Saint Celestine I, Pope (April 6)
by VP
Posted on Monday April 06, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
Pope Celestine I - Wikipedia
"Saint Celestine was a native of Rome, and upon the demise of Pope Boniface he was chosen to succeed him in September 422, by the wonderful consent of the whole city. His first official act was to confirm the condemnation of an African bishop who had been convicted of grave crimes. He wrote also to the bishops of the provinces of Vienne and Narbonne in Gaul, to correct several abuses, and ordered, among other things, that absolution or reconciliation should never be refused to any dying sinner who sincerely asked it; for repentance depends not so much on time as on the heart. He assembled a synod at Rome in 430, in which the writings of Nestorius were examined, and his blasphemies in maintaining in Christ a divine and a human person were condemned. The Pope pronounced sentence of excommunication against Nestorius, and deposed Him. Being informed that Agricola, the son of a British bishop called Severianus, who had been married before he was raised to the priesthood, had spread the seeds of the Pelagian heresy in Britain, Saint Celestine sent thither Saint Germanus of Auxerre, whose zeal and conduct happily prevented the threatening danger. he also sent saint Palladius, a Roman, to preach the Faith to the Scots, both in North Britain and in Ireland, and many authors of the life of St. Patrick say that apostle likewise received his commission to preach to the Irish from Saint Celestine, in 431. This holy Pope died on the 1rst of August in 432, having reigned almost ten years.
Reflection: Vigilance is truly needful to those to whom the care of souls has been confided. "Blessed are the servants whom the Lord at His coming shall find watching."
Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints
Easter Monday
by VP
Posted on Monday April 06, 2026 at 12:00AM in Meditations
The Pilgrims of Emmaus on the Road (Les pèlerins d'Emmaüs en chemin) - James Tissot
"They discoursed together of the things that had happened. The subject of this Gospel is a relation of Christ's appearing on the day of his Resurrection, to two of His disciples, as they were going to Emmaus. They had not yet a faith of Christ being risen. We hoped, said they, that it was He who was to redeem Israel: but now they seemed to fear a disappointment. However, such was their love for their Master, that they could speak of nothing but of Him. This is the subject of their discourse by the way; and while they thus entertain each other, Christ joins Himself to their company, though as yet unknown, and soon after opens their eyes to see the unreasonableness of their own fears, and to know Him.
It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Hearts possessed with God, speak of God: and where there is a solicitude for truth and salvation, this cannot be smothered, but will discover itself, either for the help of others, or in hopes of being improved by some new light. Mary Magdalen seeks her Lord, and not finding Him at the sepulchre, her uneasy mind speaks its wants, and makes enquiry of those whom she meets. These two disciples have their desires on their Lord; and they communicate their concern to a stranger, who presents himself on the way. And who is this stranger but Christ Himself, Who knowing their solicitude, answers the earnestness of their desires, in offering Himself both to Magdalen and to these disciples, and in being His own discoverer? So that they not only find Him by seeking, but even then possess Him, while they are looking for Him.
This is not an encouragement to discover all our sentiments or uneasiness of mind to every one who is thrown in our way by accident; for this cannot be done without great indiscretion: but it ought to excite in Christians a just solicitude for all that belongs to eternity, and to encourage them to manifest this concern, in conferring with those persons, whose charity fits them for being instruments of good. This method of conferring with others is particularly necessary for those states, which have difficult duties to discharge. This necessity is grounded on the general narrowness and weakness of the human mind, which meeting with the infirmities of constitution, as in want of vigour, weakness of memory, excess of some passion, niceness, sloth or self-love, or in want of reflection, is the occasion of many considerable branches of duty being neglected, and sometimes no more thought of than if they were no part of their concern. Add to these the general partiality to which we are subject, in our own affairs: and that though we study others closely, we see ourselves only by halves. From these heads, there will appear a necessity for all, in difficult states, to confer with others; that they may receive the benefit of other men's reflections, and by a communication of thoughts be helped to discover their oversights, and to amend.
