Regina Coeli

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. / For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

Has risen, as he said, alleluia. / Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. / For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 10
22.	And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: and it was winter.	Facta sunt autem Encænia in Jerosolymis, et hiems erat.	εγενετο δε τα εγκαινια εν ιεροσολυμοις και χειμων ην
23.	And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.	Et ambulabat Jesus in templo, in porticu Salomonis.	και περιεπατει ο ιησους εν τω ιερω εν τη στοα σολομωνος
24.	The Jews therefore came round about him, and said to him: How long dost thou hold our souls in suspense? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.	Circumdederunt ergo eum Judæi, et dicebant ei : Quousque animam nostram tollis ? si tu es Christus, dic nobis palam.	εκυκλωσαν ουν αυτον οι ιουδαιοι και ελεγον αυτω εως ποτε την ψυχην ημων αιρεις ει συ ει ο χριστος ειπε ημιν παρρησια
25.	Jesus answered them: I speak to you, and you believe not: the works that I do in the name of my Father, they give testimony of me.	Respondit eis Jesus : Loquor vobis, et non creditis : opera quæ ego facio in nomine Patris mei, hæc testimonium perhibent de me :	απεκριθη αυτοις ο ιησους ειπον υμιν και ου πιστευετε τα εργα α εγω ποιω εν τω ονοματι του πατρος μου ταυτα μαρτυρει περι εμου
26.	But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep.	sed vos non creditis, quia non estis ex ovibus meis.	αλλ υμεις ου πιστευετε ου γαρ εστε εκ των προβατων των εμων καθως ειπον υμιν
27.	My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me.	Oves meæ vocem meam audiunt, et ego cognosco eas, et sequuntur me :	τα προβατα τα εμα της φωνης μου ακουει καγω γινωσκω αυτα και ακολουθουσιν μοι
28.	And I give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand.	et ego vitam æternam do eis, et non peribunt in æternum, et non rapiet eas quisquam de manu mea.	καγω ζωην αιωνιον διδωμι αυτοις και ου μη απολωνται εις τον αιωνα και ουχ αρπασει τις αυτα εκ της χειρος μου
29.	That which my Father hath given me, is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father.	Pater meus quod dedit mihi, majus omnibus est : et nemo potest rapere de manu Patris mei.	ο πατηρ μου ος δεδωκεν μοι μειζων παντων εστιν και ουδεις δυναται αρπαζειν εκ της χειρος του πατρος μου
30.	I and the Father are one.	Ego et Pater unum sumus.	εγω και ο πατηρ εν εσμεν

22. And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
23. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
24. Then came the Jews round about him, and said to him, How long do you make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25. Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
26. But you believe not, because you are not of my sheep, as I said to you.
27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28. And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30. I and my Father are one."

AUG. And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication. Encænia is the feast of the dedication of the temple; from the Greek word signifying new. The dedication of any thing new was called encænia.

CHRYS. It was the feast of the dedication of the temple, after the return from the Babylonish captivity.

ALCUIN. Or, it was in memory of the dedication under Judas Maccabeus. The first dedication was that of Solomon in the autumn; the second that of Zorobabel, and the priest Jesus in the spring. This was in winter time.

BEDE. Judas Maccabeus instituted an annual commemoration of this dedication.

THEOPHYL. The Evangelist mentions the time of winter, to show that it was near His passion. He suffered in the following spring; for which reason He took up His abode at Jerusalem.

GREG. Or because the season of cold was in keeping with the cold malicious hearts of the Jews.

CHRYS. Christ was present with much zeal at this feast, and thenceforth stayed in Judea; His passion being now at hand. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

ALCUIN. It is called Solomon's porch, because Solomon went to pray there. The porches of a temple are usually named after the temple. If the Son of God walked in a temple where the flesh of brute animals was offered up, how much more will He delight to visit our house of prayer, in which His own flesh and blood are consecrated;

THEOPHYL. Be you also careful, in the winter time, i.e. while yet in this stormy wicked world, to celebrate the dedication of your spiritual temple, by ever renewing yourself, ever rising upward in heart. Then will Jesus be present with you in Solomon's porch, and give you safety under His covering. But in another life no man will be able to dedicate Himself.

