FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: APRIL 27, 2024
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MONTSERRAT
Greetings, beloved family and Happy Saturday of the Fourth 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 27, 2024” |
Pray “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 27, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | April 27, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 27, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 27, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteriels VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |
Today’s Bible Readings: Saturday, April 27, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 13:44-52
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Gospel, John 14:7-14
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 celebrate and rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Montserrat and the Memorial of Saint Zita of Lucca, Virgin (Patron Saint of Domestic Workers). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Montserrat and Saint Zita, we humbly pray for the sick, we particularly pray for those who are terminally ill and dying. May God in His infinite grace and mercy grant them His divine healing and intervention. We also pray for the Church, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, for all maids, waitresses and other domestic workers and Christians all over the world.🙏
OUR LADY OF MONTSERRAT: Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on the Montserrat Mountain in Catalonia, Spain. Legend relates that the original sculpture was carved by St. Luke and brought to Montserrat by St. Peter in 50 A.D. St. Ignatius of Loyola, a former Crusader, decided to become a missionary after having prayed before this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The origin of the devotion to Our Lady at the shrine of Montserrat according to the earliest written records dates from 932, when the Count of Barcelona confirmed and renewed an endowment to the shrine made by his father in 888. This gift was again confirmed in 982 by Lothaire, King of France. Constant and unbroken tradition is that even previous to 888, an image of Our Lady was miraculously found among the rocks of Montserrat. Montserrat itself is a fantastic mountain group, four thousand feet high, about twenty miles from Barcelona. The name, Montserrat, of Latin origin, means saw-edged mountain. It is formed by huge boulders that raise their immense bulk perpendicularly to that four thousand foot summit. Outwardly, it resembles the seemingly inaccessible monasteries seen on high Mount Athos in Greece: “Montserrat is, and will forever be, a source of deep impressions caused by the singularity of the place. There, what is material becomes cyclopean, the mysterious is turned mystical and the picturesque is promoted to sublimity.” There is a story that the mountain was once a huge boulder with a smooth surface. At the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus, however, when the sun darkened, the rock was shaken to its very foundations and when light returned, the mountain had a thousand peaks.
The legend relates that the figure of Our Lady came from Jerusalem to Barcelona, and was brought into the mountains to save it from the Saracens. It is true that the Montserrat statue has oriental features, but this could well be traced to the Byzantine sculptors who were constantly employed in the West. The legend goes on to say that in the eighth century shepherds one night saw strange lights on the mountain and heard Seraphic music. Guided by the shepherds, the Bishop of Manresa found, in a cavern, a wooden figure of Our Lady and the Holy Child. He ordered that the statue be carried into the cathedral immediately. However, the procession with the statue never reached the cathedral because, after much marching, the small wooden figure became too heavy so that the Bishop decided to accept it as a sign and left it in a chapel of a nearby hermitage. The statue remained there until a church was built on the site of the present abbey on the top of the rocks near where the statue was discovered. Since that incident, this statue is the most celebrated, the most important of Spain; it is thirty-eight inches in height, and is known as “La Morenata”—The Little Black Madonna. The wood is now black with age; one of its most striking features is the dignified expression of Our Lady. In her right hand, she holds a majestic orb. Our Lady of Montserrat is the Patron Saint of Catalonia, an honour she shares with Saint George. The famed image once bore the inscription ”Nigra Sum Sed Formosa” (Latin: I am Black, but Beautiful).
A historian wrote: “In all ages the sinful, the suffering, the sorrowful, have laid their woes at the feet of Our Lady of Montserrat and none have ever gone away unheard or unaided.”