For what condition of life is there, which has not many obligations, both as to spirituals and temporals? And are not all these subject to great oversights, neglects, and injustices, such as are injurious to God, our neighbour, and ourselves? And is not the infirmity of our nature such, that we go on very often blinded by passion, sloth, or interest, in such ways as are either dangerous, scandalous, or unwarrantable; obvious enough to others, and yet either not at all discerned by ourselves, or so little regarded, as not to be thought worth our care? And what is more effectual for remedying this evil, than frequent conferring with others upon our state? Such discourses will awaken and enlighten. They will raise doubts, suggest matter for consulting, discover the subtle workings of self-love, interest, and passion, and oblige us to make many reflections, and see plainly what we really are. Is not this motive enough to recommend the practice of these two disciples, in discoursing together, since it may be so much to our advantage, both of soul and body? Why then is not this practice more extended? Because few are really solicitous to do well; many are afraid of being reproved, and are unwilling to take advice of those who, they fear, will make them uneasy by freely censuring what they see deserves it. But they who will not make use of those means, which are proper for receiving light and visits from heaven, must perish at last in the darkness, which they love." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Saint Marcelinus of Carthage, Martyr A.D. 413
by VP
Posted on Monday April 06, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"So He was secretary of state to the Emperor Honorius, and for his great virtue commended by St. Augustin and St. Jerome. Being commissioned by the emperor to decide the controversy between the Catholics and Donatists in Africa, without regarding the power or threats of these latter, he gave the cause against them. They were so exasperated, that they resolved upon his death, and raised the jealousy of an eminent courtier against him. St. Augustin testifies that he had lived in great piety, in holiness of life, and in truly Christian sentiments. He was upright in his conduct, faithful in his friendship, zealous in the support of truth, and a man of solid piety. He was compassionate and charitable, ready to forgive his enemies, and even to love them. He was full of confidence in God, and assiduous in prayer. God was pleased to crown his virtues with a glorious martyrdom. The Count Marinus cast him into prison, and had him confined in a dark dungeon; and under the countenance of his orders they murdered him. The Church honors him as a martyr, because the reason of his death was the zeal which he had shown against the Donatists, which had drawn upon him the hatred of Count Marinus. He suffered at Carthage, in the year 413; and was much lamented by the emperor.
Be but steady to the cause of justice and truth, and you will need no other persecution for the trial of your courage. Seek to be just on all occasions; never flattering what deserves reproof, nor permitting affection or dislike to carry you against duty. Examine the working of your thoughts, and the censures of your judgment; and see that you are not brought under the guilt of rashness, by a hasty conclusion of evidence, where there is none. Keep a watch upon your lips; and speak not against others upon common reports or hearsay for there is so much of mistake, if not worse in these, that ordinary observation must suspect them as insufficient arguments of truth. Observe your usual severity in putting the worst construction on what some do, and more favorable interpretation on the actions of others; and see whether passion be not at the root of this partiality." The Catholic Year by Fr. John GotherDay 47. Easter with the Cure d'Ars: On Paradise
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026 at 02:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"Blessed, O Lord, are those who dwell in Thy house: they shall praise Thee for ever and ever."
To dwell in the house of the good God, to enjoy the presence of the good God, to be happy with the happiness of the good God - oh, what happiness, my children! Who can understand all the joy and consolation with which the saints are inebriated in Paradise? St. Paul, who was taken up into the third heaven, tells us that there are things above which he cannot reveal to us, and which we cannot comprehend.... Indeed, my children, we can never form a true idea of Heaven till we shall be there. It is a hidden treasure, an abundance of secret sweetness, a plenitude of joy, which may be felt, but which our poor tongue cannot explain. What can we imagine greater? The good God Himself will be our recompense: Ego merces tua magna nimis - I am thy reward exceeding great. O God! the happiness Thou promisest us is such that the eyes of man cannot see it, his ears cannot hear it, nor his heart conceive it.
