6th Sunday of EasterOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saint John of Avila (c.1500-1569)) John was born in Almodóvar del Campo, in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real, around 1500. As a priest he travelled throughout Andalusia, drawing crowds by his preaching. His enemies, disturbed by his success and challenged by his teaching, denounced him for heresy, and he made no attempt to avoid imprisonment or trial, but preached the Catholic faith even more fervently. He played an important part in the setting up of the Council of Trent, where his voice was heard through the treatises he wrote for its guidance even though he was not well enough to attend; and wrote a further work to guide the Bishop of Córdoba in the implementation of the Council’s reforms. He spent his last years in Montilla, and there he fell asleep in the Lord on 10 May 1569.(Saint Damien of Molokai (1840 - 1889)) Joseph de Veuster was born in Belgium and took the name Damien on entering the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary at Leuven (Louvain). He landed in Hawaii in 1864, fulfilling his dream of becoming a missionary. In 1873, at his own request, he took up residence at the leper colony at Kalaupapa and ministered to its spiritual and material needs until he caught leprosy himself and eventually died of it.(Saint Comgall (510/520 - 597/602)) He was the founder and abbot of the great Irish monastery at Bangor in what is now Northern Ireland. See the article in Wikipedia.(St. Antoninus of Florence OP (1389 - 1459)) Dominican Friar and Bishop.Antonino Fierozzi was born in Florence in 1389 and in 1405 was received into the Order of Preachers “for the future priory of Fiesole” by Blessed John Dominic, who at that time was reforming the Dominican priories of the area according to the wishes of Blessed Raymond of Capua. He served the friars in various priories in Italy, often as local superior, and became a distinguished master of canon law. In 1436 he founded the famous priory of San Marco in Florence and under his leadership Fra Angelico decorated the priory and an outstanding library was collected. His wisdom and pastoral zeal made him a natural choice for Archbishop of Florence in 1446. He was noted for his service to the poor and established a society under the patronage of Saint Martin to assist him in this work. Among his writings the best known is his Summa moralis.His whole life was mirrored in his last words, “to serve God is to reign.” He died on May 2, 1459.

Saturday of the 5th week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saint George Preca (1880 - 1962)) George was born in Valletta, Malta, growing up not far from the Carmelite Shrine church there. At the age of four he nearly drowned in the Grand Harbour, but was rescued by a passing boatman. When his family later told the story they would joke that he had been rescued from the waters, like Moses. George, recalling that the rescue had happened on the 16th July, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, attributed his rescue to the protection of the same Lady. As a young man, George was enrolled in the Carmelite scapular and later joined the Third Order. Attracted to the service of the priesthood, George joined the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1906, inspired by a personal mission to convert the world.Early on, Father George (‘Dun Gorg’ in Maltese) noticed the lack of genuine faith education amongst the young people of Malta. Their religion was built around festivals and formalities, with little connection to their interior lives and a truer following of Jesus. His vision for something more and his lived integrity attracted a circle of young men around him who gathered for prayer, discussion and ultimately to work as lay missionaries in parishes and villages around Malta. His society was known as MUSEUM, which stood for Magister, Utinam Sequatur Evangelium Universus Mundus, or “Master, would that the whole world would follow the Gospel.” A society of laymen who would teach the catechism to the people while receiving instruction themselves was unheard of at the time, and it took twenty-five years and much tension with the Church authorities (including at one point the closure of the Society’s houses) before the Society’s existence was officially approved. It continued its work throughout World War II even in the places where members fled from the violence as refugees.Dun Gorg continued preaching and writing, drawing on the rich spiritual writings of Carmelites Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, as well as his models as a Third Order Carmelite, Elijah and Mary. He had a flair for making Carmelite thoughts, teachings and traditions clear and simple for working people. In 1951 Malta celebrated the Seventh Centenary of the Brown Scapular, with Father George at the forefront. In the same year the Carmelite Prior General, Killian Lynch, formally affiliated him to the Carmelite family.He composed the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary in 1957. He died in 1962, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 June 2007, being described as “Malta’s second father in faith” after St Paul. Today the Society has over a thousand members and is responsible for the teaching of some 20,000 young people in the Maltese islands, the UK, Australia, Peru, Albania, Kenya and the Sudan.

