WEDNESDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ APRIL 3, 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 and Happy Easter Wednesday!
We continue to celebrate and rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ during this first eight days of the Easter season (Easter octave) which are celebrated as solemnities of the Lord. Each day is another little Easter. The Alleluia verse is repeated throughout the octave: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia!” May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this Easter season and always🙏
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on, April 3, 2024 on EWTN” |
Pray “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 3, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | April 3, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 3, 2024 |
Pray “Solemn Novena of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy – Day 6 | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Easter Wednesday, April 3, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteriels VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 3:1-10
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
Gospel, Luke 24:13-35
NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: Novena begins on Good Friday, March 29, 2024 and ends, Saturday, April 6, 2024
DAY 6: Today, Easter Wednesday is the sixth 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: As we continue to rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Richard of Chichester, Bishop. He’s the Patron Saint of Coachmen; Diocese of Chichester; Sussex, England. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Richard of Chichester and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all Christians, we pray for the sick and dying, we particularly pray for those who are sick with terminal diseases, may God in His infinite grace and mercy grant them His divine healing and intervention, we pray for persecuted Christians and for all Christians as we reflect on the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ during this Easter season 🙏
SAINT RICHARD OF CHICHESTER, BISHOP: St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253), also known as St. Richard de Wyche, was born in 1197 in Worcestershire, England to a land-owning squire. His father died when he was young. St. Richard and his elder brother were left orphans while still very young, causing the family to suffer hardship for many years. His brother was imprisoned as a result of their property’s unpaid debts. The situation became dire enough for Richard to suspend his studies which he loved to take over the family estates and make them profitable again. In farming his brother’s impoverished estate, his brother, in gratitude for Richard’s successful labors, proposed to turn over to him all his lands; but he refused both the estates and the offer of a brilliant marriage, to study for the priesthood at Oxford. While studing at Oxford for the priesthood, he was so poor that he and two companions shared a set of clothes which they took turns wearing to class. He obtained degrees at the universities in Paris and Bologna before being appointed as the Chancellor of Oxford University in 1235. Saint Richard was appointed Chancellor for his learning and piety and afterwards chancellor of his diocese by Saint Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom he was a faithful companion and advisor. Years later St. Richard was ordained the Bishop of Chichester. In this position he entered into power struggles with King Henry III, who withheld his diocesan revenues and blocked his access to the cathedral. The new Chancellor stood by the Saint in his long contest with the king, and then accompanied him into exile in France, in the Abbey of Pontigny. After Saint Edmund’s death there, he studied theology in Orleans before returning to England to toil as a simple parish priest. He was, however, soon elected by the Canons of Chichester, when their see became vacant, for their Bishop. This election greatly displeased the king, who had nominated another candidate whom the Canons judged unworthy. The king in revenge refused to recognize the election, and seized the revenues of the see. Thus Saint Richard found himself fighting the same battle in which Saint Edmund had died.
St. Richard went to Lyons, where he was consecrated bishop by Innocent IV in 1245, and returning to England he exercised fully his episcopal rights despite his poverty and the king’s hostility, and thoroughly reformed his see. Young and old loved Saint Richard, and after two years his revenues were restored. To feed the poor and heal the sick, he gave all he had and worked miracles; and when the rights or the sanctity of the Church were concerned, he was inexorable. A priest of noble blood polluted his office by sin; St. Richard deprived him of his benefice, and refused the king’s petition in his favor. On the other hand, when a knight violently imprisoned a priest, St. Richard compelled the knight to walk around the priest’s church with the same log of wood on his neck to which he had chained him. And when the burgesses of Lewes tore a criminal from the church and hanged him, St. Richard made them dig up the body from its unconsecrated grave, and bear it back to the sanctuary they had violated. The Pope commissioned St. Richard to preach a crusade against the Saracens. In fulfilling this mission he fell sick of fever, which was the forerunner of his death in 1253. He died surrounded by his closest friends at about 56 years of age. He was buried in the Chichester Cathedral and his shrine became a popular place of pilgrimage before being destroyed by King Henry VIII. St. Richard had many accomplishments as bishop, including establishing greater order and reverence to the liturgy, vigorously defending the rights of the Church, assisting the poor and the oppressed, and preaching a crusade against the Saracens at the request of the Pope. St. Richard was canonized in 1262 by Pope Urban IV and his feast day is April 3rd. He’s the Patron Saint of Coachmen; Diocese of Chichester; Sussex, England.