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen🙏
PRAYER: O God, Giver of all good things, who didst choose Montserrat as a glorious Shrine for the Mother of thy only begotten Son, and through her intercession there hast granted favors without number to those who sought them there: bow down thine ears now to our petitions as we kneel and pray before Her image. Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever… Amen🙏
SAINT ZITA OF LUCCA, VIRGIN: Saint Zita (1212-1272), also known as Sitha or Citha), was a 13th century Italian woman whose humble and patient service to God has made her a patron saint of maids and other domestic workers. St. Zita was born in 1212 at Monte Sagrati, near Lucca, Italy into poverty during the early 1200s, Zita was taught by her mother from an early age to seek God’s will in all circumstances. Her elder sister became a Cistercian nun and her uncle Graziano was a hermit whom the local people regarded as a Saint. Zita herself showed a marked tendency to do God’s will obediently whenever it was pointed out to her by her mother. She had already developed a strong prayer life by the time she was sent, at age 12, to work in the home of the Fatinelli family, a well-to-do weaver in Lucca, Italy, eight miles from her native village of Monte Sagrati. St. Zita’s employers lived near a church where she managed – by waking up extremely early in the morning – to attend daily Mass. She looked upon her work primarily as a means of serving God, and kept herself mindful of His presence during long hours of exhausting tasks. Her presence in the Fatinelli household, however, was inexplicably unwelcome and met with harsh treatment for a number of years. Zita suffered hostility and abuse from her employers, including fits of rage and beatings. The young woman faced these trials with patience and inner strength developed through a life of prayer. In time, the members of the household came to value her service, and appreciate the virtues she had acquired through God’s grace.
St. Zita maintained her humility when she was promoted to a position of responsibility within the Fatinelli home. She continued to view her earthly responsibilities as a service to God, and to seek his presence through prayer and fasting. She also refused to hold a grudge against those who once mistreated her. Within her new household role, St. Zita was faithful to Christ’s admonition that superiors should conduct themselves as the servants of all. St. Zita believed that “A servant is not pious if she is not industrious; work-shy piety in people of our position is sham piety.” According to her, “a servant is not Holy if she is not busy.” She was kind to those under her direction, and mindful of the poor through frequent almsgiving to the point of personal sacrifice. Throughout her life, St. Zita found a source of strength and consolation in the Mass and Holy Communion, which frequently moved her to tears. Despite her many responsibilities, she frequently set aside time to recall God’s presence through contemplative prayer in the course of the day. One anecdote relates a story of St. Zita giving her own food or that of her master to the poor. On one morning, St. Zita left her chore of baking bread to tend to someone in need. Some of the other servants made sure the Fatinelli family was aware of what happened; when they went to investigate, they claimed to have found angels in the Fatinelli kitchen, baking the bread for her.
After foretelling her own death and spiritually preparing for it, St. Zita died very peacefully while at prayer in Lucca, Italy on April 27, 1272 at about the age of 60, serving the same family, and after her death many miracles occurred through her intercession. Many residents regarded her as a saint and began to seek her intercession, to which a large number of miracles were attributed. Some writers even began referring to the city of Lucca as “Santa Zita” in her honor.The Fatinelli family, which had once caused St. Zita such extreme suffering, eventually contributed to the cause of her canonization. The earliest account of her life was found in a manuscript belonging to the family, and published in 1688. The Church’s liturgical veneration of St. Zita was introduced in the early 1500s, and confirmed by Pope Innocent XII on September 5, 1696. In 1580, her body was exhumed and found to be miraculously incorrupt, but it has since been mummified. It is venerated today in the Basilica of St. Frediano, where she attended Mass during her life. Her humble and patient service to God has made her a Patron Saint of maids and other domestic workers, people ridiculed for their piety, single laywomen, waiters, waitresses, Italian City of Lucca and she is often appealed to in order to help find lost keys.
