MONDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER

SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ APRIL 1, 2024

DIVINE MERCY NOVENA: Novena in preparation for DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY. Good Friday is the first day of the Divine Mercy Novena. Novena begins on Good Friday, March 29, 2024 and ends, Saturday, April 6, 2024 (Novena Links below)

Greetings beloved family. Happy Easter  Monday and Happy New Month of April!

The Lord has risen from the dead, as He foretold. Let there be happiness and rejoicing for He is our King forever, Alleluia!

We thank God for the  gift of life and for the gift of the new month of April. May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this Easter season and always🙏

Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on, April 1, 2024 on EWTN” |

Pray “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 1, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | April 1, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 1, 2024 |

Pray “Solemn Novena of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy – Day 4 | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Easter Monday, April 1, 2024 |

Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteriels VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |

Today’s Bible Readings: Monday April 1, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 2:14, 22-32
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Gospel, Matthew 28:8-15

NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: Novena begins on Good Friday, March 29, 2024 and ends, Saturday, April 6, 2024

DAY 4: Today, Easter Monday is the fourth day of the Divine Mercy Novena | EWTN | Links ~ https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-13366

https://divinemercy.life/the-divine-mercy-novena

How to Recite the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy | The Divine Mercy | https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/pray-the-chaplet

DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF APRIL – MONTH OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST: The month of April is traditionally dedicated to devotion to Jesus in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The Catholic Church teaches that the Blessed Sacrament is the real and living presence of Christ—His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—received into our souls with every reception of Holy Communion. Our Eucharistic Lord is the source and summit of our Christian life, the ultimate proof of His infinite love for us.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL – FOR THE ROLE OF WOMEN: We pray that the dignity and immense value of women be recognized in every culture, and for the end of discrimination that they experience in different parts of the world. 🙏

PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen🙏

During this Easter season, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏

On this special feast day, as we continue to celebrate our risen Lord, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the Clergy and religious as they serve in the Lord’s Vineyard. We also pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil, and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen🙏

Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/

SAINTS OF THE DAY: During this Easter season, as we continue to celebrate the resurrection of our loving Savior Jesus Christ, today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Hugh, Benedictine Bishop of Grenoble, France (Patron of St. Bruno and Patron Saint against headaches); Saint Valery of Leucone, Abbot and Blessed Anacleto González Flores. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick, especially those who suffer with headaches, we pray for God’s divine healing and intervention. May the Saints pray for us that we will persevere despite the challenges placed before us. Amen🙏

SAINT HUGH OF GRENOBLE, BISHOP: St. Hugh of Grenoble (1053-1132), also known as Hugh of Châteauneuf was born in 1053 in Châteauneuf, Dauphiné, France. Saint Hugh showed piety from a very young age. While still a layman, he was appointed a canon (priest assigned to a cathedral) in Valence. He served as an aid to Bishop Hugh of Die. He very actively helped Bishop Hugh of Die fight against the buying and selling of church offices. At the Council of Avignon, in 1080, he was elected as the Bishop of Grenoble, even though he was not yet ordained. (The bishop of Grenoble had fallen into a very poor state of health.) A personal represenative of the pope escorted Hugh to Rome where he was ordained by Pope Gregory VII, himself. Upon Saint Hugh’s return, Hugh immediately set out to reform the see by denouncing simony (buying and selling of offices) and usury (charging interest to borrowers of money, especially at high rates of interest). After he was successful in doing this and promoting devotion (approximately two years), Saint Hugh attempted to resign being bishop to enter the Benedictine monastery at Cluny (France). The pope declined to accept his resignation and ordered him to continue his work in the diocese he was at.

For the rest of the 11th century, Saint Hugh’s diocese continued having a violent conflict with Count Guigues III of Albon about the church land in Grésivaudan (a valley in the French Alps). St. Hugh alleged that the Count tried to seize the land with the help of Bishop Mallen of Grenoble. An agreement was finally reached in 1099 and the Count agreed to relinquish the disputed land as long as Saint Hugh recognized the Count’s temporal (earthly) authority within Grenoble. Saint Hugh attempted to resign many times to which the pope would never accept his resignation because of Hugh’s great abilities. It was to St. Hugh that St. Bruno and his six companions addressed themselves in their design of forsaking the world, and the holy Bishop directed them to the desert of Chartreuse, where they founded the Carthusian Order.

After several years of service and attempts at reform, the long and penitential life of St. Hugh came to a close, St. Hugh died on April 1, 1132 in Grenoble, France of natural causes, interred in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Grenoble relics burned by the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion (between the Catholics and Protestants, inspired by John Calvin, called the Huguenots), the Huguenots burned Saint Hugh’s body in the 15th century. He was canonized on April 22, 1134; just two years after his death, by Pope Innocent II during the Council of Pisa. He’s the Patron Saint against headaches; Grenoble, France.

