Saint Pius V, Pope, Religious
Optional Memorial
April 30th

from a traditional Prayer card

History:
Born at Bosco, near Alexandria, Lombardy, Jan. 17, 1504; elected Jan. 7, 1566; died May 1, 1572. Being of a poor though noble family his lot would have been to follow a trade, but he was taken in by the Dominicans of Voghera, where he received a good education and was trained in the way of solid and austere piety. He entered the order, was ordained in 1528, and taught theology and philosophy for sixteen years. In the meantime he was master of novices and was on several occasions elected prior of different houses of his order in which he strove to develop the practice of the monastic virtues and spread the spirit of the holy founder. He himself was an example to all. He fasted, did penance, passed long hours of the night in meditation and prayer, traveled on foot without a cloak in deep silence, or only speaking to his companions of the things of God. In 1556 he was made Bishop of Sutri by Paul IV. His zeal against heresy caused him to be selected as inquisitor of the faith in Milan and Lombardy, and in 1557 Paul II made him a cardinal and named him inquisitor general for all Christendom. In 1559 he was transferred to Mondovi, where he restored the purity of faith and discipline, gravely impaired by the wars of Piedmont. Frequently called to Rome, he displayed his unflinching zeal in all the affairs on which he was consulted. Thus he offered an insurmountable opposition to Pius IV when the latter wished to admit Ferdinand de' Medici, then only thirteen years old, into the Sacred College. Again it was he who defeated the project of Maximilian II, Emperor of Germany, to abolish ecclesiastical celibacy. On the death of Pius IV, he was, despite his tears and entreaties, elected pope, to the great joy of the whole Church.

He began his pontificate by giving large alms to the poor, instead of distributing his bounty at haphazard like his predecessors. As pontiff he practiced the virtues he had displayed as a monk and a bishop. His piety was not diminished, and, in spite of the heavy labors and anxieties of his office, he made at least two meditations a day on bended knees in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In his charity he visited the hospitals, and sat by the bedside of the sick, consoling them and preparing them to die. He washed the feet of the poor, and embraced the lepers. It is related that an English nobleman was converted on seeing him kiss the feet of a beggar covered with ulcers. He was very austere and banished luxury from his court, raised the standard of morality, labored with his intimate friend, St. Charles Borromeo, to reform the clergy, obliged his bishops to reside in their dioceses, and the cardinals to lead lives of simplicity and piety. He enforced the observance of the discipline of the Council of Trent, reformed the Cistercians, and supported the missions of the New World.

He worked incessantly to unite the Christian princes against the hereditary enemy, the Turks. In the first year of his pontificate he had ordered a solemn jubilee, exhorting the faithful to penance and almsgiving to obtain the victory from God. He supported the Knights of Malta, sent money for the fortification of the free towns of Italy, furnished monthly contributions to the Christians of Hungary, and endeavored especially to bring Maximilian, Philip II, and Charles I together for the defense of Christendom. In 1567 for the same purpose he collected from all convents one-tenth of their revenues. In 1570 when Solyman II attacked Cyprus, threatening all Christianity in the West, he never rested till he united the forces of Venice, Spain, and the Holy See. He sent his blessing to Don John of Austria, the commander-in-chief of the expedition, recommending him to leave behind all soldiers of evil life, and promising him the victory if he did so. He ordered public prayers, and increased his own supplications to heaven. On the day of the Battle of Lepanto, Oct. 7, 1571, he was working with the cardinals, when, suddenly, interrupting his work opening the window and looking at the sky, he cried out, "A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian army". He burst into tears when he heard of the victory, which dealt the Turkish power a blow from which it never recovered. In memory of this triumph he instituted for the first Sunday of October the feast of the Rosary, and added to the Litany of Loreto the supplication "Help of Christians". He was hoping to put an end to the power of Islam by forming a general alliance of the Italian cities Poland, France, and all Christian Europe, and had begun negotiations for this purpose when he died of gravel, repeating "O Lord, increase my sufferings and my patience!" He left the memory of a rare virtue and an unfailing and inflexible integrity. He was beatified by Clement X in 1672, and canonized by Clement XI in 1712.

(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)

Collect:
O God, who in your providence
raised up Pope Saint Pius the Fifth in your Church
that they faith might be safeguarded
and more fitting worship be offered to you,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may participate in your mysteries
with lively faith and fruitful charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God.

Gospel Reading: John 21:15-17
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time He said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.

Information: St. Pius V

Feast Day:	April 30
Born:	17 January 1504 at Bosco, diocese of Alessandria, Lombardy, Italy
Died:	1 May 1572 in Rome, Italy
Canonized:	22 May 1712 by Pope Clement XI
Patron of:	Bosco Marengo, Italy

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Pius V

Feast Day: April 30
Born: 1504 :: Died: 1572

This holy pope was born at Bosco in Italy to noble Italian parents. He was baptized Anthony Ghislieri. Because his family lost their wealth and became poor, his parents had no money to send him to school.

It seemed as though Anthony's dream to become a priest, would never come true. Then one day, two Dominican priests visited their home and met Anthony. They liked him so much that they offered to educate him.

Anthony received an excellent education. He also became very pious and holy. So at the age of fourteen, Anthony joined the Dominican order. That is when he took the name "Michael." He finally became a priest, and was appointed a teacher of philosophy and divinity (religion) in Genoa.

He traveled for sixteen years to the many Dominican houses teaching them how to live for God. Then he was made bishop and later a cardinal. He continued teaching his people how to live a holy life by his words and example.

He bravely defended the teachings of the Church against those who fought against them. He lived a life of penance and sacrifice. When he was sixty-one, he was chosen pope and took the name Pope Pius V.

He had once been a poor shepherd boy. Now he was the head of the whole Catholic Church. Yet he remained as humble as ever and still wore his white Dominican habit, the same old one he had always worn. No one could make him change it.

As pope, Pius V had many challenges to face, he drew strength from the crucifix. He reflected every day on the sufferings and death of Jesus. At this time, the Turks were trying to conquer and take over the whole Christian world. They had a great navy on the Mediterranean Sea.

Christian soldiers went to battle against them at a place called Lepanto, near Greece. From the moment the army set out, the pope prayed the Rosary and asked the people to do the same. Thanks to the help of the Blessed Mother, the Christians won a great victory. In gratitude and thanksgiving to Mary, St. Pius V established the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary which we celebrate each year on October 7.

As pope, he started many new seminaries (colleges for priests) and wrote many church documents to guide the people. He spent much time looking after the poor with money from the church wealth and building hospitals for the sick. Pope Pius V died in Rome on May 1, 1572.

Catholic

Almanac:

Monday, April 30
Liturgical Color: White
The Church dedicates the month of April to devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. We are invited to come before the true presence of Jesus with our prayers, a practice that dates back over 1000 years.

CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT FOR PARISH PRIESTS (Preface) Issued by order of Pope Pius V
ST. PIUS V, Pope [Catholic Caucus]
Pope Saint Pius V's QUO PRIMUM-Apostolic Constitution Degree

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: April 30, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who in your providence raised up Pope Saint Pius the Fifth in you Church that the faith might be safeguarded and more fitting worship be offered to you, grant, through his intercession, that we may participate in your mysteries with lively faith and fruitful charity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

St. Walburga

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

Easter: April 30th

Memorial of St. Pius V, pope; Optional Memorial Blessed Marie de l'Incarnacion, religious (Can) Old Calendar: St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin

St. Pius V, who was born in 1504, joined the Dominicans at the age of fourteen; he was sixty-two when he was elected Pope. His reign, though short, was one of the most fruitful of the sixteenth century. To Protestantism, which had proclaimed the Reformation, St. Pius replied by applying the decrees of the Council of Trent for the reform of the Church. He played a great part in the return of the clergy to ecclesiastical discipline. Against Islam, which threatened the West, he succeeded in forming a coalition of Christian forces: and by public prayers, organized everywhere at his request, he was instrumental in obtaining the decisive victory of Lepanto in 1571. He died the following year on May 1. We also owe to St. Pius the reformation of the liturgical books of the Roman rite.

The Church in Canada celebrates the feast of Blessed Marie of the Incarnation. Commanded by a vision to become a missionary in Canada, in 1639 Marie Guyart de Incarnation arrived in what would become Quebec City. By 1642, Marie had built a convent, establishing the first Ursuline school in New France. Her talents as a business administrator enabled the convent to survive against enormous financial odds. Marie learned Algonkin and Iroquois, and wrote dictionaries for both languages. Her 1654 Relation ranks her among the greatest mystics of the Catholic Church. Regularly consulted on political and economic matters.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Catherine of Siena. Her feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on April 29. St. Pius V's feast in the extraordinary form is celebrated on May 5.