PRAYER: Lord God, You showered heavenly gifts on St. Zita the Virgin. Help us to imitate her virtues during our earthly life and enjoy eternal happiness with her in heaven… Amen🙏
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, Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ John 14:7-14
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”
“Jesus said to His disciples: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”
In today’s Gospel reading we find Philip making a request of Jesus, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied. He understood that it is only in seeing God that all the longings of his heart would be satisfied. Jesus replies to Philip’s words with the statement, ‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father’. Jesus reveals the Father; He is the way to the Father. We won’t see God the Father in this life, but God has sent us His Son. Although we cannot see Jesus in the way Philip and the other disciples saw Him, we can see Him with the eyes of faith in this life. We can see Him in His Word, in the Eucharist, in the other Sacraments, in each other. Such ‘seeing’ of the Lord won’t fully satisfy us but it gives us a glimpse of what awaits us. In our Gospel reading, Jesus makes an extraordinary promise: ‘Whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, He will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father’. Jesus tells His disciples that after His death and resurrection they will go on to do even greater works than He has been doing. We might well ask, ‘How could we, Jesus’ disciples, do greater works than He has done?’ Jesus seems to be suggesting that what He has been doing during His public ministry is but the beginning of what He will go on to do as risen Lord working through His disciples. It is in and through us, His disciples, that the Lord reaches people He could never have reached while working in Judea and Galilee. The Lord wants to work through all of the members of His body, the church, all of us who are His disciples. He has great works that He wants to accomplish through us. Perhaps we don’t take ourselves as seriously as the Lord takes us. Perhaps we underestimate just how much the Lord can do through us if we are open to Him and responsive to the movement of His Spirit in our lives.
Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, details the works of St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who preached and spoke courageously and zealously about the salvation in God which have been made available to all the people, be it to the Jewish people or the non-Jewish ones, also known as the Gentiles among the Jews then. The word Gentile itself came from the Latin word ‘gentes’ which means clan and family, that in the context of the then relationship between the Jewish and non-Jewish people became associated with the non-Jewish people, and that was how the Jews called those who did not belong to their race and to their beliefs, with some considering the Gentiles as being pagans, impure, evil and wicked, being unworthy of God, while they viewed themselves as being superior, better and more worthy of God. This stemmed forth from the beliefs of some amongst the Jews that being descended from the ancient people of Israel, the people that God had first called and chosen to be His people, then they had exclusive privileges and access to the Lord, while the Gentiles were barred from similar access because they did not believe in the Lord in the same way as the Jewish people had done. In truth, God did not want to save only His people Israel exclusively, as it has always been His intent to save every one of us, all the children of mankind, regardless of our race and origins, because He loves each and every single one of us all the same. The Jewish people and their ancestors, the Israelites, were merely the ones who have been called by the Lord first, and it was through them that the salvation of God, made manifest in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, came through from. He wants everyone to realise that His love is ever enduring and universal, and everyone has the same chance to come to His love, to be reunited and reconciled with our most loving God, Father and Creator. And our Risen Lord is the Way through Whom all of us can find the sure path to this salvation and grace, the path of eternal life and redemption.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are reminded of the need for us all to have faith in the Lord and to be humble in listening to Him and allowing Him to speak to us in the depth of our hearts and minds. Sometimes we have allowed our ego and pride to get the better of us, and those things prevented us from being able to come close to the Lord and becoming His true disciples and followers. We are all reminded to have this strong and genuine faith in the Lord, committing ourselves and our efforts, time and attention to glorify Him in all of the moments of our lives. As Christians, all of us should be great role models and inspirations for others all around us in how we live our lives. Let us remember the mission that each and every one of us as Christians have in our lives to be exemplary disciples and role models for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and may the Risen Lord, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and King continue to guide and bless us in all things, and may He help each and every one of us to persevere through the challenges facing us in how we live our Christian lives with faith. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
Providential Lord, Your will is perfect and glorious. Please help me to humble myself before You, every day, so that I will understand Your will for my life and choose it always. May I be an instrument of Your saving grace to all whom You wish to touch through me. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Montserrat and Saint Zita of Lucca, Virgin ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for His Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all and for vocations to priesthood and consecrated life. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and fruitful Fourth Week of Easter and relaxing weekend🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