THIRD WEEK OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: APRIL 16, 2024
MEMORIAL OF SAINT BERNADETTE SOUBIROUS OF LOURDES, VIRGIN; SAINT BENEDICT JOSEPH LABRE AND SAINT ENGRATIA AND THE EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA
Greetings, beloved family and Happy Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter!
We continue to celebrate and rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God’s grace and mercy be with us all during this Easter season and always🙏
Watch “Holy Mass and Holy Rosary on EWTN | April 16, 2024” |
Pray “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 16, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | April 16, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 16, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 16, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteriels VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 7:51-8:1
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 31:3-4, 6, 7, 8, 17, 21
Gospel, John 6:30-35
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/
As we continue to rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, Virgin, (Patron Saint of the ill, poor, sheep tenders and those ridiculed for their piety); Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, known as “The Beggar Saint” (He’s Patron Saint of beggars, hobos, the homeless, unmarried men (bachelors), rejects, mental illness, mentally ill people, insanity) and Saint Engratia and the Eighteen Martyrs of Saragossa. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, we humbly pray for the sick, the poor, the homeless and the needy in our world, especially during these incredibly challenging times.🙏
PRAYER: “God, thank you for the abundance of life, relationships, health, comfort, and wealth you have provided, and thank you that even in times of need, despair, and brokenness, you are there. Please, put your arms around children and families in extreme poverty so they feel comfort and hope; meet their needs both physically and spiritually. And, Lord, guide me so I can be your hands and feet pursuing justice for the poor and upholding the cause of the needy”….Amen🙏
SAINT BERNADETTE SOUBIROUS OF LOURDES, VIRGIN: St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844–1879), original name Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, a French saint whose visions led to the founding of the Marian shrine of Lourdes. She was the eldest of nine children born to an impoverished family from Lourdes, France. She was a sickly child who suffered from severe asthma her entire life. While out collecting firewood on February 11, 1858, at the age of 14, Bernadette saw an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a grotto cave on the banks of the Gave River. It was the first of 18 times that the Blessed Mother would appear to her. St. Bernadette faced much controversy and opposition as a result of her visions, including humiliating interrogations from both the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Yet, many of the townspeople believed her and gathered at the grotto when she continued to have visits from the Virgin Mary. During one of the visits a hidden spring was shown to St. Bernadette which proved to have miraculous healing power. When Our Lady finally revealed her name to St. Bernadette as the “Immaculate Conception,” the local bishop acknowledged the visions as authentic. As requested by Our Lady of Lourdes, a church was erected at the site of the grotto and spring. Today, Lourdes is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage shrines in the world. Multitudes have experienced medically documented cures of body and soul from the Lourdes waters.
In 1866, St. Bernadette Soubirous joined the Sisters of Charity at Nevers, taking her perpetual vows in 1878. Her contemporaries admired her humility and the authentic character of her testimony about the appearance of the Blessed Virgin. Neverthless, the Saint had to endure many severe trials during her religious life and exhibited heroic patience in sickness. She realized that the healing spring was not for her, and was fond of saying: “The Blessed Virgin used me as a broom to remove dust. When the work is finished, the broom is placed behind the door and left there.” St. Bernadette died at a convent in Nevers, France, on April 16,1879, at the age of 35. She was canonized in 1933 by Pope Pius XI. Her feast day is April 16th
“Love overcomes, love delights. Those who love the Sacred Heart rejoice. Jesus, my God, I love you above all things.”~ St. Bernadette Soubirous
PRAYER: Lord God, You showered heavenly gifts on St. Bernadette. Help us to imitate her virtues during our earthly life and enjoy eternal happiness with her in heaven. Amen🙏
SAINT BENEDICT JOSEPH LABRE: Saint Benedict Joseph Labre (1748-1783), a Mendicant, Pilgrim was born in the village of Amettes, near Boulogne in France, on March 26, 1748. He was the eldest of a family of fifteen children. From his earliest years he manifested exceptional piety, and was particularly attracted to the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. His early education was confided to one of his uncles, who was the parish priest of Erin, in view of his future ordination. He was not certain, however, that he was called to the priesthood, and said, It is very beautiful to be a priest, but I fear losing my soul while saving others. He desired the contemplative life and entered the Carthusian Order. But it was not long before his Superiors decided he did not have the vocation to that Order. After making several more requests to enter monasteries where he might serve God according to his heart’s desire, he was finally received in November 1769 by the Cistercians, whom he greatly edified by his silent prayer and communion with God. His happiness, however, proved to be short-lived; he was taken very ill and again his Superiors decided that he was not called to be one of their number. Providence had permitted these events. Upon his recovery, he discovered God’s holy will for him, which was, he wrote, that remaining in the midst of the world, he devoutly visit as a pilgrim the famous places of Christian devotion. With this purpose ever before him, he made solitary pilgrimages to many of the great shrines of Europe, taking with him only a rosary, a crucifix, and a little sack containing his New Testament, the Imitation of Christ and a Breviary. He visited the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Italy no fewer than ten times during his life.
