Sunday, April 8, 2012

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Easter Prayer

Father: Christ is risen, Alleluia.

Family: He is truly risen, Alleluia.

Father: The Lord is risen from the grave, Alleluia.

Family: Who hung upon the Cross for us, Alleluia.

Father: Let us pray.

O God,
through Thine only-begotten Son
Thou hast overcome death on this day
and hast opened unto us the gate of everlasting
life;
pursue with Thine aid the good resolves Thou hast
inspired,
and by Thy constant help make them lastingly
effective.
Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
who is living and reigning forever and ever.

Family: Alleluia, Alleluia.

Father: This is the day the Lord has made, Alleluia.

Family: Let us be glad and rejoice in it, Alleluia.

Father: To God the Father let us sing, to God the Son, our
Risen King.

Family: And let us equally adore the Spirit, God forever
more, Alleluia.

Father: Praise the Lord, for He is good,

Family: Sing praise to our Lord, for He is
gracious,
it is fitting to praise Him.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
sing praise with the harp to our God,
Who covers the heavens with clouds,
who provides rain for the earth;
Who makes grain sprout on the mountains
and herbs for the service of men;
Who gives food to the cattle,
and to the young ravens when they cry to
In the strength of the steed He delights not,
nor is He pleased with the fleshness of men.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear Him,
and with those who hope for His kindness.

Father: Now when the Sabbath was past,
Mary Magdalen and Mary, the mother of Jesus,
and Salome bought sweet spices that coming they
might anoint Jesus.
And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week,
they came to the sepulchre,
the sun being now risen.
And they said to one another:
Who shall roll us back the stone from the door of
the sepulchre?
And looking they saw the stone rolled back,
for it was very great.
And entering into the sepulchre
they saw a young man sitting on the right side,
clothed with a white robe;
and they were astonished.
Who saith to them: Be not affrighted.
You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified.
He is risen! He is not here!
Behold the place where they laid Him.
But go tell His disciples, and Peter,
that He goes before you into Galilee
where you shall see him, as He told you. [Mark
16:1-7]

The resurrection
[From The Story of the Redemption for Children, copyright
by the Gregorian Institute of America, Toledo, Ohio.]

They placed Him in a tomb of stone,
Dead, all helpless, and alone.
But Easter morn, before the light,
He rose alive in glory bright!

Source: Family Customs: Easter to Pentecost by Helen
McLoughlin, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville,
Minnesota, 1956.]

DAILY MASS READINGS

The Resurrection of the Lord
The Mass of Easter Sunday

Reading 1
Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Peter proceeded to speak and said:

"You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."


Responsorial Psalm 
Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23.

R. This is the day the Lord has made; 
let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."

R. This is the day the Lord has made; 
let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R. Alleluia.


"The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD."

R. This is the day the Lord has made; 
let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R. Alleluia.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.

R. This is the day the Lord has made; 
let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R. Alleluia.


Reading 2
Col 3:1-4

Brothers and sisters:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.

Or 1 Cor 5:6b-8

Brothers and sisters:

Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.


Gospel
Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don't know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.

SAINT OF THE DAY

April 8

St. Julie Billiart (1751-1816)

Born in Cuvilly, France, into a family of well-to-do farmers, young Marie Rose Julie Billiart showed an early interest in religion and in helping the sick and poor. Though the first years of her life were relatively peaceful and uncomplicated, Julie had to take up manual work as a young teen when her family lost its money. However, she spent her spare time teaching catechism to young people and to the farm laborers.

A mysterious illness overtook her when she was about 30. Witnessing an attempt to wound or even kill her father, Julie was paralyzed and became a complete invalid. For the next two decades she continued to teach catechism lessons from her bed, offered spiritual advice and attracted visitors who had heard of her holiness.

When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, revolutionary forces became aware of her allegiance to fugitive priests. With the help of friends she was smuggled out of Cuvilly in a haycart; she spent several years hiding in Compiegne, being moved from house to house despite her growing physical pain. She even lost the power of speech for a time.

But this period also proved to be a fruitful spiritual time for Julie. It was at this time she had a vision in which she saw Calvary surrounded by women in religious habits and heard a voice saying, "Behold these spiritual daughters whom I give you in an Institute marked by the cross." As time passed and Julie continued her mobile life, she made the acquaintance of an aristocratic woman, Françoise Blin de Bourdon, who shared Julie's interest in teaching the faith. In 1803 the two women began the Institute of Notre Dame, which was dedicated to the education of the poor as well as young Christian girls and the training of catechists. The following year the first Sisters of Notre Dame made their vows. That was the same year that Julie recovered from the illness: She was able to walk for the first time in 22 years.

Though Julie had always been attentive to the special needs of the poor and that always remained her priority, she also became aware that other classes in society needed Christian instruction. From the founding of the Sisters of Notre Dame until her death, Julie was on the road, opening a variety of schools in France and Belgium that served the poor and the wealthy, vocational groups, teachers. Ultimately, Julie and Françoise moved the motherhouse to Namur, Belgium.

