Monday in the 3rd Week of Easter
Optional memorial of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr (†1622). A lawyer by profession, he entered the Order of Friars Minor Chapuchins and was an outstanding preacher. He was sent to bolster true doctrine in Switzerland, and was killed by heretics in Seewis.
Mass Readings
First Reading – Acts 6:8-15
Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they instigated some men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 (R. 1ab)
R.Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors. R.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. R.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me. R.
Gospel – Jn 6:22-29
[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, His disciples saw Him walking on the sea.] The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with His disciples in the boat, but only His disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found Him across the sea they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for Me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to Him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent.”
Featured Saints
St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, virgin (†1868). Nun of the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge. She founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd of Angers, France, to mercifully receive repentant public sinners, “Magdalenes”, who wished to enter religious life.
St. Mary of Cleophas and St. Salome. Together with St. Mary Magdalene, they went early on Easter Sunday to the Sepulchre of the Lord, to anoint His Body, and received the first announcement of the Resurrection.
St. Mellitus of Canterbury, Bispo (†624). A monk from Rome sent by St. Gregory I the Great to help St. Augustine of Canterbury in the evangelization of he Anglo people. He was consecrated Bishop and eventually appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
St. Egbert, priest (†729). Priest and monk who evangelized several regions of Europe. He died on the Island of Iona, Scotland, after celebrating the solemnity of Easter.
St. Benedict Menni, priest (†1914). Restored the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God in Spain, Portugal and Mexico and founded the Congregation of the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Madrid. He died in Dinan, France.
St. William Firmatus, hermit (†1103). Canon and physician in Tours, France, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and spent the rest of his life in solitude.
Blessed Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad, virgin (†1957). Religious of Swedish origin who died in Rome. She helped to revive the Order of St. Bridget.
St. Deodatus, deacon and abbot (†fourth century). After leading a life as an anchorite, he formed a community in Blois (France) with a group of disciples attracted by his example. He refused priestly ordination, considering himself unworthy.
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