Churches of the Day

Friday, Third Week of Easter

Paul is converted  by the Risen Lord on the Road to Damascus.
The same Jesus is present in the Eucharist where he is our pledge of eternal communion with the Father.

Saint of the Day: 24 April ;  St Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr.
C/f A short life of be this saint can found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book Acts of the Apostles         9:1-20
This man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans.

Saul was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord's disciples. He had gone to the high priest and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any followers of the Way, men or women, that he could find.

Suddenly, while he was travelling to Damascus and just before he reached the city, there came a light from heaven all round him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, ' Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
'Who are you, Lord?' he asked, and the voice answered,
'I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me.
Get up now and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.'
The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one.

Saul got up from the ground, but even with his eyes wide open he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand. For three days he was without his sight, and took neither food nor drink.
A disciple called Ananias who lived in Damascus had a vision in which he heard the Lord say to him, 'Ananias!' When he replied, 'Here I am, Lord', the Lord said, 'You must go to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying, having had a vision of a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.'

When he heard that, Ananias said,
'Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your saints in Jerusalem. He has only come here because he holds a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who invokes your name.'
The Lord replied, 'You must go all the same, because this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name.'


Then Ananias went. He entered the house, and at once laid his hands on Saul and said,
'Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here
so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'
Immediately it was as though scales fell away from Saul's eyes and he could see again. So he was baptised there and then, and after taking some food he regained his strength. After he had spent only a few days with the disciples in Damascus, he began preaching in the synagogues, 'Jesus is the Son of God.'

The Word of the Lord.             Thanks be to God


Responsorial Psalm           Ps 116. R/v Mk 16:15 
Response                                 Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
Or                                             Alleluia!

1. O praise the Lord, all you nations, acclaim him all you peoples!           Response

2. Strong is his love for us; he is faithful forever.                                          Response

Gospel Acclamation                  Lk 24:46.26
Alleluia, alleluia!
It was ordained that the Christ should suffer
and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory.
Alleluia!

or                                                    Jn 6: 56 
Alleluia, alleluia!
'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me
and I live in him', says the Lord.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL           

The Lord be with you.                     And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John  6:52-59              Glory to you, O Lord
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

The Jews started arguing with one another: 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they said.
Jesus replied:

'I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.

For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me.

He taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue.

The Gospel of the Lord.             Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ


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Gospel Reflection      Friday,        Third Week of Easter       John 6:52-59

The question that people ask in today’s gospel reading is a perfectly understandable one, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ The notion of eating’s someone’s flesh is abhorrent. Yet, Jesus does not qualify what he says but, rather, he goes on to say something even more shocking. He not only calls on people to eat his flesh but to drink his blood. It is evident that Jesus is not speaking literally. His way of speaking reflects what he said at the last supper where, having taken, blessed and broken bread, he gave it to his disciples and said, ‘This is my body’. Then, having taken and blessed wine, he gave it to his disciples and said, This is my blood’.‘

Jesus identified himself, body and blood, flesh and blood, with the elements of bread and wine. He went on to instruct his disciples at the Last Supper to ‘do this in memory of me’. Ever since, the church has repeated the actions and words of Jesus at the last supper. In today’s first reading we have the dramatic story of the call of Paul. Paul will later declare in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a communion in the body of Christ?’

This was the faith of the early church and of the church ever since. The Lord wishes to enter into communion with us in a very profound way at the Eucharist so that, in the words of the gospel reading, we can draw life from him. The Eucharist is a celebration of life. We are then sent out from the Eucharist to nurture and protect life in all its forms.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/


The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications , c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saint of the Day: 24 April ;  St Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr. (2578-1622)

 St Fidelis, Mark Roy or Rey, teacher, friar  missioner and martyr The image (below left) shows Fidelis being confronted by Calvinists offering him safety if he would join their Church. His reply was: "I am sent to root out heresy, not to embrace it. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I do not fear death."

Born Mark Rey, Fidelis was a well-educated young man who developed a burning zeal to live and preach the true gospel. He was martyred as he tried to win back Calvinists and Zwinglians to the Catholic faith in Switzerland.

Patrick Duffy writes his story.

Early life 
Born in Sigmaringen, a town in the Danube Valley, in the State of Baden-Wuttenberg in south west Germany, his baptismal name was Mark and his father, Johannes Roy or Rey, was the burgomeister, or local mayor. It is strange that none of his biographers mention his mother. Mark studied law and philosophy at Freiburg-in-Breisgau (Germany) and subsequently taught philosophy there.