One writer tells us that he seemed to have been destined by God to recall to men’s mind the poverty of Christ. He ate nothing but the fragments he received from charity, and never kept any food given him for another day, becoming himself a provider for the poor with his surplus. He slept outdoors as a rule, and esteemed himself happy in suffering hunger, thirst, heat, rain, cold and snow. He was ordinarily regarded as a fool, and was often the brunt of mockery by children and bystanders. No mistreatment could discourage him, since he kept ever before his mind the mortified life of the Master and His Blessed Mother. He loved most of all the Church of Our Lady of the Mountains in Rome. He spent much time in this, his favorite place of devotion, and on Wednesday of Holy Week in the year 1783, when he went to pray, he was taken suddenly ill, and expired while those who attended him in his last moments were saying the invocation of the litany of the dying: Holy Mary, pray for him.
Saint Benedict Joseph Labre ~ Pray for us🙏
SAINT ENGRATIA AND THE EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA: Saint Engratia, was a virgin martyr and a native of Portugal. Her father had promised her in marriage to a man of quality in Rousillon, Gaul, and to accompany her there, he sent as her escort for the marriage her uncle Lupercius and a brilliant suite of sixteen other noblemen, as well as a servant named Julie. When they arrived at Saragossa, she learned of the horrible massacre of Christians being carried on at that time, and of the torments they were enduring at the hand of Dacian, who governed that region in the name of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian. Inspired with a divine heroism, she resolved to attempt to change his dispositions, or if she could not do so, to take part herself in the glory of these generous soldiers of Christ, and mingle her blood with theirs. She obtained an audience with the persecutor. Saying she was moved with compassion for her brethren who, despite their innocence, were being slain without mercy, she asked him, How can you shed the blood of so many persons who have done nothing but adore the true God and despise vain idols? Dacian, hearing her gentle reproaches, immediately had her imprisoned and sought out her companions, whom he also cast into prison. They affirmed at his tribunal that they too were Christians, and all were cruelly scourged. Saint Engratia was subjected to the most cruel and barbarous torments; abandoned in prison, she died of her wounds which festered there. Her death occurred in April of the year 303.
Saint Lupercius, with the seventeen nobles and Julie, had already been decapitated. Dacian, still not satiated with blood, massacred great numbers of other Christians of Saragossa who are honored on November 3rd under the title of the Countless Martyrs of Saragossa. Their bodies were burned with those of several malefactors, imprisoned at the same time, but it is said that the ashes of the martyrs separated and formed a lot apart, called the masse blanche. The relics of Saint Engratia, who was buried by the Christians of Saragossa, have always been held in high honor in Spain, at Saragossa in particular.
Saint Engratia and the Eighteen Martyrs of Saragossa ~ 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
Bible Readings for today, Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter | USCCB |
https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ John 6:30-35
“It was not Moses, but my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven”
The crowd said to Jesus: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
In today’s Gospel reading, people asked Jesus, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do?’ This is immediately after Jesus had done the work of feeding a large crowd with five barley loaves and two fish. Here was a work that was a sign for those with eyes to see. This work pointed beyond itself to Jesus’ true identity. His feeding of the crowd with bread and fish was a sign that Jesus was ‘the bread of life’ in the language of today’s Gospel reading. The real significance of Jesus’ miraculous work of the crowd lay in what it has to say about who Jesus is for all those who believe in Him. The crowd who were fed would become hungry again, however, Jesus remains the bread of life for all who come to him, not just during His public ministry, but for all future generations who will come to Him as risen Lord. Jesus is our Bread of Life today. The promise He makes in today’s Gospel reading is made to each one of us, ‘those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never thirst’. The risen Lord promises to satisfy the deepest hungers and thirsts in our heart, the hunger and thirst for love, for forgiveness, for justice, for peace, for communion, for life to the full. There is a sense in which those deeper hungers and thirsts will only be fully satisfied at the heavenly banquet in the kingdom of God. However, Jesus’ promises pertains not just to the ultimate future but also to the present. Here and now, in our own place and time, He is bread of life for all who believe in Him and for all who come to Him. We encounter the Lord as Bread of Life in a special way at the Eucharist, yet the Lord’s invitation to come to Him as Bread of Life is not limited to the Eucharist. He is our daily bread of life, in every place and time.
