Saint of the Day and Daily Meditation

by | Nov 7, 2017 | Uncategorized

APRIL

The month of April is dedicated to The Holy Spirit. The first nineteen days of the month fall during the season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color violet or purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart. April 20th is Easter Sunday and the beginning of the Easter season. The liturgical color is white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).

The Holy Father’s Intentions for the Month of APRIL 2025

For the use of the new technologies: Let us pray that the use of the new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person, and will help us face the crises of our times. (See also http://popesprayerusa.net/popes-intentions/)

 

DAILY PRAYER
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Risen Jesus, as I imagine Mary weeping at Your tomb, I feel her sorrow and then her overwhelming joy at seeing You alive. You called her by name, just as You call me. Help me to recognize Your voice in my life and to hold onto the hope and love You always bring. Amen.

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EASTER: April 22nd

Tuesday within the Octave of Easter

The Gospel continues to relate the story of Christ’s resurrection—how Mary Magdalene and the other Mary meet Jesus. Jesus tells them “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” We also read about the chief priests paying the Roman guards to spread the story that the disciples came while they were sleeping and stole the body of Christ.

During the Easter Season, the First Reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. Today is Acts 2:36-41. Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost to the Jews: “The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ….You must repent and….be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” They repented, and 3000 were baptized that day.

Our Easter joy should be overflowing. A wonderful Ukrainian (and Polish and Slovakian) custom is the greeting of one another with the words: Khrystos Voskres (Christ is risen). The answer to this greeting is Voistynu Voskres (He is risen, indeed or He is truly risen). Let us adopt this custom to our English language and show our Easter joy to all.

The Octave of Easter
Every day in this Octave is another Easter. “The first eight days of the Easter season make up the octave of Easter and are celebrated as solemnities of the Lord” (GNLYC, 24). Read about The Liturgy of Easter Sunday and the Octave of Easter.The Mass liturgy during the Octave has these characteristics:

  • Includes an option to sing or read the Easter Sequence, Victimae Paschali.
  • The Gospel verse from Ps 118:24, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it” is repeated each day.
  • In the Preface I of Easter the choice is “on this day” and if the Roman Canon is used, proper forms of the Communicantes (In communion with those) and Hanc igitur (Therefore Lord, we pray) are said.
  • For the dismissal of the people, there is sung or said: “Go forth, the Mass is ended, alleluia, alleluia.” Or: “Go in peace, alleluia, alleluia.” The people respond: “Thanks be to God, alleluia, alleluia.”

Each day of the Octave of Easter has a traditional Station Church.

See Catholic Culture’s Easter Workshop for various ideas of celebrating the Easter season.

Meditation for Tuesday within the Octave of Easter: Mary Magdalen
At the tomb of the risen Savior, Mary was made an apostle: “Go to My brethren [the apostles] and say to them: I ascend to My Father and to your Father.” The liturgy lingers about the tomb today with the penitent Magdalen, to whom Christ first appeared after appearing to His mother. At Mass the Lord comes to us as He came to Mary at the tomb.

2. “Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping. Now as she was weeping, she stopped down and looked into the sepulchre; and she saw two angels in white…. They said to her: Woman, why weepest thou? She saith to them: Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. When she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing; and she knew not that it was Jesus.” St. Gregory thus comments on this touching incident:

Mary Magdalen, who had been a sinner in the city, by loving the Truth washed away the stains of her crime with her tears….”Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). She who formerly had remained cold in her sin, afterwards became fervent with holy love….Of the disciples [who had come to the tomb] it is written: “The disciples therefore departed again to their home” (John 20:10). And then is added: “But Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping.” What a great love glows in the heart of this woman, who did not leave the tomb even though the disciples left!…She sought Him in tears, and inflamed with the fire of love, she burned with yearning for Him whom she thought had been taken away. Thus it happened that she alone then saw Him, she who alone had remained to seek Him.

The former sinner, the penitent, is the chosen one of the Lord. She is allowed to see Him because she had loved much and because she remained to seek Him. The sign of real virtue is perseverance. “He that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved” (Matt 24:13). Would that we had such a longing for Christ as Magdalen had! Would that we could love as she loved! Our hearts are filled with worldly desires, and we have little room left for Christ. We are so attached to the foolishness and emptiness of the world that we have no love for Christ.