PRAYER: God, Light and Shepherd of souls, You established St. Hugh as Bishop in Your Church to feed Your flock by his word and form it by his example. Help us through his intercession to keep the Faith he taught by his word and follow the way he showed by his example. Amen.🙏
Saint Hugh of Grenoble, Bishop ~ Pray for us🙏

SAINT VALERY OF LEUCONE, ABBOT: St. Valery (565-622) also known as Valerian, Walaricus or Walericus was born at Auvergne, France in the sixth century, he died in Leucone, Picardy, France, on December 12, c. 622; feast of his translation is December 12. St. Valery discovered Benedictine life at Issoire, developed it at Auxerre, fructified it at Luxeuil under Saint Columbanus (f.d. November 21) and multiplied it with missionary work at Leuconnais (Leuconay), in the Somme region of northern France. St. Valery was a son to a gentleman of Auvergne, and in his childhood kept his father’s sheep. He grew up a peasant and a shepherd, but out of an ardent desire of improving himself in spiritual knowledge, privately learned to read, and got the psalter by heart. He was yet young when he took the monastic habit in the neighbouring monastery of St. Antony. From the first day such was his fervour that in his whole conduct he appeared a living rule of perfection, and, by sincere humility, esteeming himself below all the world, he meekly and cheerfully subjected himself to every one. Seeking the most perfect means of advancing in the paths of all virtues, he passed from this house to the more austere monastery of St. Germanus of Auxerre, into which he was received by St. Aunarius, bishop of that church.

The reputation of the penitential lives of the monks of Luxeu, and of the spiritual wisdom of St. Columban, drew St. Valery afterwards thither, and he spent many years in that community, always esteeming himself an unprofitable servant and a slothful monk, who stood in need of the severest and harshest rules and superiors; and, next to sin, he dreaded nothing so much as the applause of men or a reputation of sanctity. Upon the departure of St. Columban, the care of protecting the monastery from the oppressions of men in power, was committed to St. Valery, till he was sent by St. Eustasius with Vandolen, a fellow monk, to preach the gospel to idolaters. The two apostolic men travelled into Neustria, where King Clotaire II. gave them the territory of Leucone, in Picardy, near the mouth of the river Somme. There, with the leave of Bertard, bishop of Amiens, in 611, they built a chapel and two cells. St. Valery, by his preaching and the example of his virtue, converted many infidels, and assembled certain fervent disciples with whom he laid the foundation of a monastery. His fasts he sometimes prolonged for six days, eating only on the Sunday; and he used no other bed than twigs laid on the floor. His time was all employed in preaching, prayer, reading, and manual labour. By this he earned something for the relief of the poor, and he often repeated to others: “The more cheerfully we give to those who are in distress, the more readily will God give us what we ask of him.”

The saint went to receive the recompense of his happy perseverance on the 12th of December, in 622. When St. Valery died, cures took place at his tomb and his veneration grew, which eventually spread to England during the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror exposed Valery’s relics for public veneration. He was invoked for a favourable wind for the expedition in 1066, which sailed from Saint-Valery. He is honoured in France on the 1st of April and on the 12th of December, feast of his translation. St. Valery is honoured at Chester Abbey in England and in France, where a famous monastery arose from his cells. Two towns in the Somme district are called Saint-Valery after him and there are several dedications to him in England as well.
Saint Valery of Leucone ~ Pray for us🙏

BLESSED ANACLETO GONZALEZ FLORES: Bl. Anacleto González Flores (1888–1927) was a Mexican Catholic layman and lawyer who was tortured and executed during the persecution of the Catholic Church under Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles. Bl. González was beatified by Benedict XVI as a martyr on November 20, 2005. Bl. Anacleto Gonzalez Flores was the second of twelve children born to a poor family in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico on July 13, 1888. He was baptized the day after his birth. As he grew, a priest recognized his intelligence and recommended that he enter the seminary. Bl. Anacleto studied there for a time before discerning that he was not called to the priesthood. Instead he became an attorney, husband, and father, as well as an activist for his Catholic faith. He was greatly involved in social and religious activities and was an enthusiastic member of the Catholic Association of Young Mexicans (ACJM). He taught classes in catechism, was dedicated to works of charity and wrote articles and books with a Christian spirit. In 1922 he married María Concepción Guerrero and they had two children. He was a prolific writer and dedicated catechism teacher, and attended daily Mass.

As a member of the Catholic Association of Young Mexicans (ACJM), he also in addition started another Catholic lay organization committed to resisting the fierce persecution of the Catholic Church under the infamous Mexican dictator, President Plutarco Elías Calles. Initially he participated only in the non-violent, passive resistance against Calles, until four members of the ACJM were murdered in 1926. Their deaths spurred Bl. Anacleto to joined the cause of the National League for the Defence of Religious Freedom, lending support to the armed resistance movement. Bl. Anacleto did not take up arms but instead gave speeches to encourage Catholics to support the Cristeros, the Catholic army fighting against Calles. In January 1927 guerrilla warfare spread throughout Jalisco and from his many hiding places Bl. Anacleto wrote and sent bulletins and studied major strategies. The young man was captured on the morning of April 1, 1927 in the home of the Vargas González family, along with the two Vargas brothers. He was taken to the Colorado jail, where his torture included being hung by his thumbs until his fingers were dislocated and having the bottom of his feet slashed. He refused, however, to supply his captors with any information. Bl. Anacleto González Flores was condemned to death by firing squad and was shot together with the Vargas González brothers and Luis Padilla Gómez on that same day, April 1, 1927 at Guadalajara, Mexico. Bl. Anacleto González Flores was beatified as a martyr on November 20, 2005 at Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico by Pope Benedict XVI, recognition celebrated by Portuguese cardinal José Saraiva Martins.

