FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: APRIL 29, 2024
Greetings, beloved family and Happy Monday of the Fifth 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 29, 2024” |
Pray “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 29, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | April 29, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 29, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 29, 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: Monday, April 29, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 14:5-18
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16
Gospel, John 14:21-26
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: MEMORIAL OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH; SAINT HUGH OF CLUNY, ABBOT AND SAINT PETER OF VERONA, PRIEST AND MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY: APRIL 29TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church; Saint Hugh of Cluny and Saint Peter of Verona, Priest and Martyr. 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, we particularly pray for those suffering from cancers and 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, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, for the poor and needy, for all expectant mothers and midwives and Christians all over the world. 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 our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. 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🙏
SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Catherine (March 25, 1347 – April 29, 1380), was born in Siena, on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1347 and was one of the youngest, 24th of 25 children of a wealthy wool dyer and his wife, Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa. Her twin sister died in infancy. A lay member of the third-order Dominican, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and the Catholic Church. St. Catherine was a peacemaker and counselor to the Pope. She singlehandedly ended the Avignon exile of the successors of Peter in the 14th century. St. Catherine exhibited an unusually independent character as a child and an exceptionally intense prayer life. When she was seven years old she had the first of her mystical visions, in which she saw Jesus surrounded by Saints and seated in glory. In the same year she vowed to consecrate her virginity to Christ. When, at the age of 16, her parents decided that she should marry, she cut off her hair to make herself less appealing, and her father, realizing that he couldn’t contend with her resolve, let her have her way. She joined the Dominican Tertiaries and lived a deep and solitary life of prayer and meditation for the next three years in which she had constant mystical experiences, capped, by the end of the three years with an extraordinary union with God granted to only a few mystics, known as ‘mystical marriage.’ She had regular mystical visits from, and conversations with, Jesus, Mary, and many of the Saints. St. Catherine had no formal education and was illiterate, yet her theological knowledge acquired through prayer astounded learned theologians. She was especially devoted to working for the unity and spiritual health of the Church.
St. Catherine suffered many intense periods of desolation alongside her mystical ecstasies, often feeling totally abandoned by God. She ended her solitude at this point and began tending to the sick, poor, and marginalized, especially lepers. As her reputation for holiness and remarkable personality became known throughout Siena, she attracted a band of disciples, two of whom became her confessors and biographers, and together they served Christ in the poor with even greater ardor. The Lord called her to a more public life while she was still in her 20s, and she established correspondences with many influential figures, advising and admonishing them and exhorting them to holiness, including the Pope himself who she never hesitated to rebuke when she saw fit. Great political acts which are attributed to her include achieving peace between the Holy See and Florence who were at war, to convince the Pope to return from his Avignon exile, which he did in 1376, and to heal the great schism between the followers of the legitimate Pope, Urban VI, and those who opposed him in 1380. She achieved this while on her deathbed. Her Dialogues, one of the classics of Italian literature, are the record of her mystical visions which she dictated in a state of mystical ecstasy. St. Catherine was a great mystic and was granted the stigmata, in 1375, while visiting Pisa, she received the stigmata, even though they never appeared on her body during her lifetime, owing to her request to God. They appeared only on her incorruptible body after her death. Her practical wisdom and profound spiritual insight was widely sought both inside and outside the Church. She died in Rome on April 29, 1380, at the age of 33, worn out by penances, travel, and the burden of her involvement in so many pressing ecclesial affairs, offering her life to God for the sanctification of the Church. She was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II. St. Catherine has long been regarded as one of the finest theological minds on the Church—as is shown by her outstanding work, Dialogue, as well as some 400 Letters—and on October 4, 1970 Pope Paul VI declared her a Doctor of the Church. She was the first woman (along with Teresa of Ávila) to be declared a doctor of the Church. St. Catherine of Siena is the co-patron of Italy and of Europe and the Patron Saint of fire prevention; bodily ills; miscarriages; people ridiculed for their piety; sexual temptation; sick people; sickness; nurses, Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA; Europe; illness; Italy; Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines; Samal, Bataan, Philippines.
Quotes of Saint Catherine of Siena:
“Sin arises simply from loving what God hates and hating what God loves.”
“Let all do the work which God has given them, and not bury their talent, for that is also a sin deserving severe punishment. It is necessary to work always and everywhere for all God’s creatures.”
