Daily Readings

May 14, 2025

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

Reading I

Acts 1:15–17, 20–26

In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about one hundred twenty), and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and ‘Let another take his office.’ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us – one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 113:1b–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8

Response: The Lord set them with the princes of his people.

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

May the name of the Lord be blest

both now and forevermore!

Response: The Lord set them with the princes of his people.

From the rising of the sun to its setting,

praised be the name of the Lord!

High above all nations is the Lord,

above the heavens his glory.

Response: The Lord set them with the princes of his people.

Who is like the Lord, our God,

who dwells on high, who lowers himself

to look down upon heaven and earth?

Response: The Lord set them with the princes of his people.

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,

from the ash heap he raises the poor,

to set them in the company of princes,

yes, with the princes of his people.

Response: The Lord set them with the princes of his people.

Alleluia

See John 15:16

I chose you from the world that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, says the Lord.

Gospel

John 15:9–17

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandment and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

Reflection

The hallmark of Christianity is love which is born out of the love of God and the condition to be part of it is to love in return. The significant salvific event of God sending His Son and the Son sacrificing his life for us is the greatest love story of all time. During his ministry, Jesus put the needs and interests of his followers and others before his own. As a climax, he showed that greater love when he willingly gave “his life as a ransom in exchange for many” (Mt 20:28; 22:39). We see how the first-century Christians, including Saint Matthias, whose feast we celebrate today, took Jesus’ words to heart, and they were willing to die for Christ and one another. 

St Matthias, Apostle and Martyr (1st century)

St Matthias had been one of our Lord’s disciples from the time of his Baptism in the Jordan, and, after the Ascension of Our Lord, he was chosen by lot to fill the place left vacant among the 12 Apostles through the betrayal and suicide of Judas Iscariot. That is all we know with certainty about this saint from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (1:23-26): “And they (apostles) appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And praying, they said: You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which of these two you have chosen, to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas has by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place. And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles”.

According to one tradition, he preached Christianity in Judaea (modern Israel) and Ethiopia where he was crucified, but others hold that he was beheaded at Jerusalem.

St Matthias is patron of tailors, carpenters and reformed alcoholics, and is invoked against smallpox.

Reflection: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.... I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better” (St Paul — Phil 1:21-23).

Daily Readings

May 13, 2025

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Reading I

Acts 11:19–26

In those days: Those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 87:1–3, 4–5, 6–7

Reponse: O praise the Lord, all you nations.

Founded by him on the holy mountain, 

the Lord loves the gates of Sion, 

more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 

Of you are told glorious things, 

you, O city of God! 

Reponse: O praise the Lord, all you nations.

“Rahab and Babylon I will count 

among those who know me; 

of Tyre, Philistia, Ethiopia, it is told, 

‘There was this one born.’ 

But of Sion it shall be said, 

‘Each one was born in her.’” 

He, the Most High, established it.

Reponse: O praise the Lord, all you nations.

In his register of peoples the Lord writes, 

“Here was this one born.” 

The singers cry out in chorus, 

“In you, all find their home.”

Reponse: O praise the Lord, all you nations.

Alleluia, alleluia.

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord, and I know them, and they follow me.

Gospel

John 10:22–30

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Reflection 

Although Jesus, through words and deeds, had revealed his identity as the Messiah, the people of the time did not believe it. Jesus gives reason for their unbelief, i.e., they are not among his sheep. Then he would give three characteristics of the sheep belonging to him: 1) his sheep hear his voice; 2) he knows them by name; and 3) his sheep follow him. These remain even today the characteristics of those who belong to Jesus, and as such are the criteria to evaluate our discipleship. Firstly, we need to hear his voice and strive to put it into practice. Secondly, the disciples of Jesus are known to him intimately, which involves a deep mutual relationship. Finally, Jesus would demand that his disciples follow him which involves self-denial and taking up the cross. 

Our Lady of Fatima

On 13 May 1917, in that third year of the First World War which was to cost eight million lives, important events were taking place simultaneously — in Russia, communistic, atheistic Bolshevism was being organized under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky who had just arrived in St Petersburg; in the neighbourhood of the little Portuguese town of Fatima, the Mother of God herself deigned to appear in the first of six apparitions to three children, to make through them one final appeal to our materialistic, war-torn world.

“In a spirit of sacrifice to our Lord, are you willing to accept everything he may send you as reparation for the sins by which his majesty is offended, as a means for converting all sinners, and as atonement for the blasphemies offered to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?” A simple “yes” being their reply, she urged: “Then pray the Rosary often and devoutly, for the peace of the world!” “Recite the Rosary daily, and after the Gloria Patri of each decade add: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins! Save us from the fires of hell! Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who most need thy mercy!”

And on 13 October, she declared: “I am the Lady of the Holy Rosary! I have come to ask all humankind to do penance and to ask pardon for its sins! Do not add to the countless outrages by which our Lord is already so offended, especially by sins of impurity.”

Reflection: “I have never yet found a man who was not converted,

if previously I had time to pray the Rosary” (St Clement).

Daily Readings

May 12, 2025

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 11:1–18

In those days: The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Responsorial Psalm 

Psalm 42:2–3; 43:3, 4  

Response: My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, 

so my soul is yearning for you, my God. 

My soul is thirsting for God, the living God; 

when can I enter and appear before the face of God? 

Response: My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.

O send forth your light and your truth; 

they will guide me on. 

They will bring me to your holy mountain, 

to the place where you dwell. 

Response: My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.

And I will come to the altar of God, 

to God, my joy and gladness. 

To you will I give thanks on the harp, 

O God, my God. 

Response: My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my sheep, and mine know me.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

John 10:1–10

At that time: Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Reflection 

Jesus draws a metaphor from the imagery of a sheep pen, an enclosure usually made of stone walls. Historians have found evidence that the shepherds would lie across the front of the pen and would act as a guard. They were effectively a door or gate for the sheep pen. This was not only to prevent predators from entering but also to prevent sheep from leaving. Jesus invites us to acknowledge him as our door. We enter and exit through him alone. There are many possible doors before us to enter and thus end in perdition. When we enter through him, i.e., live according to his Gospel values, we enter into salvation, and he will not let any enemy enter into our lives. 

Sts Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla Martyrs / St Pancras Martyr

1. Sts Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla Martyrs (1st Century)

The veneration of Sts Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla is very ancient, going back to the 4th century. It was on the occasion of their festival, which was observed with some solemnity in Rome 200 years later, that Pope St Gregory the Great delivered his 28th homily— “These saints, before whom we are assembled, despised the world and trampled it underfoot when it offered them riches and pleasures”. The church in which he spoke was built over their tomb in the cemetery of Domitilla, on the Via Ardeatina.

Nereus and Achilleus were members of the Praetorian Guard, the elite corps of soldiers entrusted with guarding the very person of the Roman emperor. According to an inscription found in the tomb over their remains in 1874 — in the family vault in the cemetery of St Domitilla, in the underground church built by Pope St Siricius in 390 — they were ordered by Emperor Domitian to slay his niece Flavia Domitilla on account of her allegiance to the Christian Faith. But moved by her example they became Christians themselves and refused to carry out the order. They were thus banished to Ponza and later, under the reign of the Emperor Trajan, to the island of Terrecina. Here they were martyred — Nereus and Achilleus were beheaded and Domitilla, whose banishment St Jerome describes as one, long, martyrdom, was burnt alive. 

2. St Pancras Martyr (A.D. -304)

In the persecution under Diocletian this 14 year-old saint, inspired by the example and words of his uncle, Denys, who was in bonds for the faith, offered himself voluntarily as a martyr. Supposed to have been a Syrian or Phrygian orphan who was brought up by Denys, together with whom he was converted to Christianity, he defended boldly before the Emperor the cause of the Christians.

He was beheaded by the sword on the Via Aurelia in Rome and his body was buried in the cemetery of Calepodius which afterwards took his name. And about the year 508 Pope Symmachius built a basilica over his tomb near the Potra de San Pauerazion.

In the 7th century, Pope St Vitalian sent some relics of St Pancras to England and within a short period of time, the young saint became very popular. The first church erected in Canterbury by St Augustine was dedicated to him. There is also a railway station in London named after him. It was under his invocation that St Gregory the Great had previously built a monastery for Benedictines.

Reflection: “I have fought the good fight, I have f

inished the race, I have kept the faith” ( St Paul - 2 Tim 4:7).

Daily Readings

May 11, 2025

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Reading 1

Acts of the Apostles (13:14, 43-52)

In those days Paul and Barnabas went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm (100)

Response: We are his people, the sheep of his flock. Or Alleluia.

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.

Response: We are his people, the sheep of his flock. Or Alleluia.

Know that he, the Lord, is God, He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Response: We are his people, the sheep of his flock. Or Alleluia.

Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age.

Response: We are his people, the sheep of his flock. Or Alleluia.

Reading 2

Book of Revelation (7:9, 14-17)

I, John, looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. And one of the elders said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

ACCLAMATION

Alleluia. Alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my own and my own know me. Alleluia. (Jn 10:14).

GOSPEL

John (10:27-30)

At that time Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Reflection

When Antioch of Syria emerged as the second Centre of Christianity, Barnabas went to Tarsus and persuaded Paul to join him and to help in the missions (Acts 11:25-26). Eventually Church in Antioch felt confident to send out missionaries, and assisted by the Spirit they chose Paul and Barnabas. Their journey took them to the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch. Paul made a powerful speech there and it was well received by the Jews assembled over there. The trouble started a week later when Paul and Barnabas returned to address the community. This time the Jews out of jealousy contradicted everything said by Paul. In this context they also made the first announcement that they were turning to the Gentiles because the Jews had rejected the message. Gentiles became happy because they also became sharers in God’s salvation.

In the Second Reading, St John describes the salvation of the righteous in a very dramatic manner. Their number is innumerable and they come from all nations. The great tribulation of which the author speaks is the crisis of the end-time which involves persecution for the faithful. The robes the redeemed wear symbolize the inner or spiritual state of the person. The transformation of a person from soiled (sinful) to clean (holy) is closely related to the death of Jesus understood as a sacrifice. The fundamental allusion here seems to be repentance, conversion, and baptism taken together as a transformation of the person. The reference to tribulation implies that perseverance in that process of transformation is also crucial for those who would share in the victory of God and the Lamb.

The sheep listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd and following him is the theme of the gospel of today. A believer who hears Jesus has eternal life and who follows him is never lost. A person who believes in Jesus cannot be snatched away from him. They are not lost and no one will take them from Jesus. They have been given by the Father and no one is able to take anything away from the Father. The life which the believer receives from Jesus is a gift from the Father.

No power is greater than God, and thus the believer’s union with God is also assured. God the Father is greater than all other powers. As Israel celebrated God’s presence at the feast of the Dedication, Jesus tells “the Jews” that there is another way God is present to them. They can be sure they are in the Father’s hand if they believe in Jesus. Jesus insists that faith in his word ties the believer not only to him but also to God, the Father of Jesus. On this fourth Sunday of Easter let us commit ourselves to Jesus our Good Shepherd who will never fail us.

Source: The Sunday Liturgy

St Ignatius of Laconi, Confessor (1701-1781)

St Ignatius of Laconi was born on 10 December 1701 in Sardinia (Italy). The 2nd of the 7 children of Mattia and Anna Maria Peis, he was baptized Francis Ignatius Vincent. He grew up to be an illiterate and delicate boy of frail health, for whom the hard labour on his father’s land was a severe strain. When he was about 17, he fell seriously ill, and promised to offer his life to St Francis of Assisi, should he recover.

He did recover, but his father was in no hurry to let him go — “Today or tomorrow, this year or next, it’s all the same. There’s no need to keep your promise at once,” he would say. However, an alarming experience with a runaway horse stiffened Vincent’s resolve. His father’s expostulations notwithstanding, Vincent made his way to St Benedict’s friary near Cagliari, where, on 10 November 1721, he was accepted as a Capuchin lay brother.

There were the usual trials of the novice. When it was time for his Profession, Ignatius’ case seemed doubtful, but he redoubled his efforts to carry out to perfection all he was called upon to do. And so at the end of 1722 Ignatius was allowed to take his vows. The life of a lay brother being by and large uneventful, for the next 20 years little is known about Ignatius, except that he made steady progress in the love of God and men.

In 1741 he was sent out to beg for alms, an occupation he continued for the remaining 40 years of his life. Simultaneously, he somehow made time to visit the sick and to teach the ignorant, an activity that left him with hardly any time for prayer during the day. Ignatius would thus pray late into the night, sleeping barely an hour or two, with a log for a pillow. His health, however, stood him in good stead right up to his 80th year. In 1781, however, he was confined to bed and breathed his last on 11 May that year.

Daily Readings

May 10, 2025

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 9:31–42

In those days: The church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralysed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 116:12–13, 14–15, 16–17

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

How can I repay the Lord

for all his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

I will call on the name of the Lord.

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

My vows to the Lord I will fulfill before all his people.

How precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I,

the son of your handmaid;

you have loosened my bonds.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

I will call on the name of the Lord.

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life, you have the words of eternal life.

Gospel

John 6:60–69

At that time: When many of the disciples of Jesus heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offence at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Reflection

According to Pope Francis, the Eucharist is God’s response to the deepest hunger of the human heart, for in it Christ nourishes, consoles and sustains us on our journey. We are called to imbibe the faith, love and confidence  Peter demonstrated in his reply. When the disciples travelling to Emmaus recognize Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist, they return to Jerusalem and become his missionaries. In the Eucharist, we encounter the one who gave everything for us, who sacrificed himself to give us life, and who loved us to the end. Our faith in the Eucharist and our participation in it is to transform us into his true disciples ready to walk the path of the Master who came to serve and not to be served.

Saint Damien of Molokai, Priest (1840 – 1889)

I have brought you one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that for your welfare and for the sake of your immortal souls he does not hesitate to become one of you, to live and die with you.” It was with these words that, in May 1873, Bishop Louis Maigret, introduced the enthusiastic young missionary, Fr Damien de Veuster, a fellow-member of the Sacred Heart Congregation, to the lepers at Molokai—words that were to prove prophetic, for Damien’s arrival on the island at the age of 33 changed forever the world’s view of the dreaded disease, giving it as it did a new, human dimension, hitherto unheard of.

So horrified was Damien at what he saw that he single-handedly went about caring for the lepers as nurse, surgeon, counsellor, comforter, builder — he built new houses, a new church, a new school and an orphanage — coffin-maker and grave-digger all rolled in one. A sagging morale was revived and further boosted when he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Kope, to help staff the fast expanding colony. He was also instrumental in obtaining long-pending government support.

Ironically, the very disease Damien tried to fight in others, found him easy prey by the year 1885; news of his illness brought him messages of genuine concern and grief by the thousand, from royalty and commoner alike. Damien, however, delighted in sharing so closely in the illness of his fellowmen for the sake of God’s love. Indeed, in spite of his own predicament, he gave of himself unceasingly, working tirelessly right up to the last, even begging frantically, determined to ensure all benefits possible for the victims of leprosy at Molokai. And the results were there for all to see! It was eventually on 15 April 1889 that Damien, “like a child, with a smile on his face”, breathed his last, aged barely 49. By then, he had come to be hailed as the “Hero of Molokai”.

Christened Joseph at his birth on 3 January 1840 in Tremeloo, Belgium, Damien was ordained Priest in May 1864 in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu and worked for 8 years as a missionary in Hawaii before volunteering to go to Molokai. His work at Molokai did not go unnoticed in the civil world of his time. In September 1881, the acting Queen of Hawaii, Princess Liliuokalani visited the settlement with a view to delivering a public address there. So overwhelmed was she with the suffering she encountered that she wept bitterly instead of speaking. Her Majesty later invested Damien with the Order of Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakua.

The mortal remains of this great angel of mercy were initially laid to rest beside the church in Molokai, near his favourite pendanus tree. In 1936, the Belgian government succeeded in having them moved out of their island grave to his homeland where his own brethren could honour him suitably. It is edifying to note that the King of Belgium Leopold III himself led his people in doing the honours. A portion of the remains was, however, returned to his Hawaiian brethren as a goodwill gesture, after he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 4 June 1995 and was canonized on October 11, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI

Reflection: “To love others as oneself means: to wish that others have the good the Lord has given us, that they may have the good we already enjoy with regard to time and eternity...... We have to wish for their human and temporal good: that they be healthy and be healed of their diseases” (Blessed James Alberione).

Daily Readings

May 10, 2025

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 9:31–42

In those days: The church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralysed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 116:12–13, 14–15, 16–17

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

How can I repay the Lord

for all his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

I will call on the name of the Lord.

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

My vows to the Lord I will fulfill before all his people.

How precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I,

the son of your handmaid;

you have loosened my bonds.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

I will call on the name of the Lord.

Response: How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life, you have the words of eternal life.

Gospel

John 6:60–69

At that time: When many of the disciples of Jesus heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offence at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Reflection

According to Pope Francis, the Eucharist is God’s response to the deepest hunger of the human heart, for in it Christ nourishes, consoles and sustains us on our journey. We are called to imbibe the faith, love and confidence  Peter demonstrated in his reply. When the disciples travelling to Emmaus recognize Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist, they return to Jerusalem and become his missionaries. In the Eucharist, we encounter the one who gave everything for us, who sacrificed himself to give us life, and who loved us to the end. Our faith in the Eucharist and our participation in it is to transform us into his true disciples ready to walk the path of the Master who came to serve and not to be served.

Saint Damien of Molokai, Priest (1840 – 1889)

I have brought you one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that for your welfare and for the sake of your immortal souls he does not hesitate to become one of you, to live and die with you.” It was with these words that, in May 1873, Bishop Louis Maigret, introduced the enthusiastic young missionary, Fr Damien de Veuster, a fellow-member of the Sacred Heart Congregation, to the lepers at Molokai—words that were to prove prophetic, for Damien’s arrival on the island at the age of 33 changed forever the world’s view of the dreaded disease, giving it as it did a new, human dimension, hitherto unheard of.