St. Pius V
In December of 1565, Pope Pius IV died. His one monumental achievement was the resumption and successful conclusion of the Council of Trent. The man chosen to succeed Pius IV and upon whose shoulders rested the responsibility for carrying out the decrees of the council was Michael Ghislieri, a Dominican friar. It was the late pontiff's nephew St. Charles Borromeo who had been the driving force in the election of the new pope, for he recognized that a remarkable leader would be needed if the decrees of the council were to bear fruit.

Michael Ghislieri was a poor shepherd boy who entered the Dominicans at the age of fourteen, became a lecturer in philosophy and theology at Pavia, and very early became involved in the reform movement in the Church. His reforming labors brought him to the attention of other members of the reform movement, and he was given important positions in Como, Bergamo, and Rome. In 1556, he was consecrated bishop of Sutri and Nepi, and then to the diocese of Mondevi, lately ravaged by war. In a very short time, the diocese was flourishing and prosperous. His views on reform were often asked by the Holy Father, and he was noted for his boldness in expressing his views.

His holiness and austerity of life were notable, and he succeeded in bringing simplicity even into the papal household. He refused to wear the flowing garments of previous popes and insisted upon wearing his white Dominican habit even as head of the Church. To this day, the pope wears white, a custom begun by this Dominican pontiff.

The announced intention of St. Pius V was the carrying out of the decrees of the Council of Trent. He insisted that bishops reside in their diocese under pain of losing their revenues; he made a systematic reform of religious orders, established seminaries, held diocesan synods, and reformed the Breviary and Missal. He brought unity into divine worship, published catechisms, ordered a revision of the Latin Vulgate and revitalized the study of theology and canon law. During his pontificate, the Turks were definitively defeated at the battle of Lepanto, due, it was said, to the prayers of the pope.

Pius V died in 1572, at the age of sixty-eight, deeply grieved by the troubles besieging the whole Church. He was canonized by Pope Clement XI in 1712.

Things to Do:

Read about the Council of Trent. Read the entire document issued by the Council or read the Canons on Justification with a summary of their teachings.

Marie de l'Incarnacion
Her name was originally Marie Guyard. She was married in her youth and bore a son; when her son was 12 years old, her husband died and she decided to enter the Ursuline order. At her entreaty, the authorities gave her and another nun permission to go to New France to work among the Native Americans. In 1639 she arrived in Quebec, where she was soon head of an Ursuline convent. She administered her house with great success and worked among the Native Americans with notable results. Her letters are valuable sources of French Canadian history. She wrote devotional works and catechisms, not only in French but in Native American languages. She died of hepatitis in Quebec, Canada. — See A. Repplier, Mère Marie of the Ursulines (1931).

Things to Do:

Learn about the history of New France and of the native Americans.
Assist the Indian missions by your prayers and donations.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 11:1-18

“Peter began and explained it to them step by step.” (Acts 11:4)

This is an interesting reading to have for a Mass! Rather than read the actual story of the conversion of Cornelius, the first Gentile (a powerfully dramatic account in Acts 10), the church asks us to meditate on Peter’s re-telling of the story to the believers in Jerusalem. Why should we ponder only a second-hand version of one of the most historic events in the church’s life?

Perhaps the answer is because this reading gives us two vital lessons. The first is the event itself: Everyone is welcomed into the kingdom of God. If even the Gentiles, whom the Jews considered to be sinful and unclean, could receive the Holy Spirit, then no one was excluded. This message should give all of us great hope: God loves each of us fully and completely; he wants all of us to be with him in heaven.

But the second lesson is just as important. Remember that the first Christians were all Jews—many of them devout Jews at that. News that Peter had not only entered a Gentile’s home but had even baptized him would have been extremely scandalous. It’s no wonder that these believers were upset!

This was a tense moment, filled with the potential for impassioned arguments, over-the-top accusations, and severe division. But how did Peter respond? With a clear, stepby-step explanation. He knew his actions were controversial, but he also knew that God was behind it. So he remained calm, and walked the others through the situation as objectively and patiently as he could. There was no sense of defensiveness, fear, or guilt on his part. Neither did he try to pull rank on them: “I’m the chief of the apostles, and what I say goes!” He simply let the story speak for itself.

Peter’s balanced response shows us just how much he trusted in the Holy Spirit’s work. He knew that God didn’t need someone to defend him. He knew he shouldn’t treat his fellow believers as enemies. All he had to do was testify to what he had seen and heard; God would take care of the rest. Isn’t that the way we should treat all situations of tension and conflict?

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace and unity!”

Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4; John 10:1-10

Archdiocese of Washington

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

Yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday and a chance to meditate on the King of Love, Jesus who is our Shepherd and Lord. But of course there is the clear implication that we then, are compared to sheep.

What is the significance of this? In this meditation I do not propose a deep theological answer to the question of significance, just a pastoral one. A reflection that is, for us both humbling and, I pray, encouraging.

Lets begin with the thought that it’s not all that complimentary that the Lord calls us sheep. Consider that He could have said: we are strong and swift as horses, beautiful as gazelles, or brave as lions! But, instead he said we are like sheep.

No come on reader, get a little indignant with me here! The Lord is comparing us, not to the swift eagle, the mighty bear, or the clever and intelligent dog. No, he looks at us as says we’re like sheep. Hmm… While reality may hurt, the truth can liberate. So let us consider four qualities about sheep that may help illustrate, at a pastoral level (pardon the pun) what the Lord is teaching.

1. Sheep are WAYWARD – It means that they just tend to wander off. It just grazes awhile then looks up, and looks around and says, in effect, “Where am I?” A sheep will nibble here and browse there and get lost lost, he doesn’t know how to get back to the sheep fold unless the shepherd goes and brings him back. Sheep just keep on going and don’t come back. Dogs and cats can find their way home, The horse can find the barn, But not the old sheep. It doesn’t know how to get back to the sheep fold unless the shepherd goes and brings him back.

Now don’t tell me that doesn’t describe us. All we like Sheep have gone astray, every one to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). This is how it is with us. We get easily lost. We need the sheep fold of the Church and we need the Shepherd, who is Christ, ministering through his Pope, bishops and priests. Otherwise we just wander here and there.

2. Sheep are WITLESS - That is to say they just plain dumb. Ever hear of a trained sheep? We train dogs and birds, horses and even lions. But the sheep cannot be trained! Now we human sheep like to think we are so smart. Sure we’ve been to the moon and we have all this technical computer stuff. But too many of us aren’t even smart enough to pray every day, get to Church on Sunday, and follow God’s basic directions for life. We’re so witless that we even do things that KNOW harm us. Even the simplest directions from God we either confuse or get stubborn about. We cop an attitude and say “We know a few things too.” That’s right, we do know a very few things. We’re so dumb, we think we’re smarter than God! We think we have a better way than God’s way. No that’s really dumb.

3. Sheep are WEAK- A sheep just has no way to protect himself. The mule can kick, the cat can scratch, the dog can bite, the rabbit can run, and the skunk…you know what he can do. But the old sheep? Without the care of the Shepherd and the sheep dogs, the sheep is history. The wolf comes and all he can do is stand there and get killed.

And so it is with us, if it were not for the care of Jesus the Good Shepherd, the world, the flesh and the devil have got us cornered. And if it were not for the Lord, and the power of his grace, we would be toast.

We like to think we’re strong. We have armies, we amass political power, monetary power, star-power. It all gives us the illusion that we are strong. But then the slightest temptation arises and we fall. We need the Lord and his grace and mercy or we don’t stand a chance because by our self we are weak and prone to sin.

AND YET…

4. Sheep are WORTHWHILE animals. The sheep is a valued animal. In Jesus’ day many a man counted his wealth by sheep. Sheep give meat and milk, produce lambs and wool. Shepherds made many sacrifices in Jesus’ day to breed, herd, and protect these valuable animals. And so it is with us. We may not feel worthy at times, but apparently we were worth saving because the Lord paid the price of our redemption. He saw the price, and paid it all. And not with any diminishable sum of silver and gold but with his own precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19).

5. Sheep WALK together – Sheep flock together, and thus are safer. To be a solitary sheep is dangerous. It’s a good way to get devoured. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). The scriptures also say Woe to the solitary man! For if he should fall, he has no one to lift him up (Eccles 4:10). Sheep are not supposed to go off on their own, neither are we.