AUG. The Jews cold in love, burning in their malevolence, approached Him not to honor, but persecute. Then came the Jews round about Him, and said to Him, How long do you make us to doubt? If You be the Christ, tell us plainly. They did not want to know the truth, but only to find ground of accusation.

CHRYS. Being able to find no fault with His works, they tried to catch Him in His words. And mark their perversity. When He instructs by His discourse, they say, What sign show You? When He demonstrates by His works, they say, If you be the Christ, tell us plainly. Either way they are determined to oppose Him.

There is great malice in that speech, Tell us plainly. He had spoken plainly, when up at the feasts, and had hid nothing. They preface however with flattery: How long do you make us to doubt? as if they were anxious to know the truth, but really only meaning to provoke Him to say something that they might lay hold of.

ALCUIN. They accuse Him of keeping their minds in suspense and uncertainty, who had come to save their souls.

AUG. They wanted our Lord to say, I am the Christ. Perhaps, as they had human notions of the Messiah, having failed to discern His divinity in the Prophets they wanted Christ to confess Himself the Messiah, of the seed of David; that they might accuse Him of aspiring to the regal power.

ALCUIN. And thus they intended to give Him into the hands of the Proconsul for punishment, as an usurper against the emperor. Our Lord so managed His reply as to stop the mouths of His calumniators, open those of the believers; and to those who inquired of Him as a man, reveal the mysteries of His divinity: Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.

CHRYS. He reproves their malice, for pretending that a single word would convince them, whom so many words had not. If you do not believe My works, He says, how will you believe My words? And He adds why they do not believe: But you believe not, because you are not of My sheep.

AUG. He saw that they were persons predestinated to eternal death, and not those for whom He had bought eternal life, at the price of His blood. The sheep believe, and follow the Shepherd.

THEOPHYL. After He had said, You are not of My sheep, He exhorts them to become such: My sheep hear My voice.

ALCUIN. i.e. Obey My precepts from the heart. And I know them, and they follow Me, here by walking in gentleness and innocence, hereafter by entering the joys of eternal life.

And I give to them eternal life.

AUG. This is the pasture of which He spoke before And shall find pasture. Eternal life is called a goodly pasture: the grass thereof wither not, all is spread with verdure. But these cavilers thought only of this present life. And they shall not perish eternally; as if to say, you shall perish eternally, because you are not of My sheep.

THEOPHYL. But how then did Judas perish? Because he did not continue to the end. Christ speaks of them who persevere. If any sheep is separated from the flock, and wanders from the Shepherd, it incurs danger immediately.

AUG. And He adds why they do not perish: Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. Of those sheep of which it is said, The Lord knows them that are His, the wolf robs none, the thief takes none, the robber kills none. Christ is confident of their safety; and He knows what He gave up for them.

HILARY. This is the speech of conscious power. Yet to show, that though of the Divine nature He has His nativity from God, He adds, My Father which gave Me them is greater than all. He does not conceal His birth from the Father, but proclaims it. For that which He received from the Father, He received in that He was born from Him. He received it in the birth itself, not after it; though He was born when He received it.

AUG. The Son, born from everlasting of the Father, God from God, has not equality with the Father by growth, but by birth. This is that greater than all which the Father gave Him b; viz. to be His Word, to be His Only-Begotten Son, to be the brightness of His light.

Wherefore no man takes His sheep out of His hand, any more than from His Father's hand: And no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. If by hand we understand power, the power of the Father and the Son is one, even as Their divinity is one. If we understand the Son, the Son is the hand of the Father, not in a bodily sense, as if God the Father had limbs, but as being He by Whom all things were made.