So horrified was Damien at what he saw that he single-handedly went about caring for the lepers as nurse, surgeon, counsellor, comforter, builder — he built new houses, a new church, a new school and an orphanage — coffin-maker and grave-digger all rolled in one. A sagging morale was revived and further boosted when he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Kope, to help staff the fast expanding colony. He was also instrumental in obtaining long-pending government support.

Ironically, the very disease Damien tried to fight in others, found him easy prey by the year 1885; news of his illness brought him messages of genuine concern and grief by the thousand, from royalty and commoner alike. Damien, however, delighted in sharing so closely in the illness of his fellowmen for the sake of God’s love. Indeed, in spite of his own predicament, he gave of himself unceasingly, working tirelessly right up to the last, even begging frantically, determined to ensure all benefits possible for the victims of leprosy at Molokai. And the results were there for all to see! It was eventually on 15 April 1889 that Damien, “like a child, with a smile on his face”, breathed his last, aged barely 49. By then, he had come to be hailed as the “Hero of Molokai”.

Christened Joseph at his birth on 3 January 1840 in Tremeloo, Belgium, Damien was ordained Priest in May 1864 in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu and worked for 8 years as a missionary in Hawaii before volunteering to go to Molokai. His work at Molokai did not go unnoticed in the civil world of his time. In September 1881, the acting Queen of Hawaii, Princess Liliuokalani visited the settlement with a view to delivering a public address there. So overwhelmed was she with the suffering she encountered that she wept bitterly instead of speaking. Her Majesty later invested Damien with the Order of Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakua.

The mortal remains of this great angel of mercy were initially laid to rest beside the church in Molokai, near his favourite pendanus tree. In 1936, the Belgian government succeeded in having them moved out of their island grave to his homeland where his own brethren could honour him suitably. It is edifying to note that the King of Belgium Leopold III himself led his people in doing the honours. A portion of the remains was, however, returned to his Hawaiian brethren as a goodwill gesture, after he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 4 June 1995 and was canonized on October 11, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI

Reflection: “To love others as oneself means: to wish that others have the good the Lord has given us, that they may have the good we already enjoy with regard to time and eternity...... We have to wish for their human and temporal good: that they be healthy and be healed of their diseases” (Blessed James Alberione).

Daily Readings

May 9, 2025

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 9:1–20

In those days: Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were travelling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Responsorial Psalm 

Psalm 117:1, 2 

Response: Go into all the world, and proclaim the Gospel.

O praise the Lord, all you nations;

acclaim him, all you peoples! 

Response: Go into all the world, and proclaim the Gospel.

For his merciful love has prevailed over us; 

and the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. 

Response: Go into all the world, and proclaim the Gospel.

Alleluia

John 6:56

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him, says the Lord.

Gospel

John 6:52–59

At that time: The Jews disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Reflection 

Sometimes we interpret the Eucharist as merely symbolic and thus disconnect ourselves from truth. In the Gospel, Jesus does not mince words to state that in the Eucharist we truly, concretely partake of his body and blood. As we partake of him in his flesh, his hidden life within us sows the seed of immortality in us. Just as a spark of fire is placed in straw to preserve the fire, so Christ’s body and blood, received into our bodies, preserves us for eternal life. This Heavenly Bread has indeed the power to drive out death and also our weaknesses, and thus preserves us from temptations and cures us of our sinfulness. Is this the faith we bring to our reception of Christ’s body and blood? 

St Peter Nolasco, Confessor (c.1182-1256)

Of noble birth in southern France near Toulouse, St Peter Nolasco, who was canonized in 1628 by Pope Urban VIII, was from his youth known for his sincere piety and his great charity towards the poor and the unfortunate. He took part, for some time, in the crusade against the Albigenses before migrating to Spain, where he was appointed tutor to the young King, James of Aragon and formed an intimate friendship with St Raymond of Penyafort, then a canon at Barcelona in Spain. In 1218, Our Lady directed him in a vision to found a new religious order specifically for the redemption of the Christian captives, many of whom, on account of the brutality experienced at the hands of the cruel Moors, were giving up their faith in despair.

The first monks of the new Order which had the active backing of the King and of St Raymond, were some noblemen who belonged to a charitable confraternity in Barcelona. They now came to be known as the Mercedarians, or members of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, membership in which was of three kinds: Knight, Priest and Lay Brother; their vows included, besides the three regular ones, a fourth one, viz., to go into infidel territory and if need be to become a hostage in Moorish hands in order to ransom the faithful. For many this ended in martyrdom.

Peter, who remained a layman, was “Commander-General” until his resignation in 1249. His mission as “Ransomer” took him repeatedly into Moorish territory (including Africa), in order to arrange for the ransom of Christian prisoners, whereby, when he died in 1256, a total of 2,718 slaves had been liberated. His work was carried on later at such a pace that by 1632 the number had swelled to 490,736!

Reflection: “Behold eternal treasures which never fail!” (St Peter Nolasco)

Daily Readings

May 9, 2025

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 9:1–20

In those days: Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were travelling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Responsorial Psalm 

Psalm 117:1, 2 

Response: Go into all the world, and proclaim the Gospel.

O praise the Lord, all you nations;

acclaim him, all you peoples! 

Response: Go into all the world, and proclaim the Gospel.

For his merciful love has prevailed over us; 

and the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. 

Response: Go into all the world, and proclaim the Gospel.

Alleluia

John 6:56

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him, says the Lord.

Gospel

John 6:52–59

At that time: The Jews disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Reflection 

Sometimes we interpret the Eucharist as merely symbolic and thus disconnect ourselves from truth. In the Gospel, Jesus does not mince words to state that in the Eucharist we truly, concretely partake of his body and blood. As we partake of him in his flesh, his hidden life within us sows the seed of immortality in us. Just as a spark of fire is placed in straw to preserve the fire, so Christ’s body and blood, received into our bodies, preserves us for eternal life. This Heavenly Bread has indeed the power to drive out death and also our weaknesses, and thus preserves us from temptations and cures us of our sinfulness. Is this the faith we bring to our reception of Christ’s body and blood? 

St Peter Nolasco, Confessor (c.1182-1256)

Of noble birth in southern France near Toulouse, St Peter Nolasco, who was canonized in 1628 by Pope Urban VIII, was from his youth known for his sincere piety and his great charity towards the poor and the unfortunate. He took part, for some time, in the crusade against the Albigenses before migrating to Spain, where he was appointed tutor to the young King, James of Aragon and formed an intimate friendship with St Raymond of Penyafort, then a canon at Barcelona in Spain. In 1218, Our Lady directed him in a vision to found a new religious order specifically for the redemption of the Christian captives, many of whom, on account of the brutality experienced at the hands of the cruel Moors, were giving up their faith in despair.

The first monks of the new Order which had the active backing of the King and of St Raymond, were some noblemen who belonged to a charitable confraternity in Barcelona. They now came to be known as the Mercedarians, or members of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, membership in which was of three kinds: Knight, Priest and Lay Brother; their vows included, besides the three regular ones, a fourth one, viz., to go into infidel territory and if need be to become a hostage in Moorish hands in order to ransom the faithful. For many this ended in martyrdom.

Peter, who remained a layman, was “Commander-General” until his resignation in 1249. His mission as “Ransomer” took him repeatedly into Moorish territory (including Africa), in order to arrange for the ransom of Christian prisoners, whereby, when he died in 1256, a total of 2,718 slaves had been liberated. His work was carried on later at such a pace that by 1632 the number had swelled to 490,736!

Reflection: “Behold eternal treasures which never fail!” (St Peter Nolasco)

Daily Readings

May 8, 2025

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 8:26–40

In those days: An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptised?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptised him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 66:8–9, 16–17, 20

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

O peoples, bless our God;

let the voice of his praise resound,

of the God who gave life to our souls

and kept our feet from stumbling.

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Come and hear, all who fear God;

I will tell what he did for my soul.

To him I cried aloud,

with exaltation ready on my tongue.

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Blest be God, who did not

reject my prayer,

nor withhold from me

his merciful love.

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Alleluia

John 6:51

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever.

Gospel

John 6:44–51

At that time: Jesus said to the crowds, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me – not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Reflection

God has eternal life in Himself and eternity is one of His perfections. He calls us to share this eternal life and leads us to it through the Holy Eucharist. Pope Saint John Paul II says: “Through the food of the Eucharist, Christ’s eternal life penetrates and flows within human life.” It is the culmination of spiritual life and the goal of all the sacraments. We could securely say that it is the most important reality on planet Earth and as such everything else pales in comparison to its supreme value. It makes sense to say that with our First Holy Communion, we have entered a superior level of existence as by it we are assured of eternal life.

St Magdalene of Canossa, Virgin (1774-1835)

St Magdalene of Canossa, foundress of the Canossian family of the Sons and Daughters of Charity, was born at Verona, Italy, on 2 March 1774. Her father, a wealthy marquis, having died when she was barely five and her mother, Marchesa Teresa Szluha, having remarried soon after, the young girl was brought up by an uncle and given a good education.

In 1799 Magdalene started her work for poor girls and, the following year, began to provide some of them with accommodation. In 1803, she opened her first school and wanted to live there but returned home in deference to her family’s wishes. In 1808 she founded her religious congregation for the educational and health care apostolate. At the time of her death on 10 April 1835, there were five houses of Canossian Sisters. Today the congregation has almost 4,000 members in 395 houses in many countries.

Magdalene was beatified by Pope Pius XII on 7 December 1941 and the miracle required for her canonization was officially recognized on 11 December 1987. As the Holy Father, John Paul II, by whom she was canonized on 2 October 1988, said, she was one who knew how to lose her life for Christ....., one who was, so to say, devoured by charity: charity towards God even to the heights of mystical experience and charity towards neighbour carried to the farthest extremes of self-gift to others. She understood well that true piety which touches the heart of God consists in “breaking unjust fetters, undoing the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, sharing bread with the hungry and sheltering the oppressed poor.” Indeed, it was her passionate love for Christ Crucified teaching her to love her fellowmen!

The heartbeat of Magdalene’s apostolic choice vibrates through the institution she founded and which she wished to be dedicated and consecrated to charity. She lived during the Napoleonic times of revolutions, invasions and restorations which left a trail of evil behind them. She wished to provide for all these, the hallmark of her personal charisma being her ability to distinguish “Christian Charity” from philanthropy.

The cultural changes of today have brought in their own wake crops of evils — drugs, alcoholism, the aloneness of the old, abortion, violence, euthanasia, acute disregard for the weak and the neglected, and a general disrespect for human life. St Magdalene meets these challenges today through her Sons and Daughters of Charity. With her as their model of “being all things to all men”, the Canossians run schools for all age groups as well as special schools for the blind, the handicapped and slow-learners, for those of the silent world, training centres for nurses and obstetricians, and day care schools. All these flourish and through them all the Canossians “make God known so that he may be loved”. In villages they work for the social uplift through informal education, “grihinis” and “mahila mandals”, dispensaries, mother-child projects, preventive health care and leper clinics. They also dedicate themselves generously in parishes and Sunday Schools (“Oratory”) to serving the poor, the youth, the marginalized, realizing today the objectives that St Magdalene had long foreseen for them.

The two characteristic dimensions of the foundation, vision and work of St Magdalene are Charity and Universality – “charity” which, says Magdalene, has as its object the working out of one’s sanctification imitating Jesus Crucified; and “universality” in as much as charity is exercised towards each person without excluding anyone either rich or poor.

Reflection: “Put your trust solely in God, so that even if you were to lose everything you would find all in Him!” (St Magdalene of Canossa)

Daily Readings

May 07,2025

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading I

Acts 8:1b–8

There arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralysed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 66:1–3a, 4–5, 6–7a

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth; 

O sing to the glory of his name. 

O render him glorious praise. 

Say to God, “How awesome your deeds! 

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Before you all the earth shall bow down, 

shall sing to you, sing to your name!” 

Come and see the works of God: 

awesome his deeds 

among the children of men. 

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

He turned the sea into dry land; 

they passed through the river on foot. 

Let our joy, then, be in him;

he rules forever by his might. 

Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Alleluia

John 6:40

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Everyone who believes in the Son shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, says the Lord.

Gospel

John 6:35–40

At that time: Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Reflection

In his Bread of Life discourse, Jesus presents partaking of the Eucharist as the only way to eternal life. The secret to eternal life is to believe in Jesus present in the Eucharist and to receive him worthily. This Eucharistic Lord is present with us, as he promised, on so many altars all over the world although he is so often offended and profaned by human beings. Just as Jesus fed the people in the desert so that they may not collapse on their way home, so too he wants to feed us with his body and blood so that we may travel securely toward heaven. The challenge before us is to believe in this powerful real presence and to be constantly and worthily in communion with him. 

St John of Beverley, Bishop, Confessor (-721)

A native of Yorkshire (England) St John was in his early years educated at Canterbury under the care of Archbishop St Theodore and Abbot St Adrian. Later he joined the Benedictines at Whitby, under the authority of St Hilda. In 687 he was consecrated Bishop of Hexham and in 705 made Archbishop of York. This he governed for 15 years, then resigned and consecrated St Wilfrid the Younger to succeed him. Sensing his death to be near, he retired to Beverley monastery which he had founded and richly endowed, and died there on 7 May 721.

The cultivation of kindness being at the very heart of holiness and thus the surest sign of closeness to Christ, John went out of his way to be kind to all, generously providing for the poor and the unfortunate. A gifted preacher, he was particularly famed for the careful attention he paid to the training of the younger clergy. Not surprisingly then, one of his most notable pupils was the Venerable Saint Bede whom he ordained a Priest in 702.

St John’s shrine at Beverley was a great pilgrimage centre in medieval times.

Reflection: “You will become a Saint by complying exactly with your daily duties” (St Joseph Rosello).

Daily Readings

May 06,2025

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading I

Acts 7:51–8:1a

In those days: Stephen said to the people and the elders and the scribes, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments  at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of his execution.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 31:3bc–4, 6 and 7b–8a, 17 and 21ab

Response: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit (or: Alleluia).

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a mighty stronghold to save me.

For you are my rock, my stronghold!

Lead me, guide me, 

for the sake of your name. 

Response: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit (or: Alleluia).

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

You will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.

As for me, I trust in the Lord.

Let me be glad and rejoice in your mercy. 

Response: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit (or: Alleluia)

Let your face shine on your servant.

Save me in your merciful love.

You hide them in the shelter 

of your presence,

secure from human scheming. 

Response: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit (or: Alleluia).

Alleluia

John 6:35ab

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the bread of life, says the Lord; whoever comes to me shall not hunger.

Gospel

John 6:30–35

At that time: The people said to Jesus, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Reflection

We have the Bread of Life discourse in Chapter 6 of Saint John’s Gospel. To the Jews who were familiar with the Manna of the desert, Jesus presented himself as the Bread of Life. The Manna satiated the physical hunger of the people in the desert, whereas the Eucharistic Bread would satisfy all the physical and spiritual desires of the believer. The call is to believe in the great power of this sacrament, in which we have the physical presence of the Lord. Saint Faustina Kowalska writes: “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion”. Padre Pio says that a even thousand years of human glory would not equal an hour spent in communion with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. 

St Dominic Savio, Confessor (1842 -1857)

One of St John Bosco’s first pupils was Dominic Savio who was born at Murialdo, in Northern Italy, on 2 April 1842, of Charles Savio and his wife Bridgid.

The holy life of young Dominic was nurtured both at home and in the parish church. A very peaceful Christian domestic environment helped prepare his soul to receive great light and graces from God. Don Bosco, on the other hand, helped enkindle in the child’s heart a deep love for God and a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary. Dominic went to church every morning at five, served at Mass, and then spent his time in devotion and prayer. Come rain or shine, freezing winter or sweltering summer, the boy was regular at his church duties.

From Don Bosco, who was to become his biographer in later years, St Dominic Savio learned how the joy of serving and making the Lord loved by others can become a powerful means of apostolate. So spiritually advanced was the lad, exhibiting many gifts, including that of prophecy, that it was one of his visions which, in 1850, influenced Pope Pius IX to restore the Catholic hierarchy to England. St Pius X said of him: “A teenager such as Dominic, who bravely struggled to preserve undefiled his baptismal innocence to the very last, is indeed a saint!” At 15, he had become a giant of the spirit. Pope Pius XI added: “He was, indeed, the perfection of Christian life – a life drawing its strength from three main sources, namely purity, piety, zeal!”

On 9 March 1857, the youngster, who longed to be a saint, burst into ecstatic exclamation: “Oh, what a beautiful sight I see!” before passing to his reward. He was beatified on 5 March 1950.

Pope Pius XII, on the occasion of the solemn canonization on 12 June 1954, stated: “Truly, it gives us great joy to raise this boy of just 15, Dominic Savio, to the honours of the Altar and to set him before the youth of our day as a shining example for their imitation, especially in these troubled times when such powerful and sinister forces are doing incalculable harm in a relentless effort to uproot all virtues from the hearts of the young... Among the heroes there appears the image of Dominic Savio, the delicate adolescent, weak of body, but with a soul determined upon a pure oblation of itself to the exacting love of Christ.” The four resolutions the saintly youngster made on Easter Sunday 8 April 1849, the day he received his First Holy Communion at the age of seven, stand out as an important legacy for youth for all time – 1) I will frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation and receive Holy Communion as often as my confessor permits; 2) I will keep feast days holy; 3) My friends shall be Jesus and Mary; 4) Death rather than sin.

Reflection: “I am not capable of doing big things, but I want to do everything, even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God” (St Dominic Savio).

Daily Readings

May 5, 2025

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 6:8–15

In those days: Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the Council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the Council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 119:23–24, 26–27, 29–30

Response: Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord.

Though princes sit plotting against me, 

your servant ponders your statutes. 

See, your decrees are my delight; 

your statutes are my counsellors. 

Response: Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord.

I declared my ways and you answered me; 

teach me your statutes. 

Make me grasp the way of your precepts, 

and I will ponder your wonders. 

Response: Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord.

Keep me from the way of falsehood; 

grant me mercy by your law. 

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; 

your decrees I have upheld. 