Yes, my children, the happiness of Heaven is incomprehensible; it is the last effort of the good God, who wishes to reward us. God, being admirable in all His works, will be so too when He recompenses the good Christians who have made all their happiness consist in the possession of Heaven. This possession contains all good, and excludes all evil; sin being far from Heaven, all the pains and miseries which are the consequences of sin are also banished from it. No more death! The good God will be in us the Principle of everlasting life. No more sickness, no more sadness, no more pains, no more grief. You who are afflicted, rejoice! Your fears and your weeping will not extend beyond the grave. . . . The good God will Himself wipe away your tears! Rejoice, O you whom the world persecutes! your sorrows will soon be over, and for a moment of tribulation, you will have in Heaven an immense weight of glory. Rejoice! for you possess all good things in one - the source of all good, the good God Himself.
Can anyone be unhappy when he is with the good God; when he is happy with the happiness of the good God, of the good God Himself; when he sees the good God as he sees himself? As St. Paul says, my children, we shall see God face to face, because then there will be no veil between Him and us. We shall possess Him without uneasiness, for we shall no longer fear to lose Him. We shall love Him with an uninterrupted and undivided love, because He alone will occupy our whole heart. We shall enjoy Him without weariness, because we shall discover in Him ever new perfections; and in proportion as we penetrate into that immense abyss of wisdom, of goodness, of mercy, of justice, of grandeur, and of holiness, we shall plunge ourselves in it with fresh eagerness. If an interior consolation, if a grace from the good God, gives us so much pleasure in this world that it diminishes our troubles, that it helps us to bear our crosses, that it gives to so many martyrs strength to suffer the most cruel torments - what will be the happiness of Heaven, where consolations and delights are given, not drop by drop, but by torrents!
Let us represent to ourselves, my children, an everlasting day always new, a day always serene, always calm; the most delicious, the most perfect society. What joy, what happiness, if we could possess on earth, only for a few minutes, the angels, the Blessed Virgin, Jesus Christi In Heaven we shall eternally see, not only the Blessed Virgin and Jesus Christ, we shall see the good God Himself! We shall see Him no longer through the darkness of faith, but in the light of day, in all His Majesty! What happiness thus to see the good God! The angels have contemplated Him since the beginning of the world, and they are not satiated; it would be the greatest misfortune to them to be deprived of Him for a single moment. The possession of Heaven, my children, can never weary us; we possess the good God, the Author of all perfections. See, the more we possess God, the more He pleases; the more we know Him, the more attractions and charms we find in the knowledge of Him. We shall always see Him and shall always desire to see Him; we shall always taste the pleasure there is in enjoying the good God, and we shall never be satiated with it. The blessed will be enveloped in the Divine Immensity, they will revel in delights and be all surrounded with them, and, as it were, inebriated. Such is the happiness which the good God destines for us.
We can all, my children, acquire this happiness. The good God wills the salvation of the whole world; He has merited Heaven for us by His death, and by the effusion of all His Blood. What a happiness to be able to say, "Jesus Christ died for me; He has opened Heaven for me; it is my inheritance. . . . Jesus has prepared a place for me; it only depends on me to go and occupy it. Vado vobis parare locum - I go to prepare a place for you. The good God has given us faith, and with this virtue we can attain to eternal life. For, though the good God wills the salvation of all men, He particularly wills that of the Christians who believe in Him: Qui credit, habeat vitam aeternam - He that believeth hath life everlasting. Let us, then, thank the good God, my children; let us rejoice - our names are written in Heaven, like those of the Apostles. Yes, they are written in the Book of Life: if we choose, they will be there forever, since we have the means of reaching Heaven.
