Catholic Missal of the day: Saturday, April 16 2016
Saturday of the Third week of Easter
Saturday of the Third week of Easter
1. ReadingActs of the Apostles
9,31-42.]The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers.
]As Peter was passing through every region, he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda.
]There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed.
]Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed." He got up at once.
]And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
]Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated means Dorcas). She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.
]Now during those days she fell sick and died, so after washing her, they laid (her) out in a room upstairs.
]Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay."
]So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
]Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to her body and said, "Tabitha, rise up." She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.
]He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive.
]This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord.
Psalms
116(115),12-13.14-15.16-17.]How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
]The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
]My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
]Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
]I am your servant; the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
]To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John
6,60-69.]Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
]Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?
]What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
]It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
]But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.
]And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."
]As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
]Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
]Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
]We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."
St. Engratia and Saragossa's Martyrs((† 304))
THE EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA and ST. ENCRATIS, or ENGRATIA Virgin and Martyr ( 304) During Diocletian's persecution in 304, St. Optatus and seventeen holy men were martyred on the same day in Saragossa. Two others, Caius and Crementius, were martyred during a second persecution and died from torture. The Church also celebrates St. Encratis, or Engratia, a native of Portugal. Her father had promised her in marriage to a man of quality in Roussillon. She instead consecrated her virginity to Christ and served Him without hindrance. St. Engratia stole away from her father's house and fled privately to Saragossa. She reproached Governor Dacian for persecuting Christians and was tortured. Her sides were torn with iron hooks, one of her breasts was cut off and part of her liver was pulled out. Her relics and those of Saragossa's martyrs were recovered in 1389.
St. Bernadette Soubirous()
St. Bernadette SoubirousReligious and Visionary (1844-1879) Bernadette was born in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844, the daughter of Francis and Louise Soubirous. Hard times had fallen on France and the family lived in extreme poverty. Bernadette was a sickly child. She contracted cholera as a toddler and suffered severe asthma for the rest of her life. Bernadette attended the day school of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction from Nevers. By the time of the events at the grotto, her family's financial and social status had declined to the point where they lived in a one-room basement, formerly used as a jail, called le cachot. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette was granted a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a cave on the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes. She was placed in considerable jeopardy when she reported the vision; but crowds gathered when she had futher visits from the Virgin, from February 18 of that year through March 4.The civil authorities tried to frighten Bernadette into recanting her accounts, but she remained steadfast. On February 25, Our Lady revealed a spring hidden below mud and debris in the cave, whose waters miraculously healed the sick and the lame.On March 25, Bernadette announced that Our Lady claimed to be the Immaculate Conception, which convinced the local priest. Our Lady asked that a church be built on the site and for prayer and penance. Many authorities tried to shut down the spring and delay the chapel's construction. Bernadette's visions reached Empress Eugenie of France, the wife of Napoleon III, who expedited the construction. Crowds gathered, free of harassment from the anticlerical and antireligious officials. Bernadette disliked the attention she attracted and went to the hospice school run by the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, where she finally learned to read and write. Although she considered joining the Carmelites, her health precluded her entering any of the strict contemplative orders.On July 29, 1866, with forty-two other candidates, she took the religious habit of a postulant and joined the Sisters of Charity at their motherhouse at Nevers. She faced harsh treatment from the mistress of novices, but was relieved once her painful, incurable illness was discovered. On her deathbed, Bernadette suffered from severe pain. The Holy Virgin once reminded her, "Penance, Penance, Penance." With heroic generosity and love in the face of immense suffering, Bernadette exclaimed "all this is good for Heaven!" Her final words were, "Blessed Mary, Mother of God, pray for me! A poor sinner, a poor sinner." She passed away in Nevers on April 16, 1879. Lourdes became one of the major pilgrimage destinations in the world. The spring has produced 27,000 gallons of water each week since emerging during Bernadette's visions. She was not involved in the building of the shrine as she remained hidden in her monastic enclosure at Nevers. Bernadette was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1933 by Pope Pius XI.
Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2016 / Catholic Missal of april 2016
Published: 2026-07-14T18:16:03Z | Modified: 2026-07-14T18:16:03Z