Response: Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Gospel

John 6:22–29

[After five thousand men had eaten their fill, the disciples of Jesus saw him walking on the sea]. On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Reflection 

Jesus asks the crowd not to search for food that perishes but for the food of eternal life. The exhortation is to set their minds on the greater good. Saint Paul would repeat this idea in his exhortation to seek the things that are above (Col 3:1). We have the choice between preoccupying barely our earthly life and perishable body and having our goals set on God and His kingdom. Think of the parable of the rich man whom Jesus would call a ‘fool’ for, he stored up goods for his future on earth, gamely forgetting to set right his life for the eternal good, whereas Zacchaeus was wise as he brought salvation to himself and his household through the conversion experience. Am I wise or foolish in the eyes of God?  

St Angelo, Martyr (A.D.-1220)

Very little is reliably known about St Angelo. His parents were Jews who were later converted to Christianity by a vision of Our Lady who diff announced to them that the long-awaited Messiah had already come and had redeemed his people. She also promised them two sons, and that they both would grow up as flourishing Olive trees on the heights of the Carmel — one as a patriarch and the other as a glorious martyr.

Early on, the twins displayed great mental and spiritual gifts. At the age of 18, when they entered the Carmelite Order, they had already mastered Greek, Latin and Hebrew. After Angelo had spent five years on Mount Carmel as a hermit, Jesus appeared to him and bade him go to Sicily (Italy), where he would have the grace to offer the sacrifice of his life.

Obedient to the call of the Lord, he promptly left Mt Carmel for Sicily. On his way and after his arrival in Sicily he succeeded in converting many by his teaching and miracles. At Palermo (Italy), about 200 Jews sought baptism as the result of his eloquence. Similar success was met with in Leocata, but there he aroused the fury of Berengarius whose wickedness and cruelty he had denounced.

One day as he was preaching to a crowd, he was stabbed by a band of ruffians who attacked him under Berengarius’ influence. Mortally wounded, Angelo fell on his knees. Praying for his people, more especially for his murderers, he gave up his spirit.

Reflection: “The Christian life is the continuation and completion of the life of Christ in us. We should be so many Christs on earth; continuing his works, labouring and suffering in a who

lly divine manner in the spirit of Jesus” (St John Eudes).

Daily Readings

May 4, 2025

Third Sunday of Easter

FIRST READING

Acts of the Apostles (5:27-32, 40-41)

In those days the high priest questioned the apostles, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” And they charged the apostles not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13

Response: I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up. Or Alleluia.

I will extol you, LORD, for you have raised me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

Response: I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up. Or Alleluia.

O LORD, you have lifted up my soul from the grave, restored me to life from those who sink into the pit.

Response: I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up. Or Alleluia.

Sing psalms to the LORD, you faithful ones; give thanks to his holy name. His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night come tears, but dawn brings joy.

Response: I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up. Or Alleluia.

Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; be my helper, O LORD. You have changed my mourning into dancing, O LORD my God, I will thank you forever.

Response: I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up. Or Alleluia.

SECOND READING

Book of Revelation (5:11-14)

I, John, looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshipped.

ACCLAMATION

Alleluia. Alleluia.

Christ has risen, who created all things and has had mercy on the human race.

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

John (21:1-19)

All: Glory to you, O Lord. At that time Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

REFLECTION

By getting Pilot to pronounce the death sentence on Jesus the Jewish authorities had hoped that they had closed the Jesus’ chapter. But their hope was short lived. They failed in their assessment of Jesus. They miserably failed to acknowledge that the one whom they killed was the Son of God, the Messiah they had been expecting since long. They could kill him but could not stop him from rising from the dead. As a result, they cannot stop the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus. They now try to intimidate the apostles by telling them not to preach the name of Jesus, but Peter says that they will now obey God rather than the Jewish opponents.

John in his vision sees around the throne living creatures, elders and thousands of angels. He then hears every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea praising God who is seated on the throne and the Lamb who is Jesus himself. The whole of creation joins in praise of the Lamb. The Almighty God has his plan and purpose for his world. In his dealing with the human world, he will not proceed without the co-operation of His people. Jesus alone controls the destiny of all peoples.

The gospel of today presents yet another appearance of the risen Jesus. The appearance takes place by the Sea of Tiberias from where Jesus called his first disciples. Having lost their Master Peter thinks it best to return to his old profession of fishing. Those present with him also agree to join Peter but they catch no fish that night. But even though they worked throughout the night, they did not catch any fish. After dawn, the disciples see Jesus standing on the shore and he tells them to cast their nets off the right side of the boat. They do so and catch so many fish that they are not able to pull them into the boat. Since they are only about one hundred yards from shore, the other disciples stay with the boat and tow the catch of fish to shore. They have breakfast with the newly caught fish. The ensuing conversation between Jesus and Peter makes it clear that the mission of the apostles is to look after the people who will accept Jesus as their Lord. The passage clearly shows that the beloved disciple continues to have greater insight into Jesus than Peter or the other disciples. It is significant that it is to Peter and not to the beloved disciple that Jesus entrusted the administration of the community. It is in lieu with the Church tradition that Church administration and care of the people should go into the hands of people who are capable and ready for that role.

Source: The Sunday Liturgy

Daily Readings

May 3, 2025, Saturday

Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

Reading 1

1 Corinthians 15:1–8

I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 19:2–3, 4–5 

Response: Their sound goes forth through all the earth.

The heavens declare the glory of God, 

and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. 

Day unto day conveys the message, 

and night unto night imparts the knowledge. 

Response: Their sound goes forth through all the earth.

No speech, no word, whose voice goes unheeded; 

their sound goes forth through all the earth,

their message to the utmost bounds of the world. 

Response: Their sound goes forth through all the earth.

Alleluia

I am the way, and the truth, and the life, says the Lord; Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

Gospel

John 14:6–14

At that time: Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, 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 say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.”

Reflection

The Word of God brings the assurance of God’s continued presence with us. The last words of Jesus on earth were in reality the assurance of his presence (Mt 28:20). This ever-present God wishes that we strive to know Him and thus love Him. Jesus was surprised at the demand of the disciples to show them the Father as they had not yet known his identity. His invitation to the first disciples was to come and see him (Jn  1:39) and he would ask, who do you say that I am (Mt 16:15)? For Paul, the determined purpose was to know Jesus (Phil 3,10).  We cannot but help agree with J.I. Packer that once we become aware that our main business on earth is to know God, most of life’s problems will fall into place.  

Sts. Philip and James, Apostle and Martyr

1. St Philip (Apostle and Martyr) (- c.62)

St Philip was a native of Bethsaida on the shores of Lake Genesareth in Galilee. He was one of the first of the Apostles and was instrumental in the call of Nathanael. As soon as he discovered the Messiah, desirous to make his friend Nathanael a sharer in his happiness, Philip went to him and said: “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth”. In wonderment, Nathanael asked: “Can any good come out of Nazareth?” Philip answered: “Come and see” (Jn 1:45). He accompanied Philip and went on to become the first ever to proclaim Jesus “Son of God . . . . , the King of Israel!” (Jn 1:49)

Theodoret and Eusebius assure us that after the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Philip went to preach the Gospel in Asia Minor, accompanied by his virgin daughters. He probably suffered martyrdom by crucifixion at Hierapolis in Phrygia.

2. St James the Less (Apostle and Martyr) (- c.62)

St James the Less was a brother of St Jude Thaddaeus and is generally thought to have been a cousin of our Lord — his mother, Mary of Clopas was a sister of the Blessed Virgin. A most lovable, devout and ascetic man, James “the Just” as he was also known, became the first Bishop of Jerusalem and was conspicuous for his charity, his reverent attachment to the Temple and to ancient Jewish customs, as well as his calm resignation under the persecution by Herod.

James is noted for the “Epistle” he wrote (c.47 A.D.), in all probability addressed to Churches in Syria, whose members found themselves discriminated against and oppressed because of their new-found faith.

St James the Less, so known as to distinguish him from the other apostle named James, the son of Zebedee, is known to have suffered martyrdom by being cast down from the parapet of the Temple, and killed with a fuller’s club. He is the patron of druggists, fullers and hatters.

Reflection: “Take your part in suffering, as a loyal soldier of Christ Jesus” (St Paul – 2 Timothy 2:3).

Daily Readings

May 2, 2025, Friday

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Reading 1

Acts 5:34–42

In those days: A Pharisee in the Council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honour by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 27:1, 4, 13–14 

Response: There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

whom should I dread?

Response: There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

only this do I seek:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,

to inquire at his temple.

Response: There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness

in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong;

be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!

Response: There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Gospel

John 6:1–15

At that time: Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Reflection

Each day in life brings its problems and challenges. There remains the choice to unduly worry about them or to look for solutions. A believer seeks solutions, discerning the will of God and in cooperation with fellow beings. In the event of the multiplication of loaves, Jesus would accept the available loaves, give thanks to God, and hand them over to the disciples. When we fix our concerns on God, God fixes our concerns.  Our focus ought to be on God and not on problems; we need to listen to God and not concentrate on our insecurities; and we need to learn to rely on God rather than on our strength alone. Am I tied down by the problems of life or do I seek solutions to them together with my God and my brothers and sisters?

St Athanasius (Bishop, Confessor and Father and Doctor of the Church (c.295-373)

A native of Alexandria (Egypt), St Athanasius was probably the son of prominent Christians. He received a brilliant education in this city, a great commercial centre and most important emporium for ideas. Even as a young man he was conspicuous for his wisdom and acumen, as well as for his deep piety. When still only a Deacon, he was chosen by Bishop Alexander, the Patriarch of Alexandria, as his secretary and theological adviser, and in 325 taken to the great Council of Nicaea (Turkey) in Bithynia (Asia Minor), which condemned Arius as a heretic and reaffirmed Christ’s divinity. There he became a sincere and courageous mouthpiece for his aged Archbishop, who had remained crippled from the tortures endured on the rack during the Galerian persecution. When the latter died in 328, Athanasius, although only 33, was unanimously elected successor.

During his 46-year reign, the Arian faction came to gain such high political influence through its intrigues at the imperial court that the saintly Patriarch had to spend a total of 17 years in banishment, being exiled from Alexandria on five occasions. Undaunted, he remained through it all the ardent and fearless “champion of Christ’s divinity”. Far from seeking revenge, he tried rather to win his enemies through kindness, and always retained his spontaneous sense of humour, which could also, on occasion, be penetratingly sharp.

“Athanasius against the world!” well sums up the position of this religious genius, the Father of Orthodoxy and scientific theology. Throughout 50 critical years in Christian history he was the chief defender of the integrity of the Catholic creed. Although he longed for martyrdom, his last years were peaceful, and he died at the age of 78.

The most famous of his many writings are On the Incarnation, which he composed in his early twenties while still a Deacon, and the History of the Arians written during his third exile among the Egyptian desert monks. His Life of St Anthony made an enormous appeal to men everywhere to lead the ascetical life.

Reflection: “Justice does not consist merely in not doing anything evil; for not to do good is also evil. The law may be transgressed in either way” (St Athanasius).

Daily Readings

May 1, 2025

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Reading 1

Genesis 1:26–2:3 (Or Col 3:14-15.17.23-24)

God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

OR

Col 3:14-15.17.23-24

And over all these put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. May the peace of Christ overflow in your hearts, for to this end you were called to be one body. And be thankful. And whatever you do or say, do it in the name of Jesus the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, do it whole heartedly, working for the Lord, and not for human masters, for you know well that the Lord will reward you with the inheritance. You are servants, but your Lord is Christ.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 90:2, 3–4, 12–13, 14 and 16

Response: Give success to the work of our hands, O Lord.

Before the mountains were born, 

or the earth or the world were brought forth, 

you are God, from age to age.

Response: Give success to the work of our hands, O Lord.

You turn man back to dust, 

and say, “Return, O children of men.” 

To your eyes a thousand years 

are like yesterday, come and gone, 

or like a watch in the night. 

Response: Give success to the work of our hands, O Lord.

Then teach us to number our days, 

that we may gain wisdom of heart. 

Turn back, O Lord! How long? 

Show pity to your servants. 

Response: Give success to the work of our hands, O Lord.

At dawn, fill us with your merciful love; 

we shall exult and rejoice all our days. 

Let your deed be seen by your servants, 

and your glorious power by their children. 

Response: Give success to the work of our hands, O Lord.

Alleluia

Day after day, may the Lord be blest. He bears our burdens; God is our Saviour.

Gospel

Matthew 13:54–58

At that time: Coming to his home town Jesus taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his home town and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Reflectio

Faith is undoubtedly the criterion to witness and receive wonderful divine interventions. It is this theological virtue that Jesus demanded and the lack of it was met with serious reprimands from him. The people of Nazareth, with their over-familiarity with Jesus, lacked this faith and thus raised objections to his ministry. Faith remains the criterion to experience the miracles of Jesus today. It is believing in things when common sense tells us not to. As stated by Martin Luther King, Jr, faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. Today we think of Saint Joseph, the Worker, a man who built his life on faith. Am I a person of faith or is my faith dwindling in my un-reflected routine religious practices? 

Saint Joseph the Worker (492)

On 1 May 1955, during a public audience granted to the Catholic Association of Italian Workers, whose members had gathered that day in Saint Peter’s Square to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their society and to pledge anew their loyalty to the Social Programme of the Church, Pope Pius XII instituted the liturgical feast of Saint Joseph the Worker and assigned it to the 1st day of May, giving concrete expression to the special relationship between Saint Joseph and the working class. The Pope assured his audience and the “working people of the entire world”: “You have at your side a Shepherd, a defender and a Father.” As Saint Bernard of Clairvaux says, “Imagine his worth from his very name, which means, ‘increase’!”

Pope Pius XII further said, “Our intention in doing so is to bring all men to recognize the dignity of labour. It is our hope, that this dignity may supply the motive for the formation of a social order and a body of law founded on the equitable distribution of rights and duties..... We are certain that you are indeed pleased, for the humble working man of Nazareth not only personifies before God and the Church the dignity of those who work with their hands, but he is also the constant guardian of yourselves and your families.”

Holy Mother Church directs Christian workers to look up to St Joseph their Patron as model and example of Christian workmanship. Work per se was never meant to be a punishment; rather, it formed the plan of God. And, so, whether we make a chair or build a Cathedral, we are called upon to bear fruit with our hands, our hearts and minds for the ultimate purpose, viz., the building up of the Body of Christ.

Reflection: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Daily Readings

April 30, 2025

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 5:17–26

In those days: The high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the Council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 34:2–3, 4–5, 6–7, 8–9 

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

I will bless the Lord at all times;

praise of him is always in my mouth.

In the Lord my soul shall make its boast

The humble shall hear and be glad.

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

Glorify the Lord with me;

together let us praise his name.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

from all my terrors he set me free.

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

Look toward him and be radiant;

let your faces not be abashed.

This lowly one called; the Lord heard,

and rescued him from all his distress.

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

The angel of the Lord is encamped

around those who fear him, to rescue them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed the man who seeks refuge in him.

Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.

Alleluia

John 3:16

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Gospel

John 3:16–21

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage encapsulates the core message of the Gospel. “God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son…” (Jn 3:16). It speaks of God’s boundless love and the gift of eternal life through faith in Christ. It is a choice between light and darkness. We are challenged to embrace God’s love, respond to His offer of salvation, and walk in the truth, allowing our lives to bear witness to His transformative grace. Those who believe in Christ come into the light. They have their deeds exposed in the presence of God. Unbelief, on the other hand, results in remaining in spiritual darkness and separation from God. It’s a state of spiritual alienation where individuals are estranged from the source of life and love.

Saint Pius V - Pope, Confessor (1504-1572)

Born in Piedmont (Italy) of an impoverished family of Bolognese nobility, Antonio Ghislieri entered the Dominicans at 14. Ordained to the priesthood at 24, he devoted himself to the teaching of philosophy and theology for 16 years. A man of solid piety, austerity and self-discipline, he passed long nights in prayer.

Made Bishop of Sutri in 1556, Ghislieri succeeded Pius IV as Pius V in 1566. The Papal court underwent reform, with Cardinals being urged to curb their luxurious lifestyle and Bishops required to found seminaries and to reside in their Sees; Church music and liturgical worship underwent reform. To the Mass were added the Domine non sum dignus (“Lord, I am not worthy”), the Confiteor (“I confess”), and the blessing, all and sundry coming to feel the Pope’s influence in carrying out the decisions of the great Council of Trent that had concluded in 1563.

Politically, Pius V worked ceaselessly to bring about a union of the Christian Princes of Europe against the threatening Turks. The faithful were urged to do special penances for this intention. Finally, the Turkish attack on Cyprus brought the forces of Venice, Genoa, Spain and the Holy See together under Don Juan of Austria who, as commander-in­-chief, leaving behind all soldiers of known evil lives, won the great naval victory of Lepanto in 1571, in memory of which was instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory—later changed to the feast of the Holy Rosary—and entered the invocation, “Help of Christians” in the Litany of Loreto.

Pius V, whose mortal remains were moved from Saint Peter’s to Saint Mary Major’s in 1588 by Sixtus V, was canonized in 1712.

Reflection: “He who is bad to himself, whom will he be good to?” (Sirach 14:5)

Daily Readings

April 29, 2025

Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Reading 1

Acts 4:32–37

The full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 93:1abc, 1d–2, 5

Response: The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

The Lord has robed himself with might;

he has girded himself with power.

Response: The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

The world you made firm, not to be moved;

your throne has stood firm from of old.

From all eternity, O Lord, you are.

Response: The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

Truly your decrees are to be trusted.

Holiness is fitting to your house,

O Lord, until the end of time.

Response: The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

Alleluia

John 3:14-15

The Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Gospel

John 3:7b–15

At that time: Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Reflection

The essence of Jesus’ advice to Nicodemus is that the Holy Spirit’s role in spiritual rebirth is transformative. When someone is “born again” or “born from above,” it involves a radical and profound change at the core of his/her being. This change is not something that can be manufactured or manipulated by human effort; it is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. It involves conviction of sin, repentance, and a new life in Christ. It is through our faith in the Son of Man who was lifted on the cross that we are offered eternal life and salvation. We need to examine our faith, recognising that belief in Jesus Christ as our Saviour is the pathway to eternal life.