Our first reading today is a continuation of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, after he had spoken courageously and fearlessly before all the assembled people who were all against him. Those people had hardened and closed their hearts and minds against the Lord and His words, and even though St. Stephen had spoken with great wisdom and eloquence, explaining to them in vain about the works of the Lord in His salvation of the whole world. St. Stephen spoke at length about how God had been with His people, guiding and empowering them, despite their many rebellions and refusals to follow Him faithfully. God continued to patiently lead them by hand through His many prophets, messengers and appointed leaders, who helped them all to remain faithful to Him, and which culminated in the sending and arrival of His own Beloved Son, the One to be the Saviour of all. Yet, as St. Stephen pointed out, the people had rejected the great grace of God, His patient love and salvation, persecuting the very One Whom God had sent to help and save them. They crucified the Lord, persecuted His servants and disciples, and tried to stop the works of God being done, harassing the disciples at every turn of the way, like what they had done with St. Stephen himself. Yet, the Lord was still being patient with the people, and through St. Stephen, despite seemingly futile, He was still trying to reach out to them and convince them to believe in Him. This did not happen though, and those people persecuted St. Stephen, whom they punished and stoned to death, a punishment that was reserved for blasphemers and sinners. Yet, despite being the righteous one, St. Stephen, like that of the Lord Himself before him, forgave all of his persecutors and murderers. According to the Gospel, St. Stephen is stoned to death by those who found his preaching offensive. St. Stephen’s way of dying is portrayed in a manner that would call to mind how Jesus died. As Jesus on the cross prayed, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’, St. Stephen prays to the risen Jesus, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’. As Jesus on the cross prayed, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’, St. Stephen prays to the risen Jesus, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’. In other words, Luke presents Stephen as having the same relationship with Jesus that Jesus has with his heavenly Father. We are all called to have the same relationship with Jesus that Jesus has with His Father. Jesus’ intimate relationship with God His Father is to be the model of our relationship with Jesus.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all presented with the continuation of the story of the martyrdom of the very first martyr of the Church, namely that of St. Stephen the protomartyr. This faithful man of God had to endure the persecutions, stubborn rejection and refusal by all the enemies of the Lord in hardening their hearts and in stubbornly refusing to embrace God’s truth and Good News in the person of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. We are also reminded of the Lord Who is our Bread of Life, the One and only Source of our Hope and Life, the One Whom we should focus our attention and efforts upon. This reminds us that as long as we centre our lives upon the Lord, then we shall have nothing to worry about, and we should not be concerned about how we will turn out to be, because the Lord Himself is with us, guiding us and strengthening us. We are also reminded that we have to be ever courageous and committed as the holy people of God, not to be easily swayed by the temptations of the world, by the many pressures, trials and challenges present all around us. All those things may lead us to give up on our efforts and struggles to do God’s will, but as St. Stephen has shown us, through his fearless efforts and his perseverance despite the many trials and oppositions he faced, all of us should also be strengthened and encouraged in our own lives and dedication as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people. We cannot be idle and ignorant of our calling and missions as those whom God had called and chosen. To each one of us God has entrusted the responsibilities and the missions to proclaim His truth and salvation to the nations. The question now is, what are we then going to do in fulfilling our missions and calling in life? Are we going to embrace God’s call and follow Him in His path, doing what He has called on us to do, so that in each and every moments of our lives we will continue to live our lives with the right actions and convictions, with the strong and enduring desire to walk in God’s path without losing focus and hope on His promises and truth. Let us all ever be worthy of God in all things, and do our best so that our every actions, words and deeds, our whole lives may glorify the Lord, now and always. May God in His infinite grace and mercy be with us all and may He grant us His grace and bless our actions and strengthen each and every one of us so that we may always ever be courageous to do His will, and be His witnesses wherever we are, and in whatever opportunities we receive. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
My Eucharistic Lord, You are the Bread of Life. You are all that I desire in life. Give me the grace of understanding, dear Lord, so that I can come to believe all that You have revealed about the Most Holy Eucharist. I do believe, my God. Help my unbelief. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, Virgin, Saint Benedict Joseph Labre and Saint Engratia and the Eighteen Martyrs of Saragossa ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and praying for us all as we celebrate the resurrection of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. Have a blessed, safe, joyous and grace-filled Third Week of Easter🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