suffered, we are delivered. Moses and many, acceptable of God, eat the manna, and died not, because they understood that visible food in a spiritual sense, spiritually tasted it, and were spiritually filled with it. And we too at this day receive the visible food; but the Sacrament is one thing, the virtue of the Sacrament another. Many a one receives from the Altar, and perishes in receiving; eating and drinking his own damnation, as said the Apostle. To eat then the heavenly bread spiritually, is to bring to the Altar an innocent mind. Sins, though they be daily, are not deadly. Before you go to the Altar, attend to the prayer you repeat: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. If you forgive, you are forgiven: approach confidently; it is bread, not poison. None then that eat of this bread, shall die. But we speak of the virtue of the Sacrament, not the visible Sacrament itself; of the inward, not of the outward eater.

ALCUIN. Therefore I say, He that eats this bread, dies not: I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

THEOPHYL. By becoming incarnate, He was not then first man, and afterwards assumed Divinity, as Nestorius fables.

AUG. The manna too came down from heaven; but the manna was shadow, this is substance.

ALCUIN. But men must be quickened by my life: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live, not only now by faith and righteousness, but for ever.

51b. - And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

AUG. Our Lord pronounces Himself to be bread, not only in respect of that Divinity, which feeds all things, but also in respect of that human nature, which was assumed by the Word of God: And the bread, He says, that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

BEDE. This bread our Lord then gave, when He delivered to His disciple the mystery of His Body and Blood, and offered Himself to God the Father on the altar of the cross. For the life of the world, i.e. not for the elements, but for mankind, who are called the world.

THEOPHYL. Which I shall give: this shows His power; for it shows that He was not crucified as a servant, in subjection to the Father, but of his own accord; for though He is said to have been given up by the Father, yet He delivered Himself up also. And observe, the bread which is taken by us in the mysteries, is not only the sign of Christ's flesh, but is itself the very flesh of Christ; for He does not say, The bread which I will give, is the sign of My flesh, but, is My flesh. The bread is by a mystical benediction conveyed in unutterable words, and by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, transmuted into the flesh of Christ. But why see we not the flesh? Because, if the flesh were seen, it would revolt us to such a degree, that we should be unable to partake of it. And therefore in condescension to our infirmity, the mystical food is given to us under an appearance suitable to our minds. He gave His flesh for the life of the world, in that, by dying, He destroyed death. By the life of the world too, I understand the resurrection; our Lord's death having brought about the resurrection of the whole human race. It may mean too the sanctified, beatified, spiritual life; for though all have not attained to this life, yet our Lord gave Himself for the world, and, as far as lies in Him, the whole world is sanctified.

AUG. But when does flesh receive the bread which He calls His flesh? The faithful know and receive the Body of Christ, if they labor to be the body of Christ. And they become the body of Christ, if they study to live by the Spirit of Christ: for that which lives by the Spirit of Christ, is the body of Christ. This bread the Apostle sets forth, where he says, We being many are one body. O sacrament of mercy, O sign of unity, O bond of love! Whoso wishes to live, let him draw nigh, believe, be incorporated, that he may be quickened.

Catena Aurea John 6

[annalex]

Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament

Dieric Bouts the Elder

1464-67
Oil on panel, 185 x 294 cm
Sint-Pieterskerk, Leuven