Blessed  Anacleto González Flores ~ Pray for us🙏

PRAYER INTENTIONS: We thank God for blessing us all with the gift of His precious son, may we be saved by the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! May the Lord grant us His grace as we continue to serve Him in spirit and in truth and as we come to the end of our Lenten Season. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying. We particularly pray for sick children, those who are sick with convulsive disorder, mental illness, strokes, heart diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God restore them to good health and grant them His Divine healing and intervention. May our Mother Mary comfort them, may the Angels and Saints watch over them and may the Holy Spirit guide them in peace and comfort during this challenging time. We pray for the safety and well-being of us all and our families, for peace, love and unity in our families, our marriages and our divided and conflicted world. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in peace with our Lord Jesus Christ Amen. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. For vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted Christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen🙏

“SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS”

Bible Readings today, Monday in the Octave of Easter | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 28:8–15

“Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

“Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Mary Magdalene and the other women who used to follow the Lord Jesus, who were first to the tomb on Easter Sunday and found it empty, are also the first to whom the risen Lord appeared. This group of women are the primary witnesses to the resurrection, the first to proclaim the good news that Jesus is risen and that He will meet His disciples in Galilee. Today’s Gospel reading suggests that just as Jesus’ enemies did away with His earthly life, they also tried to do away with His risen life. In contrast to this group of women, the Gospel reading presents the chief priests and the elders of the people paying off the soldiers who guarded the tomb so that they would propagate the lie that Jesus’ body was stolen by His disciples. A meeting of the religious leaders was held at which it was decided that a story would be put out to explain why the tomb was empty early on the first day of the week. Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole His body from the tomb. Not only was Jesus crucified as a criminal but His disciples were to be labelled as body snatchers. However, all of these efforts to suppress the good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead were in vain. The women proclaim the truth of the Gospel; the group of men in the Gospel reading proclaim a lie. We are all being asked to identify with the group of women. They were faithful to Jesus; they were present during His public ministry, at the cross and at the tomb. Because of their faithfulness, they are sent out as messengers of Easter joy. Our faithfulness will prompt the Lord to send us out too as messengers of Easter joy and hope, proclaiming Easter good news, the triumph of life over death, of God’s love over human sin.

In our first reading today, St. Peter courageously proclaimed before all assembled people in Jerusalem at the moment right after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The Apostles had been hiding in fear of the Jewish authorities and all who had threatened action against the Lord’s disciples and everyone who were found to be the followers of Christ, and thus they used to hide and avoid attention for those several weeks after the Lord’s Resurrection and later Ascension into Heaven. But through His Holy Spirit, the Lord inflamed in the hearts of the Apostles a great courage and desire to serve and love the Lord, the energy and power to proclaim the Good News and truth of God and His salvation among His people. Thus, we heard St. Peter speaking up with great courage and eloquence, with wisdom and zeal, in proclaiming the Lord’s glorious Resurrection and all that He had done in the midst of His people, reminding the people of the most loving sacrifice that He had made on the Cross. He proclaimed before all the people the Christ Crucified, Who had risen from the dead in glory.

As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, as we begin to embark through this journey of the Easter season in this Easter Octave, we are constantly being reminded of what we have to do as Christians in living our daily lives especially as we progress through this Easter season and beyond. We are reminded that our Christian faith is about proclaiming our Risen Lord and Saviour to the best of our ability, and to proclaim Him with joy and pride in our community and in whichever places we go to, following in the footsteps of the Apostles and Saints. Let us all therefore be filled with the Spirit of God this Easter season, and strive to do our best in proclaiming God’s truth, love, His Good News and salvation among those who have not yet known Him. May all of us be ever more committed and courageous in living our lives actively as Christians, so that in everything we do and say, in all of our interactions and dealings with one another, we will always be exemplary and be good sources of inspiration for our fellow Christians, and for many others out there who have not yet known the Lord and His truth yet. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may the joy, love, courage, strength and the guidance of Our Risen Lord be with us all, and may He bless us in our every actions and deeds, now and always, Amen🙏

Let us pray:

My resurrected Lord, You conquered sin and death and brought forth new life for all who believe in You. Give me the grace, dear Jesus, to never allow my sin of pride to keep me from being open to the glorious and transforming action You desire to do in my life. Please give me the gift of humility so that I may always turn from my sin and turn to You. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏

Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Hugh of Grenoble; Saint Valery of Leucone and Blessed Anacleto González Flores ~ Pray for us🙏

Thanking God for the gift of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and praying for us all as we continue to rejoice in the resurrection of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.  We prat for journey mercies for all those traveling during this Easter season. Have a blessed, safe, and grace-filled Easter Monday🙏

Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