Friday of the 5th week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Blessed Catherine of Saint Augustine (1632 - 1668)) Catherine de Longpré was born May 3, 1632 at Saint-Sauveur, France. Following the advice of Saint John Eudes, she entered the Augustinian Hospitaller Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus in 1644. She volunteered to go to her community’s mission in Quebec. Her family was strongly opposed to the idea, but she prevailed, and arrived there in 1648.She spent her life ministering to the poor and sick in Quebec, and died there at the age of 36.(Blessed John Sullivan (1861-1933)) John Sullivan (1861 – 1933) was born into a wealthy Dublin family and baptized in the Church of Ireland. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1896, at the age of thirty-five. Four years later, he entered the Jesuits. He was known for his life of deep spiritual reflection and personal sacrifice; he is recognised for his dedicated work with the poor and afflicted; during his lifetime, cures were attributed to his intercession, though he himself did not accept this. He spent much of his time walking and riding his bike to visit those who were troubled or ill in the villages around Clongowes Wood College school where he taught from 1907 until his death.(Bl Aloysius Rabatà (c.1443-1490)) Aloysius was born at Erice, near Trapani, Sicily, around the year 1443. Little is known of his early life. Accounts from the canonical process of beatification identify him as the prior of the Carmelite Community of St Michael in Randazzo, Sicily. Brother Aloysius is remembered as a model Carmelite prior, living the care, concern and responsibility of a prior as outlined in the Carmelite Rule. His simple, virtuous and exemplary life was a model for the other brothers of his community. He shared in all aspects of work in the community, including the humbler tasks such as begging for the community’s bread. His welcome, hospitality and spiritual counsel were well remembered by visitors to the community. As well, his generosity of spirit overflowed into his care for the poor of Randazzo.Toward the end of his life, while out collecting wood for the community, he was assaulted and wounded on the forehead and suffered for a long time as a consequence. In iconography Aloysius is often represented with a palm in his hand and an arrow driven into his forehead, believed to be the cause of his death. According to tradition, an unknown assailant had wounded Aloysius because he thought Aloysius had been excessive in reproving a brother for immoral conduct. He would never reveal who had hurt him and when questioned would only reply, “I pray that God will pardon him, and will be glorified by what has happened.”Brother Aloysius died at Randazzo and was buried there in the church. Devotion to the memory of the Christ-like care Aloysius lived out brought healing to many at his tomb following his death.MT (Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the entire Order of Preachers) It has been customary for the Church to invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary under titles such as Mediatrix, thereby indicating the continuing saving role of her maternity in the order of grace, for “by her many acts of intercession she continues to gain for us gifts of eternal salvation.” (Lumen gentium, 62)Blessed Humbert of Romans declares that “the Blessed Virgin was of great help in beginning the Order ... and it is to be hoped that she will bring it to a good end.” (Opera II, 70-71) From its foundation the Order has not hesitated to acknowledge the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin, to continuously experience it and to commend it to the hearts of the brothers and sisters, so that encouraged by this maternal help they might adhere more closely to their Mediator and Redeemer as they labor to carry out their mission of salvation in the world. (See Lumen gentium, 62)Until the recent restoration of the liturgical calendar, the Order celebrated the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 22, the anniversary of the approval of the Order by Pope Honorius III (December 22, 1216). Keeping in mind the special character of the weekdays of Advent which take precedence over all other memorials, it is suggested that the commemoration of this Patronage be celebrated on May 8 – during the month which is specially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and on the day when she is honored under similar titles in other proper liturgical calendars.