We are called to part of a flock and to be under the care of a shepherd. Most of us realize this in a parish setting. But in the wider sense, we are under a bishop’s care and ultimately the care of the Pope who is the chief Shepherd and the Vicar of Christ, the Good Shepherd.

The Lord Jesus said there is to be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16). God wants us to be in the protection of the flock with a shepherd watching over us. An old spiritual says, “Walk together children. Don’t you get weary. There’s a great camp meeting in the promised land.” Now too many like to say, “That old Pope doesn’t know this or that.” But again please consider that to wander from the care of the flock and the Shepherd is a mighty dangerous thing.

6. Sheep are WARY- Jesus says, 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. (John 10:11-14). Sheep have the remarkable quality of knowing their master’s voice and of instinctively fearing any other voice and fleeing from it.

In this matter real sheep are smarter than most of us. For we do not flee voices contrary to Christ. Instead we draw close and say, “Tell me more.” In fact, we spend a lot of time and money to listen to other voices. We spend huge amounts of money to buy televisions so that the enemy’s voice can influence us and our children. We spend large amounts of time with TV, radio, Internet.

Yes, we can so easily be drawn to the enemy’s voice. And not only do we NOT flee it, but we feast on it. And instead of rebuking it, we turn and rebuke the voice of God and put his Word on trial, instead of putting the world on trial.

The goal for us is to be more wary, like sheep and to recognize only one voice, that of the Lord speaking though his Church, and to flee every other voice.

Just a few thoughts on being compared to sheep. Humbling? Yes! But true, and therefore, liberating and instructive.

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for April 30, 2012:

Make the extra effort. Wives, it’s tempting to forego those dating niceties. At times dress up for your honey (an attractive dress, heels, makeup). If you dress professionally for work, wear something sexy on your date.

Regnum Christi

Going Through the Gate

| SPIRITUAL LIFE

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Father Steven Reilly, LC

John 10:1-10

Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are here with me. This time with you now in prayer is the most important time in my day. I know that you have prepared many graces for me. I wish to take advantage of them with grateful fervor.

Petition: Lord, help me to go through the gate! May I hear no other voices but yours!

1. Jesus Is the Gate: We all want to be happy. There is no one on the face of the planet who would consciously choose to be frustrated and miserable. Yet how is it that so many people unconsciously choose to be, or are missing the boat on what really makes life worthwhile? Jesus is the gate! If we truly want to fulfill our deepest human aspirations, we have to know and love Jesus Christ. As long as Jesus is second to anything or anyone in our life, we have not fully passed through the gate. Taking the plunge and truly passing through the gate is the best decision we could ever make.

2. The Voice of Strangers: If we don’t go through the gate, we are vulnerable. Those who are not fully committed may find the offers of strangers quite enticing. But Christ’s sheep reject those voices out of fidelity to their Shepherd. Perseverance in our Catholic faith and our Catholic lifestyle requires a constant effort to refocus on the Lord. Even if we are besieged by a cacophony of competing voices, the voice of the Lord will always rise above that din. We must be faithful. Our prayer life is the privileged place to screen out the noise and truly hear Christ, which is why our prayer is the most important time of the day. How vibrant is my prayer life?

3. Abundant Life: The effort to go through the gate and to listen only to the voice of the Good Shepherd pays abundant dividends. “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” What is that life like? Put simply, there’s nothing like it. The abundant life that Christ gives us is the indwelling presence of the Holy Trinity in one’s soul. It is the love that envelops authentically Christian homes and communities. It is the peace that comes from a conscience that has experienced forgiveness and is committed to living in the truth. What could anyone give us that can possibly compare to all of this?

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I thank you for this time we have spent together. Many times I have allowed other voices to distract me from yours. I pledge to walk the path of fidelity to you. Grant me the grace to persevere always and to give others an example to help them through the gate.

Resolution: I will reach out to a relative who is estranged from the Church, reflecting some of the love of Christ the Good Shepherd with hopes it will direct him or her to the gate.

A Tip from St. Augustine

What can shepherding teach us about God and our relationship with him? At the end of each day the shepherd brought his sheep into shelter. They knew the voice of their shepherd and came at his beckoning. So familiar was the shepherd and his sheep, that each was called by a distinct name. In the winter the sheep were usually brought to a communal village shelter which was locked and kept secure by a guardian. In the summer months the sheep were usually kept out in the fields and then gathered into a fold at night which was guarded by a shepherd throughout the night. He was literally the door through which the sheep had to pass. The scriptures describe God as a shepherd who brings security and peace to his people. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore (Psalm 120:8).Even the leaders of God’s people are called shepherds: they shall lead them out and bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep which have no shepherd (Numbers 27:17). Just as a shepherd kept watch over his sheep and protected them from danger, so Jesus stands watch over his people as the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). Do you know the peace and security of a life fully submitted to God?

One Bread, One Body

<< Monday, April 30, 2012 >>

Pope St. Pius V
Saint of the Day

Acts 11:1-18
View Readings

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

John 10:1-10

TRUTH

"Whoever does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a marauder. The one who enters through the gate is shepherd of the sheep." —John 10:1-2

Are you being taught the truth in this book, One Bread, One Body? You need not be an amateur theologian and give your own opinion on this issue. You know from the Imprimatur stated in the front of this book that nothing in One Bread, One Body is contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. This means that we who write this book have entered the sheepfold through the gate, that is, we are serving and teaching in the Church according to the will of Jesus, the Good Shepherd (see Jn 10:1-2, 7).

Because we are under the authority of the body of Christ, the Church, we can be sure we are under the authority of Jesus, the Head of the Church. As a result, you can be sure that nothing you read in One Bread, One Body is contrary to the teachings of the Church. This is a great beginning in helping you discern whether what you read in this book is true.

Jesus is the Truth (Jn 14:6). His "word is truth" (Jn 17:17). The Church is "the pillar and bulwark of truth" (1 Tm 3:15). Therefore, we can be men and women of the truth, and the truth will set us free (Jn 8:32).

Prayer: Holy Spirit, guide me to all truth (Jn 16:13).

Promise: "As I began to address them the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as It had upon us at the beginning." —Acts 11:15

Praise: Pope St. Pius V was as saintly a friar as he was a pope. He was known for his humility.

Were you aware of these statistics?

Deaths in America per year
1,400,000 people die from abortion
650,000 people die of heart disease
560,000 people die of cancer
143,000 people die of stroke
75,000 people die of diabetes

Another perspective:
18,000 - Deaths by death penalty in American history (all the way back to the 1600s).
1,315,000 - Deaths in all American wars combined.
53,000,000 - Deaths by abortion since Roe v Wade

Pray for an end to abortion

in the United States of America.

Office of Readings

The Optional Memorial of Saint Pius V, Pope, may be observed today using the ferial texts with the Proper Second Reading and Closing Prayer. If it is desired to use any texts from the Common, these may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For a Pope, found in the ‘Prayers’ section of the iBreviary.

INVITATORY

The Invitatory may be said for the first ‘hour’ recited in the day.

Lord, + open my lips.
– And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Psalm 95
A call to praise God

Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).

Come, let us sing to the Lord *
   and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
   and sing joyful songs to the Lord.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
   the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
   and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
   the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Come, then, let us bow down and worship *
   bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
   the flock he shepherds.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
   in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
   they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Christ the Lord is ris’n today;
Christians, haste your vows to pay;
Offer you your praises meet
At the Paschal Victim’s feet.
For the sheep the Lamb has bled,
Sinless in the sinner’s stead;
Christ, the Lord, is ris’n on high,
Now he lives no more to die!

Christ, the Victim undefiled,
Man to God has reconciled;
When in strange and awful strife
Met together death and life;
Christians, on this happy day
Haste with joy your vows to pay.
Christ, the Lord, is ris’n on high,
Now he lives no more to die!

Christ, who once for sinners bled,
Now the firstborn from the dead,
Throned in endless might and power,
Lives and reigns forevermore.
Hail, eternal Hope on high!
Hail, our King of Victory!
Hail, our Prince of life adored!
Help and save us, gracious Lord.

Tune: Victimae Paschali Laudes 77.77 D
Music: Traditional, alt.
Text: Victimae Paschali Laudes, Wipo, eleventh century

Or:

The day of resurrection!
Earth spread the news abroad;
The Paschal feast of gladness,
The Paschal feast of God.
From death to life eternal,
From earth to heaven’s height
Our Savior Christ has brought us,
The glorious Lord of Light.

Our hearts be free from evil
That we may see aright
The Savior resurrected
In his eternal light;
And hear his message plainly,
Delivered calm and clear:
“Rejoice with me in triumph,
Be glad and do not fear.”

