THE DAILY GOSPEL "Lord, to whom shall we go?

THE DAILY GOSPEL
"Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life."
Fifth Sunday of Easter
St. Louis de Montfort
St. Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962)
Sunday 28 April 2024

Roman Ordinary calendar

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1st Reading
Acts of the Apostles
9,26-31.

When he arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how on the way he had seen the Lord and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him.
And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus.
The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

Psalms
22(21),26b-27.28.30.31-32.

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
They who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts be ever merry!"

All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
All the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.

To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
Before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.

And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.

2nd Reading
First Letter of John
3,18-24.

Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.
(Now) this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if (our) hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God
and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint John
15,1-8.

Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

Copyright Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

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Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407)

priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Homily 88 on Saint John's Gospel; PG 59, 477
“ A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep ” (Jn 10,11)

That which most of all brings good will from on high is tender care for our neighbor. Which is what Christ required of Peter. For when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter : “ 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these ?' And he said to him : 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' And Jesus said to him : 'Feed my lambs.' ” Now why, passing over the others, does he speak to Peter on these matters ? It was because Peter was the chosen one of the apostles, the mouthpiece for the disciples, the leader of their band ; and that is also why Paul went on one occasion to enquire of him rather than of the others (Gal 1,18). To assure Peter that he should take heart and that his denial is done away with, Jesus now gives him the first place among his brethren. He makes no allusion to his denial nor humiliates him on account of what is past. “ If you love me, ” he says, “ stand at the head of your brethren ; and prove now the ardent love for me that you have always so joyfully shown. The life that you said you would lay down for me, now give for my sheep ”...

But Peter was troubled by the thought that he might imagine himself to be loving them while not really loving. 'Just as I was formerly so sure of myself and confident,' he thought, 'so now I am ashamed.' But Jesus questioned him three times and three times gave him the same charge. Thus he showed him what value he gave to caring for his lambs, because this is what gives greatest proof of our love for him.