Thursday of the 5th week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St John of Beverley (-721)) John of Beverley was born at Harpham a few miles from Driffield on the Yorkshire Wolds. He studied at Canterbury under St Adrian, the African-born abbot of the famous monastery there, who was a great scripture scholar and a fine teacher of Greek and Latin. When John returned to the North, he entered the double monastery at Whitby under the remarkable abbess, St Hilda, who had a great influence on many of the outstanding religious people of her time.In 687 John was consecrated Bishop of Hexham in succession to Bishop Eata, one of the twelve disciples of St Aidan and the teacher of St Cuthbert. During his time at Hexham, John ordained the future St Bede as priest. He was a good pastoral bishop, a man who loved the Scriptures, and a patient teacher. Like many of his contemporaries he also had a deep seated need for prayerful solitude and used to retire to a quiet place on the banks of the Tyne for prayer and the study of Scriptures, especially during the season of Lent. In 705 he was appointed to the See of York in succession to St Bosa, himself a former monk of the monastery at Whitby. John remained in the diocese for 12 years but the call of solitude remained strong, and four years before his death he retired to Beverley to a religious house he founded there.John died on 7 May 721, having worked for more than thirty years as a bishop. His shrine became famous up and down the country and was considered to be one of the chief places of devotion in England for many years.Many miracles of healing are ascribed to John, and the popularity of his cult was a major factor in the prosperity of Beverley during the Middle Ages. He was celebrated for his scholarship as well as for his virtues. He was canonized in 1037. In 1541, his shrine was destroyed on the orders of Henry VIII. About a hundred years later workmen discovered a vault under the floor of the Minster’s nave. The inscription on it indicates that the contents contained the relics of St John. In 1738, when the present Minster floor was laid, these relics were disinterred and replaced in the same position with an arched brick vault over them. The inscription on the tomb now reads:HERE LIESTHE BODY OF SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEYFOUNDER OF THIS CHURCHBISHOP OF HEXHAM A.D. 687-705BISHOP OF YORK A.D. 705-718HE WAS BORN AT HARPHAMDK, Middlesbrough Ordo (Bl. Albert of Bergamo OP (1214 - 1279)) Lay Dominican and Husband.Blessed Albert was born in Valle d’Ogna near Bergamo in 1214. As a married man he was known for his generosity to the poor, a virtue for which his wife reproached him. Upon the death of his wife, being childless, he left his father’s farm and went to Cremona where he lived in poverty. His poverty was a witness to a group of heretics there who boasted of their own poverty. Attracted by the life of Saint Dominic he joined the Brothers of Penance, which later became the Order of Penance of Saint Dominic, and lived at the Dominican priory. He died on May 7, 1279.

Wednesday of the 5th week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saint François de Laval (1623 - 1708)) He was the first bishop of New France, later to become Canada. He founded a seminary and had schools and churches built. He resigned his bishopric in 1684 but remained in New France and acted as deputy to his successor. He was canonized by Pope Francis on 3 April 2014.

Tuesday of the 5th week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Asaph) He was a monk of the monastery at Llanelwy, founded by St Kentigern. He was consecrated bishop in 573, and the town of Llanelwy (as well as the diocese) is called St Asaph in his honour. See also the articles in Wikipedia and the Catholic Encyclopaedia.(Blessed Edmund Rice (1762 - 1844)) Following the death of his wife in 1789, he devoted himself to prayer and good works, in particular to the education of the poor in his home town of Waterford: the children being taught were so poor that they needed to be clothed and fed as well. He founded schools, and undertook the training of teachers. In 1808 he and six companions took religious vows. This was the nucleus of the Presentation Brothers, who continue to this day. The Christian Brothers share the same root: the two congregations separated in the 1820s. See the article in Wikipedia.(Blessed Stanisław Kazimierczyk, Priest) (St Richard Reynolds (- 1535)) Richard Reynolds is thought to have come from Pinhoe in Exeter, and was a Bridgettine monk of Syon Abbey on the Thames. He suffered martyrdom with the Carthusians at Tyburn on May 4th 1535, for refusing to take the oath of royal supremacy under Henry VIII. He was known for his personal holiness, and was one of the forty martyrs canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Syon Abbey, one of the great medieval monasteries, was dissolved in 1539 by Henry. The expelled community moved from place to place in France and Spain, finally settling in Lisbon in 1594. This same community moved from Lisbon back to England in 1861, settling first in Spetisbury, Dorset, then in Chudleigh, and finally in 1925 in South Brent. The community remained here until the closure of Syon Abbey in 2011.Plymouth Ordo (St Angelus (1185-c.1220)) The history of Angelus belongs to the time of the first Carmelites of the 13th century, a time when the histories of holy people were expressed in legend and myth that encouraged and taught the faithful. Angelus is remembered as one of the hermits who spent time with the founding community of hermits on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The legends attribute to Angelus miracles of curing the sick, calling down fire, making an axe head float and raising the dead. These images evoke the echoes of the deeds of Elijah and Elisha, the inspirational figures of the original Carmelite hermits. It appears that the medieval chronicler writing about Angelus, honoured him for a personality and life that closely imitated these Biblical Carmelite role models.Angelus did not remain at Mount Carmel, but travelled to Sicily in 1219, according to the legends. He would have been one of the first Carmelites to arrive in Europe and living as an itinerant preacher, as no Carmelite communities had yet been established in Europe. Another account describes Angelus’ travels to Rome, where we are told he met with both St Francis and St Dominic. This meeting of three representatives from the mendicant orders became a popular subject for artists in later times, with each one identified by his distinctive habit.Reports tell of Angelus receiving a martyr’s death in Sicily in the year 1220, where today he continues to be revered as a great saint. Angelus had spoken out against the immorality of a Sicilian nobleman, who then swore to punish Angelus. While he was preaching a mob attacked him. He later died from several stab wounds, while praying for his attackers. The memory of St Angelus embodies the historical movement of the Carmelites from their hermit home on Mount Carmelite to their mendicant beginnings in Europe.MT

