Friday of the 4th week of LentOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saint Alcmund, King and Martyr)

Thursday of the 3rd week of LentOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass

Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin MaryOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSt Joseph Nothing is known of St Joseph except what is said of him in the Gospels. He was a carpenter; he accepted the will of God; and he supported Mary and brought up Jesus. From the human character of his son we can see that he was a good and responsible father. He is widely venerated as a patron of artisans who honourably do good work with the gifts God has given them, and of workers in general. To those who exercise the role of an adoptive parent, whether formally or informally, whether over one child or as the support of a whole family, he is a source of inspiration. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.

Wednesday of the 4th week of Lent, (commemoration of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor) Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Cyril of Jerusalem (315 - 386)) Cyril was born in 315 of Christian parents and succeeded Maximus as bishop of Jerusalem in 348. He was active in the Arian controversy and was exiled more than once as a result. His pastoral zeal is especially shown in his Catecheses, in which he expounded orthodox doctrine, holy Scripture and the traditions of the faith. They are still read today, and several of the Second Readings of the Office of Readings are taken from them. He died in 386. He is held in high esteem by both the Catholics and the Orthodox, and he was declared a Doctor of the Church by the Pope in 1883.(St Edward the Martyr (962 - 978)) He was the eldest son of King Edgar of the English, and on Edgar’s death in 975 the kingship was contested, with some supporting Edward’s claim and others supporting his much younger half-brother Æthelred (known to history as ‘Ethelred the Unready’). Edward was chosen as king and was crowned by his main clerical supporters, Archbishops Dunstan and Oswald of Worcester.The great nobles of the kingdom quarrelled, and civil war almost broke out. The nobles took advantage of Edward’s weakness to dispossess the Benedictine reformed monasteries of lands and other properties which King Edgar had granted to them. Edward was murdered at Corfe Castle on 18 March 978 in circumstances which are not altogether clear.His body was reburied with great ceremony at Shaftesbury Abbey early in 980. In 1001 his remains were moved to a more prominent place in the abbey, probably with the blessing of his half-brother King Æthelred. Edward was already reckoned a saint by this time.

Tuesday of the 4th week of Lent, (commemoration of Saint Patrick, Bishop, Missionary) Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Patrick (385 - c.493)) He was born in Roman Britain around the end of the 4th century, and died in Ireland in the late 5th century. As a missionary bishop, he endured many hardships and faced opposition even from his friends and fellow Christians. Nevertheless, he worked hard to conciliate, to evangelize, and to educate local chieftains and their families. He is remembered for his simplicity and pastoral care, for his humble trust in God, and for his fearless preaching of the gospel to the very people who had enslaved him in his youth. See the articles in Wikipedia and the Catholic Encyclopaedia.(St Patrick's Breastplate) I bind unto myself todayThe strong name of the Trinity,By invocation of the sameThe Three in One and One in Three.I bind this day to me foreverBy power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;His baptism in the Jordan river,His death on Cross for my salvation;His bursting from the spicèd tomb,His riding up the heav’nly way,His coming at the day of doomI bind unto myself today.I bind unto myself todayThe virtues of the star lit heaven,The glorious sun’s life giving ray,The whiteness of the moon at even,The flashing of the lightning free,The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,The stable earth, the deep salt seaAround the old eternal rocks.I bind unto myself todayThe power of God to hold and lead,His eye to watch, his might to stay,His ear to hearken to my need.The wisdom of my God to teach,His hand to guide, his shield to ward;The word of God to give me speech,His heav’nly host to be my guard.Against the demon snares of sin,The vice that gives temptation force,The natural lusts that war within,The hostile men that mar my course;Or few or many, far or nigh,In every place and in all hours,Against their fierce hostilityI bind to me these holy powers.Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,Against false words of heresy,Against the knowledge that defiles,Against the heart’s idolatry,Against the wizard’s evil craft,Against the death wound and the burning,The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.Christ be with me, Christ within me,Christ behind me, Christ before me,Christ beside me, Christ to win me,Christ to comfort and restore me.Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,Christ in hearts of all that love me,Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.I bind unto myself the name,The strong name of the Trinity,By invocation of the same,The Three in One and One in Three.By whom all nature hath creation,Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:Praise to the Lord of my salvation,Salvation is of Christ the LordSt Patrick, trans. Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895)

Monday of the 4th week of LentOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass

4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Blessed John Anne (- 1589)) It is hard to know who he was. He may have been John Amias, born at Wakefield in Yorkshire, where he married and had a family: on his wife’s death he divided his property among his children and left for the Continent to become a priest. In this case the surname “Anne” would be an alias. But equally he may have been William Anne, youngest son of John and Katherine Anne, of Frickley near Wakefield.In any case, on 22 June 1580 a widower calling himself “John Amias” entered the English College at Rheims to study for the priesthood. He was ordained a priest in Rheims Cathedral on 25 March 1581 and on 5 June he set out for Paris and then England, as a missionary, in the company of another priest, Edmund Sykes. Little is known of his missionary life. Towards the end of 1588 he was arrested at the house of a Mr. Murton at Melling in Lancashire and imprisoned in York Castle. He was hanged, drawn and quartered outside York on 16 March 1589, together with a fellow priest, Robert Dalby. Both were beatified by Pope Pius XI on 15 December 1929.

Saturday of the 3rd week of LentOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass

Friday of the 3rd week of LentOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass

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.