PRAYER OF THE DAY

For the Peace of Christ

O most sacred, most loving heart of Jesus, 

Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, 

and Thou beatest for us still. 

Now as then Thou sayest, "With desire I have desired." 

I worship Thee, then, with all my best love and awe, with my fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will. 

O make my heart beat with Thy heart. 

Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, 

of all deadness. 

So fill it with Thee, that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it; 

but that in Thy love and Thy fear it may have peace.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading

Acts 7:51-8:1a

Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:

"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,

you always oppose the Holy Spirit;

you are just like your ancestors.

Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?

They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,

whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.

You received the law as transmitted by angels,

but you did not observe it."

When they heard this, they were infuriated,

and they ground their teeth at him.

But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,

looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God

and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

and Stephen said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened

and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

But they cried out in a loud voice,

covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.

They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.

The witnesses laid down their cloaks

at the feet of a young man named Saul.

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,

"Lord, do not hold this sin against them";

and when he said this, he fell asleep.

Now Saul was consenting to his execution.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 And 7b And 8a, 17 And 21ab

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Be my rock of refuge,

a stronghold to give me safety.

You are my rock and my fortress;

for your name's sake you will lead and guide me.

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;

you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.

My trust is in the LORD;

I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Let your face shine upon your servant;

save me in your kindness.

You hide them in the shelter of your presence

from the plottings of men.

R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 6:30-35

The crowd said to Jesus:

"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?

What can you do?

Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat."

So Jesus said to them,

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;

my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is that which 

comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world."

So they said to Jesus,

"Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them,

"I am the bread of life;

whoever comes to me will never hunger,

and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

SAINT OF THE DAY

April 24

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622)

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 (Fidelis was his religious name) became a lawyer who constantly upheld the causes of the poor and oppressed people. Nicknamed "the poor man's lawyer," Fidelis 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. His wealth was divided between needy seminarians and the poor.

As a follower of Francis, 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.

He was canonized in 1746. Fifteen years later, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, which was established in 1622, recognized him as its first martyr.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts for ever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

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.

– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Hymn

O thou, the heavens’ eternal King,

Creator, unto thee we sing,

With God the Father ever One,

Coequal, coeternal Son.

Thy hand, when first the world began,

Made in thine own pure image man,

And yoked to fleshly form of earth

A living form of heavenly birth.

And when the envy of the foe

Had marred thy noblest work below,

Clothed in our flesh, thou didst restore

The image thou hadst made before.

Once wast thou born of Mary’s womb;

And now, newborn from out the tomb,

O Christ, thou bid’st us rise with thee

From death to immortality.

Redeemer, thou for us didst deign

To hang upon the Cross of pain,

And give to us the lavish price

Of thine own Blood in sacrifice.

Grant, Lord, in thee each faithful mind

Unceasing Paschal joy may find;

And from the death of sin set free

Souls newly born to life by thee.

To thee, once dead, who now dost live,

All glory, Lord, thy people give,

Whom, with the Father, we adore,

And Holy Spirit forevermore.

Psalm 67 (68)

The Lord's triumphal journey

Let God arise, let those who hate him flee before him. Alleluia.

God arises and his enemies are scattered:

those who hate him flee from his sight.

You blow them away like wisps of smoke;

as wax melts in front of a fire,

so the wicked melt away before God.

The righteous are glad and exult in God’s sight;

they rejoice in their gladness.

Sing to the Lord and celebrate his name!

Make a road for him who rides upon the clouds –

“The Lord” is his name.

Rejoice in his sight,

the father of orphans, defender of widows,

God in his holy dwelling-place,

God, who gives the lonely a house to dwell in,

God, who leads captives out into prosperity;

but the rebellious shall live in a desert land.

God, when you set out in the sight of your people,

when you crossed the wilderness – the earth shook.

The heavens sent down dew at your coming –

the God of Sinai, the God of Israel.

At your bidding the rains came, O God,

your inheritance was worn out but you refreshed it.

All your creatures took up residence there,

in your goodness you made a place for the needy.

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 God arise, let those who hate him flee before him. Alleluia.

Psalm 67 (68)

This God of ours is a God who saves.

The Lord holds the keys of death. Alleluia.

The Lord gives out the word,

and a great army of maidens brings the news:

“The kings of the armies are fleeing, they are fleeing,

and the fair one at home is dividing the spoils.

While you sleep among the sheepfolds,

the wings of the dove shine with silver,

her feathers glow with green gold.

Through her the Almighty scatters the kings,

and the mountain of Zalmon is white with snow.

The mountain of Bashan is God’s mountain;

the mountain of God is a high-peaked mountain.

Why do you envy it, you high-peaked mountains,

envy the mountain that God has chosen?

The Lord will dwell there for ever.

The chariots of God are ten thousand thousand:

the Lord has come from Sinai to his holy sanctuary.

You have scaled the heights, you have taken captives,

you have received men as gifts

so that even the rebels live with the Lord God.

Blessings on the Lord, day after day!

God will carry us, God our saviour.

Our God is a God of salvation,

our Lord is a Lord who rescues from death.

Truly God will break the heads of his enemies,

take the scalps of those who tread the path of crime.

The Lord has spoken:

“I shall bring them back from Bashan,

I shall bring them back from the depths of the sea,

so that your feet may be dipped in blood

and the tongues of your dogs receive food from your enemies.”

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.

This God of ours is a God who saves.