The happiness of Heaven, my children, is easy to acquire; the good God has furnished us with so many means of doing it! See, there is not a single creature which does not furnish us with the means of attaining to the good God; if any of them become an obstacle, it is only by our abuse of them. The goods and the miseries of this life, even the chastisements made use of by the good God to punish our infidelities, serve to our salvation. The good God, as St. Paul says, makes all things turn to the good of His elect; even our very faults may be useful to us; even bad examples and temptations. Job was saved in the midst of an idolatrous people. All the saints have been tempted. If these things are, in the hands of God, an assistance in reaching Heaven, what will happen if we have recourse to the Sacraments, to that never-failing source of all good, to that fountain of grace supplied by the good God Himself! It was easy for the disciples of Jesus to be saved, having the Divine Savior constantly with them. Is it more difficult for us to secure our salvation, having Him constantly with us? They were happy in obtaining whatever they wished for, whatever they chose; are we less so?We possess Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; He is continually with us, He is ready to grant us whatever we ask, He is waiting for us; we have only to ask. O my children! the poor know how to express their wants to the rich; we have only our indifference, then, to accuse, if assistance and graces are wanting to us. If an ambitious or a covetous man had as ample means of enriching himself, would he hesitate a moment, would he let so favorable an opportunity escape? Alas! we do everything for this world, and nothing for the other? What labor, what trouble, what cares, what sorrows, in order to gather up a little fortune! See, my children, of what use are our perishable goods? Solomon, the greatest, the richest, the most fortunate of kings, said, in the height of the most brilliant fortune: "I have seen all things that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. " And these are the goods to acquire which we labor so much, whilst we never think of the goods of Heaven!
How shameful for us not to labor to acquire it, and to neglect so many means of reaching it! If the fig tree was cast into the fire for not having profited by the care that had been taken to render it fertile; if the unprofitable servant was reproved for having hidden the talent that he had received, what fate awaits us, who have so often abused the aids which might have taken us to Heaven? If we have abused the graces that the good God has given us, let us make haste to repair the past by great fidelity, and let us endeavor to acquire merits worthy of eternal life!"
Source: The Blessed Curé of Ars in His Catechetical Instructions (1951)
Easter Sunday: The Joy of Penance
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
Touch me not by Jacques Tissot
"I WISH all of you, my brethren, the joys of this day. It is the day of our Lord's victory over death and hell. Many of you have received Him in Holy Communion either this morning or during the preceding week. To such He has found a way to communicate something of the vast ocean of love and joy which inundates His own soul. A good Communion, following a humble confession of sin, is indeed the nearest way to that tomb, riven and empty, and streaming with the light of heavenly joy, about which the Church gathers her children this morning. How well chosen is Eastertime for the annual Communion of all good Christians. "I have seen the tomb of Christ, who has risen from the dead," may we well say with Mary Magdalen. God grant that not one of you all may pass beyond Trinity Sunday without attending to what is so appropriately called the Easter duty.
It seems to me that this feast is a great day for sinners - meaning, of course, repentant sinners. For look at the facts? Who is the saint of the Resurrection by excellence? Certainly dear Mary Magdalen, the type of all the penitent. She stood beneath the Cross when Jesus died, comforting Him and His Mother in that dreadful hour of His doom and of that Mother's woe. And when the dead corpse was lowered down, Mary Magdalen pressed His limbs and feet and hands to her bosom while our sorrowful Mother clasped His heart to her own and kissed His pallid face a thousand times. Mary Magdalen helped to lay Him in His grave. She watched then; when driven away by the soldiers she bought spices and came again to embalm Him. And whose words are those repeated to-day all round the world as the dawn greets the watching glances of the faithful. "They have taken away my Lord! I know not where they have laid Him"; and again the amazed and ecstatic exclamation when she saw Him in the garden: "Rabboni! Master."
What a great store of love, says St. Gregory the Great, was in that woman's heart, who, when even His disciples were gone away, could not tear herself from the grave of the Lord!
See, then, my brethren, the reward of the love which is in true sorrow for sin; it is given a singular kind of pre-eminence; it is selected above that of innocence and placed on guard at the post of honor to receive the first public greeting from the Immortal King of Glory, triumphant over sin for ever. I say public greeting, for doubtless Jesus visited and greeted His Mother in private first of all; but this is not written down for our edification, and Mary Magdalen's privilege is. Sinners need encouragement, and certainly they get it today in the honor paid to their glorious patron, to the woman who had many sins forgiven her because she loved much.