Saint Catherine of Siena - Virgin and Doctor of the Church (1347-1380)

Catherine, the youngest of the 25 children of the Benincasa family of wool dyers in Siena, Tuscany (Italy), when still young, was favoured with celestial visions and began to practise severe austerities. At 16 she became a Dominican tertiary, lived for three years like an anchoress in her own home, and heroically undertook the care of advanced cases of leprosy and cancer which no one else would touch and, though meeting with nothing but abuse, succeeded in bringing about the sufferers’ conversion.

Subsisting for long periods solely on the reception of the Eucharist and praying incessantly for sinners who refused to pray for themselves. At 28, she received the sacred stigmata, but in response to her pleadings to God, these remained outwardly invisible while she was alive. The most famous of her writings is her Dialogue in which the Father converses with her on the spiritual life.

Catherine was instrumental in having Pope Gregory XI lift the interdict over Florence and finally return from Avignon to Rome in 1377. At the request of Gregory’s successor Urban VI she spent the last six years of her life in Rome, offering the sacrifice of her life for the unity and renewal of the Church. She was barely 33 when she died three long months after having had a seizure.

Proclaimed saint in 1461 and Doctor of the Church in 1970, she is the Patron Saint of Italy, and is invoked against fire, pestilence and headaches.

Reflection: “Never consider your past sins except in the light of infinite mercy, so that the memory of them may not discourage you, but may lead you to place your confidence in the infinite value of the Saviour’s merits” (Saint Catherine of Siena).

Daily Readings

April 28, 2025

Monday of the Second Week of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 4:23–31

In those days: When Peter and John were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’ – for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 2:1–3, 4–6, 7–9

Response: Blessed are all who trust in you, O Lord.

Why do the nations conspire,

and the peoples plot in vain?

They arise, the kings of the earth;

princes plot against the Lord

and his Anointed.

“Let us burst asunder their fetters.

Let us cast off from us their chains.”

Response: Blessed are all who trust in you, O Lord.

He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord derides and mocks them.

Then he will speak in his anger,

his rage will strike them with terror.

“It is I who have appointed my king

on Sion, my holy mountain.”

Response: Blessed are all who trust in you, O Lord.

I will announce the decree of the Lord:

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son.

It is I who have begotten you this day.

Ask of me and I will give you

the nations as your inheritance,

and the ends of the earth as your possession.

With a rod of iron you will rule them;

like a potter’s jar you will shatter them.”

Response: Blessed are all who trust in you, O Lord.

Alleluia

Colossians 3:1

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Gospel

John 3:1–8

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Reflection

Being “born again” represents a radical transformation of the heart and soul. It is a spiritual awakening or renewal that goes beyond mere external religious practices. Nicodemus, a respected Pharisee and teacher of Israel was seeking Jesus under the cover of night, but Jesus makes it clear that external religious piety is insufficient for entering the kingdom of God. True transformation takes place at the core of one’s being. Today we are challenged to consider the nature of our faith and the depth of our spiritual transformation. Faith in Christ leads to a new birth and entry into God’s kingdom.  We need to be sincere seekers of God, open to the work of the Holy Spirit, and be willing to surrender our lives to Jesus, the source of new life.

(1) Saint Peter Chanel - Martyr (1803-1841)

Born in France (12 July), Peter was a shepherd boy whose first encounter with his Parish Priest, Abbé Trompier, led to his education in the latter’s Latin school. As a student and as a seminarian, Peter so won the esteem of teachers and students alike that a certain bishop once commented: “He has a heart of gold with the simple faith of a child and leads the life of an angel.”

Peter is famed for the religious revival he achieved within three years of his appointment in the ill-reputed parish of Crozet. In 1831, Peter became a Marist missionary. In 1836, Pope Gregory XVI canonically approved this fledgling congregation and entrusted to its care the island of Futuna, New Hebrides. Well received by the people, Peter’s work drew the ire of the chieftain whose own son sought to be baptized and Peter was clubbed to death (28 April), and his body chopped to pieces. Nevertheless, the whole island became Christian within two years.

Beatified in 1889, Peter was canonized in 1954.

Reflection: “In such a difficult mission (evangelizing) we simply have to be holy men” (Saint Peter Chanel).

(2) Saint Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort - Priest (1673-1716)

Louis was born in Brittany, France (31 January). Ordained in 1700, he was assigned to Nantes as a rural preacher and then to a hospital for the poor in Poitiers, which he zealously upgraded. He founded the Daughters of Wisdom for women, to care especially for needy children, and the Missionaries of the Company of Mary for priests and brothers, to continue his retreat ministry and to spread Marian devotion.

An avid preacher of missions to the poor, Louis was denounced by his enemies and banned from Poitiers by his bishop. He, however, returned from Rome with papal approval and, named Missionary Apostolic for France by Clement XI, spent the rest of his life evangelizing western France.

Louis promoted Marian devotion as the best means of attaining union with Christ. His book, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, continues to be in use to this day.

Louis, who died young and suddenly (28 April), was canonized in 1947.

Reflection: “It was you, Virgin Mary, who gave us this body and blood, which raises our status so high that it is beyond the reach of the angels. May you be blessed throughout the world! For giving us such a great gift” (Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort).

Daily Readings

April 26, 2025

Saturday in the Octave of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 4:13–21

In those days: When the rulers and elders and scribes saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognised that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the Council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 118:1 & 14–15ab,15c–21

Response: I will thank you, Lord, for you have answered me.

Give praise to the Lord, for he is good;

his mercy endures forever.

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he was my saviour.

There are shouts of joy and salvation

in the tents of the just.

Response: I will thank you, Lord, for you have answered me.

The Lord’s right hand has done

mighty deeds;

his right hand is exalted.

The Lord’s right hand has done

mighty deeds;

I shall not die, I shall live

and recount the deeds of the Lord.

The Lord punished me,

punished me severely,

but did not hand me over to death.

Response: I will thank you, Lord, for you have answered me.

Open to me the gates of justice:

I will enter and thank the Lord.

This is the Lord’s own gate,

where the just may enter.

I will thank you, for you have answered,

and you are my saviour.

Response: I will thank you, Lord, for you have answered me.

Alleluia

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad

Gospel

Mark 16:9–15

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Afterwards he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Reflection

The disciples’ initial response of unbelief in today’s gospel passage underscores the dramatic transformation they underwent. Their encounters with the risen Christ turned them from fearful and sceptical individuals into bold and unwavering witnesses of the Gospel. Today’s gospel passage contains themes of post-resurrection appearances, doubt and belief, the Great Commission, signs and confirmation, baptism, the universality of the Gospel, and the role of witnesses. It encourages believers to embrace their mission to proclaim the Good News and emphasizes the importance of faith, testimony, and obedience in following Jesus’ commands. This transformation demonstrates the power of the resurrection to change lives and embolden believers to share their faith.

Saint Anacletus - Pope, Martyr (-c 88)

It is now generally conceded that the name Anacletus (or Anencletus), which is given in all the ancient lists of Popes from the second to the fourth century was probably abbreviated to Cletus. It was later erroneously believed that Cletus and Anacletus were two distinct figures, and they were therefore commemorated on 26 April and 13 July respectively.

Anacletus succeeded Saint Linus to the papal throne about the year 76 and reigned for twelve years. The 6th century Liber Pontificalis states that he had a small chapel or “Memoria” erected over the resting place of the Prince of the Apostles atop Vatican Hill and another one over the tomb of Saint Paul on the property of the matron Lucina on the Ostian Way. Aside from this, little is known of the reign of this second successor of Saint Peter.

Anacletus was believed to have been martyred under the cruel Emperor Domitian, the “Nero-come-to-life-again”.

Reflection: “You ought to make every effort to free yourselves even from venial sin and to do what is most perfect” (Saint Teresa of Avila)

Daily Readings

April 25, 2025

Friday in the Octave of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 4:1–12

In those days: As Peter and John were speaking to the people, [after the lame man was healed] the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they enquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 118:1–2 and 4, 22–24, 25–27a

Response: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Or Alleluia).

Give praise to the Lord, for he is good;

his mercy endures forever.

Let the house of Israel say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

Let those who fear the Lord say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

Response: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Or Alleluia).

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

By the Lord has this been done,

a marvel in our eyes.

This is the day the Lord has made;

let us rejoice in it and be glad. 

Response: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Or Alleluia).

O Lord, grant salvation;

O Lord, grant success.

Blest is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

We bless you from the house of the Lord;

the Lord is God, and has given us light.

Response: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Or Alleluia).

Alleluia

Psalm 118:24

 This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.

Gospel

John 21:1–14

At that time: Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Reflection

In today’s gospel passage, several disciples, including Peter, decide to go fishing. They fish all night but catch nothing. In the morning, Jesus appears on the shore, though the disciples do not immediately recognise him. Jesus instructs them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and suddenly they catch a large number of fish. This miraculous catch prompts John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, to recognise that it is the Lord. Upon realising this, Peter, ever impulsive, puts on his outer garment and jumps into the sea to swim to Jesus. The other disciples follow in the boat, dragging the net full of fish. When they reach the shore, they find that Jesus has already prepared breakfast for them - fish and bread. How often do we encounter the presence of Christ in our lives without recognising him? This speaks of the need for heightened spiritual awareness and discernment. The disciples were engaged in a routine activity (fishing) when Jesus appeared. Similarly, Christ may be present in the ordinary aspects of our lives, and a deeper awareness is required to recognise Him.

Saint Mark - Evangelist (-c 68)

Mark was the son of Mary, a prominent member of the Christian community in Jerusalem and an old friend of Saint Peter, in whose house the brethren were accustomed to assemble. We first hear of Mark when Paul and Barnabas take him along to Antioch in 46 AD and then on the first apostolic journey to Cyprus. Here Mark separated himself from Paul and Barnabas and returned to Jerusalem on account of certain disagreements. But it was not long before Mark and Paul resolved their differences whereby, around 60 AD, the two were together in Rome, preparing to return to the Churches of Asia Minor.

Mark seems to have gone to Egypt from Aquileia and there founded the See of Alexandria. In 61 Paul wrote to Timothy at Ephesus, asking him to bring Mark with him to Rome, and it was while Mark was in the Eternal City that he wrote his vivid Gospel account which is a faithful record of the oral teaching of Saint Peter. Ancient tradition claims that this second Gospel was, at the request of the Roman Christians, originally written in Greek.

Mark also probably evangelized the region of Aquileia at the northern extremity of the Adriatic whence the inhabitants fled some 400 years later at Attila’s approach and founded the famous lagoon city of Venice. Mark is considered a great Patron Saint of the city, his body having been stolen from Alexandria, Egypt, by Venetian soldiers in 815 and placed under the high altar of the magnificent basilica named after him in Venice.

Reflection: “If any man wishes to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:33).

Daily Readings

April 24, 2025

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 3:11–26

In those days: While the lame man clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name – by faith in his name – has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 8:2ab and 5, 6–7a, 7b–9

Response: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth! (Or: Alleluia)

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic

is your name through all the earth!

what is man that you should keep him in mind,

the son of man that you care for him?

Response: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth! (Or: Alleluia)

Yet you have made him little lower than the angels;

with glory and honour you crowned him,

gave him power over the works of your hands.

Response: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth! (Or: Alleluia)

You put all things under his feet,

All of them, sheep and oxen,

yes, even the cattle of the fields,

birds of the air, and fish of the sea

that make their way through the waters.

Response: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth! (Or: Alleluia)

Alleluia

Psalm 118:24

 This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.

Gospel

Luke 24:35–48

At that time: The two disciples told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then 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 the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

Reflection

The disciples, when initially confronted with Jesus, are filled with doubt and fear. They think they are seeing a ghost. Jesus responds by asking them to examine His hands and feet, where the wounds from the crucifixion were. This direct encounter with the scars of His crucifixion serves as undeniable proof of His identity. It reassures the disciples and dispels their doubts and fears and fills them with courage to be witnesses in the days to come. Today’s Gospel passage reinforces the reality of the resurrection, emphasises the importance of Scripture, commissioning believers to be witnesses, and highlights the transformative power of forgiveness and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. It challenges us to embrace our role as witnesses of the risen Christ and to participate in the mission of proclaiming the Good News to all nations.

Saint Fidelis - Martyr (1576-1622)

A native of the town of Sigmaringen in south-western Germany, where his father was mayor, Mark Roy practised law for six years and, famed for his scrupulous honesty and life of mortification, made himself a name as the “advocate of the poor”. Corruption in the law courts however caused him at 34 to abandon his profession in favour of the priesthood; then, selling all his possessions for the benefit of the poor, he joined the Capuchins at Freiburg in 1612, taking the name of Fidelis.

Fidelis’ burning zeal, coupled with his oratorical and writing skills, was directed especially towards the conversion of those who had fallen prey to Calvinism and Zwinglianism. As a result of his manner of reforming a Benedictine monastery at Pfäefers in 1621, and his missionary work among the Zwinglians in the Swiss Canton, Pope Gregory XV, in 1622, made him head of the Grisons missions.

He travelled in absolute poverty, depending solely on Providence for his daily needs. Armed with his Crucifix, Bible, Breviary and the Capuchin rule, he evangelized freely, oblivious to the threats and insults from the Protestants, at times focusing his attention on the city magistrates in lengthy conferences lasting into the night, the conversion and public recantation of the most influential citizen resulting in numerous other conversions, further alarming the Protestant ministers who roused public ire by imputing political motives to his mission. Thus, in 1622, he was dragged from the pulpit by an angry mob and, on his refusal to apostatize, was slain. Fidelis was canonized in 1746.

Reflection: “The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages” (Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen).

Daily Readings

April 23, 2025

Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 3:1–10

In those days: Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 105:1–2, 3–4, 6–7, 8–9

Response: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. (Or: Alleluia)

Give thanks to the Lord; proclaim his name.

Make known his deeds among the peoples.

O sing to him, sing his praise;

tell all his wonderful works!

Response: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. (Or: Alleluia)

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.

Turn to the Lord and his strength;

constantly seek his face. 

Response: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. (Or: Alleluia)

O children of Abraham, his servant,

O descendants of the Jacob he chose,

he, the Lord, is our God;

his judgments are in all the earth. 

Response: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. (Or: Alleluia)

He remembers his covenant forever:

the promise he ordained for a thousand generations,

the covenant he made with Abraham,

the oath he swore to Isaac.

Response: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. (Or: Alleluia)

Alleluia

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.

Gospel

Luke 24:13–35

That very day [the first day of the week,] two of the disciples of Jesus were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognising him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Reflection

Jesus gently rebukes the Emmaus disciples for their spiritual blindness and “foolishness” in not believing the prophets’ words about the Messiah’s suffering and glory. Their ignorance of the Scriptures demonstrates how a lack of knowledge or understanding can contribute to spiritual blindness. Without a foundation in God’s Word, we may fail to recognise His hand at work in our lives. Thus, we reflect today on the themes of spiritual blindness, revelation, and the transformative power of recognizing the resurrected Christ.  On our journey of faith, Jesus is often present with us, even when we may not initially recognise Him. Through Scripture, the breaking of bread, and moments of revelation, He opens our eyes to His presence and His redemptive work in our lives.

Saint Adalbert of Prague - Bishop, martyr (956-997)

Christened Vojtech at birth in the princely Slavnik family of Libice in East Bohemia, Adalbert was trained in theology at Magdeburg under its first Archbishop, Saint Adalbert, whose name he eventually took at his “confirmation”.

The first Czech occupant of the See of Prague, Adalbert was a man of vibrant energy and zeal and, much given to austerity, strove to reform the clergy, suppress abuses of various kinds and eliminate pagan practices, as also to spread Christianity throughout Bohemia and neighbouring Hungary. However, distressed by the superficial attitude evident towards the Faith, Adalbert left Prague in 982 for Rome, where he became a Benedictine monk.

Persuaded by the Pope he returned to Prague in 992; but disillusioned with the lack of change in the situation, he left Prague again in 995 only to learn of the brutal massacre of the Slavnik family and its supporters that followed. Now refused permission to return to his See, he obtained Papal release from his episcopal obligations and dedicated himself entirely to missionary activity, becoming a close friend and trusted adviser of the Roman Emperor, Otto III, on matters concerning the progressive Christianization of the Slavs.

True to the meaning of his baptismal name, Adalbert was to truly prove “a consolation to the army” of Jesus Christ. Invited by the Polish king, Boleslas I the Great, he set about organizing missionary work among the heathen Prussians on the Baltic coast where he was martyred in 997. His body, ransomed by Boleslas, was buried at Gniezno in Poland and later transferred to Prague in 1039.

Reflection: “Fortitude is a moral and supernatural virtue which makes a person generous and fearless in the pursuit of holiness, in spite of difficulties, fear, force and even death” (Blessed James Alberione).

Daily Readings

April 22, 2025

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 2:36–41

[On the day of Pentecost,] Peter said to the Jews, “Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptised, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33:4–5, 18–19, 20 and 22

Response: His merciful love fills the earth. (Or: Alleluia)

The word of the Lord is faithful, 

and all his works to be trusted. 

The Lord loves justice and right, 

and his merciful love fills the earth.

Response: His merciful love fills the earth. (Or: Alleluia)

Yes, the Lord’s eyes are on those who fear him, 

who hope in his merciful love, 

to rescue their souls from death, 

to keep them alive in famine. 

Response: His merciful love fills the earth. (Or: Alleluia)

Our soul is waiting for the Lord. 

He is our help and our shield. 

May your merciful love be upon us, 

as we hope in you, O Lord. 

Response: His merciful love fills the earth. (Or: Alleluia)

Alleluia

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.

Gospel

John 20:11–18

At that time: Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and that he had said these things to her.