Travels
From 1604 to 1610 Mark became tutor to three young Swabian men who were on their travels in Italy and France. During these travels, he visited churches and hospitals, cared for the poor and would frequently attend Mass. One of these companions afterwards testified that he often practised serious asceticism during the journey. On their return, Mark took his doctorate in canon and civil law in Freiburg 1611, and for a while practised as an lawyer at Colmar in Alsace.

Joined the Capuchins
However, he soon returned to Freiburg to join the Capuchin/Franciscan Order and took the name Fidelis, meaning "faithful". During his novitiate, he wrote a book recording the spiritual exercises he did and his own spiritual development. It was subsequently published in many languages.

Theology Studies
After the novitiate, Fidelis went to Constance to complete theology studies under Polish Capuchin Father John-Baptist who had a reputation for holiness and learning. He was ordained priest in 1612.

His Apostolate
From 1618 Fidelis became guardian of three houses in succession - Rheinfelden, Freiburg and Feldkirch - (1618-22) and was well-known as a preacher and for his care of the sick.

Mission in the Grisons Area of Switzerland
In 1622 Rome set up the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to help spread the gospel in the newly discovered countries, and also to win back people in the Christian areas of Europe influenced by Protestantism. The Congregation appointed Fidelis as superior of a mission in the Grisons area of Switzerland around Chur where Calvinists and Zwinglians had acquired great influence. He campaigned strongly, especially by preaching, not only in the churches but also often even in the public streets. He wrote pamphlets and held conferences with the local magistrates and chief townsmen, often far into the night.

When as a result of Fidelis's preaching one influential leader returned to the Catholic Church, the opposition stiffened to him. As he travelled through the area of north-east Switzerland, Fidelis had a premonition that he might meet a martyr’s death. In fact, he was quite prepared for this and seems to have even desired it. On 24th April, after making his confession and celebrating Mass at Grusch, he set out for the Seewis-im-Prättigau region, near the border with Austria.

His companions remarked that he was especially cheerful that day along the way. Stopping at a church to preach, a confrontation arose and continued outside the church. A serious scuffle with an armed group broke out. Some of the confronting crowd offered to save his life if he would join the Calvinists. Fidelis replied: "I am sent to root out heresy, not to embrace it. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I do not fear death."

Death and Veneration
Fidelis was beaten, struck down and died - the first martyr of the Congregation for Propagation of the Faith. His courage in facing death was a confirmation of all the hard choices he had been making during his life. His body was taken to Feldkirch and buried in the church of his order there, but his head and left arm were brought to the cathedral at Chur, where they remain today. He was beatified in 1729, and canonised in 1745.

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Memorable Saying for Today

''My prayer is that when I die, all of hell rejoices that I am out of the fight.''

~ C.S. Lewis ~

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Fourth Sunday of Easter

This is  Good Shepherd Sunday
A Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious life, Married and Single life.
It is a call to a life of service in the Church and a call to live the Gospel mission as a representative of Jesus wherever and whenever we are.

FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 2:14. 36-41
God has made him both Lord and Christ.

On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice:
'The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.'

Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles,
'What must we do, brothers?'
'You must repent,' Peter answered 'and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.'

He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them,
'Save yourselves from this perverse generation'.
They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.

The Word of the Lord.            Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm         Ps 22: 1-6. R/v1
Response                             The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or                                            Alleluia!

1. 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, to revive my drooping spirit.                                Response

2. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name.
    If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear.
   You are there with your crook and your staff;  with these you give me comfort.    Response

3. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes.
    My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing.                                    Response

4. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.
    In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.                                            Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the first letter of St Peter            2:20-25
You have come back to the shepherd of your souls.

The merit, in the sight of God, is in bearing it patiently when you are punished after doing your duty. This, in fact, is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow the way he took. He had not done anything wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth. He was insulted and did not retaliate with insults; when he was tortured he made no threats but he put his trust in the righteous judge. He was bearing our faults in his own body on the cross, so that we might die to our faults and live for holiness; through his wounds you have been healed. You had gone astray like sheep but now you have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

The Word of the Lord.            Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation          Jn 10: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you              And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to John     10:1-10      Glory to you, O Lord
I am the gate of the sheepfold

Jesus said:
'I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.'

Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.
So Jesus spoke to them again:
'I tell you most solemnly, I am the gate of the sheepfold.
All others who have come are thieves and brigands;
but the sheep took no notice of them

I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.


The Gospel of the Lord.        Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.



For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/

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Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966,  by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.