Now let the heav’ns be joyful,
And earth her song begin,
The whole world keep high triumph
And all that is therein;
Let all things in creation
Their notes of gladness blend,
For Christ the Lord has risen,
Our joy that has no end.

Tune: Ellacombe or Aurelia 76.76 D
Music: (Ellacombe) Wurtemburg Gesangbuch, 1784, adapted in the Mainz Gesangbuch, 1833, and further adapted in the St. Gall Gesangbuch, 1863; (Aurelia) S. S. Wesley, 1810-1876
Text: John Mason Neale, 1818-1866, adapted by Anthony G. Petti

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart, alleluia.

Psalm 73
Why is it that the good have many troubles?

Blessed is the man who does not lose faith in me (Matthew 11:6).

I

How good God is to Israel, *
to those who are pure of heart.
Yet my feet came close to stumbling, *
my steps had almost slipped
for I was filled with envy of the proud *
when I saw how the wicked prosper.

For them there are no pains; *
their bodies are sound and sleek.
They have no share in men’s sorrows; *
they are not stricken like others.

So they wear their pride like a necklace, *
they clothe themselves with violence.
Their hearts overflow with malice, *
their minds seethe with plots.

They scoff; they speak with malice; *
from on high they plan oppression.
They have set their mouths in the heavens *
and their tongues dictate to the earth.

So the people turn to follow them *
and drink in all their words.
They say: “How can God know? *
Does the Most High take any notice?”
Look at them, such are the wicked, *
but untroubled, they grow in wealth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart, alleuia.

Ant. 2 Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief, alleuia.

II

How useless to keep my heart pure *
and wash my hands in innocence,
when I was stricken all day long, *
suffered punishment day after day.

Then I said: “If I should speak like that, *
I should abandon the faith of your people.”

I strove to fathom this problem, *
too hard for my mind to understand,
until I pierced the mysteries of God *
and understood what becomes of the wicked.

How slippery the paths on which you set them; *
you make them slide to destruction.
How suddenly they come to their ruin, *
wiped out, destroyed by terrors.
Like a dream one wakes from, O Lord, *
when you wake you dismiss them as phantoms.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief, alleluia.

Ant. 3 Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God, alleluia.

III

And so when my heart grew embittered *
and when I was cut to the quick,
I was stupid and did not understand, *
no better than a beast in your sight.

Yet I was always in your presence; *
you were holding me by my right hand.
You will guide me by your counsel *
and so you will lead me to glory.

What else have I in heaven but you? *
Apart from you I want nothing on earth.
My body and my heart faint for joy; *
God is my possession for ever.

All those who abandon you shall perish; *
you will destroy all those who are faithless.
To be near God is my happiness. *
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of all your works *
at the gates of the city of Zion.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

It is good to be with you, Father; in you is fullness of life for your faithful people; in you all hope resides. May you lead us to everlasting happiness.

Ant. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God, alleluia.

My heart and my flesh, alleluia,
– Rejoice in the living God, alleluia.

READINGS

FIRST READING

From the Book of Revelation
13:1-18

The two beasts

I, John, saw a wild beast come out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads; on its horns were ten diadems and on its heads blasphemous names. The beast I saw was like a leopard, but it had paws like a bear and the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave it his own power and throne, together with great authority.

I noticed that one of the beast’s heads seemed to have been mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. In wonderment, the whole world followed after the beast. Men worshiped the dragon for giving his authority to the beast; they also worshiped the beast and said, “Who can compare with the beast, or come forward to fight against it?”

The beast was given a mouth for uttering proud boasts and blasphemies, but the authority it received was to last only forty-two months. It began to hurl blasphemies against God, reviling him and the members of his heavenly household as well. The beast was allowed to wage war against God’s people and conquer them. It was likewise granted authority over every race and people, language and nation. The beast will be worshiped by all those inhabitants of earth who did not have their names written at the world’s beginning in the book of the living, which belongs to the Lamb who was slain.

Let him who has ears heed these words! If one is destined for captivity, into captivity he goes! If one is destined to be slain by the sword, by the sword he will be slain! Such is the faithful endurance that distinguishes God’s holy people.

Then I saw another wild beast come up out of the earth; it had two horns like a ram and it spoke like a dragon. It used the authority of the first beast to promote its interests by making the world and all its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.

It performed great prodigies; it could even make fire come down from heaven to earth as men looked on. Because of the prodigies it was allowed to perform by authority of the first beast, it led astray the earth’s inhabitants, telling them to make an idol in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second wild beast was then permitted to give life to the beast’s image, so that the image had the power of speech and of putting to death anyone who refused to worship it. It forced all men, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to accept a stamped image on their right hand or their forehead. Moreover, it did not allow a man to buy or sell anything unless he was first marked with the name of the beast or with the number that stood for its name.

A certain wisdom is needed here; with a little ingenuity anyone can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a certain man. The man’s number is six hundred sixty-six.

RESPONSORY
Revelation 3:5; Matthew 10:22

Whoever is victorious will be clothed in white robes.
– I shall praise his name
in the presence of my Father and the angels, alleluia.

Whoever stands firm until the end will be saved.
– I shall praise his name
in the presence of my Father and the angels, alleluia.

SECOND READING

From the book On the Holy Spirit by Saint Basil the Great, bishop
(Cap. 15, 35-36: SC 17 bis, 364-370)

The Spirit gives life

Our Lord made a covenant with us through baptism in order to give us eternal life. There is in baptism an image both of death and of life, the water being the symbol of death, the Spirit giving the pledge of life. The association of water and the Spirit is explained by the twofold purpose for which baptism was instituted, namely, to destroy the sin in us so that it could never again give birth to death, and to enable us to live by the Spirit and so win the reward of holiness. The water into which the body enters as into a tomb symbolizes death; the Spirit instills into us his life-giving power, awakening our souls from the death of sin to the life that they had in the beginning. This then is what it means to be born again of water and the Spirit: we die in the water, and we come to life again through the Spirit.

To signify this death and to enlighten the baptized by transmitting to them knowledge of God, the great sacrament of baptism is administered by means of a triple immersion and the invocation of each of the three divine Persons. Whatever grace there is in the water comes not from its own nature but from the presence of the Spirit, since baptism is not a cleansing of the body, but a pledge made to God from a clear conscience.

As a preparation for our life after the resurrection, our Lord tells us in the gospel how we should live here and now. He teaches us to be peaceable, long-suffering, undefiled by desire for pleasure, and detached from worldly wealth. In this way we can achieve, by our own free choice, the kind of life that will be natural in the world to come.

Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, we ascend to the kingdom of heaven, and we are reinstated as adopted sons. Thanks to the Spirit we obtain the right to call God our Father, we become sharers in the grace of Christ, we are called children of light, blessing is showered upon us, both in this world and in the world to come. As we contemplate them even now, like a reflection in a mirror, it is as though we already possessed the good things our faith tells us that we shall one day enjoy. If this is the pledge, what will the perfection be? If these are the firstfruits, what will the full harvest be?

RESPONSORY

As we rise up from the baptismal waters,
our sins are washed away,
– and the Holy Spirit comes down to us like a dove,
bringing the peace of God from heaven,
where the Church is prefigured by the ark of Noah, alleluia.

The blessed waters of the sacrament of baptism
free us for eternal life.
– And the Holy Spirit comes down to us like a dove,
bringing the peace of God from heaven,
where the Church is prefigured by the ark of Noah, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
your servant and your Son,
you raised a fallen world.
Free us from sin
and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, perfect light of the blessed,
by whose gift we celebrate the paschal mysteries on earth,
bring us, we pray,
to rejoice in the full measure of your grace
for ages unending.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

For the Memorial of Saint Pius V:

SECOND READING

From a treatise on John by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Tract. 124, 5: CCL: 36, 684-685)

The Church is founded upon the rock which Peter acknowledged

God never ceases to provide the human race with consolations in misfortune. But in addition to these, in the fullness of time, when he himself knew it should be done, he sent his own only-begotten Son through whom he created all things. While remaining God, his Son was to become man and be the mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.

Those who believed in him through baptism were freed from the guilt of all their sins, freed from eternal damnation to live in faith, hope and love. On their journey among the trials and dangers of this world, they received the consolations of God, both in body and in spirit. They were to walk in his sight, keeping to the path which Christ made for them.

But even while walking on this path they are not without sin, since it develops subtly out of human weakness. Therefore Christ gave the saving remedy of charity to help them in their prayers, for he taught them to say: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Such is the practice which the Church in blessed hope carries out in this life of suffering. Now the apostle Peter, because of the primacy of his apostleship, stood as a symbol of the entire Church.