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St. Louis de Montfort
Celebrated April 28
St. Louis de Montfort
Priest (1673 - 1716)
Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. He was born in Montfort-sur-Meu, the eldest surviving child of eighteen born to Jean-Baptiste and Jeanne Robert Grignion. His father was a notary. Louis-Marie passed most of his infancy and early childhood in Iffendic, a few kilometers from Montfort, where his father had bought a farm. At the age of 12, he entered the Jesuit College of St. Thomas Becket in Rennes, where his uncle was a parish priest. He was then given the opportunity, through a benefactor, to go to Paris to study at the renowned Seminary of Saint-Sulpice. When he arrived in Paris, it was to find that his benefactor had not provided enough money for him, so he lodged in a succession of boarding houses, living among the very poor, in the meantime attending lectures in theology. After less than two years, he became very ill and had to be hospitalized.
He was ordained a priest in June 1700, and assigned to Nantes. His letters of this period show that he felt frustrated from the lack of opportunity to preach as he felt he was called to do. He considered various options, even that of becoming a hermit, but the conviction that he was called to "preach missions to the poor" increased. In November 1700, he joined the Third Order of the Dominicans and asked permission not only to preach the rosary, but to also form rosary confraternities. The same month, he wrote: "I am continually asking in my prayers for a poor and small company of good priests to preach missions and retreats under the standard and protection of the Blessed Virgin." This initial thought eventually led to the formation of the Company of Mary.
The bishop of La Rochelle invited him to open a school in his diocese. Montfort enlisted the help of his follower Marie Louise Trichet who was then running the General Hospital in Poitiers. In 1715, Marie Louise and Catherine Brunet left Poitiers for La Rochelle to open the school there; and in a short time it had 400 students. On August 22, 1715, Blessed Marie Louise Trichet and Catherine Brunet, along with Marie Valleau and Marie Régnier from La Rochelle, received the approbation of Bishop de Champflour of La Rochelle to perform their religious profession under the direction of Montfort. At the ceremony, Montfort told them: "Call yourselves the Daughters of Wisdom, for the teaching of children and the care of the poor." The Daughters of Wisdom grew into an international organization and the placing of Montfort's founders statue in Saint Peter's Basilica was based on that organization.
As well as preaching, Montfort found time to write a number of books that became classic Catholic titles and influenced several popes. Montfort is known for his particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the practice of praying the Rosary. Montfort is considered as one of the early writers in the field of Mariology. His most notable works regarding Marian devotions are contained in The Secret of Mary and True Devotion to Mary.
Pope Pius XII canonized Louis de Montfort on July 20, 1947. He intercedes for causes related to his life, love and works. Like St. Joseph, he is an unfailing intercessor; and will enkindle love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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St. Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962)
Celebrated April 28
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
(1922-1962)
Gianna Beretta was born in Magenta (Milan) on October 4, 1922. As a youth, she received the gift of faith and also education from her parents. As a result, she experienced life as a marvelous gift from God, had a strong faith in Providence and was convinced of the necessity and effectiveness of prayer.
Gianna dedicated herself to studies during the years of her secondary and university education. She also applied her faith through generous apostolic service among the youth of Catholic Action and charitable work among the elderly and needy as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. After earning degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949, she opened a medical clinic in Mesero (near Magenta) in 1950. She specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan in 1952, and there afterward gave special attention to mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor.
While working in the field of medicine, which she considered a mission and practiced as such, she increased her generous service to Catholic Action, especially among the very young. At the same time, she expressed her joie de vivre and love of creation through skiing and mountaineering. Through her prayers and those of others, she reflected upon her vocation, which she also considered a gift from God. Having chosen the vocation of marriage, she embraced it with complete enthusiasm and wholly dedicated herself to forming a truly Christian family.
She became engaged to Pietro Molla and was radiant with joy and happiness during the time of their engagement, for which she thanked and praised the Lord. They were married on September 24, 1955, in the Basilica of St. Martin in Magenta. In November 1956, to her great joy, she became the mother of Pierluigi; in December 1957, of Mariolina; in July 1959 of Laura. With simplicity and equilibrium, she harmonized the demands of mother, wife, doctor and her passion for life.
In September 1961, toward the end of the second month of pregnancy, she experienced pain and the mystery of suffering: She had developed a fibroma in her uterus. Before the required surgical operation, and conscious of the risk that her continued pregnancy brought, she pleaded with the surgeon to save the life of the child she was carrying, and entrusted herself to prayer and Providence. The life was saved, for which she thanked the Lord. She spent the seven months remaining until the birth of the child in incomparable strength of spirit and unrelenting dedication to her tasks as mother and doctor. She worried that the baby in her womb might be born in pain and she asked God to prevent that.
A few days before the child was due, although trusting as always in Providence, she was ready to give her life in order to save that of her child: "If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child - I insist on it. Save him". On the morning of April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela was born. Despite all efforts and treatments to save both of them, on the morning of April 28, amid excruciating pain and after repeated exclamations of "Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you," the mother died. She was 39 years old. Her funeral was an occasion of profound grief, faith and prayer. The Servant of God lies in the cemetery of Mesero, 4 kilometers from Magenta.
"Conscious immolation" was the phrase used by Pope Paul VI to define the act of Blessed Gianna, remembering her at the Sunday Angelus of September 23, 1973. He said, "A young mother from the diocese of Milan, who, to give life to her daughter, sacrificed her own, with conscious immolation." In these words, the pope identified Gianna's sacrifice with Christ's on Calvary and in the Eucharist.
Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994; and was officially canonized on May 16, 2004. St. Gianna's husband, Pietro and their last child, Gianna, were present at the canonization ceremony. She intercedes for anyone who reaches out to her with a heart of love and faith.
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St. Peter Chanel
Celebrated April 28
St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr
(1803 - April 28, 1841)
The protomartyr of the South Seas, St. Peter Chanel was born in 1803, in Clet, in the diocese of Belley, France. His intelligence and simple piety brought him to the attention of the local priest, Fr. Trompier, who saw to his elementary education. Entering the diocesan seminary, Peter won the affection and esteem of both students and professors.
After his ordination, Fr. Peter completely revitalized a rundown country parish in the three years he was there. However, his mind was set on missionary work. In 1831, he joined the newly formed Society of Mary (Marists) that concentrated on missionary work at home and abroad. To his surprise, he was appointed to teach at the seminary in Belley, and remained there for the next five years, diligently performing his duties.
In 1836, the Society was given the New Hebrides in the Pacific as a field for evangelization, and the jubilant St. Peter was appointed Superior of a little band of missionaries sent to proclaim the Faith to its inhabitants. On reaching their destination, after an arduous ten-month journey, the band split up; and St. Peter went to the island of Futuna accompanied by a laybrother and an English layman, Thomas Boog. They were at first well-received by the people and their king, Niuliki, who had only recently forbidden cannibalism. However, the king's jealousy and fear were aroused when the missionaries learned the language and gained the people's confidence. Niuliki realized the adoption of the Christian Faith would lead to the abolition of some of the prerogatives he enjoyed as both high priest and sovereign.
Finally, when Niuliki's own son expressed a desire to be baptized, the king's hatred erupted and he dispatched a group of his warriors to set upon the missionaries. Thus, on April 28, 1841, three years after his arrival, St. Peter was seized and clubbed to death by those whom he loved. St. Peter's death brought his work to completion - within five months the entire island converted to Christianity.

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BLESSED SUNDAY

SIRYANY

The Deacon of Syriac Catholics Church

Talal Anaie

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