PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer of St. Bernadette

Let the crucifix be not only in my eyes and on my breast,

but in my heart.

O Jesus!

Release all my affections and draw them upwards.

Let my crucified heart sink forever into yours

and bury itself in the mysterious wound made by the entry of the lance.

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 16

St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879)

Bernadette Soubirous was born in 1844, the first child of an extremely poor miller in the town of Lourdes in southern France. The family was living in the basement of a dilapidated building when on February 11,1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette in a cave above the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes. Bernadette, 14 years old, was known as a virtuous girl though a dull student who had not even made her first Holy Communion. In poor health, she had suffered from asthma from an early age.

There were 18 appearances in all, the final one occurring on the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, July 16. Although Bernadette's initial reports provoked skepticism, her daily visions of "the Lady" brought great crowds of the curious. The Lady, Bernadette explained, had instructed her to have a chapel built on the spot of the visions. There the people were to come to wash in and drink of the water of the spring that had welled up from the very spot where Bernadette had been instructed to dig.

According to Bernadette, the Lady of her visions was a girl of 16 or 17 who wore a white robe with a blue sash. Yellow roses covered her feet, a large rosary was on her right arm. In the vision on March 25 she told Bernadette, "I am the Immaculate Conception." It was only when the words were explained to her that Bernadette came to realize who the Lady was.

Few visions have ever undergone the scrutiny that these appearances of the Immaculate Virgin were subject to. Lourdes became one of the most popular Marian shrines in the world, attracting millions of visitors. Miracles were reported at the shrine and in the waters of the spring. After thorough investigation Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions in 1862.

During her life Bernadette suffered much. She was hounded by the public as well as by civic officials until at last she was protected in a convent of nuns. Five years later she petitioned to enter the Sisters of Notre Dame. After a period of illness she was able to make the journey from Lourdes and enter the novitiate. But within four months of her arrival she was given the last rites of the Church and allowed to profess her vows. She recovered enough to become infirmarian and then sacristan, but chronic health problems persisted. She died on April 16, 1879, at the age of 35.

She was canonized in 1933.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 23 (24)

The Lord has truly risen,

alleluia.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

the world and all who live in it.

He himself founded it upon the seas

and set it firm over the waters.

The Lord has truly risen,

alleluia.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?

Who will stand in his holy place?

The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,

who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.

He will receive the blessing of the Lord

and be justified by God his saviour.

This is the way of those who seek him,

seek the face of the God of Jacob.

The Lord has truly risen,

alleluia.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of might and power.

The Lord, strong in battle.

The Lord has truly risen,

alleluia.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of hosts

– he is the king of glory.

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

Love’s redeeming work is done,

fought the fight, the battle won.

Lo, our Sun’s eclipse is o’er!

Lo, he sets in blood no more!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal!

Christ has burst the gates of hell;

death in vain forbids him rise;

Christ has opened paradise.

Lives again our victorious King;

where, O death, is now thy sting?

Dying once, he all doth save;

where thy victory, O grave?

Soar we now where Christ has led,

following our exalted Head;

made like him, like him we rise,

ours the cross, the grave, the skies.

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!

Praise to thee by both be given:

thee we greet triumphant now;

hail, the Resurrection thou!

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.

First 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.

Second 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.