Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

Acts of the Apostles

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need.
Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Psalms

Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.

First Letter of Peter

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of (your) faith, the salvation of your souls.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, «Peace be with you.»
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
(Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

St. Engratia(Virgin and Martyr and Eighteen Martyrs of Saragossa (+ 304))

EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA and ST. ENCRATIS, or ENGRATIA Virgin, Martyr (+ 304) During the persecution of Diocletian in 304, St. Optatus and seventeen other holy men received the crown of martyrdom on the same day at Saragossa. Two others, Caius and Crementius, were also martyred after a second persecution, dying from torture. Today, the Church also celebrates the victory of St. Encratis, or Engratia, a native of Portugal. Her father had promised her in marriage to a man of quality in Roussillon, but fearing the dangers and despising the vanities of the world, she preserved her virginity in order to be more available to Jesus and serve Him without hindrance. Engratia stole away from her father's house and fled privately to Saragossa, where the persecution, under Governor Dacian, reached fever pitch. Engratia even reproached Governor Dacian for his barbarities, upon which he ordered her to be inhumanly tortured: Her sides were torn with iron hooks, and one of her breasts was cut off, so that the inner parts of her chest were exposed to view, and part of her liver was pulled out. In this condition, she was sent back to prison, being still alive, and died from her wounds in 304. The relics of all these martyrs were recovered at Saragossa in 1389.

St. Bernadette Soubirous (of Lourdes)()

St. Bernadette Soubirous (of Lourdes)Religious 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; and 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, and the waters were discovered to miraculously heal the sick and lame.On March 25, Bernadette announced that in the vision Our Lady stated that she was the Immaculate Conception, which served as proof to the local priest of the veracity of her account. Our Lady asked that a church should be erected on the site, and for prayer and penance. Many authorities tried to shut down the spring and delay the construction of the chapel, but the influence and fame of the visions reached Empress Eugenie of France, wife of Napoleon III, and construction went forward. Crowds gathered, free of harassment from the anticlerical and antireligious officials. Disliking the attention she was attracting, Bernadette 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 became a member of the community, but faced harsh treatment from the mistress of novices. The mistreatment ended when it was discovered that Bernadette suffered from a painful, incurable illness. On her deathbed, as she suffered from severe pain and in keeping with the Virgin Mary's admonition of "Penance, Penance, Penance," Bernadette proclaimed that "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, and 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.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2023 / Catholic Missal of april 2023