Men often call other men hands, when they make use of them for any purpose. And sometimes a man's work is itself called his hand, because made by his hand; as when a man is said to know his own hand, when be recognizes his own handwriting. In this place, however, hand signifies power. If we take it for Son, we shall be in danger of imagining that if the Father has a hand, and that hand is His Son, the Son must have a Son too.

HILARY. The hand of the Son is spoken of as the hand of the Father, to let you see, by a bodily representation, that both have the same nature, that the nature and virtue of the Father is in the Son also.

CHRYS. Then that you may not suppose that the Father's power protects the sheep, while He is Himself too weak to do so, He adds, I and My Father are one.

AUG. Mark both those words, one and are, and you will be delivered from Scylla and Charybdis. In that He says, one the Arian, in we are the Sabellian, is answered. There are both Father and Son. And if one, then there is no difference of persons between them.

AUG. We are one. What He is, that am I, in respect of essence, not of relation.

HILARY. The heretics, since they cannot gainsay these words, endeavor by an impious lie to explain them away. They maintain that this unity is unanimity only; a unity of will, not of nature, i.e. that the two are one, not in that they are the same, but in that they will the same. But they are one, not by any economy merely, but by the nativity of the Son's nature, since there is no falling off of the Father's divinity in begetting Him.

They are one whilst the sheep that are not plucked out of the Son's hand, are not plucked out of the Father's hand: whilst in Him working, the Father works; whilst He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. This unity, not creation but nativity, not will but power, not unanimity but nature accomplishes.

But we deny not therefore the unanimity of the Father and Son; for the heretics, because we refuse to admit concord in the place of unity, accuse us of making a disagreement between the Father and Son. We deny not unanimity, but we place it on the ground of unity. The Father and Son are one in respect of nature, honor, and virtue: and the same nature cannot will different things.

Catena Aurea John 10

The New Testament Trinity

19c.
Moscow Historical Museum

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Franciscan Media

Image: Painting of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen | photo by Andreas Praefcke

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Saint of the Day for April 24

(1577 – April 24, 1622)

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen’s Story

If a poor man needed some clothing, Fidelis would often give the man the clothes right off his back. Complete generosity to others characterized this saint’s life.

Born in 1577, Mark Rey became a lawyer who constantly upheld the causes of the poor and oppressed people. Nicknamed “the poor man’s lawyer,” Rey soon grew disgusted with the corruption and injustice he saw among his colleagues. He left his law career to become a priest, joining his brother George as a member of the Capuchin Order. Fidelis was his religious name. His wealth was divided between needy seminarians and the poor.

As a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi, Fidelis continued his devotion to the weak and needy. During a severe epidemic in a city where he was guardian of a friary, Fidelis cared for and cured many sick soldiers.

He was appointed head of a group of Capuchins sent to preach against the Calvinists and Zwinglians in Switzerland. Almost certain violence threatened. Those who observed the mission felt that success was more attributable to the prayer of Fidelis during the night than to his sermons and instructions.

He was accused of opposing the peasants’ national aspirations for independence from Austria. While he was preaching at Seewis, to which he had gone against the advice of his friends, a gun was fired at him, but he escaped unharmed. A Protestant offered to shelter Fidelis, but he declined, saying his life was in God’s hands. On the road back, he was set upon by a group of armed men and killed.

Fidelis was canonized in 1746. Fifteen years later he was recognized as a martyr.

Reflection

Fidelis’ constant prayer was that he be kept completely faithful to God and not give in to any lukewarmness or apathy. He was often heard to exclaim, “Woe to me if I should prove myself but a halfhearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.” His prayer against apathy, and his concern for the poor and weak make him a saint whose example is valuable today. The modern Church is calling us to follow the example of “the poor man’s lawyer” by sharing ourselves and our talents with those less fortunate and by working for justice in the world.

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Information: St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Feast Day: April 24

Born: 1577 at Sigmaringen, Hohenzollern, Germany

Died: 24 April 1622 at Grusch, Grisons, Switzerland

Canonized: 29 June 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV

Major Shrine: Capuchin Convent of Weltkirchen (Feldkirch), Austria

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Feast Day: April 24
Born: 1578 :: Died: 1622

Mark Rey was born at Sigmaringen in Germany. He studied at the well-known University of Freigburg to become a lawyer. Even as a student, he liked to visit the sick and the poor and daily spent time in prayer. When Mark, finished his studies he became a famous lawyer.

