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Saint Alphege of Canterbury

Saint Alphege of Canterbury was born around 953. He was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey.

Saint Alphege became a monk early in life. He first entered the monastery of Deerhurst, but then moved to Bath, where he became an anchorite. Probably due to the influence of Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, he was elected Bishop of Winchester in 984 and was consecrated on 19 October that year.

While bishop he was largely responsible for the construction of a large organ in the cathedral, he also built and enlarged the city’s churches, and promoted the cult of Swithun and his own predecessor, Æthelwold of Winchester. While at Canterbury, he promoted the cult of Dunstan, ordering the writing of the second Life of Dunstan, which Adelard of Ghent composed between 1006 and 1011. He also introduced new practices into the liturgy, and was instrumental in the Witenagemot’s recognition of Wulfsige of Sherborne as a saint in about 1012.

In 1011, the Danes again raided England and Saint Alphege was taken prisoner and held captive for seven months. He refused to allow a ransom to be paid for his freedom, and as a result was killed on 19 April 1012 at Greenwich.

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Ephesians 1:7

Verse:

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” - Ephesians 1:7

Prayer For Grace And Mercy

Dear God, I am asking that Your grace and mercy would continue to follow me all the days of my life, as You have promised in You Word. Teach me to understand Your ways and grant me wisdom I pray, to live my life in a way that is pleasing and honouring to You.

Amen.

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Saint Athanasia of Aegina

Saint Athanasia of Aegina was the daughter of Christian nobles, Niketas and Irene, and experienced the mystical union of a star merging with her heart while weaving at the loom when she was a young girl. She wanted a spiritual life, but an imperial edict required all single women of marriageable age to marry soldiers.

At 16 years old, at her parents urging, she complied and married a young officer. Sixteen days after her wedding, her husband was killed in a battle with raiding Arabs. She again married, this time to a deeply religious man who wished to become a monk and left to do so with her blessing.

St. Athanasia then gave away the bulk of her possessions, converted their home into a convent, and began building churches. She served as an abbess and was known for her miraculous healing of the sick and those seen as possessed. Her community later moved to Timia near the ancient church of Stephen the Protomartyr. Here crowds flocked to see her. As her fame grew, she moved to Constantinople seeking solitude as an anchoress in a cell for seven years. While walled away, she was an adviser to the Empress Theodora II. After seven years, she returned to Aegina where she died of natural causes three days later at Timia on 14 August 860.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasia_of_Aegina
Kirk, Martha Ann (2004). Women of Bible lands : a pilgrimage to compassion and wisdom. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press. ISBN 0814651569.

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Proverbs 11:25

Verse:

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” - Proverbs 11:25

Prayer For Healing And Wholeness

Dear Lord, I know that You are a God Who heals all manner of sickness and illness through the power of Your Holy Spirit. I ask that by His power, You would send healing and wholeness to all who are afflicted at this time with illnesses and diseases.

Send comfort and strength at this time of difficulty. In Jesus' precious name,

Amen.

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Saint Anecitus

Saint Anecitus, or Pope Anicetus, was a Syrian from the city of Emesa.

According to Irenaeus, it was during his pontificate that the aged Polycarp of Smyrna, a disciple of John the Evangelist, visited Rome to discuss the celebration of Easter with Anicetus. Polycarp and his Church of Smyrna celebrated the crucifixion on the fourteenth day of Nisan, which coincides with Pesach (or Passover) regardless of which day of the week upon this date fell, while the Roman Church celebrated Easter on Sunday—the weekday of Jesus’s resurrection. The two did not agree on a common date, but Anicetus conceded to Polycarp and the Church of Smyrna the ability to retain the date to which they were accustomed. The controversy was to grow heated in the following centuries.

According to the Annuario Pontificio, the start of his papacy may have been 153. Anicetus actively opposed Gnosticism and Marcionism. He welcomed Polycarp of Smyrna to Rome to discuss the Easter controversy. According to church tradition, Anicetus suffered martyrdom during the reign of Emperor Lucius Verus, but there are no historical grounds for this account.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Anicetus
Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
Campbell, Thomas (1907). "Pope St. Anicetus" in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

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Saint Bernadette Soubirous

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 of Nevers. 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. Bernadette Soubirous was canonized in 1933.

Sources:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-bernadette-soubirous/

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Easter Sunday – Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy)

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

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.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

Response– Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting

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.”
R– Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting

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:
R– Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting

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.
R– Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting

Second Reading: 1 Pt 1:3-9

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.

Alleluia: Jn 20:29

Alleluia, alleluia. You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are they who have not seen me, but still believe! Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Jn 20:19-31

A reading from the holy Gospel according to 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 Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Readings and Gospel were sourced from:

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Saint Hunna

Saint Hunna was born in Alsace in eastern France. She was the daughter of a duke and born into “a privileged life”. She married Huno of Hunnaweyer, a nobleman and aristocrat. They had one son.

Her family was influenced by the former bishop and hermit Saint Deodatus of Nevers, who inspired her to serve her poor neighbors. In addition to caring for her family, home, and estate while her husband traveled for political and diplomatic reasons, she spent her time in prayer and visited her neighbors daily, caring for the sick and providing them with religious instruction, cooking, cleaning, bathing, and childcare, as well as washing and replacing their clothes, which earned her the name the “Holy Washerwoman”.

Scholar Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg placed Hunna in the tradition of what she called the “domestic saint” or “holy housekeeper”, pious and noble women in the Middle Ages, who like Hunna, conducted public roles such as founders and abbesses of convents, but whose “popular and local fame rested on her pious activity of washing the clothing of the poor”, from where she received her nickname. Hunna is the patron of laundresses

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunna
Dunbar, Agnes B.C. (1901). A Dictionary of Saintly Women. 1. London: George Bell & Sons. p. 397.

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1 John 4:16

Verse:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” - 1 John 4:16

Prayer To Love As Jesus Loved

I pray that we may be united in spirit and in purpose, and that we do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but rather with humility of mind regard the needs of the other as more important than our own. This I ask in the name of Jesus, Who died for us all.

Amen.

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