PRAYER: Saint Catherine of Siena, your love of God was expressed in so many vibrant ways and in a fervent love of His Church. From your exalted place in heaven, we seek your powerful intercession to make all Catholics more ardent in their love of the Trinity, of the Passion, and of the Papacy… Amen🙏
God, You caused St. Catherine to shine with Divine love in the contemplation of the Lord’s Passion and in the service of Your Church. By her help, grant that Your people, associated in the mystery of Christ, may ever exult in the revelation of His glory… Amen🙏
SAINT HUGH OF CLUNY, ABBOT: St. Hugh (1024-1109) sometimes called Hugh the Great or Hugh of Semur, was the Abbot of Cluny from 1049 until his death. A prince and was an adviser to nine popes. He was one of the most influential leaders of the monastic orders from the Middle Ages. Renowned for his charity towards the suffering poor, he built a hospital for lepers, where he himself performed the most menial duties. Saint Hugh was a prince related to the sovereign house of the dukes of Burgundy, and received his education under the tutelage of his pious mother and by the solicitude of Hugh, Bishop of Auxerre, his great-uncle. From his infancy he was given to prayer and meditation, and his life was remarkably innocent and holy. One day, hearing an account of the wonderful sanctity of the monks of Cluny under Saint Odilo, he was so moved that he set out at that moment, and going there humbly begged the monastic habit. After a rigid novitiate, he made his profession in 1039, at the age of sixteen years. His extraordinary virtue, especially his admirable humility, obedience, charity, sweetness, prudence, and zeal, gained him the respect of the entire community.
At the death of Saint Odilo in 1049, though Saint Hugh was only twenty-five years old, he succeeded to the government of that great abbey, which he continued for sixty-two years. During those years, the role of Cluny was immense. From it came two very illustrious Popes, Urban II and Pascal II, both disciples of Saint Hugh. The king of Castille, Alphonsus VI, owed his deliverance from an imprisonment to the prayers and intervention of Saint Hugh. A count of Macon entered the monastery with thirty knights and a great many servants, while the countess, his wife, retired to a convent founded by Saint Hugh. Donations of large terrains were made to this Abbey, permitting innumerable foundations. Urban II gave Saint Hugh the right to wear pontifical ornaments for the solemn feast days. Saint Hugh of Cluny died on April 29, 1109, at the age of eighty-five years. He was canonized twelve years after his death by Pope Calixtus II on January 1, 1120. He’s Patron Saint against fever.
Saint Hugh of Cluny, Abbot ~ Pray for us🙏
SAINT PETER OF VERONA, PRIEST AND MARTYR: St. Peter of Verona (1205- April 6, 1252) was a 13th century Italian Catholic priest. He was a Dominican friar and a celebrated preacher. His parents were Manichaeans, but he was converted and entered the Order of Preachers with the ambition not only of preaching the faith but of giving his life for it. He served as Inquisitor in Lombardy and had his wish, for in the course of his apostolic work he was assassinated by the Manichaeans on the road from Como to Milan in 1252. St. Peter of Verona was born in 1205 at Verona of Manichean parents; there he nonetheless attended a Catholic school. One day his Manichean uncle asked what he learnt there. The Creed, answered Peter: I believe in God, Creator of heaven and earth. No arguments could shake his faith, and at the age of sixteen he received the habit from Saint Dominic himself at Bologna. After his ordination, he preached to the heretics of Lombardy and converted multitudes. Saint Peter was constantly obliged to dispute with heretics, and although he was able to confound them, still the devil took occasion thereby to tempt him one day against faith. Instantly he had recourse to prayer before an image of Our Lady, and heard a voice saying to him the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel, I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith may not fail; and thou shalt confirm thy brethren in it. (Luke 22:32)
He often conversed with the Saints, and one day the martyred virgins Catherine, Agnes and Cecilia appeared to him and conferred with him. A passing religious, hearing their feminine voices, accused him to their Superior, who without hesitation or questions, exiled him to a convent where no preaching was being done. Saint Peter submitted humbly, but complained in prayer to Jesus crucified that He was abandoning him to his bad reputation. The crucifix spoke: And I, Peter, was I too not innocent? Learn from Me to suffer the greatest sorrows with joy. Eventually his innocence was brought to light; for his part, he had learned in his solitude to love humiliation and confusion. Again engaged in preaching, miracles accompanied his exhortations. He traveled all over Italy and became famous. Once when preaching to a vast crowd under the burning sun, the heretics defied him to procure shade. He prayed, and a cloud overshadowed the audience. Every day at the elevation of the Mass he prayed, Grant, Lord, that I may die for Thee, who for me didst die. His prayer was answered. His enemies, confounded by him, sought his life. Two of them attacked him in 1252 on the road to Milan and struck his head with an axe. Saint Peter fell, commended himself to God, dipped his finger in his own blood, and wrote on the ground, I believe in God, Creator of heaven and earth. He was then stabbed to death. The brother religious accompanying him also suffered death. The details of the crime were made known by Saint Peter’s murderer, named Carino, who after fleeing from justice confessed his crime, asking for a penance from the Dominican Fathers. He took the habit, and according to their testimony lived the life of a saint and persevered to the end. Miracles at Saint Peter’s tomb and elsewhere converted a great many heretics. He was canonized as a Catholic saint 11 months after his death, making this the fastest canonization in history. He’s Patron Saint of Inquisitors, midwives and Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
St. Peter of Verona, Priest and Martyr ~ Pray for us🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS
Bible Readings for today, Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ John 14:21-26