His brother George chose to become a Capuchin Franciscan priest.

As a lawyer, Mark often took on the cases of poor people who had no money to pay. He was nicknamed, "The Poor Man's Lawyer." Now, because he was very honest, Mark was shocked at the dishonesty of the law courts and gave up the law.

Instead, he gave away all his wealth to the poor and followed his brother to priesthood. When he became a priest, he took the name Fidelis, which means "faithful."

Father Fidelis was filled with joy when he was asked to go preach in Switzerland where there were many enemies of the Catholic faith. He wanted to win these people called the Calvinists and Zwinglians back to the Church. His preaching brought wonderful results and many people were converted.

Enemies of the Church grew angry at his success. St. Fidelis knew that his life was in danger, but he went right on preaching. In the middle of a sermon one day, someone shot at him, but the bullet missed.

Father Fidelis knew he had to leave town at once and he did. But as he was walking down the road to the next town, a mob of angry men stopped him. They ordered the priest to give up the Catholic faith. St. Fidelis firmly refused.

The men then attacked him with spiked clubs and crude tools. The wounded priest pulled himself up to a kneeling position. He prayed: "Lord, forgive my enemies. They do not know what they are doing. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me! Holy Mary, my Mother, help me!"

Then the men attacked him again until they were sure he was dead. St. Fidelis died a martyr in 1622 at the age of forty-four at Grusch, Grisons in Switzerland.

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Tuesday, April 24

Liturgical Color: White

Pope Sixtus V was elected pope on this day in
1585. He invested vast sums of money in
religious construction projects. Some of his
projects included completing the dome of St.
Peter's Basilica, the Lateran Palace and
hospices for the poor.

Catholic Culture

Easter: April 24th

Optional Memorial of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr

MASS READINGS

April 24, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who were pleased to award the palm of martyrdom to Saint Fidelis as, burning with love for you, he propagated the faith, grant, we pray, through his intercession, that, grounded in charity, we may merit to know with him the power of the Resurrection of Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

show

Recipes (1)

Salmon & Potato Hash

show

Activities (1)

Devotion to the Saints

show

Prayers (3)

Library (0)

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest & martyr; St. Euphrasia Pelletier, foundress

St. Fidelis was born at Sigmaringen in Swabia in 1577. He practiced at first as a lawyer and so took to heart the cause of the needy that he was known as the poor man's lawyer. Then he joined the Capuchin Friars Minor and was sent by the Holy See to the Grisons in order to bring back the inhabitants of this canton from Protestantism to the Catholic faith. His great influence earned him enemies; he was murdered at Seewis on April 24, 1622.

St. Fidelis
Fidelis has been called the "protomartyr of the Capuchin Order and of the Propaganda in Rome." He was born in 1577, became a renowned lawyer. But feeling that this profession endangered the salvation of his soul, he decided to join the Capuchin Order and employ his extraordinary gift of eloquence in urging the faithful to lead holy lives and in bringing heretics back to the true faith. An ardent admirer of the founder of his Order, he was a great friend of poverty. Severe with himself, he was most considerate towards others, "embracing them like a mother does her children." When the Austrian army was stricken by plague, he cared for the spiritual and bodily needs of the soldiers in such a manner that he was honored with the title, "Father of the Fatherland."

His devotion toward the Mother of God was truly remarkable. Trusting in her intercession and that of other saints, he often begged God for the grace of sacrificing his life in vindication of the Catholic faith. The occasion came when he was appointed to lead the mission for the conversion of Grisons (in Switzerland); heroically he suffered a martyr's death and sanctified with his blood the first-fruits of martyrdom in the Capuchin Order (1622).