I say again that sinners need encouragement. In truth, there is no shame so deadly as that which conscious guilt brings to the human soul. There is no degradation like vice - in fact, there is none other but vice. Hence many sinners are met with who do not turn to God and who hold back from confession and communion because they are ashamed and afraid. It is not so much love of sin as want of confidence that now hinders them. They have felt the force of passion as the slave feels the whip of the slave-driver; or they have repented before and fallen again, and this fills them with distrust in themselves; or their surroundings are a constant source of temptation; or they have been so long away that the very process of reconciliation to God, the very practice of the simplest acts of religion, have grown strange to them. These, and other reasons, varying from mere timidity to utter despair, show the need of a strong word of encouragement to sinners. This is the day for giving sinners courage to repent. Oh! let every man and woman partake of Christ's courage today. All who are sinners, let them loath and detest their sins, and let them feel that if our Lord is with them they can conquer any passion, resist any temptation, and persevere to the end.
It is a singular thing that not only the first recorded words of our Lord after His resurrection were addressed to His favorite child, the great penitent woman of the Gospel, but that the first interview He had with His disciples was begun by the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the open door of that city of refuge our Lord's Sacred Heart. Now is the time, therefore, most appropriate for the return to God of all sinners among us. May our risen Savior give you that joy if you have it not, and if you have it, may He confirm it to you for ever! Amen." Five minutes sermons by the Paulist Fathers
St. Vincent Ferrer, O.P. Confessor, A.D. 1419.
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"St. Vincent brought with him into the world a happy disposition for learning and piety, which were improved by a good education. In order to subdue his passions, he fasted from his childhood every Wednesday and Friday. The Passion of Christ was always the object of his tender devotion. The Blessed Virgin he ever honoured as his spiritual Mother. Looking on the poor as the members of Christ, he treated them with the greatest affection and charity. Having taken the habit of the Dominicans, he made surprising progress in perfection, taking St. Dominic for his model. The arms which he employed against the devil were prayer, penance, and perpetual watchfulness over every impulse of his passions. His heart was always fixed on God, and he made his studies, labour, and all other actions a continued prayer. He led a very mortified life, never eating flesh, nor wearing linen. His whole employment was in preaching the gospel, in converting Jews and Infidels to the Christian faith, and sinners to a holy life. He never passed a day wherein he gave not instructions to those who were assembled at prayers with him. Though by his sermons thousands were moved to give their possessions to the poor, the saint never accepted any thing himself; and was no less scrupulous in cultivating in his heart the virtue and spirit of obedience, than that of poverty; for which reason he declined accepting any dignity in the Church, or superiority in his Order. He was favoured with the gift of miracles, and cured innumerable sick wherever he came, also raised a dead man to life, in presence of a great multitude. He continued his preaching and labours to the last; and worn out with age and infirmity, died on the 5th of April, 1419, being sixty-two years old.
Reflection: "Whatever you do," said Saint Vincent, "think not of yourself, but of God." In this spirit, he preached, and God spoke by him; in this spirit, if we listen, we shall hear the voice of God. Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, 1925
O glorious Apostle and Wonderworker, Saint Vincent Ferrer, new Angel of the Apocalypse and our gracious Protector, deign to accept our humble prayer, and draw down upon us an abundance of divine favors. Through the love with which your heart is inflamed, obtain for us from the Father of Mercies the forgiveness of all our sins, steadfastness in faith, and perseverance in good works, so that, living as good and fervent Christians, we may render ourselves worthy of your powerful protection.
Extend this protection, too, over our bodies, and deliver us from every infirmity. Preserve our fields from the ravages of storm and hail, and ward off other misfortunes from us. Thus favored by you in the blessings of both spirit and body, we shall remain ever devoted to you, and one day we shall go to heaven to praise God with you, for ever and ever. Amen.