Monday of the 5th week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(The English Martyrs) On 4 May 1535, at Tyburn in London, there died three Carthusian monks, the first of many martyrs of the English Reformation. Of these martyrs, forty-two have been canonized, and a further 242 have been declared Blessed; but the true number of those who died on the scaffold, perished in prison, or were tortured or persecuted for their faith cannot now be reckoned. The persecution lasted a hundred and fifty years and left a permanent mark on English culture: to this day Catholics continue to suffer certain minor disabilities under English law.The martyrs celebrated today came from every walk of life. There were rich and poor; married and single; men and women. They are remembered for the example they gave of constancy in their faith and courage in the face of persecution.From 2001, there are also celebrated on this day the forty martyrs of England and Wales who were canonized on 25 October 1970 and formerly celebrated on that day. They include Saints Cuthbert Mayne, John Houghton, Edmund Campion, and Richard Gwynn, as well as Saints John Roberts and Ambrose Barlow from the Benedictine monastery of St Gregory at Douay (now at Downside Abbey in Somerset),See the comprehensive article in Wikipedia, which has links to the biographies of each saint.(Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis (1840 - 1912)) She was born in Quebec and became a nun with the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1857. In 1880 she founded the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, devoted to serving and caring for the clergy by looking after their households.See also a brief history of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.(Saint Conleth (- 519)) He was an Irish hermit and metalworker who was persuaded by St Brigid to act as priest for her monastic community in Kildare, and he became the first Bishop of Kildare in around 490. In 519 he set out on pilgrimage to Rome but was attacked by wolves in the forests of Leinster and died on 4 May 519. See the article in Wikipedia.(Saint Florian, Martyr) (The Beatified Martyrs of England and Wales) During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries innumerable men and women from England and Wales suffered persecution for the ancient faith of their country. Many gave their lives for the supremacy of the Pope, the unity of the Church, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Of these martyrs, forty-two have now been canonized. Some one hundred and sixty others have been declared Blessed, and their common celebration is kept on this day. The following have connections with Wales:William Davies (b. in North Wales, probably Croes yn Eirias, Denbighshire, date uncertain; executed at Beaumaris Castle, 27 July 1593) was a Welsh Roman Catholic priest. There is a chapel in Anglesey built as a memorial to him.Charles Mahoney (Mahony; alias Meehan) (b. after 1639; executed at Ruthin, Denbighshire, 12 August 1679) was an Irish Franciscan.Richard Flower (or Lloyd), a Welsh layman, aged 22, executed at Tyburn, 1588.Humphrey Pritchard, a Welsh serving man arrested with Thomas Belson in Oxford 1589, and executed there.Roger Cadwallador (b. at Stretton Sugwas, near Hereford, in 1568; executed at Leominster, 27 August 1610) was an English Roman Catholic priest. Nicholas Wheeler, seminary priest from Herefordshire, executed at Tyburn 1586, aged 36.(St José Maria Rubio (1864-1929)) José Maria Rubio (1864-1929) was born in Dalias, Spain. He joined the Society as a diocesan priest in 1906, at the age of forty-two. In 1911, he was appointed to the Professed House in Madrid, where he remained for the rest of his life. Rubio was fully engaged in preaching, spiritual direction and hearing confessions. He chose to work primarily among the poor. He built up teams of Catholic laity, founded on a strong Eucharistic spirituality, who collaborated in his numerous initiatives in the city’s slums and suburbs. He is acclaimed as the « Apostle of Madrid » and « Father of the Poor. »(Bl Angel Prat Hostench and Companions (d.1936)) During the Spanish religious persecution, culminating in the civil war of 1936-39 seventeen Carmelites from several Spanish communities gave their lives in defence and witness of their Christian faith. In July 1936, Angel Prat Hostench along with other religious were discovered while trying to escape persecution at the Tarrega railway station. Together with Prat were the priests Eliseo M. Maneus Besalduch, Anastasio M. Dorca Coraminas, Eduardo M. Serrano Buf; the students Pedro M. Ferrer Martin, Andrés M. Solé Rovina, Miguel M. Soler Sala, Juan M. Puigmitjà Rubiò and Pedro-Tomás M. Prat Colledecarrara; the lay brothers Eliseo M. Fontdecaba Quiroga, recently professed; and novices José M. Escoto Ruíz and Elías M. Garre Egea. Later in August, Carmelite nun Sister Maria del Patrocinio, after escaping her burning monastery was shot by militia. Further Carmelites were killed in October and November following inhumane interrogations and treatment. They were Brothers Ludovico M. Ayet Canós and Angel M. Presta Batlle, Father Fernando M. Llobera Puigsech and Eufrosino M. Raga Nadal, a sub-deacon. These Carmelites were among 498 martyrs of the Spanish civil war, beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.MT (Bl. Emily Bicchieri OP (1238 - 1314)) Dominican Nun and Virgin.Blessed Emily was born at Vercelli, Italy, in 1238. At the age of nineteen she made profession in the monastery built by her father and several times served as prioress there. She joyfully performed the most unpleasant tasks of the monastery and was especially devoted to the Passion of our Savior. She died on May 3, 1314.