In himself he was by nature one man, by grace one Christian, by a more abundant grace an apostle and the chief of the apostles. But Christ said to him: To you I shall give the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you will bind upon the earth will be bound also in heaven and whatever you will forgive upon the earth will be forgiven also in heaven. Now these words applied to the entire Church. In this life it is shaken by various trials, as if by rains, floods and tempests, but it does not fall because it is founded upon the rock from which Peter received his name.

The Lord said: Upon this rock I shall build my Church because Peter has first said: You are Christ, the Son of the living God. The Lord was really saying: I shall build my Church upon the rock which you have acknowledged. For the rock was Christ, and upon this foundation even Peter himself was raised up. Another foundation indeed no one can lay except that which was laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The Church, which is founded upon Christ, received from him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that is, the power of binding and forgiving sins, in the person of Peter. Therefore this Church, by loving and following Christ, is set free from evil. But this is even more the case with those who fight in behalf of truth even to the death.

RESPONSORY
Ezekiel 3:21; 1 Timothy 4:16

If you warn the virtuous man to avoid sin,
and he does not sin,
he shall surely live
– and you shall save your own life, alleluia.

Be careful of what you do and teach,
and you will save yourself
and all who listen to you.
– and you shall save your own life, alleluia

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
you chose Saint Pius V as pope of your Church,
to protect the faith and give you more fitting worship.
By his prayers,
help us to celebrate your holy mysteries
with a living faith and an effective love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, who in your providence
raised up Pope Saint Pius the Fifth in your Church,
that the faith might be safeguarded,
and more fitting worship be offered to you,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may participate in your mysteries,
with lively faith and fruitful charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

Lauds

The Optional Memorial of Saint Pius V, Pope, may be observed today using the ferial texts with the Proper Closing Prayer. If it is desired to use any texts from the Common, these may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For a Pope, found in the ‘Prayers’ section of the iBreviary.

INVITATORY

The Invitatory may be said for the first ‘hour’ recited in the day.

Lord, + open my lips.
– And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Psalm 95
A call to praise God

Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).

Come, let us sing to the Lord *
   and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
   and sing joyful songs to the Lord.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
   the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
   and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
   the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Come, then, let us bow down and worship *
   bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
   the flock he shepherds.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
   in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
   they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.

Ant.The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.

If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ our heav’nly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!

But the pains which he endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now He rules eternal King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia!

Praise to God the Father sing, Alleluia!
Praise to God the Son, our King, Alleluia!
Praise to God the Spirit be, Alleluia!
Now and through eternity, Alleluia!

Tune: Easter Hymn 77.77 with alleluia
Music: Lyra Davidica, 1708
Text: I. Latin Carol, para. In Lyra Davidica, 1708, alt Stanzas 2,3, The Compleat Psalmodist, 1749, alt. St. 4, William Reynolds, 1860

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Ye sons and daughters, let us sing!
The King of Heav’n, the glorious King,
O’er death today rose triumphing.
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
That Easter morn, at break of day,
The faithful women went their way
To seek the tomb where Jesus lay.
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
An angel clad in white they see,
Who sat, and spoke unto the three,
“Your Lord doth go to Galilee.”
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
On this most holy day of days,
To God your hearts and voices raise,
In laud and jubilee and praise.
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
And we with Holy Church unite,
As evermore is just and right,
In glory to the King of light.
Alleluia!

Tune: O Filii et Filiae 88.88 with alleluias.
Music: Seventeenth Century French Proper Melody
Text: Jean Tisserand, d. 1495
Translation: John Mason Neale, 1818-1866, alt.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Let the splendor of the Lord our God be upon us, alleluia.

Psalm 90
May we live in the radiance of God

There is no time with God: a thousand years, a single day, it is all one (2 Peter 3:8).

O Lord, you have been our refuge *
from one generation to the next.
Before the mountains were born †
or the earth or the world brought forth, *
you are God, without beginning or end.

You turn men back to dust *
and say: “Go back, sons of men.”
To your eyes a thousand years †
are like yesterday, come and gone, *
no more than a watch in the night.

You sweep men away like a dream, *
like the grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers: *
by evening it withers and fades.

So we are destroyed in your anger, *
struck with terror in your fury.
Our guilt lies open before you; *
our secrets in the light of your face.

All our days pass away in your anger. *
Our life is over like a sigh.
Our span is seventy years *
or eighty for those who are strong.

And most of these are emptiness and pain. *
They pass swiftly and we are gone.
Who understands the power of your anger *
and fears the strength of your fury?

Make us know the shortness of our life *
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever? *
Show pity to your servants.

In the morning, fill us with your love; *
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to balance our affliction *
for the years when we knew misfortune.

Show forth your work to your servants; *
let your glory shine on their children.
Let the favor of the Lord be upon us: †
give success to the work of our hands, *
give success to the work of our hands.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord, send your mercy and your truth to rescue us from the snares of the devil, and, happy to be known as companions of your Son, we will praise you among the peoples and proclaim you to the nations.

Ant. Let the splendor of the Lord our God be upon us, alleluia.

Ant. 2 I will turn darkness into light before them, alleluia.

Canticle: Isaiah 42:10-16
God, victor and savior

They were singing a new hymn before the throne of God (Revelation 14:3).

Sing to the Lord a new song, *
his praise from the end of the earth:

Let the sea and what fills it resound, *
the coastlands, and those who dwell in them.
Let the steppe and its cities cry out, *
the villages where Kedar dwells;

let the inhabitants of Sela exult, *
and shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord, *
and utter his praise in the coastlands.

The Lord goes forth like a hero, *
like a warrior he stirs up his ardor;
he shouts out his battle cry, *
against his enemies he shows his might:

I have looked away, and kept silence, *
I have said nothing, holding myself in;
but now, I cry out as a woman in labor, *
gasping and panting.

I will lay waste mountains and hills, *
all their herbage I will dry up;
I will turn the rivers into marshes, *
and the marshes I will dry up.

I will lead the blind on their journey; *
by paths unknown I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them, *
and make crooked ways straight.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. I will turn darkness into light before them, alleluia.

Ant. 3 The Lord does whatever he wills, alleluia.

Psalm 135:1-12
Praise for the wonderful things God does for us

He has won you for himself . . .and you must proclaim what he has done for you: he has called you out of darkness into his own wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).

Praise the name of the Lord, *
praise him, servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord, *
in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord for the Lord is good. *
Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself *
and Israel for his own possession.

For I know that the Lord is great, *
that our Lord is high above all gods.
The Lord does whatever he wills, *
in heaven, on earth, in the seas.

He summons clouds from the ends of the earth; †
makes lightning produce the rain;*
from his treasuries he sends forth the wind.

The first-born of the Egyptians he smote, *
of man and beast alike.
Signs and wonders he worked †
in the midst of your land, O Egypt, *
against Pharaoh and all his servants.

Nations in their greatness he struck †
and kings in their splendor he slew. *
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, the king of Bashan, *
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He let Israel inherit their land; *
on his people their land he bestowed.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Where two or three gather in your name, Lord, you promised to be with them and share their fellowship. Look down upon your family gathered here in your name, and graciously pour out your blessing upon us.

Ant. The Lord does whatever he wills, alleluia.

READING
Romans 10:8b-10

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach). For if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Faith in the heart leads to justification, confession on the lips to salvation.

RESPONSORY

The Lord is risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.
– The Lord is risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.

He hung upon the cross for us,
– alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord is risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. I am the Good Shepherd; I pasture my sheep and I lay down my life for them, alleluia.

Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old †
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. I am the Good Shepherd; I pasture my sheep and I lay down my life for them, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence, saying:
Lord, enlighten our minds.

Father of lights, you bathed the world in splendor when Christ rose again in glory,
– fill our minds with the light of faith.
Lord, enlighten our minds.

Through the resurrection of your Son you opened for us the way to eternal life,
– as we work today sustain us with the hope of glory.
Lord, enlighten our minds.

Through your risen Son you sent the Holy Spirit into the world,
– set our hearts on fire with spiritual love.
Lord, enlighten our minds.

