Andre Zunino

Fourth Sunday of Easter

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Reading I Acts 13:14, 43-52

Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats.
Many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them
and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.

On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.
Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,
but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,
we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.”

The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this
and glorified the word of the Lord.
All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,
and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.
The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers
and the leading men of the city,
stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their territory.
So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them,
and went to Iconium.
The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5

R (3c) We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
            serve the LORD with gladness;
            come before him with joyful song.
R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R  Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
            he made us, his we are;
            his people, the flock he tends.
R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R  Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
            his kindness endures forever,
            and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R  Alleluia.

Reading II Rev 7:9, 14b-17

I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

            “For this reason they stand before God’s throne
                        and worship him day and night in his temple.
            The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
            They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
                        nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
            For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
                        will shepherd them
                        and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
                        and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
 

Alleluia Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 10:27-30

Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

– – –

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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St. Peter of Tarantaise, bishop

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St. Peter of Tarantaise, bishop

Feast date: May 08

Peter was born near Vienne, France in 1102 and died at Bellevaux, France in 1175. He was canonized in 1191.

At the age of 20 he entered the Cistercian Order, and convinced his family to enter along with him.  His two brothers and his father entered the religious community of Bonneveaux with him, and his sister also followed thier example and became a religious.

Ten years after he entered, Peter was sent to found a new house in the Tarantaise mountains near Geneva, Switzerland.  Here he opened a hospital which also served as a guest house for those travelling through the mountains.

He was appointed as Archbishop of Tarantaise in 1142 and wanted to decline the post and remain where he was happiest, as a Cistercian monk. He reluctantly accepted, however, because of the urging of St. Bernard and the other monks in his order, seeing their insistence as the will of God.

On his accession to the episcopacy, he reformed the diocese and set about providing education and distributing food to the poor, a tradition called the “May Bread”, which lasted until the French Revolution in 1789.  He performed many miraculous healings during that time.

It seems he was never able to banish his longing for the monastic life he left behind, and after 13 years as archbishop, he fled to a Cistercian abbey in Switzerland disguised as a lay brother and lived there for a year until he was discovered and forced by his superiors in the order to return to Tarantaise.

During the fractious rife between the anti-pope Victor and the true Pope, Alexander III, St. Peter was one of the only major voices in the Church openly supporting the claim of Pope Alexander, even against the emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Recognizing his courage, loyalty, and holiness, Pope Alexander III thought him to be the ideal peacemaker between King Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. He died of an illness shortly after meeting and unsuccessfully trying to reconcile the two kings.

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Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

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Reading I Acts 9:31-42

The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria
was at peace.
She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers.

As Peter was passing through every region,
he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda.
There he found a man named Aeneas,
who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed.
Peter said to him,
“Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.”
He got up at once.
And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him,
and they turned to the Lord.

Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha
(which translated is Dorcas).
She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.
Now during those days she fell sick and died,
so after washing her, they laid her out in a room upstairs.
Since Lydda was near Joppa,
the disciples, hearing that Peter was there,
sent two men to him with the request,
“Please come to us without delay.”
So Peter got up and went with them.
When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs
where all the widows came to him weeping
and showing him the tunics and cloaks
that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed.
Then he turned to her body and said, “Tabitha, rise up.”
She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.
He gave her his hand and raised her up,
and when he had called the holy ones and the widows,
he presented her alive.
This became known all over Joppa,
and many came to believe in the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

R.        (12) How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R.        Alleluia.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
            for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
            and I will call upon the name of the LORD
R.        How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R.        Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
            in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
            is the death of his faithful ones.
R.        How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R.        Alleluia.
O LORD, I am your servant;
            I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
            you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
            and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R.        How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R.        Alleluia.

Alleluia See Jn 6:63c, 68c

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 6:60-69

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

– – –

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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St. Rosa Venerini

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St. Rosa Venerini

Feast date: May 07

On May 7, the Church celebrates the recently-canonized Italian educator Saint Rosa Venerini, who founded Catholic schools for girls and young women during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Her work is continued today by the “Venerini Sisters.”