Reflection 

When Mary Magdalene initially encounters Jesus at the tomb, she doesn’t recognize him. However, when Jesus calls her by name, her recognition is immediate. This moment underscores the deeply personal nature of Jesus’ relationship with His followers. He knows each of them intimately and calls them by name. This recognition speaks of the idea that faith is not a generic, one-size-fits-all experience but a deeply personal and individualized connection with Christ. Today’s gospel passage offers a powerful reflection on the human experience of grief, the recognition of the risen Christ through a personal encounter, and the transformational impact of encountering the Living Lord. It reminds us of the personal and intimate nature of our faith in Jesus and the call to share our testimonies with others, spreading the message of hope, joy, and transformation that comes through Him.

Saint Soter - Pope, Martyr (-175)

Saint Soter was a native of Fondi near Gaeta in Italy. It was upon the death of Saint Anicetus in 166, that Soter was raised to the Papacy thus becoming the 12th in the succession of Popes. One of the rising heretical sects which this Pope had to combat during his 9-year reign was that of Montanus, a Phrygian, who taught that certain sins could never be forgiven and claimed that he was God’s messenger for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. To Saint Soter is also attributed a precept that all the faithful, excepting only such as were guilty of a notable crime, should receive Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday.

A letter which the Pope sent to the persecuted Church at Corinth has unfortunately been lost, but an extant fragment of the reverent reply of Saint Dionysius, the Bishop of Corinth, is interesting for its reference to “the abundance which the Pope has sent to the saints, and the consolation which he has offered with words of comfort to the brethren who came to him, as a loving father would to his children.” “Today, the Lord’s day, we have read your letter and we will always wish to re-read it and to be admonished, the same as by the earlier letter which was sent to us by Clement.”

Saint Soter is believed to have suffered martyrdom in 175 under Marcus Aurelius.

Reflection: “Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

Daily Readings

April 21, 2025

Monday in the Octave of Easter

Reading 1

Acts of the Apostles 2:14, 22–33

[On the day of Pentecost,] Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 16:1–2a and 5, 7–8, 9–10, 11

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. (Or: Alleluia)

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;

you yourself who secure my lot.

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. (Or: Alleluia)

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

who even at night directs my heart.

I keep the Lord before me always;

with him at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. (Or: Alleluia)

And so, my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

even my flesh shall rest in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to hell,

nor let your holy one see corruption.

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. (Or: Alleluia)

You will show me the path of life,

the fullness of joy in your presence,

at your right hand, bliss forever.

Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. (Or: Alleluia)

Sequence  (optional)

Victimae paschali laudes

Christians, to the Paschal Victim
            Offer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems;
            Christ, who only is sinless,
            Reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:
            The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
            What you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
            The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
bright angels attesting,
            The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
            to Galilee he goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.
            Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
            Amen. Alleluia.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.

Gospel

Matthew 28:8–15

At that time: The women departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Reflection

Today, we celebrate the joy of the resurrection and bear witness to the transformative power of the risen Lord in our lives and the world. In today’s gospel passage, the women who witnessed the angel at the tomb and later encountered the risen Jesus provided testimony that confirmed the reality of His resurrection. Their firsthand accounts served as credible and powerful evidence. The women were eyewitnesses to the angel’s message and their encounter with the risen Jesus. Their testimony was based on what they had personally seen and experienced, making it a compelling and reliable account. Today’s gospel passage offers a rich context for reflection on the resurrection of Jesus. It highlights the emotional impact of encountering the risen Christ, the power of truth, the importance of testimony, and the challenges of opposition and rejection.

Saint Anselm - Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church (1033-1109)

Born in Aosta in the Italian Alps, Saint Anselm came from the noble Lombard family. After the death of his mother, Ermenberga, a pious Burgundian woman, he fled home on account of his father’s violence and harshness. In 1060 he took the Benedictine habit at Bec (Normandy), where his illustrious countryman Blessed Lanfranc had started his famous school. Outstanding for his learning, he was within a span of three years made Prior and, after another 15 years, Abbot.

In 1093 he was made Archbishop of Canterbury, in the hope that he would tackle the encroachments of King William the Red. Reconciliation was effected in 1107, when the king relinquished his claim to investing Bishops and Abbots.

Gentle and self-effacing by nature, Anselm was unyielding on matters of principle. A man of fearless zeal, he strongly denounced the slave trade and staunchly defended the Filioque (“and from the Son”), a doctrine that indicated matter-of-factly that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son.

His thinking as evident in his philosophical and theological works, the Monologium and the Proslogium, with the ontological argument for the existence of God as also Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man), a dialogue with a non-Christian have had such a deep and abiding influence upon the Church’s philosophy and theology as to earn him the titles of “Father of Scholasticism” and “Doctor of the Universal Church”. Anselm died at Canterbury in 1109.

Reflection: “O Lord, our God, grant us the grace to desire you with our whole heart, that in desiring you we may seek and find you; that finding you we may love you, and loving you we may despise the sins from which you have redeemed us” (Saint Anselm).

Daily Readings

April 16, 2025

Wednesday of Holy Week

Reading 1

Isaiah 50:4–9a

The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backwards. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty?

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 69:8–10, 21–22, 31 and 33–34

Response: In your great mercy, answer me, O Lord, for a time of your favour.

It is for you that I suffer taunts,

that shame has covered my face.

To my own kin I have become an outcast,

a stranger to the children of my mother.

Zeal for your house consumes me,

and taunts against you fall on me.

Response: In your great mercy, answer me, O Lord, for a time of your favour.

Taunts have broken my heart;

here I am in anguish.

I looked for solace, but there was none;

for consolers – not one could I find.

For food they gave me gall;

in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Response: In your great mercy, answer me, O Lord, for a time of your favour.

Then I will praise God’s name with a song;

I will glorify him with thanksgiving:

The poor when they see it will be glad,

and God-seeking hearts will revive;

for the Lord listens to the needy,

and does not spurn his own in their chains.

Response: In your great mercy, answer me, O Lord, for a time of your favour.

Verse Before the Gospel

Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our faults.

Gospel

Matthew 26:14–25

At that time: One of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where would you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage invites us to reflect on the themes of betrayal, temptation, loyalty, and the sovereignty of God. Judas was a member of Jesus’ inner circle. His decision to betray Jesus is a stark reminder that betrayal and unfaithfulness can come from unexpected sources, even from those who are closest to us. We are challenged today to examine our loyalty and commitment to Christ and consider the potential for betrayal in each of us. We need to examine our own choices, seeking faithfulness and integrity in our relationship with Christ and with others. In the end, we are reminded of the profound grace and forgiveness that Christ offers, even in the face of betrayal.

Saint Marie Bernarde Soubirous - Virgin (1844-1879)

The eldest of 9 children of Francoise [a miller] and Louise Soubirous, Sister Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, popularly known as Bernadette, was born at Nevers in Lourdes, at the foothills of the French Pyrenees.

In 1858, Bernadette, together with her sister Marie and a friend named Jeanne, were out  looking for firewood for the family hearth when, in a grotto of Massabielle along the river Gave, she beheld a vision of Our Lady which she described to her companions thus: “A Lady of unspeakable beauty, dressed in white, drawn in at the waist by a blue sash. She had a white veil on her head and falling down her back.... Her feet were bare and there was a rose on each of them. On her right arm, a rosary of white beads... whose chain was golden, all shining like the two roses on her feet.”

Mary, who appeared to and conversed with Bernadette on 17 other occasions, said: “I promise to make you happy, if not in this world, at least in the next” (18 February); “Penance! Penance! Penance!” (24 February); “Go and tell the Priests that a chapel must be built here” (27 February); “I am the Immaculate Conception” (25 March).

Bernadette endured much opposition from family, civil authorities and clergy alike, all of whom refused to believe her. The Bishop of Tarbes appointed a Commission of ecclesiastical and medical experts to inquire into the reality and nature of the apparitions and miracles that had occurred at Lourdes. Before the reports of the commission were even approved by the Bishop three years later, the fame of Lourdes had spread worldwide, its position as a place of pilgrimage firmly established!

In 1866, Bernadette commenced her novitiate at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Nevers, and in 1878, the year she made her perpetual vows, she renewed before the representatives of the Bishops of Tarbes and Nevers the depositions she had made 20 years before, regarding the grotto apparitions. Bernadette died of Asthma and TB in 1879 with a smile on her face at her impending encounter with her “Lady in White” and was canonized in 1933.

Reflection: “You must learn to love suffering. Our Lord gives his crown of thorns to his friends. Seek nothing better.” “I am happier in my bed with my crucifix, than a queen on her throne” (Saint Marie-Bernarde Soubirous).

Daily Readings

April 15, 2025

Tuesday of Holy Week

Reading 1

Isaiah 49:1–6

Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.” And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him – for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength – he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Psalm

Psalm 71:1–2, 3–4a, 5–6ab, 15ab and 17

Response: My mouth will tell of your salvation, Lord.

In you, O Lord, I take refuge; 

let me never be put to shame. 

In your justice, rescue me, free me; 

incline your ear to me and save me. 

Response: My mouth will tell of your salvation, Lord.

Be my rock, my constant refuge, 

a mighty stronghold to save me, 

for you are my rock, my stronghold. 

My God, free me from the hand 

of the wicked. 

Response: My mouth will tell of your salvation, Lord.

It is you, O Lord, who are my hope, 

my trust, O Lord, from my youth. 

On you I have leaned from my birth; 

from my mother’s womb, 

you have been my help. 

Response: My mouth will tell of your salvation, Lord.

My mouth will tell of your justice,

and all the day long of your salvation, 

O God, you have taught me from my youth, 

and I proclaim your wonders still. 

Response: My mouth will tell of your salvation, Lord.

Verse Before the Gospel

Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father; you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter. 

Gospel

John 13:21–33, 36–38

At that time: [Jesus, reclining with his disciples,] was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast”, or that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterwards.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow till you have denied me three times.

Reflection 

Today’s gospel passage invites us to reflect on themes of love, betrayal, discipleship, and trust. It calls us to emulate Christ’s sacrificial love in our interactions with others and to recognize that our love for one another is a powerful testimony of our faith in Him. It also emphasizes love as a defining mark of discipleship. It calls all Christians to love one another in a manner that reflects Christ’s sacrificial and selfless love. This love is not merely an internal feeling but is manifested through actions and service to others. Our love serves as a powerful testimony to the world of our identity as followers of Jesus.

Saint Benedict Joseph Labre - Confessor (1748-1783)

The eldest of 15 children of a well-to-do peasant of Amettes, near Boulogne in France, Benedict studied for some years with an uncle who was the Vicar of Erin until he realized that he lacked a priestly vocation and felt called to the cloister. However, he was successively turned away by the Carthusians, the Trappists and the Cistercians, by which time he was 22. 

With a pilgrimage to Rome began his unique life as “the holy tramp”—13 years of continuous pilgrimage to the great shrines of; maintaining a strict fast and abstinence, he begged along the way, sharing the little he received by way of food and alms with the poor and the needy. His baggage comprised only his New Testament, Breviary, “The Imitation of Christ” and some books of prayer. Wrapped in prayer and peace, he remained perennially cheerful. 

Seven years of pilgrimages later, after becoming a Franciscan tertiary, he stayed on in Rome but, having no cell or fixed abode, he took his modicum of sleep amidst the ruins of the Colosseum where, in the dead of night, he would implore God’s mercy with outstretched arms before the Stations of the Cross. He frequented churches that held the 40 Hours’ devotion and spent hours in ecstasy, thus becoming known as the “beggar of perpetual adoration”. 

When he died during Holy Week 1783, aged 35, such crowds poured into Santa Maria dei Monti where he “lay in state” that the Easter Mass could not be sung and the military was called in to maintain order. The hundred-and-thirty-six miraculous cures attributed to his intercession within the first three months lead to his canonization in 1883.

Reflection: “God is so good and merciful, that to obtain heaven it is sufficient to ask it of him from our hearts” (Saint Benedict Joseph Labre).

Daily Readings

April 14, 2025

Monday of Holy Week

Reading 1

Isaiah 42:1–7

Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 27:1, 2, 3, 13–14

Response: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

whom should I dread?

Response: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

When those who do evil draw near

to devour my flesh,

it is they, my enemies and foes,

who stumble and fall.

Response: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart would not fear.

Though war break out against me,

even then would I trust.

Response: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness

in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong;

be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!

Response: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Verse Before the Gospel

Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our faults.

Gospel

John 12:1–11

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denari and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the money bag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage invites us to reflect on the themes of love, sacrifice, worship, and the impending crucifixion of Jesus. We are encouraged to examine our attitudes and actions in the light of Mary’s extravagant devotion and to consider how we can offer our best to honour Christ in our lives. Judas’ reaction to Mary’s worship is in stark contrast. He criticises her, claiming that the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. However, John points out that Judas didn’t truly care for the poor but was motivated by greed. This contrast highlights the sincerity and purity of Mary’s worship in contrast to Judas’ hypocrisy.

Saint Lydwine

Saint Lydwine is the patroness of sickness. Lydwine of Schiedam was born at Schiedam, Holland, one of nine children of a working man. After an injury in her youth, she became bedridden and suffered the rest of her life from various illnesses and diseases. She experienced mystical gifts, including supernatural visions of heaven, hell, purgatory, apparitions of Christ, and the stigmata. Thomas a Kempis wrote a biography of her. She was canonized Pope Leo XIII in 1890.

Lydwine suffered a fall while ice skating in 1396, when a friend collided with her and caused her to break a rib on the right side. From this injury, she never recovered. An abscess formed inside her body which later burst and caused Lydwine extreme suffering. Eventually, she was to suffer a series of mysterious illnesses which in retrospect seemed to be from the hands of God. Lydwine heroically accepted her plight as the will of God and offered up her sufferings for the sins of humanity.

Daily Readings

April 12, 2025

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Ezekiel 37:21–28

Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backsliding in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there for ever, and David my servant shall be their prince for ever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst for evermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst for evermore.”

Responsorial Psalm

Jeremiah 31:10, 11–12ab, 13 

Response: The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock.

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,

and declare it in the coastlands far away;

say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,

and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’

Response: The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock.

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob

and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Sion,

and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord.

Response: The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock.

Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

I will turn their mourning into joy;

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

Response: The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock.

Verse Before the Gospel

Ezekiel 18:31

Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, says the Lord, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Gospel

John 11:45–57

At that time: Many of the Jews who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage invites us to contemplate the significance of Jesus’ miraculous signs, the diversity of human responses to his ministry, and the sovereignty of God’s plan. God’s sovereign plan has been revealed in the unfolding events surrounding Lazarus’ resurrection and the growing opposition to Jesus. We see how God’s purposes are accomplished, even in the face of human resistance, and that His ultimate plan is centred on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Let us reflect on our faith and willingness to follow Christ, even when it requires surrendering our desires for power and control.

Saint Gemma Galgani - Virgin (1878-1903)

Gemma was the fourth of 8 children whose parents Enrico and Aurelia, were extremely devout. Aurelia died in 1886, having planted in Gemma the seeds of her devotion to Our Lord’s Passion. Unable to express her emotions about the moment of intimacy between her soul and Jesus at her First Holy Communion at 9, Gemma did make good her resolve to be “always good.”

Gemma loved solitude and quiet, and was always most reserved in talking. One day, after she had received Holy Communion, Our Lord said to her: “Gemma, I expect you on Calvary, that Mount towards which you have been led.” After a long, painful illness patiently borne, she made a vow of chastity and in 1899, Saint Gabriel appeared to her, promising to make the novena in honour of Saint Margaret Mary with her, which he did each night. After a good confession and receiving Holy Communion, she arose completely cured. Her attempt at nun-hood was thwarted by the condition of her health.

Gemma received the sacred “stigmata” on the vigil of the Feast of the Sacred Heart in 1899 apart from experiencing other phenomena of the Passion, such as the sweat of blood, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, etc. Under the spiritual direction of the Passionist Fathers, Gemma, who was also blessed with the gift of prophecy apart from ecstacies, visions and revelations, came to be widely known for her sanctity and many favours were obtained through her prayers.

Gemma died in 1903, having offered herself as a sacrifice for sinners, particularly for unworthy priests. She was canonized in 1940.

Reflection: “I am not at rest, nor shall I be, until Jesus has enkindled a little of his love in me!” “Love Jesus, and nothing else!” (Saint Gemma Galgani)

Daily Readings

April 11, 2025

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Jeremiah 20:10–13

I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.” But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonour will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 18:2–3a, 3bc–4, 5–6, 7

Response: In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard me.

I love you, Lord, my strength;

O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my saviour.

Response: In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard me.

My God, my rock where I take refuge;

my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold.

I cry out, “Praised be the Lord!”

and see, I am saved from my foes.

Response: In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard me.

The waves of death rose about me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

the snares of the grave surrounded me;

the traps of death confronted me.

Response: In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard me.

In my anguish I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry to him reached his ears.

Response: In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard me.

Verse Before the Gospel

See John 6:63c, 68c

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life, you have the words of eternal life.

Gospel

John 10:31–42

At that time: The Jews picked up stones again to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came and Scripture cannot be broken – do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming’, because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage reveals the intense opposition Jesus faced due to his claims of divinity. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing Jesus as the Son of God and the challenges of belief and unbelief. Profound misunderstandings and unbelief can arise when individuals fail to grasp the true nature of Jesus’ identity and teachings. It is important to approach Jesus with an open heart, willing to accept his divine claims, even when they challenge our existing beliefs and traditions. Let us reflect on our understanding of Jesus’ identity and the significance of faith in Him as the divine Saviour.

Saint Stanislaus - Bishop, Martyr (1030-1079)

Saint Stanislaus was born in Szczepanow near Krakow on 26 July 1030.  His parents, members of the Polish nobility, were devout Catholics. Following their death Stanislaus distributed his inheritance among the poor. Not long after his ordination, he was appointed canon and preacher at the cathedral of Krakow, and then Vicar General.

Humble to the core, he accepted his election as Bishop of Krakow in 1072 only upon the express command of Pope Alexander II. An exemplary shepherd, he stood fearlessly for right and justice, never hesitating to denounce vice even in high places. His inability to sway King Boleslas II of Poland from the scandal he was causing by the cruel treatment of his subjects and by his unbridled lust to the excommunication of the king and the suspension of all public services in the cathedral, he himself retiring to the chapel of Saint Michael in a suburb of Krakow.

