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April 2009 - Overview for the Month
The month of April is dedicated to The Holy Spirit. The first two weeks of the month falls during the liturgical 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 the month is the beginning of the Easter season . The liturgical color is white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).
General: That even in difficult and complex situations of present-day society, Christians may never tire of proclaiming with their lives Christ’s resurrection, the source of hope and peace.
Missionary: That future priests in young Churches may be ever more seriously formed culturally and spiritually in order to evangelize their respective countries and the whole world. (See also www.apostleshipofprayer.net)
The feasts on the General Roman Calendar celebrated
during the month of April are:
The Gospel readings for the Sundays in April are taken from St. Mark, St. John and St. Luke. All are from Year B, Cycle 1.
The saints that we will focus on this month — those who have already shared in the rewards of the Resurrection — are St. Francis of Paola (April 2), St. Isidore (April 4), St. Anselm (April 21), St. George and St. Adalbert (April 23), St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (April 24), St. Mark (April 25), St. Louis Mary de Montfort and St. Peter Chanel (April 28), St. Catherine of Siena (April 29) and St. Pius V (April 30). The feasts of St. Vincent Ferrer (April 5) and Our Lady of Good Counsel (April 26) fall on Sunday. The feasts of St. John Baptist de la Salle (April 7), St. Stanislaus (April 11), St. Martin I (April 13) and St. Bernadette (April 16) fall during Holy Week and Easter Week and are superceded by the holy days.
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) |
Come Holy
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.
It's still the Easter season so try this raditional
Easter bread from Holland which will impress your friends and family.
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
The winged lion, ancient symbol of St. Mark,
refers to his Gospel, which informs us of the royal dignity of Christ.
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).
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.
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.
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As our Lenten journey comes to a close we prepare to follow Christ
all the way to the cross and to witness His glorious Resurrection.
Hopefully we have sacrificed and prayed so that we are now able
to more fully reap the fruits of a well spent Lent.
After our solemn commemoration of the last days and death of Our Lord we will spend
the remainder of 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."
April boasts the most solemn and sublime event of human history:
the passion, death, and 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.
