Saturday of the Second week of Easter

Acts of the Apostles

As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.
Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task,
whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Psalms

Exult, you just, in the LORD;
Praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
With the ten stringed lyre chant his praises
For upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea,
embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid.
But he said to them, "It is I. Do not be afraid."
They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.

St. Hermenegild(Martyr († 586))

SAINT HERMENEGILD Martyr ( 586) Leovigild, the king of the Visigoths, reigned with his sons Hermenegild and Recared. They were Arians until Hermenegild married a zealous Catholic: the daughter of Sigebert, the king of France. By her holy example, Hermenegild received the fullness of faith. King Leovigild denounced Hermenegild's conversion, accused him as a traitor and raised arms against him. Hermenegild solicited the support of Spanish Catholics, but they were too weak to make a stand. After two years of fruitless struggle, Hermenegild surrendered on the condition of being pardoned. Once in the royal camp, King Leovigild imprisoned Prince Hermenegild at a dungeon in Seville. Prince Hermenegild was tortured and offered freedom in exchange for renouncing Catholicism. With great love, he declared that he would lose his life for Jesus Christ. At length, on Easter night, an Arian bishop entered his celland promised him pardon if he would receive communion. Hermenegild declined; and soon after, he was executed. On the night of his execution, a light streaming from his cell told the Christians who were watching that Hermenegild had won the martyrs crown, and that he was celebrating Easter with the saints in heaven. King Leovigild, on his death-bed, bade his remaining son, Recared, to seek out St. Leander, whom he had persecuted. Following Hermenegild's example, King Leovigildconverted, and was baptized by St. Leander. After the King's death, Prince Recared labored so zealously for the extirpation of Arianism that he won over the whole nation of the Visigoths to the Catholic Church. "Nor is it to be wondered," says St. Gregory, "that he (Recared) came thus to be a preacher of the true faith, seeing that he was the brother of a martyr, whose merits did help him to bring so many into God's Church."

St. Martin I(Pope and Martyr († 656))

SAINT MARTIN Pope and Martyr ( 656) St. Martin was the pope from 649 to 656. He incurred the enmity of the Byzantine court by opposing the Monothelite heresy. The Byzantine exarch Olympius went so far as to arrange Pope Martin's assassination at the Church of St. Mary Major. Miraculously, the Pope's assassin was struck blind, and Exarch Olympius refused further involvement. Olympius' successor had no such scruples. He seized Pope Martin and conveyed him to Constantinople. After a three-month voyage, they reached the island of Naxos, where Pope Martin was confined for a year. In 654, he was brought to the imperial city in chains. Pope Martin was later banished to the Tannic Chersonese, where he lingered on for four months in sickness and starvation. He was martyred in 656 when death released him from suffering. He was canonized because of his heroic virtues and the miracles proceeding from his intercession.

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