THURSDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ APRIL 4, 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 Thursday!
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 4, 2024 on EWTN” |
Pray “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 4, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | April 4, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | April 4, 2024 |
Pray “Solemn Novena of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy – Day 7 | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | Easter Thursday, April 4, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteriels VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Today’s Bible Readings: Thursday, April 4, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 3:11-26
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 8:2, 5, 6-7, 8-9
Gospel, Luke 24:35-48
NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: Novena begins on Good Friday, March 29, 2024 and ends, Saturday, April 6, 2024
DAY 7: Today, Easter Thursday is the seventh 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 Isidore of Seville, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He’s the Patron Saint of Student and was more recently proposed as a Patron Saint of Internet users, because of his determination to use the world’s accumulated knowledge for the service of God’s glory. He is also the patron saint of computer users, computer technicians and programmers (all electronic patronages are unofficial). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Isidore of Seville and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the salvation of all Christians and particularly pray for all students and that all those who use the internent, may benefit from the blessing of technology and continue to use it faithfully and appropriately for various purposes as well as spreading the good news of the Lord through hope, love, charity and faith during these incredibly challenging times. May the name of the Lord be praised forever and ever… Amen🙏
Almighty and eternal God, who hast created us in Thy image and hast bidden us to seek after all that is good, true, and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee that, through the intercession of Saint Isidor, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all souls whom we encounter. Through Jesus Christ our Lord… Amen🙏
“Confession heals, Confession justifies, Confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in Confession; in Confession there is a chance for mercy.” ~ Saint Isidore of Seville
“The suffering of adversity does not degrade you but exalts you. Human tribulation teaches you, it does not destroy you. The more we are afflicted in this world, the greater is our assurance for the next. The more we sorrow in the present,. ..the greater will be our joy in the future.” ~ Saint Isidore of Seville
SAINT ISIDORE OF SEVILLE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Isidore of Seville (560 – 636 A.D.) was a bishop and scholar who helped the Church preserve its own traditions, and the heritage of western civilization, in the early middle ages. He succeeded his brother St. Leander as Archbishop of Seville, was one of the great bishops of the seventh century. He was proficient in all brances of knowledge and was regarded as one of the most learned men of his time. St. Isidore was born in Carthagena, Spain, in approximately 560 to noble and pious parents, Severinus and Theodora, illustrious for their virtue. After the example of their parents, he, as well as his two brothers, Leander and Fulgentius, who became bishops, and his sister Florentina, a nun – were all later canonized as saints along with him. From his youth he consecrated himself to the service of the Church and prepared himself for his sacred ministry by virtue and learning. St. Isidore received his early education at the cathedral school in Seville where a group of learned men taught classical education, among them was his brother Leander, the Archbishop of Seville. The cathedral school was the first of its kind in the country and St. Isidore excelled in his studies there. As the Archbishop of Seville, Leander was an important influence on his younger brother, helping Isidore develop a commitment to study, prayer, and intense work for the good of the Church. St. Isidore became a man of great learning, zeal, piety, and apostolic endeavor, he joined his brother’s mission and assisted his brother in converting the Visigoths from the Arian heresy who had invaded Spain. When St. Leander died around the year 600, his brother, St. Isidore succeeded him as Seville’s archbishop, leading his diocese for nearly 40 years. St. Isidore inherited his brother’s responsibility for Church affairs in an intense period of change, as the institutions of the Western Roman Empire gave way to the culture of the barbarian tribes.
St. Isidore was an important saint for his time. He was one of the most learned men of the 6th century and is considered the last of the early Church Fathers. For the good of the Church and civilization, St. Isidore was determined to preserve the wisdom and knowledge of the past, maintaining the fruitful synthesis of classical Roman culture and Christian faith. He was a prolific writer on the sciences and the classics which in effect helped preserve western civilization during the early middle ages following the barbarian invasions. He composed history books, a dictionary with a structure akin to a database, and an encyclopedia which was used for nine centuries. St. Isidore was also intent on preventing false teachings from shattering the unity of the Church in Spain. He reunited Spain after the barbarian onslaught, making it a center of culture and learning. He is regarded as the great restorer of the Spanish Church after the Visigoths returned to the Catholic faith. He also contributed greatly to the development of Spain’s liturgy. He presided over the fourth provincial council of Toledo (633), the most important in Spanish history. He required seminaries to be built in every diocese, wrote a rule for religious orders, and founded schools that taught every branch of learning. Spain then became a model for similar renewal in other European countries. Responsible above all for the good of the Church, St. Isidore also sought the common good by encouraging study and development in areas such as law, medicine, foreign languages, and philosophy. He compiled the “Etymologiae,” the first encyclopedia written from a Catholic perspective. Under Isidore’s leadership, a series of local councils solidified the orthodoxy of the Spanish Church against errors about Christ and the Trinity. Systematic and extensive education of the clergy was stressed as a necessary means of guarding the faithful against false doctrine.
