FEASTS OF THE WEEK
The celebration of Easter is prolonged throughout the Easter season.
The fifty days from Easter Sunday (20/04/'25) to Pentecost Sunday (08/06/'25) are celebrated as one feast day, the "great Sunday".
Pentecost Sunday, when the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church, and the start of its mission to all tongues and peoples and nations are commemorated.
CHRIST IS RISEN, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!
Sunday 27th April : 2nd Sunday of Easter
The struggle for faith experienced by Thomas leads us to think on the meaning of faith in the risen Christ. We do not depend on physical experience of Christ but know his presence in keeping God's commandments and as a gathered community, in the hearing of the word and in sacramental signs. So the Christian community is a thankful one, always blessing God for a sure hope through the resurrection of Christ.
27th April is the anniversary of the canonisations in 2014 of St. John XXIII and John Paul II by Pope Francis in Rome.
(Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was there - for this reason 27th April has been remembered as "the day of the four Popes".)
Monday 28th April : St. Peter Chanel
He is honoured as the first martyr of the Church in Oceania. He was born in 1803 at Clet in the diocese of Belley, France. In 1831 he joined the newly formed Society of Mary (Marists); in 1836 he was appointed Superior of a small number of missionaries sent to proclaim the faith in the New Hebrides in the Pacific. St. Peter with 2 other lay members went to the Island of Futuna. They were well received initially by the pagans and their king Niuliki who had only recently forbidden cannibalism. However, the king's jealousy and fear were aroused when the missionaries learned the language and gained the people's confidence. Finally, when his own son expressed a desire to be baptised, the king's hatred erupted and he dispatched a group of his warriors to set upon the saintly head of the missionaries. Thus, on 28 April 1841 three years after his arrival. St. Peter was seized and clubbed to death by those he had come to save. His death brought his work to completion - within five months the entire island was converted to Christianity.
Tuesday 29th April : St. Catherine of Siena
Humble and dauntless Dominican tertiary, she brought peace to her native Siena, to Italy, and to fourteenth-century Europe, spent all her energies on the Church, being able to achieve the pope's return from Avignon to Rome. She is remembered also as a mystic and reformer of religious life. Proclaimed doctor of the Church in 1970 and patron of Europe in 2000.
Wednesday 30th April : St. Pius V
Born Michele Ghislieri. Became a Dominican and was elected pope in 1565 taking the name Pius V on 07/01/1566. He implemented the reforms of the Council of Trent, including the Breviary, Missal and Catechism. He is noted for his defence of Christendom against the Ottoman empire. Canonised in 1712.
Thursday 1st May : St. Joseph the Worker
Apparently in response to the "May Day" celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955, but the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a much longer history. In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning proudly emphasised that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind. ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Friday 2nd May : St. Athanasius
Born at Alexandria around 295, he fought ceaselessly against the Arian heresy, defending the true and equal divinity of Christ. As a result, he had to endure much tribulation and he was several times sent into exile.
Saturday 3rd May : Ss Philip and James, Apostles
St. Philip asks to see and, having seen, he tells the good news to others. He was born at Bethsaida. Formerly a disciple of John the Baptist, he became a follower of Christ.
St. James, the son of Alphaeus and a cousin of the Lord, ruled the Church at Jerusalem, wrote an Epistle and led a life of penance. He converted many of the people of Jerusalem to the faith and was martyred in the year 62.