May Jesus Christ, who was crucified to set us free,
– be today our salvation and redemption.
Lord, enlighten our minds.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

(Gathering our prayer and praises into one, let us offer the prayer Christ himself taught us:)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
your servant and your Son,
you raised a fallen world.
Free us from our sin
and bring us to a joy that lasts for ever.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, perfect light of the blessed,
by whose gift we celebrate the paschal mysteries on earth,
bring us, we pray,
to rejoice in the full measure of your grace
for ages unending.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

For the Memorial of Saint Pius V:

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Father,
you chose Saint Pius V as pope of your Church,
to protect the faith and give you more fitting worship.
By his prayers,
help us to celebrate your holy mysteries
with a living faith and an effective love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, who in your providence
raised up Pope Saint Pius the Fifth in your Church,
that the faith might be safeguarded,
and more fitting worship be offered to you,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may participate in your mysteries,
with lively faith and fruitful charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Daytime Prayer

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Alleluia! sing to Jesus!
His the scepter, his the throne;
Alleluia! his the triumph,
His the victory alone:
Hark! the songs of peaceful Sion
Thunder like a mighty flood;
Jesus, out of ev’ry nation,
Has redeemed us by his Blood.

Alleluia! not as orphans
Are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us,
Faith believes nor questions how:
Though the cloud from sight received him,
When the forty days were o’er
Shall our hearts forget his promise,
“I am with you evermore”?

Alleluia! Bread of angels,
Thou on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful
Flee to thee from day to day:
Intercessor, friend of sinners,
Earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless
Sweep across the crystal sea.

Alleluia! King eternal,
Thee, the Lord of lords we own;
Alleluia! born of Mary,
Earth thy footstool, heav’n thy throne:
Thou within the veil has entered,
Robed in flesh, our great High Priest;
Thou on earth both Priest and Victim
In the Eucharistic feast.

Melody: Hyfrydol 87.87.D
Music: R. H. Prichard, 1811-1887
Text: William Chatterton Dix, 1837-1898

PSALMODY

Ant. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 119:129-136
XVII (Pe)

A meditation on God’s law

The whole law is summed up in love (Romans 13:10).

Your will is wonderful indeed; *
therefore I obey it.
The unfolding of your word gives light *
and teaches the simple.

I open my mouth and I sigh *
as I yearn for your commands.
Turn and show me your mercy; *
show justice to your friends.

Let my steps be guided by your promise; *
let no evil rule me.
Redeem me from man’s oppression *
and I will keep your precepts.

Let your face shine on your servant *
and teach me your decrees.
Tears stream from my eyes *
because your law is disobeyed.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

You are just, Lord God, and righteous are your judgments. Deliver those who cry to you in their affliction; give them peace and calm to reflect on your commands.

Psalm 82
Denunciation of evil judges

Do not attempt to judge another now; the Lord’s coming will reveal all (1 Corinthians 4:5).

God stands in the divine assembly. *
In the midst of the gods he gives judgment.

“How long will you judge unjustly *
and favor the cause of the wicked?
Do justice for the weak and the orphan, *
defend the afflicted and the needy.
Rescue the weak and the poor; *
set them free from the hand of the wicked.

Unperceiving, they grope in the darkness *
and the order of the world is shaken.
I have said to you: ‘You are gods, *
and all of you, sons of the Most High.’
And yet, you shall die like men, *
you shall fall like any of the princes.”

Arise, O God, judge the earth, *
for you rule all the nations.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

You are always true to your word, Father. Look down from heaven and put an end to our foolishness. Save us from groundless fears and help us to please you with undivided heart.

Psalm 120
Longing for peace

Be patient in suffering; persevere in prayer (Romans 12:12).

To the Lord in the hour of my distress *
I call and he answers me.
“O Lord, save my soul from lying lips, *
from the tongue of the deceitful.”

What shall he pay you in return, *
O treacherous tongue?
The warrior’s arrows sharpened *
and coals, red-hot, blazing.

Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech, *
dwell among the tents of Kedar!

Long enough have I been dwelling *
with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak, *
they are for fighting.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

You declared peacemakers happy, Lord Jesus, since they will be called sons of God. Give us that peace which the world cannot give so that your Church may be freed from the schemes of arrogant men, and, devoted to works of peace, go forward joyfully to meet you, the King of Peace.

Ant. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

At the other hours, the complementary psalmody is taken from series II and III.

MIDMORNING

READING
Revelation 1:17c-18

I saw the Son of Man, who said to me: I am the First and the Last and the One who lives. Once I was dead but now I live—forever and ever. I hold the keys of death and of the nether world.

The Lord is risen, alleluia.
– He has appeared to Simon, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
your servant and your Son,
you raised a fallen world.
Free us from our sin
and bring us to a joy that lasts for ever.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, perfect light of the blessed,
by whose gift we celebrate the paschal mysteries on earth,
bring us, we pray,
to rejoice in the full measure of your grace
for ages unending.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

MIDDAY

READING
Colossians 2:9, 12

In Christ the fullness of deity resides in bodily form. Yours is a share of this fullness. In baptism you were not only buried with him but also raised to life with him because you believed in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

The disciples rejoiced, alleluia.
– When they saw the risen Lord, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
your servant and your Son,
you raised a fallen world.
Free us from our sin
and bring us to a joy that lasts for ever.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, perfect light of the blessed,
by whose gift we celebrate the paschal mysteries on earth,
bring us, we pray,
to rejoice in the full measure of your grace
for ages unending.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

MIDAFTERNOON

READING
2 Timothy 2: 8, 11

Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead. This is the gospel I preach. You can depend on this:

If we have died with him
we shall also live with him.

Stay with us, Lord, alleluia.
– For evening draws near, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
your servant and your Son,
you raised a fallen world.
Free us from our sin
and bring us to a joy that lasts for ever.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, perfect light of the blessed,
by whose gift we celebrate the paschal mysteries on earth,
bring us, we pray,
to rejoice in the full measure of your grace
for ages unending.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

Vespers

The Optional Memorial of Saint Pius V, Pope, may be observed today using the ferial texts with the Proper Closing Prayer. If it is desired to use any texts from the Common, these may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For a Pope, found in the ‘Prayers’ section of the iBreviary.

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the victor’s triumph won:
O let the song of praise be sung.
Alleluia!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
On the third morn he rose again,
Glorious in majesty to reign:
O let us swell the joyful strain:
Alleluia!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
O risen Lord, all praise to thee,
Who from our sins has set us free,
That we may live eternally:
Alleluia!

Tune: Victory 888 with alleluias
Music: G.P. da Palestrina, 1588 adapted with alleluias by W.H. Monk, 1861
Text: Cologne, 1695
Translation: Francis Pott, 1861, alt.

Or:

Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands
For our offenses given:
But now at God’s right hand he stands
And brings us life from heaven;
Therefore let us joyful be,
And praise the Father thankfully
With songs of Alleluia.
Alleluia.

How long and bitter was the strife
When life and death contended,
The victory remained with life,
The reign of death was ended:
Stripped of power, no more it reigns,
And empty form alone remains.
Death’s sting is lost for ever.
Alleluia.

So let us keep this festival
To which Our Lord invites us,
The Savior who is joy of all,
The Sun that warms and lights us:
By his grace he shall impart
Eternal sunshine to the heart;
The night of sin has ended.
Alleluia.

Tune: Christ lag in Todesbanden
87.87.787 with alleluia
Music: Walther’s Gesangbuchlein, 1524
Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546, based on Victimae Paschali laudes
Translation: Richard Massie, 1800-1887, adapted by Anthony G. Petti

Or:

Ad cenam Agni providi,
stolis salutis candidi,
post transitum maris Rubri
Christo canamus principi.

Cuius corpus sanctissimum
in ara crucis torridum,
sed et cruorem roseum
gustando, Deo vivimus.

Protecti paschae vespero
a devastante angelo,
de Pharaonis aspero
sumus erepti imperio.

Iam pascha nostrum Christus est,
agnus occisus innocens;
sinceritatis azyma
qui carnem suam obtulit.

O vera, digna hostia,
per quam franguntur tartara,
captiva plebs redimitur,
redduntur vitae praemia!

Consurgit Christus tumulo,
victor redit de barathro,
tyrannum trudens vinculo
et paradisum reserans.

Esto perenne mentibus
paschale, Iesu, gaudium
et nos renatos gratiae
tuis triumphis aggrega.

Iesu, tibi sit gloria,
qui morte victa praenites,
cum Patre et almo Spiritu,
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Whoever is in Christ is a new creature, alleluia.

Psalm 136
Easter Hymn

We praise God by recalling his marvelous deeds (Cassiodorus).

I

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, *
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods *
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, *
for his love endures for ever;

who alone has wrought marvelous works, *
for his love endures for ever;
whose wisdom it was made the skies, *
for his love endures for ever;
who fixed the earth firmly on the seas, *
for his love endures for ever.