St. Rosa (also known as St. Rose) was declared a saint in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI, who spoke in his canonization homily of her courageous work for “the spiritual elevation and authentic emancipation of the young women of her time.”

He noted that St. Venerini “did not content herself with providing the girls an adequate education, but she was concerned with assuring their complete formation, with sound references to the Church’s doctrinal teaching.”

Born in the central Italian city of Viterbo on February 9, 1656, Rosa Venerini was the daughter of an accomplished doctor, Goffredo, who raised four children with his wife Marzia. At a young age, Rosa vowed to consecrate her life to God, though this resolution was tested during her adolescence.

Rosa briefly joined a Dominican women’s community during 1676, but returned home to comfort her mother after Goffredo’s unexpected death. One of Rosa’s brothers, Domenico, also died at age 27. Marzia was heartbroken and died within months.

In the wake of these family crises, Rosa invited local women to her home to pray the Rosary in a group. However, she was soon dismayed by the deficiencies she saw in their education and religious formation. This eye-opening experience shaped Rosa’s future, pointing her toward her ultimate vocation in the field of teaching.

In 1685, with the help of two friends and the approval of her local bishop, Rosa opened Italy’s first public school for girls. It was supported by some Church and state officials, though others resisted an educational model that was, for its time, unconventional.

Many of these critics were silenced by the school’s clear success in uplifting the character of young women. Rosa left Viterbo and founded ten schools in the Diocese of Montefiascone between 1692 and 1694. She also trained a local successor, the future Saint Lucia Filippini.

Only after several years, and one disappointing failed attempt, did Rosa manage to start a school in Rome, during 1713. Three years later, Pope Clement XI paid a visit accompanied by eight cardinals. Witnessing the work of Rosa Venerini’s teachers, the Pope personally thanked her, declaring: “With these schools you will sanctify Rome.”

The acceptance of Rosa’s work also increased her daily responsibilities. She undertook difficult journeys for the sake of her work, while maintaining a strong prayer life that kept her oriented toward God’s will in all of her undertakings. Spiritual direction from Jesuit priests helped her to combine an active apostolate with a life of contemplative prayer. She cultivated a close daily relationship to God while working to found over 40 schools.

St. Rosa Venerini’s last illness came to an end during the evening of May 7, 1728. Her religious congregation, known in Italian as the “Maistre pie Venerini,” maintains an international presence.

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St. John of Beverley

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St. John of Beverley

Feast date: May 07

St. John of Beverley was the Bishop of Hexham, and later of York. He was born in Harpham, Yorkshire, and died in Beverley on May 7, 721.

As a youth, John manifested a strong desire to devote his life to God, and eventually left his native Yorkshire and traveled Kent where he studied at the famous ecclesiastical school of St. Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury.

He returned toYorkshire upon the completion of his studies, and joined a Benedictine monastery where he devoted himself to contemplation. He was called out of his monastic seclusion to be consecrated as bishop of Hexham in 687, a see he occupied for 18 years while still managing to devote time to contemplation and the study of Scripture.

With the death of St. Bosa, archbishop of York, John was transferred to York and served there until his retirement from ill health in 717.  He spent his last four years in a monastery that he built at Beverley.

John was renowned for the miracles that he performed, both during his life and those that took place after his death. Most famously, he cured a young man who was dumb and had reportedly never spoken a word in his life, and obtained from him the ability to speak. He took the young man under his wing and patiently taught him the alphabet and the fundaments of the language.

After his death in 721, owing to the many miracles that occurred through his intercession, his burial site at Beverley became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in England. He was canonized by Pope Benedict IX in 1037.

The renowned English mystic, Julian of Norwich, and the martyred bishop, St. John Fisher, who was from Beverley, had a great devotion to St. John.

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