Julie died there in 1816. She was canonized in 1969.

OFFICE OF READINGS

The Office of Readings today is only recited by those who have not been to the Easter Vigil. It starts immediately with the first reading, with no introduction preceding it.



Reading
Exodus 14:15-15:1

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that 
I am the Lord.’

Then the angel of God, who marched at the front of the army of Israel, changed station and moved to their rear. The pillar of cloud changed station from the front to the rear of them, and remained there. It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the armies drawing any closer 
the whole night long.

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, 
his chariots, and his horsemen.

In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. 
‘The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’

‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them.

That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.

It was then that Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song in honour of the Lord:


Canticle
Exodus 15
Hymn of victory after crossing the Red Sea

Let us sing to the Lord: glorious is his triumph.

I will sing to the Lord, for his triumph is glorious.
Horse and rider he has cast into the sea.
The Lord is my support and my strength, and he has saved me.
This is my God, and I will give him glory
This is my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior – ‘The Lord’ is his name!
Pharaoh’s chariots and army he has thrown into the sea;
the finest of his fighters have sunk into the Red Sea.
The deeps have covered them;
they have sunk to the bottom like a stone.
In your strength, Lord, show us the power of your right hand.
Your right hand, Lord, struck down the enemy.
You will lead your people in and establish them
on the mountain that is your inheritance,
your solid dwelling-place, which you made, Lord;
your sanctuary, Lord, which your hands made firm.
The Lord will reign, to eternity and beyond!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Let us sing to the Lord: glorious is his triumph.


O God, through the light of the New Testament you have revealed to us the meaning of the miracles you performed in the earliest times.

The Red Sea was a symbol of the baptismal font,
and the people freed from servitude prefigured the sacraments of the Christian people.

Grant that all nations who have receive Israel’s 
privileges as a reward for their faith
may be regenerated by sharing in your Spirit.

Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.


Reading
Ezekiel 36:16-28

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own land, but they defiled it by their conduct and actions; to me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstruation. I then discharged my fury at them because of the blood they shed in their land and the idols with which they defiled it. I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them in foreign countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved. And now they have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, “These are the people of the Lord; they have been exiled from his land.” But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone. And so, say to the House of Israel, “The Lord says this: I am not doing this for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord–it is the Lord who speaks– when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.


Psalm 41 (42)
Longing for the Lord and his temple

Like a deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.

Like a deer that longs for springs of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, the living God:
when shall I come and stand before the face of God?
I remember how I went up to your glorious dwelling-place
and into the house of God:
the memory melts my soul.
The sound of joy and thanksgiving,
the crowds at the festival.
Send forth your light and your truth;
let them lead me away,
let them lead me up your holy mountain,
up to your sanctuary.
I shall go in to the altar of God,
to the God of my gladness and joy.
I will sing out to you on the lyre,
O God, my God.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Like a deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.


O God of unchangeable power and eternal light,
look kindly upon your sacrament that is the 
Church in this world,
and carry through the work of salvation smoothly 
according to your eternal plan.

May the whole world see and experience how
what is fallen is stood upright once more;
what was corrupted by age is once more made new;
and how all things are made whole through Christ, to whom they owe their creation,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.


Reading
Romans 6:3-11

When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.

If in union with Christ we have imitated his death, we shall also imitate him in his resurrection. We must realise that our former selves have been crucified with him to destroy this sinful body and to free us from the slavery of sin. When a Christian dies, of course, he has finished with sin.

But we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.


Psalm 117 (118)
A cry of rejoicing and triumph

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his kindness is for ever.
Now let Israel say, he is good
and his kindness is for ever.
“The Lord’s right hand has triumphed!
The Lord’s right hand has raised me up.
I shall not die, but live,
and tell of the works of the Lord.”
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the corner-stone.
It was the Lord who did this –
it is marvellous to behold.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.


Reading
Matthew 28:1-10

After the sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre. And all at once there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow. The guards were so shaken, so frightened of him, that they were like dead men. But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, ‘There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him.” Now I have told you.’ Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.

And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’


Hymn
Te Deum

God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!
You, the Father, the eternal –
all the earth venerates you.
All the angels, all the heavens, every power –
The cherubim, the seraphim –
unceasingly, they cry:

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!”
The glorious choir of Apostles –
The noble ranks of prophets –
The shining army of martyrs –
all praise you.

Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you.
– Father of immeasurable majesty,
– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,
– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.

You, Christ:
– You are the king of glory.
– You are the Father’s eternal Son.
– You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb.
– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.
– You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father.
– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.

And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.
Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory.

Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance.
Rule them and lift them high for ever.
Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever.
Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you.
In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.

Let us pray.

On this day, Lord God,
you opened for us the way to eternal life
through your only Son’s victory over death.
Grant that as we celebrate the feast of his resurrection
we may be renewed by your Holy Spirit
and rise again in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
- Thanks be to GOD.