It was he who made the great lights, *
for his love endures for ever,
the sun to rule in the day, *
for his love endures for ever,
the moon and the stars in the night, *
for his love endures for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Whoever is in Christ is a new creature, alleluia.

Ant. 2 Let us love God, for he has first loved us, alleluia.

II

The first-born of the Egyptians he smote, *
for his love endures for ever.
He brought Israel out from their midst, *
for his love endures for ever;
arm outstretched, with power in his hand, *
for his love endures for ever.

He divided the Red Sea in two, *
for his love endures for ever;
he made Israel pass through the midst, *
for his love endures for ever;
he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea, *
for his love endures for ever.

Through the desert his people he led, *
for his love endures for ever.
Nations in their greatness he struck, *
for his love endures for ever.
Kings in their splendor he slew, *
for his love endures for ever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites, *
for his love endures for ever;
and Og, the king of Bashan, *
for his love endures for ever.

He let Israel inherit their land, *
for his love endures for ever.
On his servant their land he bestowed, *
for his love endures for ever.
He remembered us in our distress, *
for his love endures for ever.

And he snatched us away from our foes, *
for his love endures for ever.
He gives food to all living things, *
for his love endures for ever.
To the God of heaven give thanks, *
for his love endures for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Almighty God, remember our lowliness and have mercy. Once you gave our fathers a foreign land to inherit. Free us today from sin and give us a share in your inheritance.

Ant. Let us love God, for he has first loved us, alleluia.

Ant. 3 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace, alleluia.

Canticle: Ephesians 1:3-10
God our Savior

Praised be the God and Father *
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has bestowed on us in Christ *
every spiritual blessing in the heavens.

God chose us in him *
before the world began
to be holy *
and blameless in his sight.

He predestined us *
to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ,
such was his will and pleasure, †
that all might praise the glorious favor *
he has bestowed on us in his beloved.

In him and through his blood, we have been redeemed, *
and our sins forgiven,
so immeasurably generous *
is God’s favor to us.

God has given us the wisdom *
to understand fully the mystery,
the plan he was pleased *
to decree in Christ.

A plan to be carried out *
in Christ, in the fullness of time,
to bring all things into one in him, *
in the heavens and on earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace, alleluia.

READING
Hebrews 8:1b-3a

We have such a high priest, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, minister of the sanctuary and of that true tabernacle set up, not by man, but by the Lord. Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices.

RESPONSORY

The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.

When they saw the risen Lord,
– alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. I have other sheep that do not belong to this flock; these also I must lead. They will hear my voice, and there will be one fold and one shepherd, alleluia.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My + soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. I have other sheep that do not belong to this flock; these also I must lead. They will hear my voice, and there will be one fold and one shepherd, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray to Christ the Lord, who bathed the world in glory through his resurrection. With joyful hearts let us say:
Christ, our life, hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ, you walked with your disciples on the way,
– be with your Church on its pilgrimage through life.
Christ, our life, hear our prayer.

Do not let us be slow to believe,
– but ready to proclaim you as victor over death.
Christ, our life, hear our prayer.

Look with kindness on those who do not recognize your presence,
– reveal yourself to them, so that they may welcome you as Savior.
Christ, our life, hear our prayer.

Through the cross you have brought reconciliation to mankind in your body,
– grant unity and peace to all nations.
Christ, our life, hear our prayer.

Judge of the living and the dead,
– forgive the sins of the faithful departed.
Christ, our life, hear our prayer.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

(Gathering our prayer and praises into one, let us offer the prayer Christ himself taught us:)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
your servant and your Son,
you raised a fallen world.
Free us from our sin
and bring us to a joy that lasts for ever.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, perfect light of the blessed,
by whose gift we celebrate the paschal mysteries on earth,
bring us, we pray,
to rejoice in the full measure of your grace
for ages unending.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

For the Memorial of Saint Pius V:

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Father,
you chose Saint Pius V as pope of your Church,
to protect the faith and give you more fitting worship.
By his prayers,
help us to celebrate your holy mysteries
with a living faith and an effective love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, who in your providence
raised up Pope Saint Pius the Fifth in your Church,
that the faith might be safeguarded,
and more fitting worship be offered to you,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may participate in your mysteries,
with lively faith and fruitful charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

For Compline see post 18.

Am I doing it right?

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 10
1.	AMEN, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber.	Amen, amen dico vobis : qui non intrat per ostium in ovile ovium, sed ascendit aliunde, ille fur est et latro.	αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ο μη εισερχομενος δια της θυρας εις την αυλην των προβατων αλλα αναβαινων αλλαχοθεν εκεινος κλεπτης εστιν και ληστης
2.	But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.	Qui autem intrat per ostium, pastor est ovium.	ο δε εισερχομενος δια της θυρας ποιμην εστιν των προβατων
3.	To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.	Huic ostiarius aperit, et oves vocem ejus audiunt, et proprias ovas vocat nominatim, et educit eas.	τουτω ο θυρωρος ανοιγει και τα προβατα της φωνης αυτου ακουει και τα ιδια προβατα καλει κατ ονομα και εξαγει αυτα
4.	And when he hath let out his own sheep, he goeth before them: and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.	Et cum proprias oves emiserit, ante eas vadit : et oves illum sequuntur, quia sciunt vocem ejus.	και οταν τα ιδια προβατα εκβαλη εμπροσθεν αυτων πορευεται και τα προβατα αυτω ακολουθει οτι οιδασιν την φωνην αυτου
5.	But a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers.	Alienum autem non sequuntur, sed fugiunt ab eo : quia non noverunt vocem alienorum.	αλλοτριω δε ου μη ακολουθησωσιν αλλα φευξονται απ αυτου οτι ουκ οιδασιν των αλλοτριων την φωνην
6.	This proverb Jesus spoke to them. But they understood not what he spoke to them.	Hoc proverbium dixit eis Jesus : illi autem non cognoverunt quid loqueretur eis.	ταυτην την παροιμιαν ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους εκεινοι δε ουκ εγνωσαν τινα ην α ελαλει αυτοις
7.	Jesus therefore said to them again: Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.	Dixit ergo eis iterum Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis, quia ego sum ostium ovium.	ειπεν ουν παλιν αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν οτι εγω ειμι η θυρα των προβατων
8.	All others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them not.	Omnes quotquot venerunt, fures sunt, et latrones, et non audierunt eos oves.	παντες οσοι ηλθον κλεπται εισιν και λησται αλλ ουκ ηκουσαν αυτων τα προβατα
9.	I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures.	Ego sum ostium. Per me si quis introierit, salvabitur : et ingredietur, et egredietur, et pascua inveniet.	εγω ειμι η θυρα δι εμου εαν τις εισελθη σωθησεται και εισελευσεται και εξελευσεται και νομην ευρησει
10.	The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.	Fur non venit nisi ut furetur, et mactet, et perdat. Ego veni ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant.	ο κλεπτης ουκ ερχεται ει μη ινα κλεψη και θυση και απολεση εγω ηλθον ινα ζωην εχωσιν και περισσον εχωσιν

1. Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2. But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3. To him the porter opens;
and the sheep hear his voice:
and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
4. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

CHRYS. Our Lord having reproached the Jews with blindness, they might have said, We are not blind, but we avoid you as a deceiver. Our Lord therefore gives the marks which distinguish a robber and deceiver from a true shepherd. First come those of the deceiver and robber: Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

There is an allusion here to Antichrist, and to certain false Christs who had been, and were to be. The Scriptures He calls the door. They admit us to the knowledge of God, they protect the sheep, they shut out the wolves, they bar the entrance to heretics. He that uses not the Scriptures, but climbs up some other way, i.e. some self-chosen, some unlawful way, is a thief. Climbs up, He says, not, enters, as if it were a thief getting over a wall, and running all risks.

Some other way, may refer too to the commandments and traditions of men which the Scribes taught, to the neglect of the Law. When our Lord further on calls Himself the Door, we need not be surprised. According to the office which He bears, He is in one place the Shepherd, in another the Sheep. In that He introduces us to the Father, He is the Door, in that He takes care of us, He is the Shepherd.

AUG. Or thus: Many go under the name of good men according to the standard of the world, and observe in some sort the commandments of the Law, who yet are not Christians. And these generally boast of themselves, as the Pharisees did; Are we blind also? But inasmuch as all that they do they do foolishly, without knowing to what end it tends, our Lord said of them, Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Let the Pagans then, the Jews, the Heretics, say, "We lead a good life;" if they enter not by the door, what avails it? A good life only profits, as leading to life eternal. Indeed those cannot be said to lead a good life, who are either blindly ignorant of, or willfully despise, the end of good living. No one can hope for eternal life, who knows not Christ, who is the life, and by that door enters into the fold.

