Posted on 05/12/2006 7:58:28 AM PDT by Salvation
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Reading 1
Acts 13:26-33
When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue:
“My brothers, children of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,
and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets
that are read sabbath after sabbath.
For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to have him put to death,
and when they had accomplished all that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These are now his witnesses before the people.
We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you
that what God promised our fathers
he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus,
as it is written in the second psalm,
You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab
R. (7bc) You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“I myself have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.”
R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall rule them with an iron rod;
you shall shatter them like an earthen dish.”
R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 14:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Alleluia Ping List.
I don't have links for these three saints. Do you?
From: Acts 13:26-33
Preaching in the Synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia (Continuation)
From: John 14:1-6
Jesus Reveals the Father
Some Interesting Information on the Saints for today from "Catholic Spiritual Direction"
http://www.jesus-passion.com
SAINTS NEREUS AND ACHILLEUS
FEAST DAY: MAY 12TH
Nereus and Achilleus were two soldiers in the Roman Pretorian guard who became Christians and escaped from the Roman army in order to give up fighting. They openly confessed their belief in Christ to the world. They were captured and sent in exile to the island of Terracina. Under the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan they were beheaded. The picture above shows these two men Nereus and Achilleus with a woman named Domitilla in the middle who at one time was considered a Saint, but the Catholic Church removed her from its listing in 1969.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER:Saints Nereus and Achilleus, please pray for (make your prayer request.)
Thanks for that! I will post some more in a bit.
I have posted information on two of the three Saints for today.
I will be looking for information on Saint Pancras and i will post it on the thread asap.
| First reading | Acts 13:26 - 33 © |
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| My brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and all you who fear God, this message of salvation is meant for you. What the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did, though they did not realise it, was in fact to fulfil the prophecies read on every sabbath. Though they found nothing to justify his death, they condemned him and asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out everything that scripture foretells about him they took him down from the tree and buried him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied him from Galilee to Jerusalem: and it is these same companions of his who are now his witnesses before our people. ‘We have come here to tell you the Good News. It was to our ancestors that God made the promise but it is to us, their children, that he has fulfilled it, by raising Jesus from the dead. As scripture says in the first psalm: You are my son: today I have become your father. |
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 2 |
| Gospel | John 14:1 - 6 © |
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| Jesus said: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am going now to prepare a place for you, and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too. You know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. |
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I thought about starting a thread, but you might know who might be interested in this information...
I have some information on Saint Pancras from Catholic Online.
Here it is.
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=88
Saint Pancras
(Pancratius)
Feastday: May 12
We have no reliable historical information about this martyr. Legend tells us he was born at the end of the third century and brought up by an uncle in Rome after the death of his parents. Both he and his uncle became Christians. Pancras was beheaded in 304 during Diocletian's persecution. He was only 14 years old.
Pancras is especially venerated in England because Augustine of Canterbury dedicated his first church to Pancras and his relics were presented as a gift to the king of Northumberland. A district in London is named St. Pancras after him.
In His Footsteps:
What do you know about the faith of teenagers? Whatever age you are, check into your parish youth group or a youth service organization to find out more and perhaps join or help out.
Prayer:
St. Pancras, pray for all teenagers that their faith may be as strong as yours, strong enough to lead them through all the trials of their life.
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 76 (77) |
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| The history of salvation: the Lord's goodness, his people's infidelity (I) |
| Listen, my people, to my teaching; open your ears to the words of my mouth. I shall open my mouth in explanation, I shall tell of the secrets of the past. All that we have heard and know – all that our fathers told us – we shall not hide it from their descendants, but will tell to a new generation the praise of the Lord, and his power, and the wonders that he worked. He set up a covenant with Jacob, he gave a law to Israel; he commanded our ancestors to pass it on to their children, so that the next generation would know it, the children yet to be born. They shall rise up and tell the story to their children, so that they put their trust in God, so that they do not forget the works of God, so that they keep his commandments; so that they do not become like their fathers, rebellious and troublesome, a generation of fickle hearts, of souls unfaithful to God. The sons of Ephraim, the bowmen, fled when it came to battle; they did not keep their covenant with God, they refused to follow his law. They forgot his deeds and the wonders he had shown them. In front of their ancestors he had worked his wonders, in the land of Egypt, in the plains of Tanis. He divided the sea and led them across, he held back the waters as if in a bag. He led them in a cloud by day; and through the night, in the light of fire. He split the rock in the desert and gave them water as if from bottomless depths. He brought forth streams from the rock and made the waters flow down in rivers. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 76 (77) |
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| Still they insisted on sinning against him, they stirred up the wrath of the Most High in the desert. They put God to the test in their hearts, asking for food, their desire. They spoke out against God, saying “Can God lay a table in the wilderness?” He struck the rock, and the waters poured out, and the streams were full to overflowing; “But can he give us bread? Can he give meat to his people?” The Lord heard all this, and he flared up in anger. Fire blazed against Jacob, his wrath rose up against Israel. All this, because they had no faith in God, they had no trust in his saving power. He commanded the clouds nevertheless, and opened the doors of the heavens. Manna rained down for them to eat: he gave them the bread of heaven. Men ate the food of angels; he gave them provisions in abundance. In heaven he stirred up the east wind, he brought the south wind, by his power: he rained meat on them as if it were dust, winged birds, like the sands of the sea, to fall in the middle of their camp, all around their tents. They ate and were full to bursting, and so he gave them their desire. In the middle of their enjoyment, when the food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God rose up against them, and slew the healthiest among them, and laid low the flower of Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 76 (77) |