The Lord holds the keys of death. Alleluia.

Psalm 67 (68)

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord. Alleluia.

They have seen your processions, O God,

the processions of God, my king, to his sanctuary.

First came the singers, last the musicians,

between them the maidens playing their drums.

“Bless God in the assemblies:

bless the Lord, you who spring from Israel!”

There was young Benjamin, leading them,

the princes of Judah in their rich robes,

the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

O God, command in your strength;

make firm what you have achieved in us.

From your temple in Jerusalem,

kings shall bring you tribute.

Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,

the herd of bulls, the lords of peoples.

Let them lie prostrate before you with tribute of silver.

Scatter the peoples that delight in war.

Nobles will come from Egypt,

Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God.

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;

celebrate the Lord.

Sing to God who rides on the highest heavens,

at the origin of all things.

Listen! – he speaks, a voice of power.

Acknowledge the strength of the Lord:

his majesty is over Israel,

his strength is in the clouds.

God inspires awe in his holy place;

he, the God of Israel, gives power to his people;

he gives them strength.

Blessed be 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.

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord. Alleluia.

Christ, risen from the dead, dies no more, alleluia.

– Death will have no more power over him, alleluia.

Reading

Apocalypse 8:1-13

The Lamb then broke the seventh seal, 

and there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Next I saw seven trumpets being given to the seven angels who stand in the presence of God. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. A large quantity of incense was given to him to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that stood in front of the throne; and so from the angel’s hand the smoke of the incense went up in the presence of God and with it the prayers of the saints. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire from the altar, which he then threw down on to the earth; immediately there came peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, 

and the earth shook.

The seven angels that had the seven trumpets now made ready to sound them. The first blew his trumpet and, with that, hail and fire, mixed with blood, were dropped on the earth; a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of all trees, and every blade of grass was burnt. The second angel blew his trumpet, and it was as though a great mountain, all on fire, had been dropped into the sea: a third of the sea turned into blood, a third of all the living things in the sea were killed, and a third of all ships were destroyed. The third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star fell from the sky, burning like a ball of fire, and it fell on a third of all rivers and springs; this was the star called Wormwood, and a third of all water turned to bitter wormwood, so that many people died from drinking it. The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were blasted, so that the light went out of a third of them and for a third of the day there was no illumination, and the same with the night.

In my vision, I heard an eagle, calling aloud as it flew high overhead, ‘Trouble, trouble, trouble, for all the people on earth at the sound of the other three trumpets which the three angels are going to blow.’

Responsory

An angel,

who had a golden censer,

stood at the altar.

A large quantity of incense was given to him to offer,

and the smoke of the incense went up in the presence of God, alleluia.

Each angel had a bowl filled with incense,

which is the prayer of God’s people,

and the smoke of the incense went up in the presence of God, alleluia.

Reading

From a sermon by Saint Augustine

Let us sing to the Lord a song of love

Sing to the Lord a new song; his praise is in the assembly of the saints. We are urged to sing a new song to the Lord, as new men who have learned a new song. A song is a thing of joy; more profoundly, it is a thing of love. Anyone, therefore, who has learned to love the new life has learned to sing a new song, and the new song reminds us of our new life. The new man, the new song, the new covenant, all belong to the one kingdom of God, and so the new man will sing a new song and will belong to the new covenant.

There is not one who does not love something, but the question is, what to love. The psalms do not tell us not to love, but to choose the object of our love. But how can we choose unless we are first chosen? We cannot love unless someone has loved us first. Listen to the apostle John: We love him, because he first loved us. The source of man’s love for God can only be found in the fact that God loved him first. He has given us himself as the object of our love, and he has also given us its source. What this source is you may learn more clearly from the apostle Paul who tells us: The love of God has been poured into our hearts. This love is not something we generate ourselves; it comes to us through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Since we have such an assurance, then, let us love God with the love he has given us. As John tells us more fully: God is love, and whoever dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. It is not enough to say: Love is from God. Which of us would dare to pronounce the words of Scripture: God is love? He alone could say it who knew what it was to have God dwelling within him. God offers us a short route to the possession of himself. He cries out: Love me and you will have me for you would be unable to love me if you did not possess me already.

My dear brothers and sons, fruit of the true faith and holy seed of heaven, all you who have been born again in Christ and whose life is from above, listen to me; or rather, listen to the Holy Spirit saying through me: Sing to the Lord a new song. Look, you tell me, I am singing. Yes indeed, you are singing; you are singing clearly, I can hear you. But make sure that your life does not contradict your words. Sing with your voices, your hearts, your lips and your lives: 

Sing to the Lord a new song.

Now it is your unquestioned desire to sing of him whom you love, but you ask me how to sing his praises. You have heard the words: Sing to the Lord a new song, and you wish to know what praises to sing. The answer is: His praise is in the assembly of the saints; it is in the singers themselves. If you desire to praise him, then live what you express. Live good lives, and you yourselves will be his praise.

Responsory

Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father:

let us, too, live a new life,

and let us love one another just as he commanded us, alleluia.

Let us sing a song to the Lord,

let us sing a new song to our God,

and let us love one another just as he commanded us, alleluia.

Let us pray.

God our Father,

you open the gates of the kingdom of heaven

to those who are born again of water and the Holy Spirit

Increase the grace you have given,

so that the people you have purified from all sin

may not forfeit the promised blessings of your love.

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.