Whoso wishes to enter into the sheepfold, let him enter by the door; let him preach Christ; let him seek Christ's glory, not his own. Christ is a lowly door, and he who enters by this door must be lowly, if he would enter with his head whole. He that does not humble, but exalt himself, who wishes to climb up over the wall, is exalted that he may fall. Such men generally try to persuade others that they may live well, and not be Christians. Thus they climb up by some other way, that they may rob and kill. They are thieves, because they call that their own, which is not; robbers, because that which they have stolen, they kill.

CHRYS. You have seen His description of a robber, now see that of the Shepherd: But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

AUG. He enters by the door, who enters by Christ, who imitates the suffering of Christ, who is acquainted with the humility of Christ, so as to feel and know, that if God became man for us, man should not think himself God, but man. He who being man wishes to appear God, does not imitate Him, who being God, became man. You are bid to think less of yourself than you are, but to know what you are.

To Him the porter opens.

CHRYS. The porter perhaps is Moses; for to him the oracles of God were committed.

THEOPHYL. Or, the Holy Spirit is the porter, by whom the Scriptures are unlocked, and reveal the truth to us.

AUG. Or, the porter is our Lord Himself; for there is much less difference between a door and a porter, than between a door and a shepherd. And He has called Himself both the door and the shepherd. Why then not the door and the porter? He opens Himself, i.e. reveals Himself. If you seek another person for porter, take the Holy Spirit, of whom our Lord below said, He will guide you into all truth. The door is Christ, the Truth; who opens the door, but He that will guide you into all Truth? Whomsoever you understand here, beware that you esteem not the porter greater than the door; for in our houses the porter ranks above the door, not the door above the porter.

CHRYS. As they had called Him a deceiver, and appealed to their own unbelief as the proof of it; (Which of the rulers believes in Him?) He shows here that it was because they refused to hear Him, that they were put out of His flock. The sheep hear His voice. The Shepherd enters by the lawful door; and they who follow Him are His sheep; they who do not, voluntarily put themselves out of His flock.

And He calls His own sheep by name.

AUG. He knew the names of the predestinated; as He said to His disciples, Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

And leads them out.

CHRYS. He led out the sheep, when He sent them not out of the reach of, but into the midst of, the wolves. There seems to he a secret allusion to the blind man. He called him out of the midst of the Jews; and he heard His voice.

AUG. And who is He who leads them out, but the Same who loosens the chain of their sins, that they may follow Him with free unfettered step?

GLOSS. And when He puts forth His own sheep, He goes before them, He leads them out from the darkness of ignorance into light, while He goes before in the pillar of cloud, and fire.

CHRYS. Shepherds always go behind their sheep; but He, on the contrary, goes before, to show that He would lead all to the truth.

AUG. And who is this that goes before the sheep, but He who being raised from the dead, dies no more; and who said, Father, I will also that they, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am?

And the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.

CHRYS. The strangers are Theudas, and Judas, and the false apostles who came after Christ. That He might not appear one of this number, He gives many marks of difference between Him and them. First, Christ brought men to Him by teaching them out of the Scriptures; they drew men from; the Scriptures. Secondly, the obedience of the sheep; for men believed on Him, not only during His life, but after death: their followers ceased, as soon as they were gone.

THEOPHYL. He alludes to Antichrist, who shall deceive for a time, but lose all his followers when he dies.

Still I am disturbed by the Lord's rebuke to the shepherds in Ezekiel, Neither have you brought again that which strayed. He calls it a stray sheep, but yet a sheep all the while; though, if it strayed, it could not have heard the voice of the Shepherd, but the voice of a stranger.

What I say then is this; The Lord knows them that are His. He knows the foreknown, he knows the predestinated. They are the sheep: for a time they know not themselves, but the Shepherd knows them; for many sheep are without the fold, many wolves within. He speaks then of the predestinated. And now the difficulty is solved. The sheep do hear the Shepherd's voice, and they only. When is that? It is when that voice said, He that endures to the end shall be saved. This speech His own hear, the alien hear not.

6. This parable spoke Jesus to them: but they understood not what things they were which he spoke to them.

AUG. Our Lord feeds by plain words, exercises by obscure. For when two persons, one godly, the other ungodly, hear the words of the Gospel, and they happen to be such that neither can understand them; one says, What He said is true and good, but we do not understand it: the other says, It is not worth attending to. The former, in faith, knocks, yes, and, if he continue to knock, it shall be opened to him. The latter shall hear the words in Isaiah, If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.

7. Then said Jesus to them again, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10. The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

CHRYS. Our Lord, to waken the attention of the Jews, unfolds the meaning of what He has said; Then said Jesus to them again, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

AUG. Lo, the very door which He had shut up, He opens; He is the Door: let us enter, and let us enter with joy.

All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers.

CHRYS. He said not this of the Prophets, as the heretics think, but of Theudas, and Judas, and other agitators. So he adds in praise of the sheep, The sheep heard them not; but he no where praises those who disobeyed the prophets, but condemns them severely.

The times are different, the faith is the same. Our faith knits together both those who believed that He was about to come, and those who believe that He has come. All that ever came at variance with Him were thieves and robbers; i.e. they came to steal and to kill; but the sheep did not hear them. They had not Christ's voice; but were wanderers, dreamers, deceivers. Why He is the Door, He next explains, I am the Door; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved.

ALCUIN. As if to say, The sheep hear not them, but Me they hear; for I am the Door, and whoever enters by Me not falsely but in sincerity, shall by perseverance be saved.

THEOPHYL. The door admits the sheep into the pasture; And shall go in and out, and find pasture. What is this pasture, but the happiness to come, the rest to which our Lord brings us?

AUG. What is this, shall go in and out? To enter into the Church by Christ the Door, is a very good thing, but to go out of the Church is not. Going in must refer to inward cogitation; going out to outward action; as in the Psalm, Man goes forth to his work.

THEOPHYL. Or, to go in is to watch over the inner man; to go out, to mortify the outward man, i.e. our members which are upon the earth. He that does this shall find pasture in the life to come.

CHRYS. Or, He refers to the Apostles who went in and out boldly; for they became the masters of the world, none could turn them out of their kingdom, and they found pasture.

AUG. But He Himself explains it more satisfactorily to me in what follows: The thief comes not, but for to steal, and for to kill: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

By going in they have life; i.e. by faith, which works by love; by which faith they go into the fold. The just lives by faith. And by going out they will have it more abundantly: i.e. when true believers die, they have life more abundantly, even a life which never ends. Though in this fold there is not wanting pasture, then they will find pasture, such as will satisfy them. Today shall you be with Me in paradise.

GREG. Shall go in, i.e. to faith: shall go out, i.e. to sight: and find pasture, i.e. in eternal fullness.

ALCUIN. The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill. As if He said, And well may the sheep not hear the voice of the thief; for he comes not but for to steal: he usurps another's office, forming his followers not on Christ's precepts, but on his own. And therefore it follows, and to kill, i.e. by drawing them from the faith; and to destroy, i.e. by their eternal damnation.

CHRYS. The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; this was literally fulfilled in the case of those movers of sedition, whose followers were nearly all destroyed; deprived by the thief even of this present life. But came, He said, for the salvation of the sheep; That they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly, in the kingdom of heaven. This is the third mark of difference between Himself, and the false prophets.

THEOPHYL. Mystically, the thief is the devil, steals by wicked thoughts, kills by the assent of the mind to them, and destroys by acts.

Catena Aurea John 10

April 30, 2012

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18

Responsorial Psalm Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4

Gospel Jn 10:1-10

St. Pius V

Daily Readings for: April 30, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

Easter: April 30th

Meditation: Acts 11:1-18

If the Lord is our Shepherd, I guess that makes us sheep. A brief meditation on what it means to be the Sheep of the Lord

A Tip from St. Augustine

One Bread, One Body

TRUTH

April 30, 2012

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18

Responsorial Psalm Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4

Gospel Jn 10:1-10

St. Pius V

Daily Readings for: April 30, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

LIBRARY

Easter: April 30th

Meditation: Acts 11:1-18

If the Lord is our Shepherd, I guess that makes us sheep. A brief meditation on what it means to be the Sheep of the Lord

A Tip from St. Augustine

One Bread, One Body

TRUTH

Daily Readings for: April 30, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)