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| All this – and still they sinned, still they had no faith in his wonders. He made their days vanish in a breath, their years in a headlong rush. Whenever he was killing them, they sought him, repented and came back to him at dawn: they remembered that God is their helper, that God, the Most High, is their saviour; but their speech to him was only flattery: they lied to him with their tongues, their hearts were dishonest towards him, they did not keep his covenant. But the Lord is merciful: he forgives sin, he does not destroy. Always he turned aside his anger, held back from unleashing all his wrath. He remembered that they were flesh – a breath, that goes and does not return. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Reading | Apocalypse 17:1 - 18 © |
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| One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls came to speak to me, and said, ‘Come here and I will show you the punishment given to the famous prostitute who rules enthroned beside abundant waters, the one with whom all the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and who has made all the population of the world drunk with the wine of her adultery’. He took me in spirit to a desert, and there I saw a woman riding a scarlet beast which had seven heads and ten horns and had blasphemous titles written all over it. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and glittered with gold and jewels and pearls, and she was holding a gold wine-cup filled with the disgusting filth of her fornication; on her forehead was written a name, a cryptic name: ‘Babylon the Great, the mother of all the prostitutes and all the filthy practices on the earth’. I saw that she was drunk, drunk with the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I was completely mystified. The angel said to me, ‘Don’t you understand? Now I will tell you the meaning of this woman, and of the beast she is riding, with the seven heads and the ten horns. ‘The beast you have seen once was and now is not; he is yet to come up from the Abyss, but only to go to his destruction. And the people of the world, whose names have not been written since the beginning of the world in the book of life, will think it miraculous when they see how the beast once was and now is not and is still to come. Here there is need for cleverness, for a shrewd mind; the seven heads are the seven hills, and the woman is sitting on them. The seven heads are also seven emperors. Five of them have already gone, one is here now, and one is yet to come; once here, he must stay for a short while. The beast, who once was and now is not, is at the same time the eighth and one of the seven, and he is going to his destruction. The ten horns are ten kings who have not yet been given their royal power but will have royal authority only for a single hour and in association with the beast. They are all of one mind in putting their strength and their powers at the beast’s disposal, and they will go to war against the Lamb; but the Lamb is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, and he will defeat them and they will be defeated by his followers, the called, the chosen, the faithful.’ The angel continued, ‘The waters you saw, beside which the prostitute was sitting, are all the peoples, the populations, the nations and the languages. But the time will come when the ten horns and the beast will turn against the prostitute, and strip off her clothes and leave her naked; then they will eat her flesh and burn the remains in the fire. In fact, God influenced their minds to do what he intended, to agree together to put their royal powers at the beast’s disposal until the time when God’s words should be fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city which has authority over all the rulers on earth.’ |
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| Reading | A letter of Pope St Clement I to the Corinthians |
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| There are many paths but one Way | |
| My dear friends, this is the way in which we find our Saviour Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and helper of our infirmity. By him we look up to the heights of heaven. In his face, exalted and without blemish, we see ourselves reflected. By him the eyes of our hearts are opened. By him our foolish and darkened understanding blossoms up anew towards his marvellous light. By him the Lord has willed that we should taste of immortal knowledge. He is the radiant light of God’s glory. He is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name. Let us then, men and brethren, with all energy act the part of soldiers, in accordance with his holy commandments. Think of the soldiers who serve under our generals, and with what order, obedience, and submissiveness they perform the things which are commanded them. Not all are prefects, nor commanders of a thousand, nor of a hundred, nor of fifty, nor the like, but each one in his own rank performs the things commanded by the king and the generals. The great cannot subsist without the small, nor the small without the great. There is a kind of mixture in all things, and thence arises mutual advantage. Let us take our body for an example. The head is nothing without the feet, and the feet are nothing without the head. The very smallest members of our body are necessary and useful to the whole body. All work harmoniously together and they are under one common rule for the preservation of the whole body. In Christ Jesus let our whole body be preserved intact. Let every one of us be subject to his neighbour, according to the special gift bestowed upon him. Let the strong not despise the weak, and let the weak show respect to the strong. Let the rich man provide for the wants of the poor; and let the poor man bless God, because he has given him one by whom his need may be supplied. Let the wise man display his wisdom, not by mere words, but through good deeds. Let the humble not bear testimony to himself, but leave witness to be borne to him by another. Let him that is pure in the flesh not grow proud of it, and boast, knowing that it was another who bestowed on him the gift of continence. Let us consider, then, brethren, of what matter we were made. Let us consider how we came into this world, as it were out of a sepulchre, and from utter darkness: who and what manner of beings we were. He who made us and fashioned us, having prepared his bountiful gifts for us before we were born, introduced us into his world. Since, therefore, we receive all these things from him, we ought for everything to give him thanks; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. |
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| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
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May 12, 2006
Sts. Nereus and Achilleus
(1st century)
Devotion to these two saints goes back to the fourth century, though almost nothing is known of their lives. They were praetorian soldiers of the Roman army, became Christians and were removed to the island of Terracina, where they were martyred. Their bodies were buried in a family vault, later known as the cemetery of Domitilla. Excavations by De Rossi in 1896 resulted in the discovery of their empty tomb in the underground church built by Pope Siricius in 390. Two hundred years after their death, Pope Gregory the Great delivered his 28th homily on the occasion of their feast. “These saints, before whom we are assembled, despised the world and trampled it under their feet when peace, riches and health gave it charms.” Quote:
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I have posted information on all the three Saints now on your Thread.