The king was furious and, in 1079, sent some of his knights to kill the holy bishop. But when they did not dare to carry out the command, he himself burst into the chapel where Stanislaus was celebrating Mass and split his head with his sword. As a result, Pope Gregory VII laid all Poland under an interdict. Consequently, in 1081, Boleslas was dethroned and exiled, and two years later died in Hungary as a penitent with the Benedictines.

Stanislaus, whose body was enshrined in the main altar of the Cathedral in 1089 by his successor, was canonized in 1253 at Assisi, the first Polish saint ever and principal patron of Poland.

Reflection: “Fathers and mothers owe four things to their children: maintenance, instruction, correction and good example” (Saint John Baptist de la Salle).

Daily Readings

April 10, 2025

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Genesis 17:3–9

In those days: Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 105:4–5, 6–7, 8–9

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Turn to the Lord and his strength;

constantly seek his face.

Remember the wonders he has done,

his marvels and his words

of judgment.

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

O children of Abraham, his servant,

O descendants of the Jacob he chose,

he, the Lord, is our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

He remembers his covenant forever:

the promise he ordained

for a thousand generations,

the covenant he made with Abraham,

the oath he swore to Isaac.

Response: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Verse Before the Gospel

Psalm 95:8

O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts as at Meribah.

Gospel

John 8:51–59

At that time: Jesus said to the Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage presents a powerful interaction between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, highlighting his promises of eternal life, his divine identity, and the challenges of comprehending spiritual truths. It calls us to reflect on our own beliefs and openness to God’s revelation through Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ. It extends beyond physical death, assuring believers of an everlasting relationship with God. It also underscores the profound truth of Jesus’ divine identity and the significance of faith and obedience in receiving this gift.

Saint Fulbert - Bishop, Confessor (c 960-1029

Born in the Picardy region of France, Saint Fulbert studied at the Benedictine abbey at Reims where he had as his instructor the famous Gerbert of Aurillac, who in 999 was to become Pope Sylvester II. Fulbert was the founder of the cathedral school at Chartres, which before long became the most renowned institution of its kind in France, attracting as he did students even from Germany, Italy and England. In appreciation of his wisdom and learning, his pupils styled him the “Venerable Socrates”.

For the last 22 years of his life he was Bishop of Chartres and as such laboured at the reform of the clergy and against the practice of assigning church benefices to laymen; he did not hesitate to even rebuke some of his fellow Bishops for their worldly-minded, military adventures. A personal friend of Saint Odilo of Cluny, of Blessed Richard of Saint Vannes, and of Saint Abbo of Fleury, he wholeheartedly endorsed their great monastic reforms.

Saint Fulbert is also hailed as a poet. He composed a number of hymns to Our Lady, for whom he had a special devotion, and introduced the feast of her Nativity in his diocese. He died on 10 April 1029 and was buried in the monastery church of Saint Pere-de-Chartres.

Reflection: “To discipline the intellect, one must study what is more necessary and do so systematically, constantly and in a supernatural spirit, that is, with the desire to know, love and practise the truth” (Blessed James Alberione).

Daily Readings

April 9, 2025

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Daniel 3:14–20, 24/91–25/92, 28/95

In those days: Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

Responsorial Psalm

Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

Response: You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!

“Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our ancestors,

and to be praised and highly exalted forever;

and blessed is your glorious, holy name

and to be highly praised and highly exalted forever.

Response: You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!

Blessed are you in the shrine of your holy glory

and to be extolled and highly glorified forever.

Response: You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!

Blessed are you, who sits upon cherubim and looks upon the deeps,

and to be praised and highly exalted forever.

Response: You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!

Blessed are you upon the throne of your kingdom

and to be extolled and highly exalted forever.

Response: You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!

Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven

and to be sung and glorified forever.

Response: You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!

Verse Before the Gospel

See Luke 8:15

Blessed are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Gospel

John 8:31–42

At that time: Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practises sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house for ever; the son remains for ever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father – even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage prompts us to consider the nature of true discipleship, the freedom found in Jesus’ truth, and the importance of our spiritual lineage based on faith and obedience. It also calls us to reflect on Jesus’ divine identity and to recognize Him as the source of ultimate freedom and truth. Nevertheless, it reveals a dramatic shift from belief to hostility among a group of Jews who initially believed in Jesus. Their response accentuates the challenges Jesus faced in his ministry, as well as the deep-seated resistance some people have to accept him and his divine claims. It serves as a cautionary tale, urging us to approach Jesus with open hearts and a willingness to accept the truth he offers.

Saint Waldetrudis - Widow (-c 688)

Saint Waldetrudis belonged to an exceptional family of saints. Her parents were Saints Walbert and Bertilia; her sister, Saint Aldegundis, Foundress-Abbess of Maubeuge; her husband, Saint Vincent Madalgarius, and their four children Saints Landericus, Dentelinus, Madelberta and Aldetrudis. The last two named were both abbesses of Maubeuge.

Waldetrudis and Madalgarius, a nobleman by birth, lived a happy Christian married life. Sometime after the birth of their last child, Madalgarius withdrew to the abbey of Haumont which he had founded, and there took the name of Vincent.

Waldetrudis stayed on in the world two more years and then humbly withdrew to a life of poverty and simplicity at a place called “Castrilocus in Monte”, around which developed the abbey of Chateaulieu and the city of Mons (Belgium). Here she gave herself completely to works of mercy and was well known for her miracles of healing both before and after her death.

Reflection: “I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your home, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me” (Mt 25:35-36).

Daily Readings

April 8, 2025

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Numbers 21:4–9

In those days: From Mount Hor the Hebrews set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go round the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 102:2–3, 16–21

Response: O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

O Lord, hear my prayer,

and let my cry come to you.

Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my distress.

Turn your ear toward me;

on the day when I call, speedily answer me.

Response: O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

The nations shall fear the name of the Lord,

and all the earth’s kings your glory.

When the Lord shall build up Sion,

he will appear in all his glory.

Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;

he will not despise their prayers.

Response: O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

Let this be written for ages to come,

that a people yet unborn

may praise the Lord;

The Lord looked down from

his holy place on high,

looked down from heaven to the earth,

to hear the groans of the prisoners,

and free those condemned to die.

Response: O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

Verse Before the Gospel

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live forever.

Gospel

John 8:21–30

At that time: Jesus said to the Pharisees, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Reflection

The tension between Jesus’ divine identity and the disbelief of the religious leaders has reached its peak. To recognize Jesus as the Son of God and the source of salvation, we need faith. We need to consider our own beliefs about Jesus and the need to embrace the truth of his identity and mission. Jesus’ declaration as the “I AM” in John’s gospel is a profound affirmation of his divine identity and mission. It links him to the god of the Old Testament and emphasizes his role as the Messiah and the source of eternal life. Understanding this statement is essential to grasping the depth of Jesus’ identity and the significance of the Christian faith.

Saint Julie Billiart - Virgin (1751-1816)

Early in life, Marie Rose Julie Billiart, the fifth of a devout family of seven children in Piccardy, France, showed a deep attachment to things spiritual and took a vow of chastity at 14. Two years later, the family business having failed miserably, Julie had to “hire out” and work for others. About 1770, radiating a contagious love of God and an eagerness to be spiritually helpful to the young around her, she was permitted to receive Holy Communion daily—something unheard of at the time.

An attempt made on her father’s life so unnerved Julie, then 23, as to leave her paralysed and bedridden for the next 30 years. Her saintly spirit intact, however, her mystical life and her intimacy with God deepened further. Repeatedly in danger of death at the hands of the Republicans during the French Revolution (1789-95) she had to be precipitously moved from place to place, Mass and Communion becoming possible only at odd intervals. Through it all Julie continued to direct her charitable works from her bed, particularly anxious to offset the evil of the day by providing, through pious friends, for the education of poor orphans and, later on, of girls in general.

In August 1803, with the cooperation of Francoise Blin de Bourdon, Visçountess of Gezaincourt, and of Father Joseph Varin d’Ainville, Superior of the Fathers of the Faith, Julie set her work on a permanent footing with the founding of the “Institute of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur”. The following June, the then 53 year-old crippled, urged by a certain priest named Father Enfantin, took ‘a single step for the love of the Sacred Heart’ and found herself completely cured!

In time, she founded ten convents in France and Belgium. Considerable opposition and misunderstanding, particularly on the part of the Bishop of Amiens, caused her, in 1809, to transfer the motherhouse to Namur, Belgium.

Marie Rose Julie Billiart who died in 1816 was canonized in 1969.

Reflection: “If we consider ourselves of no account, God will work through us! Our institute will never prosper unless we are women of prayer!” (Saint Julie Billiart)

Daily Readings

April 7, 2025

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading I

Daniel 13:41c–62 (Longer Form: Daniel 13:1–9, 15–17, 19–30, 33–62)

In those days: The assembly condemned Susanna to death. Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice and said, “O eternal God, who does discern what is secret, who is aware of all things before they come to be, you know that these men have borne false witness against me. And now I am to die! Yet I have done none of the things that they have wickedly invented against me!” The Lord heard her cry. And as she was being led away to be put to death, God aroused the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel; and he cried with a loud voice, “I am innocent of the blood of this woman.” All the people turned to him and said, “What is this that you have said?” Taking his stand in the midst of them, he said, “Are you such fools, you sons of Israel? Have you condemned a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts? Return to the place of judgment. For these men have borne false witness against her.” Then all the people returned in haste. And the elders said to him, “Come, sit among us and inform us, for God has given you that right.” And Daniel said to them, “Separate them far from each other, and I will examine them.” When they were separated from each other, he summoned one of them and said to him, “You old relic of wicked days, your sins have now come home, which you have committed in the past, pronouncing unjust judgments, condemning the innocent, and letting the guilty go free, though the Lord said, ‘Do not put to death an innocent and righteous person’. Now then, if you really saw her, tell me this: Under what tree did you see them being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under a mastic tree.” And Daniel said, “Very well! You have lied against your own head, for the angel of God has received the sentence from God and will immediately cut you in two.” Then he put him aside and commanded them to bring the other. And he said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you and lust has perverted your heart. This is how you both have been dealing with the daughters of Israel, and they were intimate with you through fear; but a daughter of Judah would not endure your wickedness. Now then, tell me: Under what tree did you catch them being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under an evergreen oak.” And Daniel said to him, “Very well! You also have lied against your own head, for the angel of God is waiting with his sword to saw you in two, that he may destroy you both.” Then all the assembly shouted loudly and blessed God, who saves those who hope in him. And they rose against the two elders, for out of their own mouths Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness; and they did to them as they had wickedly planned to do to their neighbour; acting in accordance with the law of Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood was saved that day.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 23:1–3a, 3b–4, 5, 6

Response: Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no evil would I fear, for you are with me.

The Lord is my shepherd;

there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me;

he revives my soul.

Response: Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no evil would I fear, for you are with me.

He guides me along the right path,

for the sake of his name.

Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death,

no evil would I fear, for you are with me.

Your crook and your staff will give me comfort.

Response: Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no evil would I fear, for you are with me.

You have prepared a table before me

in the sight of my foes.

My head you have anointed with oil;

my cup is overflowing.

Response: Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no evil would I fear, for you are with me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell

for length of days unending.

Response: Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no evil would I fear, for you are with me.

Verse before the Gospel

Ezekiel 33:11

I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

Gospel

John 8:12–20

At that time: Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Reflection

Jesus’ declaration, “I am the light of the world,” carries profound implications for our life. It asserts that he is not merely a prophet, teacher, or moral leader but the divine, eternal God incarnate. He is one with the Father, as he consistently emphasizes throughout the Gospel of John. The passage invites us to embrace and follow Jesus, the light and the source of spiritual illumination and truth. We are challenged to follow him, allowing his light to dispel the darkness of sin and ignorance in our lives. It is important to recognize God’s testimony in Jesus to respond with faith and obedience.

Saint John Baptist De La Salle - Confessor (1651-1719)

John Baptist de la Salle was made a canon of the cathedral of Reims at age 16 and ordained priest at 27. A model of piety and humility, he was gradually drawn through his love for the poor, into what was to become his life-work.

At that time Jansenism—whose twin focus was the denial of man’s ability to resist temptation and the rejection of the doctrine that Christ died for all men—had taken firm root in France; the constant foreign and internal wars had brought people famine, ruin and untold suffering; education was neglected, ignorance and vice abounding. Faced with such desperate conditions, John de la Salle rejoiced at being asked to help found two free schools for the poor. He took personal and active interest in the teachers and their methods, encouraged them, housed and fed them under his own roof, thus guaranteeing them against excessive expenditure which might have consumed their meagre earnings.

To John the education of the poor was an urgent need. The Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools, founded about 1680 on simplicity, mortification and absolute reliance upon Divine Providence, finally blossomed into the flourishing and worldwide religious congregation it is today. There were to be no priests in his institute but only brothers, their lives fully consecrated as “educators of the mind” and “apostles of the soul”. Above all he insisted on the teaching of the Faith in Catholic Schools and the use of the vernacular instead of Latin in school texts, so that through the pupils’ reading ability the parents at home might also receive an education in Christian doctrine and morals.

His writings embrace the fundamentals of scientific pedagogy, Christian behaviour and manners, Christian doctrine, treatises on the religious life, method of mental prayer and numerous meditations — all simple, direct and vigorous in approach.

John Baptist de la Salle died in 1719, was canonized in 1900, and declared patron of all teachers in 1950.

Reflection: “Zeal with prudence, light with charity, and firmness with gentleness” (Saint John Baptist de la Salle).

Daily Readings

April 6, 2025

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Reading I

Isaiah (43:16-21)

Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6.

Response: What great deeds the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

When the LORD brought back the exiles of Sion, we thought we were dreaming. Then was our mouth filled with laughter; on our tongues, songs of joy.

Response: What great deeds the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

Then the nations themselves said, “What great deeds the LORD worked for them!” What great deeds the LORD worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

Response: What great deeds the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

Bring back our exiles, O LORD, as streams in the south. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

Response: What great deeds the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

They go out, they go out, full of tears, bearing seed for the sowing; they come back, they come back with a song, bearing their sheaves.

Response: What great deeds the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

Reading II

Philippians (3:8-14)

Brethren, indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Verse before the Gospel

Joel 2:12-13

Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, for I am gracious and merciful. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

Gospel

John (8:1-11)

At that time Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Reflection

Prophet Isaiah enumerates the works of the Lord in the first exodus as he brings a new message from God. The events brought to the attention of the people are the marvelous signs he did as the people crossed the Red Sea, such as parting the mighty waters, letting the horses and the chariots of the Egyptians to enter the sea and getting perished there as the waters return on them with mighty force. God is going to do something new and goes on to describe a number of symbolic things: God will make a way in the wilderness and make water flow in the desert whose waters the wild animals can drink and honour God. When we read this prophecy in the season of Lent there is nothing to doubt that the newness that God promises is the salvation he brings through his Son Jesus through his suffering and death.

In a moving passage Paul writes about a number of events from his personal life after his encounter with Christ. He now considers all that was advantageous to him earlier as rubbish. The knowledge of Christ is superior to everything else. After this Paul goes on to explain that we gain acceptance before God by faith and not through the works of the law.

The story of the woman caught in adultery is a supreme example of Jesus’ attitude towards sinners. The Jewish opponents bring a woman whom they say is caught in the act of committing adultery before Jesus, in order to test him. The Scribes and Pharisees know that the punishment for such a crime is death by stoning. In a situation of considerable distress, the woman is of no concern to the Scribes and Pharisees. Commentators regularly point out that the Pharisees and are not concerned with execution of justice but only with the possibility of entrapping Jesus. When Jesus asks the accusers to pass judgement only if they themselves were without sin, they begin to exit the scene until only Jesus and the woman are left standing on the spot. Nothing is said of the people. They also may have departed, leaving Jesus alone with the woman.

Jesus asks the woman if there is anyone who would accuse her and she says that there is no one. Jesus then says that nor will he accuse here and he urges her to avoid the sin in the future. None of them can lay claim to be without sin. Jesus then dismisses the woman telling her to go and not to sin again. The command to sin no more offers her the possibility of a newness of life in a right relationship with God. What we see in this episode is Jesus’ ability to handle tough situations. The Pharisees who bring the woman are tense, but Jesus is calm and relaxed throughout; he accepts the woman openly and lovingly, as an adult and as a person. He has a sureness of touch; he can handle the situation and the relationship with her because he has nothing to be afraid of in himself. Jesus is a totally integrated person: spiritually and emotionally.

Source: The Sunday Liturgy

Saint Celestine I - Pope, Confessor (-432)

Born in Campania, Italy (date unknown), Celestine was a Deacon in Rome when he was elected to succeed Boniface I on 20 September 422. An outstanding feature of his pontificate which lasted till 432 was its vigorous attack on the twin heresies then prevailing, viz., Nestorianism and Pelagianism.

It was Celestine himself who had approved the choice of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople in 428. However, the latter’s teachings, stressing on the one hand that Christ’s human and divine natures were each independent of the other, and, on the other, denouncing Mary’s title of “Theotokos”—God-bearer—came as a rude jolt to him. His untiring efforts to change such heretical thinking having come to naught, Celestine entrusted Cyril, the saintly Archbishop of Alexandria with the task of condemning Nestorius’ heresy and obtaining his recantation at the Third Council of Ephesus held in 431. Celestine’s approval of the council’s decree deposing and excommunicating Nestorius eventually led to a schism that remained unresolved for over a century.

Earlier, in 429, Celestine deputed two French bishops, viz., Saint Germanus of Auxerre and Saint Lupus of Troyes to Rome to refute the doctrine of Pelagius that minimalized the role of divine grace in man’s salvation. In 431, Celestine consecrated Saint Palladius at Rome and sent him as the first bishop of Ireland, to evangelize the Irish.

Saint Celestine passed away on 27 July 432. Buried in the cemetery of Saint Priscilla on the Via Salaria, his mortal remains were subsequently moved to the Basilica di Santa Prassede.