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Symbols: With a club set with spikes; with a whirlbat; heretics; with Saint Joseph of Leonissa; trampling on the word heresy; with an angel carrying a palm of martyrdom; the Morning Star.

Things to Do:

Read this life of St. Fidelis from EWTN.
Since St. Fideles was an excellent preacher and was chosen by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to combat the heresy of Calvinism maybe you might study a little apologetics to prepare yourself to defend the Faith. You can start with these two sites: Calvinism and A Tiptoe Through Tulip.

St. Euphrasia Pelletier
On May 2, 1940, Pope Pius XII raised to the ultimate honors of the altar a most remarkable woman, Mother Mary Euphrasia Pelletier. As the solemn Te Deum swelled in gladness through the Vatican Basilica, its joyous strains were echoed and reechoed in quiet chapels found in virtually all the large cities of the world. Almost a hundred thousand women and girls and over ten thousand white-robed Sisters, in three hundred and fifty homes of charity, rejoiced with their Mother, the new Saint. For Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier is the Foundress and first General Superior of the large Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd of Angers, and one of the great sociologists of the ages.

Rose Virginia Pelletier was born of pious parents on July 31, 1796 on the island of Noirmoutiers, during the terrible period of the French Revolution. So it was that her life began as a daughter of the suffering faith of her beloved France. Because of the suppression and expulsion of religious Orders, the education of the little girl had to be undertaken by her busy mother. At her knees Rose Virginia learned of God and His service.

In 1814 she entered the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge at Tours. After ten months as a postulant in this historic community at Tours, Rose Virginia received the habit and entered upon her life as a novice in September, 1815. For two years she remained in the novitiate, being formed to the religious life, studying and absorbing the history and work of her Order. Listening to the life of a Saint one day, she heard that he quickly attained sanctity by his perfect obedience. “Obedience, then,” reflected the young novice, “must be the best means to become holy. If only I might take the vow of obedience at once!” Sister Mary Euphrasia consulted her superiors, and was permitted to take a private vow of obedience. In 1817 she was professed, making then her first public vows.

In a few years her exceptional qualifications became so apparent to all that after having been Mistress of penitents, she was elected Superior of the house. A project which had been in her mind for a long time was then made a reality. She had found in many of the penitents a real attraction for the religious life, with no desire to return to the world after their conversion. Where could they go? It was very difficult, virtually impossible, to find a congregation suitable for them or willing to accept them. So Mother Euphrasia inaugurated a community called the Magdalene Sisters. She adapted the rule of Saint Teresa, drew up a set of Constitutions, and erected the first community of Magdalenes in the house at Tours. One of the greatest consolations Mother Euphrasia enjoyed in life was the sanctity attained by so many of these religious, bound by vows to a life of prayer and penance.

During the thirty years she was Superior General, Mother Euphrasia sent out her Sisters from their mother house at Angers to found one hundred and ten houses in every land beneath the sun — Sisters inflamed with her own zeal, trained at her hands. She died at Angers in her seventy-second year, having welcomed death with the faith and serenity which marked her entire life.

Patron: travellers.

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Rose at the CIN website.
You can read the Life of Reverend Mother Mary of St. Euprasia online here.

St. Benedict Menni
Brothers of St. John of God care for the sick and those in need. For this reason, from the very beginning, the Hospitaller Order was recognized by the Church as a Congregation of religious brothers with exception of not more than one priest in each community acting as chaplain.

Saint Benedict Menni was one exception, being an ordained priest in Rome on October 14, 1860. In those years, the Spanish branch of the Hospitallers Order died away as a consequence of some Masonic laws issued in Portugal in 1834 and in Spain in 1835. Saint Benedict was sent to Barcelona on April 6, 1867, to restore the Hospitaller Order in these countries.

After a long struggle, oftentimes risky, he was not only able to gather many vocations - almost a thousand from 1867 to 1903 - but also founded in Spain, Portugal and Mexico, 22 hospitals for every kind of sickness, especially for mental patients and handicapped children. Those conditions were the most neglected by the public health care at that time.