“Why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?” Christ asks Magdalen. She thinks that it is the gardener addressing her, and she says to Him, “Sir, if thou hast taken Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him and I will take Him away. Jesus saith to her: Mary. She, turning, saith to Him: Rabboni (which is to say, Master).” She then casts herself at His feet, seeking to kiss and embrace them. Now she thinks she will never lose Him whom she has found. Christ does not permit this expression of her love. She has more important duties now. “Go to My brethren and say to them: I ascend to My Father” (Gospel). Mary obeys at once. She tears herself away from Him who she loves and brings the glad news to the apostles.

3. Today the Lord appears to us in the Mass and calls us by name as He once called Magdalen. He called us by this name first when we were baptized. Today we should come to Communion with a longing similar to Mary’s.

When we have recognized Him and received Him in Holy Communion, we also become apostles. Our mission is to love our neighbor. By our zeal in the practice of fraternal charity we give testimony to the world that Christ is risen and that He continues to live and work in us, the members of His mystical body. Having done penance, Magdalen now knows only the joy of possessing Jesus. We must share her joy.
—Benedict Baur, OSB, The Light of the World

Meditation—Christ Jesus, Our Elder Brother
What does Jesus Himself say to Magdalen when already in the glory of His Resurrection? “Go to My brethren”: Vades ad fratres meos. And how great is His “fraternity”! God as He is, this Only-begotten Son takes upon Himself our infirmities, He makes Himself responsible for our sins, in order to be like unto us; and restore to us the possession of the eternal Kingdom of Life with the Father.

For it is to the Father that Jesus leads us. Listen to what He says on leaving His disciples: “I ascend to My Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God”; the Word has come down from Heaven to take upon Himself our flesh and to redeem us; His work accomplished, He ascends to Heaven, but He does not ascend alone; He virtually takes with Him all who believe in Him.

And why?

In order that—in Him again—the union of all with the Father should be accomplished: Ego in eis et tu in Me. Is not this Jesus’ supreme prayer to the Father? “That I may be in them, O Father—by My grace—as Thou in Me, that they may contemplate, in the Divinity, the glory which Thou has given Me.”
—Dom Columba Marmion, Christ, the Ideal of the Monk

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
Station with San Paolo fuori le mura (St. Paul Outside the Walls):At Rome, the Station for today is in the basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The church is impatient to lead her white-robed newly baptized to the Apostle of the Gentiles. Though he is not the foundation of the Church, he is the companion of Peter’s labors in Rome, his fellow-martyr, and the preacher of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

For more on San Paolo fuori le mura, see:

For further information on the Station Churches, see The Stational Church.

MASS READINGS

April 22, 2025 (Readings on USCCB website)

PROPERS [Show]

COLLECT PRAYER

Tuesday within the Octave of Easter: O God, who have bestowed on us paschal remedies, endow your people with heavenly gifts, so that, possessed of perfect freedom, they may rejoice in heaven over what gladdens them now on earth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Daily Meditation: John 20:11-18

Whom are you looking for? (John 20:15)

We’re very familiar with the story; we heard it yesterday, in fact! But today, we hear it from St. John’s point of view. Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body, a sacred task that she had to postpone until the Sabbath was over. While everyone else was celebrating the feast of Passover, Mary and the other disciples were grieving and hiding from the religious leaders.

Nevertheless, on Sunday, early in the morning, she went to the tomb with the spices and perfumed oils she had prepared. But when she arrived, she found that his body was missing. Her pain increased, and all she could do was weep. She had lost her beloved Teacher and Master. Where is Jesus? Oh God! This is too much to endure! How did you allow this to happen?

Maybe we can relate to Mary’s sorrow. Sometimes we can find ourselves asking similar questions. One day we were walking with the Lord, knowing that he was guiding us, teaching us, and taking care of us. But then somehow we stopped following him, and it felt as if Jesus was no longer there. Where is he?

At times like these, it can be helpful to go back to “Jerusalem,” to the rest of today’s story, and keep seeking the Lord. There we find that Mary stays at the tomb and waits. Suddenly she sees a man who asks her, “Whom are you looking for?” (John 20:15). She thinks it’s the gardener, until she hears him call her by name: “Mary!” (20:16). It’s Jesus! The risen Lord is standing right beside her! Filled with joy and propelled by his words to her, she races back to the apostles a<pnd announces, “I have seen the Lord” (20:18).

When we feel lost, when we feel we can’t find Jesus anymore, he wants us to remember that he is right there, next to us. He asks us to keep looking for him in daily prayer, to keep searching for him in the Scriptures. He wants us to find him in the Eucharist and in the people who surround us. And when we find him and recognize him as Mary did on that glorious morning, we can go and tell everyone the good news that Jesus is risen!

