Wednesday of the 3rd 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.

Tuesday of the 3rd 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.

Monday of the 3rd 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

3rd Sunday of EasterOffice 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.

Saints Philip and James, ApostlesOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSaints 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 Catherine of Siena, Virgin, DoctorOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSt Catherine of Siena (1347 - 1380) Catherine was born in Siena and, seeking perfection, entered the Third Order of the Dominicans when she was still in her teens. In 1370 she was commanded by a vision to leave her secluded life and enter the public life of the world. She wrote letters to many major public figures and carried on a long correspondence with Pope Gregory XI, urging him to reform the clergy and the administration of the Papal States. She burned with the love of God and her neighbour. As an ambassador she brought peace and harmony between cities. She fought hard to defend the liberty and rights of the Popes and did much for the renewal of religious life. She also dictated books full of sound doctrine and spiritual inspiration. She died on 29 April 1380. In 1970 Pope Paul VI declared her a Doctor of the Church.

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 worst, a mistake) and the work of an evil anti-God. Only by being orthodox and insisting on the identity of the 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.

Thursday of the 2nd week of Eastertide, or Saint Joseph the Worker Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Joseph the Worker) The feast of Saint Joseph the Worker is not a mere Catholic copying of the Communist First of May – any more than Christmas is a mere copy of the pagan feast of Saturnalia. The dates are taken over, for obvious reasons; but the content is radically different.The Christian view of work is the opposite of the materialist view. A worker such as St Joseph is not a mere lump of labour – “1.00 human work units.” He is a person. He is created in God’s own image, and just as creation is an activity of God, so creation is an activity of the worker. The work we do echoes the glorious work that God has done. It may not be wasted; or abused; or improperly paid; or directed to wrong or pointless ends. To do any of these things is not oppression, it is sacrilege. The glory of the present economic system is when it gives so many, of whatever class, the chance to build and create something worthwhile, whether from their own resources, or in collaboration with others, or by attracting investment from others. But its shame is when that does not happen: when people are coerced, by greed or by poverty, into being “lumps of labour.” Whether the labour is arduous or not makes no difference; whether it is richly paid or not makes no difference.Because she must combat the anti-humanist Communist heresy the Church is sometimes thought to be on the side of capital. Reading the successive Papal encyclicals on labour and society, from Rerum Novarum (1891) onwards, will soon dispel that illusion. The enemies of the Church have no reason to read them; all too often we feel too comfortable in our present economic state and refrain from reading them also.See the Wikipedia article on Catholic social teaching.

Wednesday of the 2nd week of Eastertide, or Saint Pius V, Pope Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Pope St Pius V (1504 - 1572)) He was born near the Italian town of Alexandria, on the Adriatic, and joined the Dominicans and taught theology. He was made a bishop and fought to reform the moral laxity of the clergy. He was elected Pope in 1566. He strenuously promoted the Catholic Reformation that was started by the Council of Trent. He encouraged missionary work and reformed the liturgy. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.(Saint Marie of the Incarnation (1599-1672)) Born in Tours, France, Marie married and had a son before her husband, Claude Martin, died. He left behind a struggling business that Marie was able to make profitable before selling. Free to pursue her religious inclinations, she experienced a mystical vision on 24 March 1620, that set her on a new path of devotional intensity. After working with a Spiritual Director for many years, she decided to enter the Ursuline Convent in Tours to try her vocation. She abandoned her son to the care of her family, but the emotional pain of the separation would remain with her. Later, when her son become a monk, they corresponded candidly about their spiritual and emotional trials.Sometime near 1638, Marie de l’Incarnation was guided by visions to go to Canada and found a convent. Marie, along with two Ursulines and Madame de la Peltrie, landed at Québec City in August 1639. They managed to found the first hospital in Canada as well as an Ursuline Congregation. She was canonized by Pope Francis on 3 April 2014. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.(Our Lady, Mother of Africa) North Africa gave the Church many saints, such as Monica and Augustine, and many important theologians. It remained Christian until the Arab invasions.The first Christian Bishop of Algiers in modern times, Bishop Antoine-Adolphe Dupuch, was appointed in 1838 to minister to the French colonists who lived in Algeria, but felt called by God to restore Christianity to the whole population, hoping that in time it would spread from Algeria to the whole of Africa.At the beginning, Bishop Dupuch found it impossible to build a church because the local population was hostile to the French. He went back to France for assistance. The Sodality of Our Lady in Lyon offered to the bishop a bronze statue of the Immaculate Conception with the understanding that she would be the Protectress of both the Muslims and the natives. It was brought from France in 1840 and was entrusted to the Cistercian monks of Staueli. Later, Cardinal Lavigiers, founder of the White Sisters, enshrined it in the new basilica at Algiers, where in 1876 the image was crowned. This bronze statue, very dark in colour, is known as Our Lady of Africa.Pilgrims began to come to venerate the image where the lame, the blind, and the crippled were miraculously healed, and sailors came also to beg for protection of their long and perilous voyages. At this and other North African shrines the veneration given to Mary by Muslims is very marked. This feast commemorates the crowning of the Algiers statue.

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.