He also founded a female branch of the Order, the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today, the Sisters are present in 20 countries with almost 80 communities.

What is amazing in the life work of Saint Menni is the number and complexity of the undertakings he faced; but, even more so for their validity, tested for more than a century. The secret lies in his true, heroic detachment by which he always considered himself a docile instrument in the hands of God, without giving room for his personal ambitions or human plans.

His feast day is April 24, the day he died in Dinan, France, in 1914.

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Benedict Menni at the Vatican website.
Learn about the Sisters Hospitallers here.
The "The priest who changed the way we treat the mentally ill" at the Catholic Herald.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 10:22-30

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr (Optional Memorial)

No one can take them out of my hand. (John 10:28)

What makes you feel vulnerable? Flying in an airplane? Being in a boat surrounded by large waves? Or is your fear most exposed in relationships, where you worry about being hurt or let down? Whatever triggers it for you, everyone has times of wondering if catastrophe is just around the corner.

Do you ever feel vulnerable in your relationship with God? It’s easy to worry that if you do or say the wrong thing, you may alienate him, and he may give up on you. Maybe you won’t even make it to heaven.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus confronts these fears head-on. Speaking about those who believe, he says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand” (John 10:28). What a comforting reminder of God’s constant love!

It’s easy to think that we are the primary actors in our spiritual lives. But here Jesus is, reminding us that he is the one pursuing us, and he will not allow anyone or anything to steal us away from him. He even goes so far as to say, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all” (John 10:29).

God doesn’t want you to live in fear of rejection from him. He wants you to be more sure of his love for you than you are of anything else. That’s because his love is the most sure thing in all the world. You can live in security, safe in the knowledge that God is on your side, ready to forgive and restore you. He will stop at nothing to keep you in the palm of his hand.

Today, try taking a look at the times you feel most deeply vulnerable. Invite the Lord into these areas. Ask him to show you that he will protect you. Ask him to tell you that he has already forgiven you and restored you to your heavenly Father. Dwell on his greatness and his mercy so that you can put your fears into perspective. You are a child of God; you are safe in your Father’s hand!

“Jesus, I am in awe of the way you pursue me. I give my fears to you today; drive them out with your perfect love.”

Acts 11:19-26
Psalm 87:1-7

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for April 24, 2018:

(Reader’s Tip) Always think loving thoughts. Never let the devil creep in with negative talk.

Regnum Christi

April 24, 2018 – Nobody Can Steal From Jesus

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

John 10: 22-30

The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Introductory Prayer: Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. Thank you for granting me this gift of faith. You came so that we, the lost sheep, may be found. Thank you. You brought us knowledge of who we are and what we are worth.

Petition: Lord, help me to hear your voice when you are calling in the night.

1. Kept in Suspense: Suspense is a state or a character of being undecided or doubtful. How many times have we been in suspense, waiting for Christ to do amazing things in our lives, doubting that he could save such lowly sinners like ourselves? Are we undecided in believing in Christ? He has already told us and shown us through his works who and what he is. We are to be his sheep and await him; sheep know their shepherd’s voice, and they follow their shepherd. Then we can await eternal life. Suspense also means “to have a pleasant excitement as to a decision or an outcome.” What is the outcome of life? It is true salvation, and it is eternity with the heavenly Father. Today, as in every day, we should have a “pleasant excitement” in waiting for our outcome. As we go to bed at night we should look at Christ and say, “Another day closer to heaven.”

2. Spiritually Blind: Christ is always standing right beside us. What in our lives is blinding us from seeing him? In human terms, seeing comes through the senses. However, we need a spiritual connection with our Lord in order to see him: The spirit replaces human sight. Once that connection is made, we see God everywhere: in people, in charitable actions, in the beauty of nature. Then, we see him in ourselves. When we see Christ in us, we begin to have peace and assurance that we may yield abundantly.

