Catholic Missal of the day: Saturday, April 18 2026

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.

Bl. Marie-Anne Blondin()

Bl. Marie-Anne BlondinReligious (1809 - 1890)Esther Blondin, in religion "Sister Marie Anne," was born in Terrebonne (Quebec, Canada) on April 18, 1809, in a family of deeply Christian farmers. From her mother, she inherited a piety centered on Divine Providence and the Eucharist. From her father, she received deep faith and patience in suffering. Esther and her family were victims of illiteracy so common in the French Canadian milieux of the nineteenth century. Still illiterate at the age of twenty-two, Esther worked as a domestic in the Convent of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame that had recently opened in her village. A year later, she registered as a boarder in order to learn how to read and write. She then became a novice in the Congregation, but left due to ill health.In 1833, Esther became a teacher in the parochial school of Vaudreuil. Little by little, she found out that one of the causes of this illiteracy was due to a certain Church ruling that forbade that girls be taught by men and that boys be taught by women. Unable to finance two schools, many parish priests chose to have none. In 1848, under an irresistible call of the Spirit, Esther presented to her Bishop Ignace Bourget a plan she long cherished: that of founding a religious congregation "for the education of poor country children, both girls and boys in the same schools." A rather new project for the time! It even seemed quite rash and contrary to the established order. Since the State was in favor of such schools, Bishop Bourget authorized a modest attempt so as to avoid a greater evil.The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne was founded in Vaudreuil on September 8, 1850. Esther, now named "Mother Marie Anne," became its first superior. The rapid growth of this young Community soon required larger quarters. During the Summer of 1853, Bishop Ignace Bourget transferred the Motherhouse to Saint Jacques de l'Achigan. The new chaplain, Father Louis Adolphe Marechal, interfered in the private life of the Community. During the Foundress' absence, Father Louis changed the pupils' boarding fees. Whenever he went away for a while, he asked the Sisters to await his return for confession. After a year of conflict between the chaplain and the Foundress, the latter being anxious to protect the rights of her Community, Bishop Bourget asked Mother Marie Anne, on August 18, 1854, to resign. He called for elections and warned Mother Marie Anne "not to accept the superiorship, even if her sisters wanted to reelect her." Even though she could be reelected, according to the Rule of the Community, Mother Marie Anne obeyed her Bishop whom she considered God's instrument. And she wrote: "As for me, my Lord, I bless Divine Providence a thousand times for the maternal care she shows me in making me walk the way of tribulations and crosses."Mother Marie Anne, having been named Directress at Saint Genevieve Convent, became the target of attacks from the Motherhouse authorities, influenced by the dictatorship of Father Marechal. Under the pretext of poor administration, Mother Marie Anne was recalled to the Motherhouse in 1858, with the Bishop's warning: "take means so that she will not be a nuisance to anyone." From this new destitution and until her death on January 2, 1890, Mother Marie Anne was kept away from administrative responsibilities. She was even kept away from the General Council deliberations when the 1872 and 1878 elections reelected her. Assigned to mostly hidden work in the laundry and ironing room, she led a life of total self-denial, and thus ensured the growth of the Congregation. Behold the paradox of an influence that some wanted to nullify! In the Motherhouse basement laundry room in Lachine, where she spent her days, many generations of novices received from the Foundress a true example of obedience and humility, forging authentic relationships and ensuring true fraternal charity. To a novice who asked her one day why she, the Foundress, was kept aside in such lowly work, Mother Marie Anne simply replied with kindness: "The deeper a tree sinks its roots into the soil, the greater are its chances of growing and producing fruit."The attitude of Mother Marie Anne, who was a victim of so many injustices, allows us to bring out the evangelical sense she gave to events in her life. Just as Jesus passionately worked for the Glory of His Father, so too Mother Marie Anne sought only God's Glory in all she did. "The greater Glory of God" was the aim she herself gave her Community. "To make God known to the young who have not the happiness of knowing Him" was for her a privileged way of working for the Glory of God. Deprived of her most legitimate rights, and robbed of all her personal letters with her bishop, she offered no resistance and she expected, from the infinite goodness of God, the solution to the matter. She was convinced that "He will know well, in his Wisdom, how to discern the false from the true and to reward each one according to his deeds."Prevented from being called "Mother" by those in authority, Mother Marie Anne did not jealously hold on to her title of Foundress. Rather, she chose annihilation, just like Jesus, "her crucified Love," so that her Community might live. However, she did not renounce her mission of spiritual mother of her Community. She offered herself to God in order "to expiate all the sins which were committed in the Community"; and she daily prayed Saint Anne "to bestow on her spiritual daughters the virtues so necessary for Christian educators."Like any prophet invested with a mission of salvation, Mother Marie Anne survived persecution by forgiving without restriction, convinced that "there is more happiness in forgiving than in revenge." This evangelical forgiveness, guarantee of "the peace of soul which she held most precious," was ultimately proven on her death bed when she asked her superior to call for Father Marechal "for the edification of the Sisters."As she felt the end approaching, Mother Marie Anne left to her daughters her spiritual testament in these words which are a resume of her whole life: "May Holy Eucharist and perfect abandonment to God's Will be your heaven on earth." She then peacefully passed away at the Motherhouse of Lachine, on January 2, 1890, "happy to go to the Good God" she had served all her life.

St. Apollonius(Martyr († c. 186))

SAINT APOLLONIUS Martyr ( c. 186) Marcus Aurelius' persecution ended with his son, Commodus, who became emperor in 180. Commodus ended the terror thanks to Empress Marcia's influence. She admired Christianity and may have been Christian. During the calm, the Church grew rapidly. However, Marcus Aurelius' edict was still in effect: Christians' accusers suffered punishment. Thus, when a senator named Apollonius was accused by his slave, the latter's legs were broken and he was soon executed. When Apollonius was put on trial, he refused to apostatize. He was referred by Perennis to the Roman senate and put on trial. Apollonius defended the faith and was then condemned by a decree. He was beheaded around the year 186.

Bl. Savina Petrilli(Religious (1851-1923))

Bl. Savina PetrilliReligious (1851 - 1923) Savina Petrilli was from Siena, Italy. When she was 10 years old, she read Saint Catherine of Siena's biography and gained a lasting devotion to the saint. Savina aspired to imitate Catherine's devotion to the Eucharist, the Passion of Christ and the Church. After her First Holy Communion at 12 years old, Savina became a frequent communicant. As a teenager, she was an active member of a Marian sodality, the Children of Mary. At 18 years old, Savina met (Blessed) Pope Pius IX. He commented that she should walk in Saint Catherine's footsteps, which Savina took as a sign. She was inspired to found a new religious congregation and confided her plan to her sister Emilia. Emilia was dying and promised to assist Savina with prayers in Heaven. Savina's congregation received papal approbation in 1877 with the title "Sisters of the Poor." Mother Savina passed away from cancer on April 18, 1923, and continues interceeding from Heaven.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2026 / Catholic Missal of april 2026