“Lord, help me to find you in everything I do and everyone I meet. Fill me with the joy of your resurrection!”

Acts 2:36-41
Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22

22nd APRIL 2025
Tuesday within the Octave of Easter
John 20:11–18
CHRIST IS RISEN!

Friends, in today’s Gospel, we find Mary Magdalene weeping by the tomb of the risen Lord. She then sees Jesus and doesn’t recognize him immediately.

In a wonderful detail, she thinks he’s the gardener. In the book of Genesis, God, the gardener of Eden, walked with his creatures in easy friendship. Sin, the sundering of the loop of grace, put an end to those intimate associations.

Throughout the history of salvation, God had been trying to reestablish friendship. Through the death of Jesus, through that tomb placed right in the garden, he accomplished his goal. So now, in Christ, he appears again as a gardener. “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni.’”

Then Jesus says: “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers . . .” The not clinging has to do with the call to proclaim. The idea is not to hang on to Jesus but to announce what he has accomplished. The content of the proclamation is, once again, that we have become the intimates of God: “My Father and your Father . . . my God and your God.”

https://www.wordonfire.org/

“St. Gertrude’s Prayer,” was dictated by Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great, a Benedictine cloistered nun and a mystic. In the twelfth century, the Lord told the Saint that this prayer (approved and recommended by M. Cardinal Pahiarca of Lisbon, Portugal on March 4, 1936) releases 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is offered.
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”
MIRACULOUS MEDAL

 In 1830, one of the apparitions sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church occurred in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Rue de Bac, Paris. There were three visions given to Saint Catherine Laboure who, at the time of the first one, was a novice in the order. She was awakened at 11:30 PM on the eve of the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, by a “shining child” who led her to the chapel where she saw Our Lady, who spoke to her for two hours about the difficult task that lay ahead. Four months later, on November 27 Catherine had the second vision wherein she saw a three-dimensional scene of the Blessed Virgin standing on a white globe with dazzling rays of light streaming from her fingers and she heard a voice say:

“These are the symbols of grace I shed upon those who ask for them.”
“There now formed around the Blessed Virgin a frame rather oval in shape on which were written in letters of gold these words: ‘O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee’ Then the voice said: ‘ Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it round the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.’ “
At the same instant, the oval frame seemed to turn around. Then I saw on the back of it the letter ‘M’, surmounted by a cross, with a crossbar beneath it, and under the monogram of the name of Mary, the Holy Hearts of Jesus and of His Mother; the first surrounded by a crown of thorns and the second transpierced by a sword. I was anxious to know what words must be placed on the reverse side of the medal and after many prayers, one day in meditation I seemed to hear a voice which said to me: ‘ The ‘M’ with the Cross and the two Hearts tell enough.’ ”
This sacramental from Heaven was at first called simply the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, but began to be known as the Miraculous Medal due to the unprecedented number of miracles, conversions, cures, and acts of protection attributed to Our Lady’s intercession for those who wore it.
Sister Catherine became Saint Catherine in 1947. The church instituted recognition of the apparition in which the Miraculous Medal first appeared for November 27, 1830. Millions of the Miraculous Medal have been distributed, and many graces and miracles have been received through this devotion to Our Lady.    
*Click on this link for a free Miraculous Medal

BROWN SCAPULAR OF MT. CARMEL

“Whosoever dies clothed in this

shall never suffer eternal fire.”

Virgin Mary’s promise to Saint Simon Stock

July 16, 1251″Wear it devoutly and perserveringly,” she says to each soul, “it is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life.”

The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.

THE SABBATINE PRIVELEGE

The blessed Virgin of Mt. Carmel has promised to save those who wear the scapular fromthe fires of Hell; She will also shorten their stay in Purgatory if they should passfrom this world still owing some temporal debt of punishment.

The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and speaking of those who wear the Brown Scapular said: “I, the Mother of grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”

Pope Benedict XV proceeded to grant an indulgence of 500 days for each time the cloth Scapular is kissed”. On July 16th, the Scapular feast, while addressing the seminarians of Rome, Benedict XV said: “Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: the language, the sentences of the Gospel; the common armor, the Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel, which you all ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even after death.”