3. Yield Harvest: Christ’s peace flows in us when we are open and begin to see the path to salvation. Think about how the water of spring rain brings forth life that yields a good harvest. We believe in living water. This living water provides us peace and harmony in Christ. It fills us and brings forth in us work accomplished in peace. Believing and abiding in Christ yield great successes, rich harvests. Let us be watered by trust and bear much fruit in the name of Christ. Come, Lord Jesus.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you have called me many times. Many times I have turned a deaf ear to you, not believing that you could carry my burdens. Help me today, Lord, to believe in you; help me to testify to you, Lord; help me to be amongst your sheep that I may follow you. When I think it is too hard, help me to seek you in prayer and see what you have told me to believe, so that I may have eternal life in you and through you.

Resolution: Today I will speak to at least one person about God’s infinite love and mercy.

Homily of the Day

April 24, 2018

Sometimes we wonder about the faith that is expected of us by Jesus. He expects us to believe in him based on what he says and the works he has done. Yet we at times want “proof.”

Maybe we should believe as children do, with blind trust. Children are taught early in their lives that their parents will “catch” them every time they “jump.” Maybe we should believe in Jesus in the same child-like manner. Why is it so difficult to just believe?

God gave us a mind to think with, a heart to feel with and freedom to choose and decide. Faith has become more difficult because we expect to see proof, especially when we have doubts.

Faith does not work that way. Faith precisely is believing because God who knows and is credible has told us so. As the risen Christ told the doubting apostle Thomas, “You believe because you see me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and believe.” (Jn 20: 29)

In the classic film, Miracle on 34th Street, someone says, “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.” This is what we should try to strive for, to overcome our common sense and still believe in Jesus and the Father. Because, faith, even if it is akin to blind trust, is still a choice made every day, every minute of our lives. Faith is a grace freely and generously given us by God.

Today, with all that is going on in your life, what do you choose to believe? And why?

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espa�ol

All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 3

<< Tuesday, April 24, 2018 >>

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Acts 11:19-26
View Readings

Psalm 87:1-7

John 10:22-30
Similar Reflections

THE "LOOK" OF SELFLESS LOVE

"Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul." �Acts 11:25

A big temptation of being a disciple of Christ is to do it all ourselves, to be the leader of the pack. Yet St. Barnabas, who was in the position to be the main attraction in the church at Antioch, "was a good man" (Acts 11:24). "Filled with the Holy Spirit and faith" (Acts 11:24), Barnabas realized that he needed help for the job of teaching the fledgling Christians at Antioch.

So he went to Tarsus to look for Saul. "Looking for Saul" in a large city without modern communications was arduous and time-consuming. It could have taken days, even weeks, for Barnabas to track down Saul. Barnabas, however, knew that Saul possessed powerful gifts of the Spirit that were needed for the mission in Antioch. "Once [Barnabas] had found [Saul], he brought him back to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and instructed great numbers. It was at Antioch that the disciples were called Christians for the first time" (Acts 11:26). Out of Antioch, Barnabas and Saul were sent forth by that new church on the first Christian missionary journey (Acts 13:1-3).

Barnabas wanted life to the full (Jn 10:10) for the Christians at Antioch, and did whatever was necessary to bring that about. What about you? If someone was able to help you in your ministry or outreach, would you ask them to help you? Would you search them out at your own personal cost to beg them to help?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, may I decrease in any way so that You may increase in every situation (Jn 3:30).

Promise: "My sheep hear My voice...I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish." —Jn 10:27-28

Praise: By prayer vigils, St. Fidelis fortified himself to preach the Word.

April 24, 2018

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 11:19-26

Responsorial Psalm Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7

Alleliua Jn 10:27

Gospel Jn 10:22-30

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Saint of the Day for April 24

(1577 – April 24, 1622)

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen’s Story

Reflection

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Easter: April 24th

Optional Memorial of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr

MASS READINGS

COLLECT PRAYER

Recipes (1)

Activities (1)

Prayers (3)

Library (0)

Meditation: John 10:22-30

April 24, 2018 – Nobody Can Steal From Jesus

One Bread, One Body

THE "LOOK" OF SELFLESS LOVE