Prolific in his writings and and diligent in governing the Church, St. Isidore did not neglect the service of those in need. “Indeed, just as we must love God in contemplation, so we must love our neighbor with action,” he declared. “It is therefore impossible to live without the presence of both the one and the other form of life, nor can we live without experiencing both the one and the other.” In the last months of his life, St. Isidore offered a moving testament to these words, intensifying his charitable outreach to the poor, his charities became more profuse than ever. Crowds of people in need flocked to his residence from far and wide, as the bishop offered his final works of mercy on earth. Perceiving his end approaching he went to church, received Holy Communion, remitted all the debts that were due to him, and caused his money to be distributed to the poor. He then returned home and calmly expired four days later, on April 4 of the year 636 after ruling his see for almost 40 years. In 653, less than two decades after his death, a council of bishops in Spain acclaimed St. Isidore as “an illustrious teacher of our time and the glory of the Catholic Church.” He is regarded as being among the last of the early Church Fathers, who combined Christian faith and classical education. St. Gregory the Great was one of his personal friends. Pope Innocent XIII canonized him in 1722 and for his great learning and written works he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV. St. Isidore of Seville is the Patron Saint of schoolchildren, students, computer technicians, computer users; computers and the internet. He’s a patron saint of Internet users, because of his determination to use the world’s accumulated knowledge for the service of God’s glory.
“Confession heals, Confession justifies, Confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in Confession; in Confession there is a chance for mercy.” ~ Saint Isidore of Seville
PRAYER: Lord, hear our prayers, which we offer on the commemoration of St. Isidore. May Your Church be instructed by his teaching and benefit from his intercession. Amen. Saint Isidore of Seville ~ 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, Thursday in the Octave of Easter | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ Luke 24:35–48
“Thus it was written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day”
“The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ first words to the disciples after rising from the dead were, ‘Peace be with you’. It is a greeting that has made its way into our celebration of the Eucharist. The risen Lord was offering His disciples the gift of His peace. He was making peace with those who had slept on the Mount of Olives when He had asked them to pray. He was making peace with Peter who had denied Him publicly three times. He was taking the initiative to be reconciled with those who had failed Him. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, He was welcoming back into communion with Himself those who had strayed. He went on to express His communion with His disciples by eating in their company. The resurrection proclaimed the faithfulness of Jesus to His flawed disciples. It was a moment of grace which the disciples struggled to receive. According to the Gospel reading, they were agitated and full of doubt. They were dumbfounded. In a striking phrase, it is said of them that ‘their joy was so great they still could not believe it’. The risen Lord continues to stand among us offering us his peace. Our many past failings do not make His presence any less powerful or his offer of peace any less generous. He comes among us to call us into a renewed communion with Himself. As risen Lord He shows us the face of God as mercy. When we allow ourselves to receive the peace of God He is offering, then He will send us out, as He send out His first disciples, as His peacemakers, as messengers of God’s love and mercy.
Our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, is the courageous and fiery speech from St. Peter the Apostle, who together with St. John had healed a paralysed beggar waiting by the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem. The people who witnessed the miraculous healing of the paralysed beggar were all astonished, surprised and filled with joy upon seeing the healed man. They could not believe what they had seen, and yet, were filled with joy because of what they had witnessed, seeing a hopeless man filled once again with strength and hope from God. St. Peter reminded the assembled people of everything that had just recently happened, how the Lord Jesus had come into their midst and revealed the extent of God’s most generous love for them, caring for them and providing for their needs, reaching out to those who were in need of healing and help. He empowered the people and gave them hope once again, bringing the light of God and true Hope amongst them, strengthening their resolve, healing those who were sick and were troubled, casting out demons and restoring those who were diseased back to good health once again. Yet, despite everything that He had done for their sake, many among the people still stubbornly refused to believe in God and still rejected Him, doubting Him and His works. That was also why the people chose to condemn the Lord to death, a most humiliating and painful death on the Cross, which the Apostles then were proclaiming, as St. Peter did. St. Peter told the people how even though they had condemned the Lord to death, but it was part of God’s overarching plan to save all of mankind. Through His suffering and death, God had purchased for all of us the gift of eternal life and salvation, and by His resurrection, He has united all of us in a new life with Him.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we have been told to remember the salvation that has come down to us through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. The Sacred Scriptures today have spoken to us regarding the things that God had done for our sake, in Him sending to us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God, to be the source of our Hope and salvation. By His Passion, His suffering, death and resurrection, He has liberated us from the bondage to sin and death, and through Him, a new hope and light had been revealed to us. Let us all renew our faith in God and let us commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord with new zeal and dedication. May the Lord continue to guide us and help to strengthen us in this journey of faith. May He empower us and strengthen us in our struggles and journey in this world, and give us the courage and power to walk ever more faithfully in God’s path, and to proclaim His truth and glory by our very own lives and actions. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us the grace and let us all be the shining beacons of the Resurrected Christ and His Light, that many more people may come to believe in Him and His salvation through us and our exemplary living. May the Risen Lord bless us always, and may He bless our Easter season and celebrations, bless our loved ones always. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
My risen Jesus, You gave Your disciples a glorious gift when You opened their minds to Your holy Truth and taught them many things. Please open my mind also, dear Lord, so that I will comprehend the deep and profound mysteries of faith. Help me to understand Who You are, why You had to die, and how to share in the new life of Your Resurrection. Please also use me as Your witness so that many will come to know You and share in the new life won by Your Resurrection. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Isidore of Seville ~ 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 Thursday🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