“O Dear Lord, three things I pray: to see you more clearly, to love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day.”
“Satisfaction consists in the cutting off of the causes of the sin. Thus, fasting is the proper antidote to lust; prayer to pride, to envy, anger and sloth; alms to covetousness”. ~ St. Richard of Chichester
PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You for all the blessings You have given me, and for all the sufferings and shame You have endured for me, on which account that pitiable cry of sorrow was Thine: ” Behold and see, if there was any sorrow like unto My sorrow!” ” You know, Lord, how willing I should be to bear insult, and pain, and death for You; therefore have mercy on me, for to You, I commend my spirit.”… Amen.
God, You made St. Richard an outstanding exemplar of Divine love and the Faith that conquers the world, and added him to the roll of saintly pastors. Grant by his intercession that we may persevere in Faith and love and become sharers of his glory. Amen. Saint Richard of Chichester ~ 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 during this Easter 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”
Today’s Bible Readings, Wednesday in the Octave of Easter | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 24:13–35
“They recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread”
“That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to Him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And He replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to Him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed Him over to a sentence of death and crucified Him. But we were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find His Body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that He was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but Him they did not see.” And He said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, He gave the impression that He was going on farther. But they urged Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, but He vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
In today’s Gospel reading, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were clearly discouraged and downcast. We can all find ourselves in that place from time to time, in the shadow of the cross. If that is where we are, that is the self we bring to prayer. When the risen Lord first spoke to His unsuspecting disciples, it was to invite them to share what was in their hearts, to tell Him their story, a story that was full of sadness and devoid of hope. The Lord invites us in prayer to tell our story, to share with Him whatever might be in our hearts. It is only when the Lord had listened to their story that He told them His story, the story of His journey from suffering to glory as told in the Scriptures. Having open their hearts to this stranger, it was now their turn to listen. There comes a time in our prayer when, having opened our hearts to the Lord, we too need to listen to His word to us. A passage from Scripture can help us to be attentive to what the Lord might want to say to us. This prayerful moment of sharing with the Lord and listening to Him ‘on the way’ led to another prayerful moment at table. There Jesus prayed a prayer of blessing over the bread, broke it and gave it to His disciples. Jesus’ prayerful words and actions led to a prayer of recognition on the part of the disciples. They recognized the Lord at the breaking of bread. Our prayer of sharing and listening will often lead us to the prayer of the Eucharist. There we enter into the Lord’s own prayer of blessing and thanksgiving to the Father as we prayerfully recognize the Lord who comes us in the breaking of bread. After these prayerful encounters, the two disciples left the table and shared with others their Easter faith. At the end of every Eucharist, we are sent out to do the same.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles the account of the healing of the beggar who sat by the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem, by St. Peter and St. John who happened to be passing by. The beggar was healed by the Apostles who healed him in the Name of the Lord, and the crippled beggar was made whole again. That miraculous healing made not only the beggar to rejoice, leaping with joy, but also everyone else who have witnessed the miraculous healing, as everyone knew how long that man had been sitting and was crippled since birth, and God had made him whole and fine again.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded of the grace that God has given us through the suffering, death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ, Whom He had sent into this world to be our Lord and Saviour. Through Christ, all of us have received a new hope and seen the Light of God’s salvation, revealing fully the great and enduring love which God has for each and every one of us, each one without exception. We are all reminded that through His suffering, death and resurrection, Christ has gathered and called us all, the lost sheep of His flock, to find our way towards Him and the eternal life that He has promised and purchased by His death, for all the faithful ones. May God in His infinite grace and mercy be with us all and grant us His grace, and may our Risen Lord continue to strengthen us and give us the courage and the power to be great missionaries of His love and truth in our present day world. May we help one another to be closer to God, and bring many others to the healing and happiness that can be found in God alone, our Hope and our Light, our Saviour and our God. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
My resurrected Lord, You appeared to these disciples who lacked faith and understanding and gave them the gift of Your holy teaching. Teach me, dear Lord, all that I must come to understand and know about You, Your death, Resurrection and glorious gift of new life. May Your Word burn within me and lead me to a transformation of my life. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Richard of Chichester ~ 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. Have a blessed, safe and grace-filled Easter Wednesday🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