Translated from the French: Prière à Saint Vincent Ferrier. Manuel des indulgences, Paris 1897
Let us pray: O God, who by the wonderful preaching of blessed Vincent, thy confessor, hast brought a multitude of nations to acknowledge thy Holy Name, grant, we beseech thee, that we may merit to receive as our reward in heaven the judge whom he announced would come on earth, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Surrexit Christus spes mea
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 05, 2026 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Peter and John Running to the Tomb Eugène Burnand (1850 – 1921)
Christians, to the Paschal victim
offer your thankful praises!
A lamb the sheep redeemeth:
Christ, who only is sinless,
reconcileth sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
the Prince of life, who died,
reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
what you saw, wayfaring:
"The tomb of Christ, who is living,
the glory of Jesus' resurrection;
"Bright angels attesting,
the shroud and napkin resting.
"Yea, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he will go before you."
Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining;
have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen! Alleluia!
Day 46. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: Do you want to be happy?
by VP
Posted on Saturday April 04, 2026 at 02:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"Why, my dear brethren, are our lives full of so many miseries? If we consider the life of man carefully, it is nothing other than a succession of evils: the illnesses, the disappointments, the persecutions, and indeed the losses of goods fall unceasingly upon us so that whatever side the worldly man turns to or examines, he finds only crosses and afflictions. Go and ask anyone, from the humblest to the greatest, and they will all tell you the same thing. Indeed, my dear brethren, man on earth, unless he turns to the side of God, cannot be other than unhappy. Do you know why my friends? No, you tell me. Well, here is the real reason. It is that God, having put us into this world as into a place of exile and of banishment, wishes to force us, by so many evils, not to attach our hearts to it but to aspire to greater, purer, and more lasting joys than those we can find in this life. To make us appreciate more keenly the necessity to turn our eyes to eternal blessings, God has filled our hearts with desires so vast and so magnificent that nothing in creation is capable of satisfying them. Thus it is that in the hope of finding some pleasure, we attach ourselves to created objects and that we have no sooner possessed and sampled that which we have so ardently desired than we turn to something else, hoping to find what we wanted. We are, then, through our own experience, constrained to admit that it is but useless for us to want to derive our happiness here below from transient things.
If we hope to have any consolation in this world, it will only be by despising the things which are passing and which have no lasting value and in striving towards the noble and happy end for which God has created us.
Do you want to be happy, my friends? Fix your eyes on Heaven; it is there that your hearts will find that which will satisfy them completely. All the evils which you experience are the real means of leading you there. That is what I am going to show you, in as clear and brilliant way as shines the noon-day sun.
First of all, I am going to tell you that Jesus Christ, by His sufferings and His death, has made all our actions meritorious, so that for the good Christian there is no motion of our hearts or of our bodies which will not be rewarded if we perform them for Him. Perhaps you are already thinking: "That is not so very clear." Very well! If that will not do you, let us put it more simply. Follow me for a moment and you will know the way in which to make all your actions meritorious for eternal life without changing anything in your way of behaving. All you have to do is to have in view the object of pleasing God in everything you do, and I will add that instead of making your actions more difficult by doing them for God, you will make them, on the contrary, much more pleasant and less arduous. In the morning, when you awake, think at once of God and quickly make the Sign of the Cross, saying to Him: "My God, I give you my heart, and since You are so good as to give me another day, give me the grace that everything I do will be for Your honor and for the salvation of my soul."