“The Advocate whom the Father will send will teach you everything”
“Jesus said to His disciples: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name – he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says to His disciples, ‘the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you’. It is the evening before Jesus is put to death; His disciples are aware that Jesus is taking His leave of them. In that highly charged hour Jesus assures them that His leaving them, His death, will not be the end of His relationship with them. He promised them He will send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit from the Father who will teach them everything and remind them of all Jesus said to them. Jesus’ relationship with them will endure in and through the Holy Spirit. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to lead us into a deeper understanding of all that Jesus did and said. In that sense, the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus, just as Jesus leads us to the Father. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to hear what Jesus said as a word addressed to us today; the Holy Spirit brings Jesus close to us, makes Him present and brings His word to life for us. That is why as we sit to listen to the Lord’s word it is good to invoke the coming of the Holy Spirit, and to invite the Spirit to bring that word alive for us. Jesus is present to all of us, within all of us, in and through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings Jesus to us today and brings us to Jesus. That is why we need to keep on praying, ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart’. The Holy Spirit helps us to listen fruitfully to the Lord’s word; the Holy Spirit enables us also to make a heartfelt response to that word, both in prayer and in how we live. We keep asking the Spirit we have already received to keep on filling us more and more, filling our thoughts, words, deeds, filling our very being, so that our relationship with the Lord will continue to deepen. We very much need the Holy Spirit; that is why the church encourages us to pray, ‘Come Holy Spirit’ especially during these weeks as we prepare for the feast of Pentecost.
Our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles details the time when the Apostles, St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who were in the midst of a missionary journey, went to the area of Lystra in Asia Minor, where they performed several miracles and proclaimed the Good News of God to the people there. However, as we heard, the many pagan peoples of Lystra mistook this miraculous sign as their own pagan gods, Zeus and Hermes having come down into their midst in the person of St. Paul and St. Barnabas. This was actually accurate as per Greek mythology which believed that their gods occasionally walked down this world in the human form, and hence, those people of Lystra misunderstood what St. Paul and St. Barnabas had done, and treated them as if they were gods incarnate in the flesh, worshipping and honouring them like gods. St. Paul and St. Barnabas pleaded before the people with little effect, as they told them the folly of their actions and the mistakes in their ways and beliefs, in their failure to recognise the one and true Living God, and in their attachments to the inanimate gods and beings of earth, sea, sky and nature as how their pagan beliefs revolved around. By the way they were treated, St. Paul and St. Barnabas were treated with the greatest honours and respect, and it took great courage for them to resist the temptations of pride, glory and worldly power, and not only that, but even also chiding the people for their false ways and erroneous beliefs. They were not swayed by worldly glory and ambition, and while they could have gained and benefitted from the great fervour and honour they were receiving from the people, but they remained firm in their faith and remembered the mission that God has entrusted to them.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, all of us are called and reminded to be the faithful and humble disciples of the Lord, carrying out our lives and living our Christian faith daily to glorify the Lord and to proclaim His Good News to everyone, and not for our own personal glory and ambition. All of us should get rid from our hearts and minds, the dangerous evils of our pride, ego, greed and other things that can become serious obstacles in our path towards the Lord, His grace and salvation. We ought to heed what we have heard from our Scripture readings today relating to the experiences of the Apostles and what the Lord Himself had told His disciples to help us to remain rooted in our faith in the Lord, and not to fall into the many temptations all around us. May the Risen Lord, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to guide us all and help us in our journey, so that we all may come ever closer to His presence, and be inspired to live our lives with ever greater devotion and commitment to the Law and commandments that He has taught and shown us how to do. May all of us be the worthy and great beacons of God’s light, truth and love, in all of our various communities, at every possible opportunities presented to us. Therefore, we should follow the good examples of the Apostles and the many other Saints, Holy men and women of God, including that of St. Catherine of Siena, Saint Hugh of Cluny and Saint Peter of Verona and all the other Saints, whose feast we celebrate today. May all of us be drawn to love the Lord more and dedicate ourselves to a Holy life and existence much as shown us with great and exemplary life of the Saints. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless us all as we continue to live the true spirit of Easter joy and glorify our Risen Lord by our lives. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
Most glorious Lord Jesus, You promised the disciples and all Your people that the Holy Spirit would be sent to us to remind us of all that You have revealed. Holy Spirit, please continuously descend upon me, teach me and guide me. Help me to never forget the many lessons I have been taught so that I will never let fear lead to confusion. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Hugh of Cluny and Saint Peter of Verona ~ 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 Fifth Week of Easter🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