April is ~~ God bless you all

The month of April is dedicated to The Holy Spirit.


To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
The Holy Spirit is the Person of Love in the life of God. He is also like a breath, an aspiration of infinite Love, from which we draw the breath of life.
Everything depends on the Holy Spirit's operation in us. The more fully we allow ourselves to be drawn and guided by the Holy Spirit, the closer we shall come to Jesus and His mysteries and graces. The Holy Spirit must draw us to every good thought, word and deed. Every act of faith, of hope and of love for God requires the inspiration and help of the Holy Spirit. If our virtues and our deeds are to be truly perfect and worthy of God, they need the special and continual touch of the Holy Spirit. Even though we are endowed with all the supernatural virtues, we still remain mere apprentices in the spiritual life. We know what we must do; and yet lack the virtue and the faculty to perform these things with ease. The Holy Spirit must guide us. He must seize our intellect and our wills and guide us in prayer, in work, in the decisions we have to make, and in the difficulties we encounter every day. He must share with us His manner of seeing, of loving, of thinking, and of working.

The entire month falls during the liturgical season of Easter. The liturgical color is white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence .
After our solemn commemoration of the last days and death of Our Lord we will spend the month of April celebrating. As Spring breaks forth even nature will join us as buds and blooms begin to surface and we spend this month basking in the joy of the Resurrection. We continue throughout the entire month our cry, "Christ is risen, Christ is truly risen."

The saints that we will focus on this month — those who have already shared in the rewards of the Resurrection — are St. Francis of Paola (April 2), St. Isidore (April 4), St. Vincent Ferrer (April 5), St. John Baptist de la Salle (April 7), St. Stanislaus (April 11), St. Bernadette (April 16), St. Anselm (April 21), St. George and St. Adalbert (April 23), St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (April 24), St. Mark (April 25), Our Lady of Good Counsel (April 26), St. Louis Mary de Montfort and St. Peter Chanel (April 28), St. Catherine of Siena (April 29) and St. Pius V (April 30).

The feast of St. Martin I (April 13) falls on Sunday.
The feasts on the General Roman Calendar celebrated during the month of April are:

2. Francis of Paola, Opt. Mem.
4. Isidore of Seville, Opt. Mem.
5. Vincent Ferrer, Opt. Mem.
6. Third Sunday of Easter, Sunday
7. John Baptist de la Salle, Opt. Mem.
11. Stanislaus of Cracow, Opt. Mem.
13. Fourth Sunday of Easter, Sunday
20. Fifth Sunday of Easter, Sunday
21. Anselm, Opt. Mem.
23. George; Adalbert, Opt. Mem.
24. St. Fidelis, Opt. Mem.
25. St. Mark, Feast
26. Our Lady of Good Counsel (Can), Opt. Mem.
27. Sixth Sunday of Easter, Sunday
28. Peter Chanel (NZ, Feast); Louis Mary de Montfort, Opt. Mem.
29. Catherine of Siena, Memorial
30. Pius V; Bl. Marie de l'Incarnacion (Can), Memorial

Many blessings in Jesus Christ our ressurected Lord and Savior

~~ Feast of Annunciation ~~

Beautiful meditation today on the Feast of the Annunciation from Catholic Exchange :

Today, when we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, we not only celebrate the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, but also the great mystery of the Incarnation, taking place at the moment Mary declares, in obedience to the Lord, “be it done.” The dialogue we observe between Mary and the angel (found in Luke, chapter 1) is rather concise; the angel’s greeting to Mary, the announcement of God’s plan, and Mary’s humble acceptance to be the Lord’s handmaid. But in this short narration- just a few handfuls of sentences- a great deal of information and meaning is conveyed.

First there is the greeting God’s messenger uses to address Mary; “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Lk 1:28), indicating that even at this point, Mary is already filled with God’s grace. Mary’s reaction here, first unassuming silence, and then humbly asking how God’s intentions for her will be carried out, is fitting of one who was, as we know, conceived free from original sin. We see Mary react to the angel Gabriel with humility and obedience, even fear- a sharp contrast to the actions of Eve in the garden. St. Irenaeus, considered to be the first great Catholic theologian, elaborates on the contrast between Eve and the Blessed Virgin in book 5 of Against Heresies:
“For as Eve was seduced by the word of an angel to flee from God, having rebelled against his Word, so Mary by the word of an angel received the glad tidings that she would bear God by obeying his Word (Luke 1:38). The former was seduced to disobey God [and so fell], but the latter was persuaded to obey God, so that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. As the human race was subjected to death through [the act of] a virgin, so was it saved by a virgin, and thus the disobedience of one virgin was precisely balanced by the obedience of another.”
And when Mary readily submits to God’s will, she does it in a most humble way, as apologist Dr. Scott Hahn describes in his book Hail, Holy Queen:
“A True Mother, Mary considers none of her glories her own. After all, she points out, she is only doing God’s bidding: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Even when she recognizes her superior gifts, she recognizes that they are gifts: “All generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). For her part, Mary’s own soul “magnifies” not herself, but “the Lord” (Lk 1:46).”
Stepping back from Mary’s role, which was chosen by God from the very beginning, we can also take a moment to contemplate why the annunciation took place as it did. God is not bound to our expectations, and the virginal conception had been foretold, so why was it necessary for God’s messenger to announce God’s plan to Mary? St. Thomas Aquinas explains the logic of announcing to the Virgin Mary what was to be done to her in his magnum opus, the Summa Theologica:
“It was reasonable that it should be announced to the Blessed Virgin that she was to conceive Christ. First, in order to maintain a becoming order in the union of the Son of God with the Virgin-namely, that she should be informed in mind concerning Him, before conceiving Him in the flesh. Thus Augustine says (De Sancta Virgin. iii): “Mary is more blessed in receiving the faith of Christ, than in conceiving the flesh of Christ”; and further on he adds: “Her nearness as a Mother would have been of no profit to Mary, had she not borne Christ in her heart after a more blessed manner than in her flesh.”
Secondly, that she might be a more certain witness of this mystery, being instructed therein by God.
Thirdly, that she might offer to God the free gift of her obedience: which she proved herself right ready to do, saying: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”
Fourthly, in order to show that there is a certain spiritual wedlock between the Son of God and human nature. Wherefore in the Annunciation the Virgin’s consent was besought in lieu of that of the entire human nature.”
To understand, more fully, Mary’s role in the Redemption of the human race, we recommend Adrienne Von Speyr’s Mary in the Redemption.
Rejoice O Virgin, Birthgiver of God, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. For you have born the Savior of our souls. Amen.

Feast of Annunciation

The Angelus
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit. [Recite the Hail Mary]
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word. [Recite the Hail Mary]
V. And the Word was made flesh. R. And dwelt among us. [Recite the Hail Mary]
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray :
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Promise : "Whoever shall devoutly recall to me the joy I felt upon uttering the words, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," I will most truly show him that I am his Mother, and unfailingly, I will succor him." ----- The Blessed Mother to St. Gertrude the Great

Regina Coeli

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, Alleluia: For He whom thou merited to bear, Alleluia, Has risen, as He said, Alleluia. Pray for us to God, Alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia.
R. Because the Lord is truly risen, Alleluia.
Let us pray :
O God, Who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world: grant, we beg Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Regina Coeli carries a Partial Indulgence like the Memorare.