Source: The Sermons of the Cure d'Ars 1960 (Public Domain)
Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Source: Lent with the Cure d'Ars Compiled by the CAPGHoly Saturday: "He descended into hell, the third day he rose again from the dead.”
by VP
Posted on Saturday April 04, 2026 at 12:00AM in Tradition
James Tissot - Holy Saturday
"The Savior of the world, having expired on the cross, and by His death paid the ransom due to the divine justice for the sins of men, descended into Limbo, to deliver thence those just souls who were waiting for their Redeemer, and were prepared to enter with Him into glory. Inexpressible was the joy of those holy souls at the presence of their Redeemer, who having conquered death and hell, came down in the happy character of a deliverer, and demanded them from their long confinement, to take part in his triumphs. It was the Messias whom they expected; and He being come, they think all the time of their banishment to have been as nothing, beginning now to enjoy Him, whom they had so long desired, and whom no time can ever more take from them. The same will be the happiness of every one that dies well. Whether the evils of life have been great or inconsiderable, long or short, they all disappear at the hour of a happy death, and are lost in eternity.
Our Blessed Redeemer was pleased to be taken down from the cross, and laid in a sepulchre, so to confirm to all generations the truth of His death for us, and of His resurrection from the dead. Pray that by a firm faith of what He has suffered for us, you may plentifully partake of His mercies, and daily increase in that hope and love, which are to bring you to the possession of Him. From His sacred body being laid in the sepulchre, you may learn the mystery which is taught you this day, that you also ought to be buried together with Him; that you are not only to labour that in the likeness of His death the old man may die in you, but that he may be buried also; so that he be altogether hidden from the world, and that nothing may appear in us but the new man, who is renewed in us by his death.
What happy fruit of Christ's passion would it be to us, could we obtain this mercy! We are convinced of the folly of sin, and the vanity of all that pleases for a moment; we are tired of our corruption; but who will deliver us from the body
of this death? None can do this but Jesus. Wherefore apply yourself to Him: sit at His sepulchre, and by His sacred passion beseech Him to have
compassion on you, to help you in the relief of your necessities, and give you the victory which you desire." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
St. Isidore, Bishop, Doctor of the Church, A.D. 606
by VP
Posted on Saturday April 04, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was born in Spain, and having qualified himself by virtue and learning for the service of the Church, assisted his brother St. Leander, archbishop of Seville, in the conversion of the Visigoths, from the Arian heresy. After the death of his brother, he was, much against his will, chosen to succeed him His election was confirmed by St. Gregory the Great, who also appointed him his Apostolic Vicar over the whole of Spain.
In his episcopal career it is incredible how constant, humble, and patient he was; as well as solicitous for keeping up Christian and ecclesiastical discipline. Indeed he was eminent in all virtue; and distinguished also for great learning, and a general acquaintance with ancient writers, both sacred and profane. He was a great promoter and encourager of monastic institutions throughout Spain; and built several monasteries and colleges. He compiled many useful works, in which he takes in the whole circle of the sciences; and many portions of his writings were embodied in the canon law of the Church.
When St. Isidore was almost fourscore years old, though age and fatigues had undermined and broken his health, he never interrupted his usual exercises and labours. During the last six months of his life, he increased his charities with such profusion, that the poor of the whole country crowded his house from morning till night. Perceiving his end to draw near, he entreated two bishops to come to see him. With them he went to the church, where one of them covered him with sackcloth, and the other put ashes on his head. Clothed with the habit of penance, he stretched his hands towards heaven, prayed with great earnestness, and begged aloud the pardon of his sins. He then received from the hands of the bishops the Body and Blood of our Lord, recommended himself to the prayers of all that were present, remitted the bonds of all his debtors, exhorted the people to charity, and caused all the money which he had not as yet disposed of to be distributed among the poor. This done, he returned to his own house, and calmly departed this life four days after, on the 4th of April, in the year 636.
His memory was held in
such veneration, that the eighth Council of Toledo, fourteen years after
his death, styles him "The excellent Doctor, the late ornament of the
Catholic Church, the most learned man, given to enlighten the latter
ages, always to be named with reverence." Give thanks to Almighty God,
for His wonderful graces to this His servant, and beg a like mercy on
all the present pastors of the Church. Pray likewise for yourself and
the whole flock, that God would render us a holy and acceptable people,
well-pleasing in his sight." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