5th Sunday of EasterOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saints Philip and James, Apostles) Philip was born at Bethsaida and started as a disciple of John the Baptist. After the Baptist’s death he followed Christ.James the son of Alphaeus is called “James the Less”, to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee. James “the brother of the Lord” ruled the Church at Jerusalem; wrote an epistle; led an austere life; and converted many Jews to the Faith. He was crowned with martyrdom in the year 62.Jerome held these two Jameses to be the same person, and this was certainly the prevailing opinion when the feast of Philip and James was instituted in 560. Nowadays scholars prefer to divide them, in which case we might think of today as being the feast of Philip and James and James.

Saint Athanasius, Bishop, DoctorOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSaint Athanasius (295 - 373) He was born in Alexandria. He assisted Bishop Alexander at the Council of Nicaea and later succeeded him as bishop. He fought hard against Arianism all his life, undergoing many sufferings and spending a total of 17 years in exile. He wrote outstanding works to explain and defend orthodoxy.Athanasius’s passion for the truth seems tactless to many of us today, to the point where some Catholic devotional works even express embarrassment over it. This is grotesque. Before we congratulate ourselves on being more gentle and civilised than Athanasius and his contemporaries, we should look at the lack of charity that characterizes academic controversies today (from string theory to global warming) and the way that some of the participants are willing to use any weapon that comes to hand, from legal persecution to accusations of madness to actual assault. The matters in dispute with the Arians were more important than any of these scientific questions. They were vital to the very nature of Christianity, and, as Cardinal Newman put it, the trouble was that at that time the laity tended to be champions of orthodoxy while their bishops (seduced by closeness to imperial power) tended not to be. The further trouble (adds Henry Chadwick) is that the whole thing became tangled up with matters of power, organization and authority, and with cultural differences between East and West. Athanasius was accused of treason and murder, embezzlement and sacrilege. In the fight against him, any weapon would do.Arianism taught that the Son was created by the Father and in no way equal to him. This was in many ways a “purer” and more “spiritual” approach to religion, since it did not force God to undergo the undignified experience of being made of meat. Islam is essentially Arian, granting Jesus a miraculous birth, miracles, death (though not crucifixion) and a resurrection, but all as a matter of God demonstrating his power by committing more spectacular miracles than usual. Arianism leaves an infinite gap between God and man, and ultimately destroys the Gospel, leaving it either as a fake or as a cruel parody. It leaves the door open to Manichaeism, which mixes Zoroastrian, Buddhist and Gnostic elements into Christianity, so that God is good but creation is bad (or at best, a mistake) and the work of an evil anti-God. Only by being orthodox and insisting on the identity of the divine natures of the Father and the Son and the Spirit can we truly understand the goodness of creation and the love of God, and live according to them.See also the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.

Pope Francis' top diplomats met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on April 19, where the two sides discussed migrants and refugees following months of clashes between U.S. church leaders and the Trump administration over immigration policy and foreign aid.