Reflection: “If I were trying to please men, I should not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

Daily Readings

April 5, 2025

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Jeremiah 11:18–20

The Lord made it known to me and I knew; then you showed me their deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me they devised schemes, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 7:2–3, 9bc–10, 11–12

Response: O Lord, my God, I take refuge in you.

O Lord, my God, I take refuge in you.

Save and rescue me from all my pursuers,

lest they tear me apart like a lion,

and drag me off with no one to rescue me.

Response: O Lord, my God, I take refuge in you.

Give judgment for me, O Lord,

for I am just and blameless of heart.

Put an end to the evil of the wicked!

Make the just man stand firm;

it is you who test mind and heart,

O God of justice! 

Response: O Lord, my God, I take refuge in you.

God is a shield before me,

who saves the upright of heart.

God is a judge, just and powerful and patient,

not exercising anger every day.

Response: O Lord, my God, I take refuge in you.

Verse Before the Gospel

See Luke 8:15

Blessed are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Gospel

John 7:40–53

At that time: When they heard the words of Jesus, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” They went each to his own house.

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage presents a snapshot of the diverse opinions and beliefs surrounding Jesus during his earthly ministry. It challenges us to examine our own beliefs, prejudices, and openness to the transformative power of Jesus’ words. It also emphasizes the importance of seeking the truth and recognizing the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies in Jesus Christ. The gospel passage also shows the spiritual blindness and prejudice of the religious leaders, highlighting the detrimental effects of close-minded, prejudiced, and preconceived notions. It serves as a reminder to remain open to the work of God and to approach matters of faith with humility and a willingness to consider alternative perspectives.

Saint Vincent Ferrer - Confessor (1350-1419)

Born in Valencia to parents of noble lineage, Vincent completed his philosophy at age 14 and joined the Dominicans at 17. In 1384 he became professor at the cathedral school, and in 1391 adviser to King John I of Aragon and confessor to the queen. On the election of Cardinal Piedro de Luna as Pope Benedict XIII at avignon, Vincent became his Grand Penitentiary and confessor, and in 1399 legate a latere Christi with full powers to preach penance and prepare the faithful for God’s judgement.

Poorly clad and travelling mostly on foot throughout France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, England, Scotland and Ireland, he drew huge throngs of people with his well-prepared sermons that no church was found adequate enough to accommodate! Stupendous miracles of healing marked his progress. He evidently had the gift of tongues, for in each of these countries, with all their different languages, he steadily succeeded in touching the hearts of his hearers and awakening their consciences, frequently pausing to enable his hearers to recover from weeping. In Spain alone he brought 25,000 Jews and 8,000 Moors into the Church, in northern Italy and southeastern France thousands of Waldensians and Cathari, too; unlettered peasants came closer to the Church.

Blessed with the gift of prophecy, Vincent once singled out in a crowd in Alessandria (northwestern Italy) the youthful Saint Bernardine of Siena who was to later evangelize his native Italy. An indication of the esteem in which Vincent was held throughout Spain can be gauged from the fact that in 1409 he was appointed one of the judges to decide upon the successor to the throne, Ferdinand of Castile owing his election to his influence.

To Vincent goes the credit for the dramatic end to the 36-year long schismatic disharmony in the Church. Having failed to urge the antipope Benedict XIII, first in 1408 and then in 1415, to resign in favour of Clement VII (living at Avignon, France), Vincent mounted the pulpit before a huge assembly presided over by Benedict himself and him. Abandoned by his supporters Benedict instantly fled!

Vincent’s entire life was one of great austerity. He slept little and prayed much, fasting rigorously. He died in 1419 while evangelizing Brittany and was canonized in 1455.

Reflection: “Many religious glory in the name of poverty but shun the sufferings and humiliations which are attached to it. They glory in the name but fly from the reality” (Saint Vincent Ferrer).

Daily Readings

April 4, 2025

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Wisdom 2:1a, 12–22

Ungodly men reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law and accuses us of sins against our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and calls himself a child of the Lord. He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others and his ways are strange. We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy and boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is and make trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death for, according to what he says, he will be protected.” Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them, and they did not know the secret purposes of God or hope for the wages of holiness or discern the prize for blameless souls.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 34:17–18, 19–20, 21 and 23 

Response: The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked

to destroy their remembrance from the earth.

When the just cry out, the Lord hears,

and rescues them in all their distress.

Response: The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;

those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

Many are the trials of the just man,

but from them all the Lord will rescue him.

Response: The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

He will keep guard over all his bones;

not one of his bones shall be broken.

The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.

All who trust in him shall not be condemned.

Response: The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

Verse Before the Gospel

Matthew 4:4b

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Gospel

John 7:1–2, 10, 25–30

At that time: Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

Reflection

In today’s gospel passage, we observe a complex and dynamic scene of Jesus’ ministry. It shows his willingness to engage with various opinions and challenges, his proclamation of himself as sent by the Father whom he knows, and the ongoing opposition he faced as a result of this revelation of his relationship with the Father. It calls us to examine our beliefs, seek the truth in Jesus, and respond to his invitation to faith and eternal life.  Jesus, the Living Water, is the source of spiritual life, satisfaction, and eternal fulfilment. He invites all who are spiritually thirsty to come to Him and experience a deep, lasting quenching of that thirst (v. 37-38).  This metaphor underscores the central theme of Jesus as the way to salvation and the fulfilment of our deepest spiritual needs.

Saint Isidore - Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church (c 560-636)

Hailing from a noble Roman family in Cartagena, Spain, Saint Isidore was the younger brother of three other saints, viz., Leander, Archbishop of Seville, Fulgentius, Bishop of Eeija, and Florentina, the nun who is said to have governed 1,000 religious in 40 convents.

In 599 Isidore succeeded his own brother at Seville. He so governed the great See for 37 years as to strengthen Church discipline and encourage monasticism and, in time, even converting to the Faith from Arianism the Visigoths, ruling Spain for almost 200 years.

Among his synods, the fourth national council at Toledo in 633 was particularly important in that it obliged each Bishop to establish a seminary in his respective diocese and to encourage the study of Greek, Hebrew, law and medicine. An amazingly learned man, considered the last of the ancient Christian philosophers and great Latin Fathers, Isidore compiled a Spanish missal and breviary and so is credited with being the author of the beautiful Mozarabic Liturgy.

This “School-master of the Middle Ages” who had mastered every branch of science, the best known among his versatile writings being his Etymologiae, a systematic anthology of knowledge which became the most popular text book for instruction in theology, asceticism, history, geography, astronomy, grammar, biography etc in the Middle Ages, died in 636, was canonized in 1598 and declared Doctor of the Church in 1722.

Reflection: “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).

Daily Readings

 April 3, 2025

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Exodus 32:7–14

In those days: The Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.” But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it for ever.’” And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

Responsorial Psalm 

Psalm 106:19–20, 21–22, 23

Response: O Lord, remember us with the favour you show to your people.

They fashioned a calf at Horeb,

and worshiped an image of metal;

they exchanged their glory

for the image of a bull that eats grass.

Response: O Lord, remember us with the favour you show to your people.

They forgot the God who was their saviour,

who had done such great things in Egypt,

such wonders in the land of Ham,

such marvels at the Red Sea.

Response: O Lord, remember us with the favour you show to your people.

For this he said he would destroy them,

but Moses, the man he had chosen,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn back his anger from destruction.

Response: O Lord, remember us with the favour you show to your people.

Verse Before the Gospel

John 3:16

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son; that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Gospel

John 5:31–47

At that time: Jesus said to the Jews, “If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage highlights the importance of testimony and evidence in recognizing Jesus’ divine authority and identity. We are challenged to examine our beliefs and the witness we bear for Christ, reminding us that the testimony of others, Jesus’ works, the Father’s witness, and the Scriptures, all point to the reality of Jesus as the Son of God and the source of eternal life. Ultimately, we are challenged to respond in faith and bear witness to the truth of Jesus in our own lives. The witness of the Father in today’s gospel emphasizes the divine validation of Jesus’ identity and mission. It highlights the significance of faith, the consistency with God’s character, and the transformative power of embracing God’s testimony through His Son. Jesus invites us to recognize and respond to the Father’s witness by placing our faith in Him, thereby experiencing the eternal life that comes from knowing God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Saint Richard of Chichester - Bishop, Confessor (1197-1253)

This English saint to whom we owe the beautiful prayer, “Lord Jesus, Saviour, friend and brother, grant that I may know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly”, was orphaned at an early age. Regaining by sheer dint of courage and hard work his family’s fortune which had been mismanaged by his guardian, he turning it over to his brother, Robert, and went on to obtain for himself an excellent education at Oxford, Paris and Bologna.

Famed equally for his expertise in Canon Law and for the sanctity of his life, he was appointed Chancellor of the University of Oxford and, soon after, archdiocesan Chancellor at Canterbury; as an intimate friend, he accompanied Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury into exile in France, when this became necessary due to the interference of King Henry III in the filling of vacant Sees.

In 1244 Richard, by then a priest, was consecrated bishop of Chichester by Innocent IV in 1245 in preference to the king’s nominee. However, Richard was allowed to take charge of his see by Henry only when the latter was threatened with excommunication.

Richard lived in extreme simplicity, sharing much of his income with the poor; though for two years the crown withheld his diocesan revenues, he did much to raise the calibre of his clergy by issuing a set of statutes to regulate their life and work, even insisting upon every priest having a copy of the same and carrying it along to the synods.

Richard died in 1253 and was canonized by Urban IV in 1262.

Reflection: “God is faithful, and if we serve him faithfully he will provide for our needs” (Saint Richard of Chichester).

Daily Readings

April 2, 2025

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Isaiah 49:8–15

Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favour I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out’, to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene.” Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Sion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 145:8–9, 13cd–14, 17–18

Response: The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

slow to anger, abounding in mercy.

How good is the Lord to all,

compassionate to all his creatures.

Response: The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,

and holy in all his deeds.

The Lord supports all who fall,

and raises up all who are bowed down.

Response: The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

The Lord is just in all his ways,

and holy in all his deeds.

The Lord is close to all who call him,

who call on him in truth.

Response: The Lord is kind and full of compassion.

Verse Before the Gospel

John 11:25a, 26

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Gospel

John 5:17–30

At that time: Jesus answered the Jews, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage offers us profound theological insights into 1) the nature of Jesus’ divinity; 2) Jesus’ relationship with the Father; 3) his authority over life and judgment; 4) the role of faith in salvation; and 5) the importance of aligning our lives with God’s will. It challenges us to recognize and trust in Jesus as the source of eternal life and to seek conformity with God’s purposes in our lives. It also underscores the importance of faith and unity within the community of believers. The discourse presents Jesus’ claim to equality with God in various aspects, including shared work, sonship, authority, unity in purpose, the ability to grant eternal life, and divine sovereignty. It’s a foundational passage highlighting Jesus’ divinity and reinforcing the idea that he and the Father are one in purpose and mission. This concept of equality with God is central to Christian theology and underscores the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Saint Francis of Paola - Confessor (1416-1507)

The belief of Robert Martolella’s parents that his birth, after years of childlessness, was the result of the intercession of Saint Francis d’Assisi was further reinforced with the healing they obtained through his intercession for their young infant’s eye. The boy was 13 when they fulfilled their vow of having him spend a year in a Franciscan monastery, donning a Franciscan habit, in accordance with medieval practice, where he proved himself a model of extraordinary humility, abnegation and love of prayer.

Returning from a pilgrimage to Rome, Assisi and other places, he took the name of Francis and began the austere, solitary life in a lonely cave on the sea-coast where, in 1435, he built a chapel and three cells when two companions joined him as anchorites, thus forming the nucleus of the Order of the Hermits of Saint Francis, later known as ‘Minims’, “the least in the House of God”. By 1454 there were monasteries established in southern Italy and Sicily, apart from a Second Order for nuns and a Third Order for those who would live out his charism in the world. Central to the severity of their life was charity, humility and poverty, abstinence covering all meat and animal products.

Outspoken in reproving even the King of Naples for his evil ways, Francis’ fame reached France where the dying Louis XI sought him out before dying a penitent death. Resultantly, he spent 25 years in France as counsellor to Charles VIII and Louis XII, successive occupants of the throne, restoring peace between France and Spain.

Francis died on Good Friday 1507, aged 91, leaving behind a legacy of 400 convents, the Order’s five provinces covering Italy, France, Germany and Spain, and was canonized in 1519.

Reflection: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Daily Readings

April 1, 2025

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading 1

Ezekiel 47:1–9, 12

In those days: [The angel] brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple towards the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me round on the outside to the outer gate that faces towards the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastwards with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

Response: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

God is for us a refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in time of distress:

so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,

though the mountains quake to the heart of the sea.

Response: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city,

the holy place, the dwelling of the Most High.

God is within, it cannot be shaken;

God will help it at the dawning of the day.

Response: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come and behold the works of the Lord,

the awesome deeds he has done on the earth.

Response: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Verse Before the Gospel

Psalm 51:12a, 14a

Create a pure heart for me, O God; restore in me the joy of your salvation.

Gospel

John 5:1–16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids – blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterwards Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

Reflection

Jesus heals a man who was invalid for thirty-eight years. This healing incident reminds us of the profound and transformative nature of Jesus’ ministry and his role as the source of spiritual and physical healing. It challenges us to move from a place of brokenness to one of wholeness through our encounter with Christ and his transformative grace. The incident serves as a powerful symbol of spiritual healing by illustrating the disabled man’s condition as a symbol of humanity’s spiritual brokenness. The Pool of Bethesda is a symbol of worldly attempts to find spiritual relief. Jesus is the divine healer, offering grace and salvation. The healing word of Jesus points to God’s transformative power. The Sabbath controversy challenges us to go beyond legalism. The man’s faith and response show the steps involved in spiritual renewal. This passage invites us to consider our spiritual condition and our need for the healing and transformation that only Jesus can provide.

Saint Hugh - Bishop, Confessor (1053-1132)

It was at the early age of 25 and while still a layman that Hugh, a native of the Dauphine (south-eastern France), was made Canon at Valence. An active defendant of the reforms promulgated by Pope Saint Gregory VII, he was consecrated Bishop of Grenoble two years later and laboured zealously, though unsuccessfully, to eradicate the evils of simony and concubinage in his diocese. In 1082, convinced of his own ineffectiveness, he resigned from the Bishopric and proceeded to become a Benedictine monk at the austere abbey of La Chaise-Dieu in Auvergne; at the express orders of the Pope, however, he returned to his post the following year and there remained until he was called to his reward on 1 April 1132, what with each of the four succeeding Popes turning down his plea to be relieved of his duties. He was canonized two years later by Innocent III.

In 1084 Hugh personally conducted Saint Bruno and his six companions to the wild Alpine solitude near Grenoble, called Chartreuse, and presented them with the land on which they went on to construct their first Carthusian monastery, the Grande Chartreuse (Great Chartre-house). Here he frequently shared in the monks’ life of poverty, prayer and solitary study. His personal austerity and excessive fasts that affected his health were only moderated at the insistence of Saint Bruno, his spiritual director.

To relieve the distress of the poor, Hugh, who always travelled on foot, is said to have disposed of his golden chalice and Episcopal ring and was famed for his equitable judgements, which were readily accepted by both litigants.

Reflection: “Vanity and inordinate affections suffice to damn a soul” (Saint Hugh of Grenoble).

Daily Readings

March 29, 2025

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Reading I

Hosea 6:1–6

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 51:3–4, 18–19, 20–21ab

Response: I desire steadfast love, and not sacrifice.

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your merciful love;

according to your great compassion,

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me completely from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

Response: I desire steadfast love, and not sacrifice.

For in sacrifice you take no delight;

burnt offering from me

would not please you.

My sacrifice to God, a broken spirit:

a broken and humbled heart,

O God, you will not spurn.

Response: I desire steadfast love, and not sacrifice.

In your good pleasure, show favour to Sion;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then you will delight in right sacrifice,

burnt offerings wholly consumed.

Response: I desire steadfast love, and not sacrifice.

Verse before the Gospel

Psalm 95:8

O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

Gospel

Luke 18:9–14

At that time: Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Reflection

Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, during the time of Jesus, were self-righteous people and were blind to the goodness of others. Jesus always condemned this self-righteous attitude. In Isaiah 64:6 we read, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment”. Self-righteous people are self-centred and proud of their goodness. On the other hand, Jesus found many tax collectors and sinners humbling themselves and receiving the message of the kingdom acknowledging their unworthiness before God. Self-righteous people have a highly exaggerated image of themselves. Considering themselves worthy before God, they look down upon others. They like to display their good deeds. Let us look into ourselves and see whether we have any of these tendencies.

St Rupert, Bishop Confessor ( - 710)

The early history of St Rupert was formerly very obscure; and there has been considerable difference of opinion as to the date at which he actually flourished and died. According to the most reliable sources he was a Frank, though Colgan claims that he was an Irishman whose Gaelic name was Robertach. It is affirmed with certainty now that he was the son of St Bertha of Lorraine and that he was consecrated a bishop at Worms before he began his missionary activities.

About the year 697, together with several of his companions, Rupert presented himself before Duke Theodo, without whose permission nothing could be done. Theodo not only made them welcome, but also consented to listen to their preaching and to receive instruction. Rupert confirmed his preaching with miracles. The duke’s conversion and baptism was followed by that of many of the nobles as well as of many of the subjects, without much opposition having been met with.

He made the old ruined town of Juvavum, which the duke had given him, his headquarters. Renaming it Salzburg, he built there a church and a monastery with a school which were dedicated to St Peter. Rupert had been ably seconded by his companions, three of whom, Vitalis, Chuniald and Gislar, were later declared Saints.

He also admitted his sister (or niece), St Erentrudis, into the nunnery which he built at Nonnberg and of which she became the first abbess. He died at Salzburg (Austria) probably about the year 710 or 718. St Rupert’s feast is observed in Ireland as well as in Austria and Bavaria.

Reflection: “God does not command us to live dressed in hair-shirts and chains, or to chastise our flesh with scourges, but to love him above all things and our neighbour as ourselves” (St Charles Sezze).

Daily Readings

March 28, 2025

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Reading 1

Hosea 14:1–9

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God’, to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the corn; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 81:6c–11ab, 14 & 17

Response: I am the Lord your God: listen to my voice.