God's Blessings on you.
Thank you.
| Friday, May 12, 2006 St. Leopold Mandic, Capuchin, Priest (Memorial) |
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Can you send the Homilies to me, if they are in Text Form -- I will post them on a suitable Thread.
I have been posting the past Homilies of Father Altier on Threads here at FR for the last 1.5 Month.
let me know whenever you can.
I have immense respect for Father Frank Pavone.
Prayers:
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May 12, 2006    Optional Memorial of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, martyrs; Optional Memorial of St. Pancras, martyr Old Calendar: Saints Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla and Pancras
Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers in the household of Flavia Domitilla. They were instructed and converted by St. Peter. These two soldiers in turn inspired St. Domitilla to consecrate her virginity to God. Thereupon, Aurelianus, the fiancee of Domitilla, reported all three to the Roman authorities as being Christians. They were martyred out of hatred for Christianity. Pancras, a noble Phrygian youth, came to Rome at the age of fourteen, and was martyred in 275 because he refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods. Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar, St. Domitilla's feast was also celebrated on this day.
St. Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla  It was under the persecution of Domitian—during which John the Evangelist was condemned to be burned alive in the cauldron of boiling oil—that Flavia Domitilla was honored with banishment and death for the sake of our Redeemer, whom she had chosen for her Spouse. She was of the imperial family, being a niece of Flavius Clemens, who adorned the consular dignity by martyrdom. She was one of the Christians belonging to the court of the Emperor Domitian, who show us how rapidly the religion of the poor and humble made its way to the highest classes of Roman life. A few years previous to this, St Paul sent to the Christians of Philippi the greetings of the Christians of Nero's palace. There is still extant, not far from Rome, on the Ardeatine Way, the magnificent subterranean cemetery which Flavia Domitilla ordered to be dug on her praedium, and in which were buried the two martyrs, Nereus and Achilleus, whom the Church honors today together with the noble virgin who owes her crown to them. Nereus and Achilleus were in Domitilla's service. Hearing them one day speaking of the merit of virginity, she there and then bade farewell to all worldly pleasures, and aspired to the honor of being the Spouse of Christ. She received the veil of consecrated virgins from the hands of Pope St Clement: Nereus and Achilleus had been baptized by St Peter himself. The bodies of these three Saints reposed, for several centuries, in the Basilica, called the Fasciola, on the Appian Way; and we have a Homily which St Gregory the Great preached in this Church on their feast. The holy Pontiff dwelt on the vanity of the earth's goods; he encouraged his audience to despise them by the example of the three martyrs whose relics lay under the very altar around which they were that day assembled. "These Saints," said he, "before whose tomb we are now standing, trampled with contempt of soul on the world and its flowers. Life was then long, health was uninterrupted, riches were abundant, parents were blessed with many children; and yet, though the world was so flourishing in itself, it had long been a withered thing in their hearts." Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B. Things to Do:
St. Pancras  Pancratius was the descendant of a noble Phrygian family. As a youth of fourteen, he came to Rome while Diocletian and Maximian were in power (about 304). He was baptized by the Pope and given instructions in the Christian religion. Arrested for his action, he steadfastly refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods and was condemned to death. With manly courage, he bared his neck for the sword and received the martyr's crown. During the night his body was removed by the pious matron Octavilla, anointed with sweet smelling balsam and interred on the Via Aurelia. Pancratius is the patron saint of fidelity to oaths. The basilica that Pope Symmachus erected over his remains about the year 500 later became a station church (since 1798 his relics have been lost). On the first Sunday after Easter the saint exhorted the catechumens gathered at his station church to remain loyal to their baptismal vows. The saint warns us to proceed slowly and prudently before taking an oath or vow. But once our word is given we must remain true to our pledge, true unto death itself, whether it concerns baptismal vows, ordination vows, profession vows, or marriage vows. Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. Patron: Against false witness; against perjury; children; cramps; headaches; fidelity to oaths; treaties. Things to Do:
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