April 2021 - Overview for the Month

Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful: and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Highlights

April 3
St. Mark

St. Mark, the author of the second Gospel, was the son of Mary whose house at Jerusalem was the meeting place of Christians.

Recipe of the Month

Paasbrod

It's still the Easter season so try this raditional Easter bread from Holland which will impress your friends and family.

Activity of the Month

Home Altar Hangings

Altar hangings or banners are an excellent project to help older children to know and love the Easter to Pentecost season and to realize its greater significance.

Symbols

St. Mark

The winged lion, ancient symbol of St. Mark, refers to his Gospel, which informs us of the royal dignity of Christ.

St. Anselm

Writer of the Christian classic, "Cur Deus Homo." This thirty-fourth Archbishop of Canterbury, amid difficulties with royalty, guarded the spiritual independence of the Church (represented by the ship symbol).

St. Catherine of Siena

Among many diplomatic achievements, St. Catherine is known for effecting a reconciliation between the Florentine people and the Papacy. This emblem refers to her faith and charitableness.

St. George

The patron of England, a Christian warrior who is said to have suffered martyrdom in Palestine, during the Diocletian persecution. His shield was the badge of the English from the days of Richard Coeur-de-Lion on. It is for this reason these arms are borne by the Order of the Garter.

The month of April is dedicated to The Holy Spirit. The first three days of the month fall during the season of Lent which is represented by the liturgical color purple — a symbol of penance, mortification and the sorrow of a contrite heart. The remainder of April falls during the Easter season which is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).

The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of April 2021

Fundamental Rights
We pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis. (See also Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network)

Feasts for April

The feasts on the General Roman Calendar celebrated during the month of April are:

1. Holy Thursday,Triduum
2. Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion,Triduum
3. Holy Saturday,Triduum
4. EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD,Solemnity
5. MONDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER,Solemnity
6. TUESDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER,Solemnity
7. WEDNESDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER,Solemnity
8. THURSDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER,Solemnity
9. FRIDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER,Solemnity
10. SATURDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER,Solemnity
11. SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (or SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY),Solemnity
18. THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER,Sunday
21. Anselm,Opt. Mem.
23. George; Adalbert,Opt. Mem.
24. Fidelis,Opt. Mem.
25. FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY),Sunday
28. Peter Chanel; Louis Mary de Montfort,Opt. Mem.
29. Catherine of Siena,Memorial
30. Pius V,Opt. Mem.

Focus of the Liturgy

The Gospel readings for the Sundays in April are taken from St. John and St. Luke are from Year B, Cycle 1.

April 4th - Easter Sunday	This Gospel recounts Mary Magdalen and the apostles visit to the empty tomb of Christ on Easter.
April 11th - Divine Mercy Sunday	The Gospel relates the story of doubting Thomas.
April18th - 3rd Sunday of Easter	This Gospel tells of Jesus appearance to the Apostles after the Resurrection.
April 25th - 4th Sunday of Easter	The Gospel is about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

Highlights of the Month

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 Feast of Divine Mercy offers us the opportunity to begin again as though we were newly baptized. The unfathomable mercy of God is made manifest today if we but accept His most gracious offer. Easter is the feast of feasts, the unalloyed joy and gladness of all Christians. This truly is "the day that the Lord has made." From Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the Easters of this earth will lead us to that blessed day on which Christ has promised that He will come again with glory to take us with Him into the kingdom of His Father.

The saints that we will focus on this month — those who have already shared in the rewards of the Resurrection — are St. Martin I (April 13), St. Bernadette (April 16), St. Anselm (April 21), St. George and St. Adalbert (April 23), St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (April 24), 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. Mark (April 25) falls on Sunday and are superseded the Sunday liturgy. The feasts of St. Francis of Paola (April 2), St. Isidore (April 4), St. Vincent Ferrer (April 5), St. John Baptist de la Salle (April 7) are superseded by the Holy Week and Easter Week Liturgies.

A Time of New Life

April boasts the most solemn and sublime event of human history: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ – the Paschal mystery. Though the way to the Resurrection was the Via Crucis, the Sacrificial Lamb of God is now and forever Christ our Light, the Eternal high priest of the New Covenant. And his sorrowful mother, the Stabat Mater of Good Friday, is now the jubilant Mother of the Regina Caeli.

We the members of Christ’s Mystical Body exalt in the mystery by which we were redeemed. If in Baptism we were buried with Christ, so also will we share in his resurrection. By his death we were reborn; “by his stripes we were healed.” (Is 53:5) Easter, the epicenter of time, is the event that links time and eternity. It is indeed “the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Ps 118:24)

April 2021 - Overview for the Month

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