A voice I did not know said to me:

I freed your shoulder from the burden;

your hands were freed from the builder’s basket.

You called in distress and I delivered you.

Response: I am the Lord your God: listen to my voice.

I answered, concealed in the thunder;

at the waters of Meribah I tested you.

Listen, my people, as I warn you.

O Israel, if only you would heed!

Response: I am the Lord your God: listen to my voice.

Let there be no strange god among you,

nor shall you worship a foreign god.

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

Response: I am the Lord your God: listen to my voice.

O that my people would heed me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

But Israel I would feed with finest wheat,

and satisfy with honey from the rock.

Response: I am the Lord your God: listen to my voice.

Verse Before the Gospel

Matthew 4:17

Repent, says the Lord, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Gospel

Mark 12:28b–34

At that time: One of the scribes came up to Jesus and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Reflection

When one of the scribes asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, he spoke of loving “the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”. In the same breath he added, ‘And the second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. To this answer of Jesus, the scribe added a comment – “is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices”. Confirming this comment, Jesus said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”. By this, Jesus wanted to emphasize once again that the love of God and the love of neighbour are greater than sacrifices and rituals. Jesus always challenged ritualism. This can be seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan too where he presents the priest and the Levite in a lesser light.

St Sixtus III, Pope ( - 440)

Son of Xystus, St Sixtus was Chief Roman priest at the time of his election to succeed Pope St Celestine I on 31 July 432. He was known to St Augustine.

Sixtus was a conciliator. Following the Council of Ephesus (431) he encouraged the negotiations between Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch who were in disagreement regarding the two natures in Christ. When they at last came to an agreement, he wrote to congratulate them (433).

Among the other fortifications in the city, Sixtus restored the Liberian Basilica, now called St Mary Major and rebuilt the Lateran Baptistery, giving it the present form. A second basilica was joined to the Church of St Lawrence outside-the-walls to replace what had been carried off by the Visigoths. Valentinian III was persuaded by him to contribute silver and gold ornaments to the basilicas of Sts Peter, Paul and John Lateran.

After his death on 19 August 440, his mortal remains were buried in St Lawrence’s church, and his name was included in the 9th century version of the Roman Martyrology by Ado of Sens.

Reflection: “Nothing is anything more to me; everything is nothing to me, but Jesus: neither things nor persons, neither ideas nor emotions, neither honour nor sufferings. Jesus is for me honour, delight, heart and soul” (St Bernadette).

Daily Readings

March 27, 2025

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Reading 1

Jeremiah 7:23–28

Thus says the Lord: “This command I gave my people: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backwards and not forwards. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.’”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 95:1–2, 6–9

Response: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

Come, let us ring out our joy to the Lord; 

hail the rock who saves us. 

Let us come into his presence, giving thanks; 

let us hail him with a song of praise. 

Response: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

O come; let us bow and bend low. 

Let us kneel before the God who made us, 

for he is our God and we 

the people who belong to his pasture, 

the flock that is led by his hand. 

Response: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

O that today you would listen to his voice! 

Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, 

as on that day at Massah in the desert 

when your forebears put me to the test; 

when they tried me, though they saw my work. 

Response: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

Verse Before the Gospel

Joel 2:12-13

Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, for I am gracious and merciful

Gospel

Luke 11:14–23

At that time: Jesus was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons”, while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Reflection 

One of the ugliest accusations against Jesus was that he casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus confronted his accusers and emphasized that he was casting out demons with the finger or power of God and that such an activity announced the advent of the Kingdom of God. Jesus does not have a pact with the devil for his peaceful ministry. Jesus is the one stronger than the strong man fully armed and guarding his palace. He takes away the devil’s arms and divides his spoils. The incident shows to what extent Jesus had to face accusations from his opponents. Jesus faced all types of human sufferings including the pain caused by absolutely false accusations of serious nature. We too need to learn from Jesus and fearlessly confront the devil and his army. 

St John of Egypt, Hermit (c.300-394)

Until he was 25, John worked as a carpenter with his father. Then, feeling called by God, he left the world and committed himself to a holy solitary life in the desert. His master tried his spirit by many unreasonable demands, bidding him roll the hard rocks, tend dead trees, and the like. In all things, John obeyed with the simplicity of a child.

After a training of 16 years he withdrew to the top of a steep cliff to think only of God and his soul. The more he knew of himself, the more he distrusted himself. For the last 50 years, therefore, he saw no women, and seldom men. The result of this vigilance and purity was threefold: a holy joy and cheerfulness which consoled all who conversed with him; perfect obedience to superiors; and, in return for this: authority over creatures whom he had forsaken for the Creator.

Devils assailed him continually, but his prayer never ceased. From his long communing with God, he turned to men with gifts of healing and prophecy. Twice each week he spoke through a window with those who came to him, blessing oil for their sick and predicting future happenings. A deacon approached him in disguise and John reverently kissed his hand. To the Emperor Theodosius I he foretold his future victories and his death (394).

The last three days of his life John gave wholly to God. On the third day he was found dead on his knees as if in prayer, but his soul was with the Lord. It was the year 394.

Reflection: “Faith believes; hope prays; and charity begs in order to give to others. Humility of heart forms the prayer; confidence speaks it and perseverance triumphs over God himself” (St Peter Julian Eymard).

Daily Readings

March 26, 2025

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Reading 1

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5–9

Moses spoke to the people, saying, “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 147:12–13, 15–16, 19–20

Response: O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord!

O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord! 

O Sion, praise your God! 

He has strengthened the bars of your gates; 

he has blessed your children within you. 

Response: O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord!

He sends out his word to the earth, 

and swiftly runs his command. 

He showers down snow like wool; 

he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. 

Response: O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord!

He reveals his word to Jacob; 

to Israel, his decrees and judgments. 

He has not dealt thus with other nations; 

he has not taught them his judgments. 

Response: O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord!

Verse Before the Gospel

John 6:63c, 68c

Your words, Lord, are spirit and life; you have the words of eternal life.

Gospel

Matthew 5:17–19

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus categorically states that he came not to abolish but to fulfil the Law and the Prophets. Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament Prophecies. He completes the Law and the Prophets. Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself”. The Old Testament is most clearly understood in the light of the Christ-event. In the teachings of the Apostles found in the New Testament this truth is brought out. In 2 Corinthians 3:15-16, we read, “to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed”. It is with this understanding that we should read the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

St Ludger, Bishop, Confessor (c.744-809)

St Ludger was born near Utrecht (Holland) of wealthy and noble Frisian parents. At 9, an encounter with St Boniface, the great apostle of Germany, sufficed to decide Ludger’s career. 

In 777 Ludger was ordained to the priesthood and sent as a missionary to eastern Friesland where St Boniface had met his death at Dokkum. But after 7 years the Saxons were incited by Widukind to return to their heathen gods, and to expel all missionaries and burn their churches. As a result, Ludger spent three years in Rome and Monte Cassino until Widukind was defeated by Charlemagne in 787. He then took up his missionary activity again and with renewed enthusiasm. Not long after, the Saxons living in what is today Westphalia, were added to his missionary field, and he established his central monastery at Muenster. 

The “Apostle of Westphalia” — as he came to be known — became famed for his unfailing gentleness and bounteous charities, and these virtues, more than any military subjugation, caused great numbers of the Saxons to embrace the Christian faith. Consecrated first bishop of Muenster in 804, he laboured assiduously at building up a devout and energetic clergy, and gave much of his time to their personal instruction.

Upon his death on Passion Sunday, 26 March 809, St Ludger was buried at Werden, where his relics still remain. The ancient well at Muenster, which St Ludger used for baptisms, was, in 1909, the scene of a touching rededication by thousands of the faithful during the celebration of the 11th centenary of the diocese. 

Reflection: “Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9).

Daily Readings 

March 25, 2025, Tuesday 

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Reading 1

Isaiah 7:10–14; 8:10

In those days: The Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 40:7–8a, 8b–9, 10, 11 

Response: See, I have come, Lord, to do your will.

You delight not in sacrifice and offerings, 

but in an open ear. 

You do not ask for holocaust and victim. 

Then I said, “See, I have come.” 

Response: See, I have come, Lord, to do your will.

In the scroll of the book it stands 

written of me: 

“I delight to do your will, O my God; 

your instruction lies deep within me.”

Response: See, I have come, Lord, to do your will.

Your justice I have proclaimed 

in the great assembly. 

My lips I have not sealed; 

you know it, O Lord. 

Response: See, I have come, Lord, to do your will.

Your saving help I have not hidden in my heart; 

of your faithfulness and salvation I have spoken. 

I made no secret of your merciful love 

and your faithfulness to the great assembly. 

Response: See, I have come, Lord, to do your will.

Reading 2

Hebrews 10:4–10

Brethren: It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.” When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Verse Before the Gospel

John 1:14ab

The word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen his glory.

Gospel 

Luke 1:26–38

At that time: The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Reflection 

Traditionally, nine months before Christmas the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord remembering the moment when the Angel Gabriel brought the message of the Incarnation to our Lady. God chose Mary to be the mother of His Son. Mary on her part freely accepted this divine choice and co-operated with God. That was the great moment of the commencement of the most significant stage of the Plan of God for the redemption of humanity. In Mary’s FIAT, God found worthy reciprocity. She received the Son of God into her womb. And that made the redemption of humanity possible. The Lord intervenes in our lives too. He wants to work out his ways in us. Are we ready to allow him to do so? Are we docile to the Spirit of the Living God?

The Annunciation of the Lord

In the Feast of the Annunciation the Church celebrates the greatest event in the history of humankind, viz., the Incarnation of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We relive the significance of this beautiful event, one of the most important and best-remembered mysteries of our faith, each time we recite the Angelus — “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us” (Jn 1:14). 

This feast is celebrated on 25 March to precede the feast of Christmas by nine months. It was formerly known as the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, until its original, ancient title, the “‘Annunciation of the Lord” was restored. In fact, it is a joint feast of Our Lord and Our Lady, as Pope Paul VI says, the feast of the “Word who becomes Son of Mary, and of the Virgin who becomes Mother of God”.

The Annunciation brings into focus the fulfilment of a dual vocation. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity had a very specific purpose in becoming man, a vocation, viz., to free human beings for eternity from the ravages of sin and death. In acquiescing to God’s plan for bringing about this reality, Mary assented to fulfilling her own vocation. This act is deeply rooted in a personal choice and decision, one, however, that is essentially preceded by another choice, a choice on the part of God. 

This feast leads us to realize the magnificence of divine grace, the wonder of God’s freely given love. Going deeper, the marvel of Mary, even in the midst of the very ordinariness of her life, is the clarion call of the Creator to each of us to wake up to the marvellous creatures that we all are by divine design.

Reflection: “He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though creator and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men. Yet this was not condescension – if compassion, not the loss of omnipotence. So he who in the nature of God had created

man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself” (St Leo).

Daily Readings

March 24, 2025

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Reading 1

2 Kings 5:1–15a

In those days: Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favour, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.” But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, if it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the living God.

When can I enter and appear before the face of God?

Like the deer that yearns

For running streams,

So my soul is yearning

For you, my God.

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the living God.

My soul is thirsting for God,

The living God;

When can I enter and appear

Before the face of God?

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the living God.

O send forth your light and your truth;

They will guide me on.

They will bring me to your holy mountain,

To the place where you dwell.

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the living God.

And I will come to the altar of God, to God,

My joy and gladness.

To you will I give thanks on the harp,

O God, my God.

Response: My soul is thirsting for God, the living God.

Verse Before the Gospel

Luke 4:24-30

I long for you, O Lord, my soul longs for his word, with the Lord there is mercy and plentiful redemption.

Gospel

Luke 4:24–30

At that time: When Jesus had come to Nazareth, he said to the people in the synagogue, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his home town. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.

Reflection

Jesus was not accepted in his own hometown. The people of Nazareth were too familiar with Jesus and his family, their fellow townsfolk. Joseph and Mary were ordinary people busy with the day-to-day affairs of a poor family. The people were not able to conceive the possibility of the much-awaited Messiah being born in Nazareth. Jesus told the people of his own hometown the fact that even Prophets Elijah and Elisha worked wonders for people residing far away from the habitations of the prophets. Even that appeal of Jesus was not heeded by the people. In Mark 6:5-6, we read, “And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.”

St Catherine of Sweden, Virgin (1331-1381)

The 4th child of the Swedish Prince Ulf Gudmarsson and of St Bridget, Catherine was educated at the convent of Riseberg. At the age of 14 she was married, in deference to her father’s wishes, to a pious nobleman of German extraction, Eggard von Kuernen, a life-long invalid with whom, by mutual consent, she lived in continence.

St Catherine was widowed in 1349 and was thenceforth in Rome at her saintly mother’s side, aiding her in all her charitable endeavours and imbibing her ascetical way of life. In 1372 the two widows made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and when Bridget died in Rome two years later, Catherine brought her body back to Sweden and had it interred at the Bridgettine mother-convent at Vadstena. She then became the head of that foundation and ruled it with great skill. She took an active part in resolving the ecclesiastical controversies of her time, steadfastly supporting Urban VI against the anti-pope Clement II. Catherine died as Abbess of Vadstena on 24 March 1381 and, though not formally canonized as such, veneration of her memory as a ‘Saint’ has been approved by Pope Innocent VIII who reigned from 1484-92.

Reflection: “True humility consists in being content with all that God is pleased to ordain for us, believing ourselves unworthy to be called his servants” (St Teresa of Avila).

Daily Readings

March 23, 2025

Third Sunday of Lent

Reading I

Exodus (3:1-8a, 13-15)

In those days Moses was keeping the flock of his Father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103:1–2, 3–4, 6–7, 8 and 11

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all within me, his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and never forget all his benefits.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

 It is the LORD who forgives all your sins, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with mercy and compassion.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The LORD does just deeds, gives full justice to all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in mercy. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so strong his mercy for those who fear him.

Response: The Lord is compassionate and gracious

Reading II

Corinthians (10:1-6, 10-12)

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL

Mt 4:17

Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Repent, says the Lord, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

Gospel

Luke (13:1-9)

There were some present at that very time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig round it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.

Reflection

The news about the Galileans murdered by Pilate prompts Jesus to spell out the fact that death by murder or by accident is not willed by God. God does not pick and choose offenders and eliminate them. Jesus rejects the common understanding with a simple negative: this did not happen because the Galileans were more horrible sinners. Jesus uses the occasion to give an additional warning about a more fundamental issue: the threat of a tragic end is present for all. The issue is not when death will happen or why, but avoiding a terminal fate with even greater consequences. Only repentance will prevent the death that lasts. The comparison is between dying tragically in this life and perishing ultimately before God.

In a second example, Jesus mentions an otherwise unknown incident involving the collapse of a tower at Siloam that killed eighteen people. Here too, Jesus rejects the assertion that worse sin was the cause of the tragedy and again issues the warning to repent. Failure to repent definitely leaves one exposed to death. Jesus ends his response with the parable of the fig tree. The parable is about a man checking on his fig tree in his vineyard only to find that it continues to bear no fruit. His dilemma is what to do with this unproductive tree, especially since it takes nutrients from other trees in the vineyard. The fig tree should have borne fruit annually, but it does not produce. The owner’s disgust is indicated by the remark that the fig takes up space in the vineyard and robs the ground of nutrients. Thus, the other vines and fruit trees suffer. It should be cut off. The vinedresser asks to give the tree another chance to produce fruit within one more year. He will carefully care for it and fertilize it. Perhaps additional care will yield fruit, even though the tree has done nothing to deserve such special attention or such hope. The image suggests God’s patience and alludes to the short time left for response. We have to repent while there is still time. The decision is a crucial one, for if time passes without repentance, only rejection remains. God is patient, but the clock will tick only so long before the nation will lose its current opportunity to respond.

The parable becomes a metaphor for the human condition and thus offers a lesson on the human heart’s ability to respond to Christ’s love. Some people respond right away, while others need a great deal of nurturing. The gardener’s patience and skill to induce figs on the tree parallel’s Christ’s attempt to coax the soul with his love. In the end, however, some souls, as the fig trees, may not respond. All persons are guilty of sin, and all stand in need of God’s forgiveness. Rather than taking sober satisfaction in the fact that they did not suffer the same misfortunes of others, disciples should instead look to their own lives and the state of their own souls when they must face God’s judgement.

(Source: The Sunday Liturgy)

St Turibius De Mogrovejo, Bishop Confessor (1538-1606)

St Turibius Alfonso de Mogrovejo was a young professor of law at the great University of Salamanca (Spain) when King Philip II, recognizing his outstanding talents and deep piety, appointed him president of the court of the Inquisition at Granada in 1575. In 1580 he was designated Archbishop of Peru. Duly ordained and consecrated, though much against his own wishes, he arrived in Peru in 1581.

His 26 years in the See of Lima were filled with unbelievable apostolic labours, and his self-denial and limitless energies brought about the eradication of the numerous evils he encountered upon his arrival, his most famous battle cry being, “Christ said: ‘I am the truth’; he did not say: ‘I am the custom’!” It is estimated that he travelled throughout his vast archdiocese — over 50,000 miles! — almost always on foot, everywhere baptizing and confirming the natives, in all nearly half a million souls, including Sts Rose of Lima and Martin de Porres! Innumerable were the schools, hospitals, convents and chapels which his burning zeal saw constructed, and to him is also due the foundation of the first American seminary, at Lima, in 1591. He died on 23 March 1606 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.

Reflection: “Time is not our own! We shall have to render a strict account of it” (St Turibius de Mogrovejo).

Daily Readings

March 21, 2025

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Reading 1

Genesis 37:3–4, 12–13a, 17b–28

Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colours. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him” – that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colours that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 105:16–17, 18–19, 20–21

Response: Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

But he called down a famine on the land; 

he broke their staff of bread. 

He had sent a man ahead of them, 

Joseph, sold as a slave.

Response: Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

His feet were weighed down in chains,

his neck was bound with iron, 

until what he said came to pass, 

and the word of the Lord proved him true.