Pope Benedict XV, addressing seminarians in Rome:“Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: The language, the sentences of the Gospel – the common armor, the Brown Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel which you ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege and protection after death.”The Brown Scapular | A Sacramental“One of the most remarkable effects of sacramentals is the virtue to drive away evil spirits whose mysterious and baleful operations affect sometimes the physical activity of man. To combat this occult power the Church has recourse to exorcism, and sacramentals” (The Catholic Encyclopedia., 1913, VXIII, p. 293).The Brown Scapular | A True StoryYou will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the brown scapular when you hear the true story of Venerable Francis Yepes. One day his Scapular fell off. As he replaced it, the Devil howled, “Take off that habit which snatches so many souls from us! All those clothed in it die piously and escape us!” Then and there Francis made the Devil admit that there are three things which the demons are most afraid of: the Holy Name of Jesus; theHoly Name of Mary and the Holy Scapular of Carmel.“Modern Heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular. They decry it as so much trifling nonsense.” – St. Alphonsus LigouriMary, Mother of God and Our Mother“When Mary became the Mother of Jesus, true God and true Man, She also became our Mother. In His great mercy, Jesus wished to call us His brothers and sisters, and by this name He constituted us adopted children of Mary.” – St. John BoscoOver the years there have also been many miracles associated with wearing the brown scapular.

*If you would like a brown scapular click here:

Free Brown Scapular | Order Page

New Catholic Radio Station serving Chittenden County

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Donna McSoley

Donna McSoley stands in St. Francis Xavier Church in Winooski. She is the driving force behind a new Catholic radio station. Photo by Gail Callahan

WINOOSKI – In a state identified in a national study two years ago as one of the least religious in the country, a new Catholic radio station is being hailed by the market and people of faith.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio, which can be found at 105.5 FM, transmits 24-hour daily programming of the Eternal Word Television Network from the St. Francis Xavier Church property in Winooski. The station can be heard in the greater Burlington area and started broadcasting earlier this fall.

Donna McSoley, the driving force behind WRXJ 105.5 FM, said she is eager to begin producing some local programming after she learns more about audio editing software. McSoley said one of her ambitions is to air homilies from priests who serve the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

“I wanted to bring Catholic radio to Vermont because many people here have rejected Christianity without even knowing much about church history, the early church fathers, or never having read the Bible in its entirety,” said McSoley. “Our state is in crisis over heroin and other drugs, and many people are lost and are desperately searching for freedom from addictions and a greater meaning in life.”

In 2015, the Pew Research Center conducted the Religious Landscape study, and Vermont tied as the 48th most religious state. The study found 34 percent of the Green Mountain State’s adults said they are “highly religious.”

A state’s spiritual devotion was measured by factors including “absolute belief in God and daily prayer.”

Lance Harlow

The Rev. Lance Harlow, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral in Burlington, records in WRXJ radio’s Winooski station. Courtesy photo

McSoley, a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier Church, began the quest to secure a broadcast license more than five years ago when the Federal Communications Commission opened a small window to own a channel on the FM spectrum for a low-power station. It took about 18 months to secure the FCC’s approval.

McSoley accesses the station’s computers remotely from her Essex Junction home.

She said a radio station can reach people in ways other media outlets can’t. “Radio can be a great way to reach people in the privacy of their own car and where people are apt to ponder life’s great questions,” she said. “I think for that reason, radio can be a great way to explain the Catholic faith, which is largely misunderstood by the general public. … My hope is that the programs on the station can clear this up and we can foster greater unity within the Christian community here in Vermont.”

Ted Quigley, a practicing Catholic, embraces the organization. “105.5 FM is a wonderful change in my life,” he said. “I turn it on when I’m driving or when I’m home cleaning.”

The Most Rev. Christopher Coyne, bishop of Vermont’s Catholics, recorded some station identifications that play through the hour.

Coyne, who was named by Pope Francis to shepherd Vermont’s Catholics nearly two years ago, said he welcomes the station, praising McSoley’s efforts. “The Catholic community in Vermont has been very supportive of the launch of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio,” said Coyne. “Right now, this is the only Catholic radio station in Vermont. I hope to see many more begin to broadcast soon.”

Coyne’s remarks regarding the dearth of religious broadcasting in Vermont underscore what many perceive as an absence of God from the public dialogue. The FCC said it doesn’t keep track of content when license applications come in.

The program director for a Christian radio network serving Vermont said religious-oriented radio outlets are filling a much-needed niche. Bob Pierce, of The Light Radio Network, said his Christian station reaches about 15,000 listeners in Chittenden County.

In a competitive market, McSoley said she is anxious for WRXJ’s message to spread. “Although Vermont is one of the least religious states in the country, I have great faith that people will always be able to recognize truth when they hear it, so my hope is that many people will turn on the radio and start the journey toward discovering God,” she said.

https://vtdigger.org/2017/11/05/new-catholic-radio-station-serving-chittenden-county/#.WgItH9QrK6Y