Week at a glanceTuesday April 23 ~ Saint Adalbert
Saint George
Wednesday April 24 ~ Saint Fidelis
of Sigmaringen
Thursday April 25 ~ Saint Mark
Friday April 26 ~ Our Lady of Good Counsel
Saturday April 27 ~
Sunday April 28 ~ 5th Sunday of Easter
Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort Saint Peter Chanel
Monday April 29 ~ Saint Catherine of Siena
Tuesday April 30 ~ Saint Marie
of the Incarnation
Wednesday May 1 ~ Saint Joseph the Worker
Saint Pius V
Thursday May 2 ~ Saint Athanasius
Friday May 3 ~ Saint Philip
Saint James
Saturday May 4 ~ Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis
Sunday May 5 ~ 5th Sunday of Easter
The monthly prayer intention of pope francisFor the Role of Women
We pray that the dignity and immense value of women be recognized in every culture, and for the end of discrimination that they experience in different parts of the world. Daily Offering Prayer
God, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love. With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions of the Holy Father this month. Amen. |
calendar of saintsApril 23 ~ Saint George
Little is known about George, who was killed for his faith in Palestine at the beginning of the fourth century. Believed to be a soldier in the Roman army, he was involved in the organization of a Christian community at Urmiah (modern Iran), and visited Britian on an imperial expedition. During the reign of Edward III (14th century), he was made a patron of the kingdom. George is also patron of several Mediterranean and European countries and cities, and the Boy Scouts. George has figured prominently in popular feasts and folklore: 12th-century literature hailed him as the dragon-slayer. During the Middle Ages, he was a popular patron of knights, soldiers and crusaders, who adopted what was called St George's Arms, a red cross on a white background. The red cross appears on the modern Union Jack. April 23 ~ Saint Adalbert
Born in Bohemia (Czech Republic) around 956, Adalbert was consecrated bishop of Prague in 983. The task proved too onerous because of fierce political opposition, and he withdrew to a Benedictine abbey in Rome. He engaged in several very successful preaching missions to Poland, Prussia, Hungary and Russia. Dubbed the Apostle of the Slavs, he was martyred near Gdansk on this date in 997. April 24 ~ Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen
Mark Roy was born in Swabia (Germany) in 1578. He held doctorates in philosophy, canon law and civil law, and served as a tutor to nobles in France, Italy and Spain. Known as the 'lawyer of the poor,' he gave up practising law to enter the Capuchins in Freiburg, Switzerland, in 1612; he accepted the name Fidelis of Sigmaringen. A dynamic preacher, he was appointed by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to preach to the Calvinists in Switzerland. He met with much resistance and was assaulted and slain in 1622. He is a patron of lawyers. April 25 ~ Saint Mark
The author of the earliest and shortest gospel, Mark was a member of the first Christian community in Jerusalem. Christians used his mother's house there as a place of prayer during Peter's imprisonment under Herod Agrippa I (see Acts 12.12). When Paul and Barnabas returned from Jerusalem, they took Mark back with them to Antioch in Syria. Later, they brought him along as their assistant on a missionary journey. After this, Mark returned to Jerusalem. In Christian art Mark is often depicted with a winged lion. Legends speak of Mark as bishop of Alexandria, where he cured a shoemaker and was killed in the streets of the city. He is a patron of notaries, of Egypt and Venice. April 26 ~ Our Lady of Good Counsel
This title honouring Mary appears early in Christian history. In return for financial assistance in renovating the church of Saint Mary Major in Rome, Pope Sixtus III (432-440) granted land to the people of Genazzano, Italy. Eventually, a church consecrated to Our Lady of Good Counsel was built there and entrusted to the care of the Augustinian Order. Mysteriously, an Albanian icon, Our Lady of Shkodra (Good Counsel), arrived at this church in April 1467. The image depicts Mary and the Christ Child. Numerous healings and miracles have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel. She is a patron of many women's groups, including the Catholic Women's League of Canada. April 28 ~ Saint Peter Chanel
Born in 1803, the young shepherd Peter made such an impression on the parish priest that the cleric gained parental permission for Peter to attend school, which eventually led to the seminary and ordination. In 1831, Peter joined the Marists hoping to fulfill his desire for missionary work, but he was asked to teach in the seminary. Finally, in 1836, Peter and several others set sail for the Pacific Islands. They landed on an island a few miles north of Fiji and were well received. But as their influence grew, the local chief became suspicious and in 1841, on hearing that his son desired baptism, the chief sent warriors to assassinate the priest. Peter was canonized as a martyr in 1954. April 28 ~ Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort
Born in Saint-Malo, France, Louis Grignion (1673-1716) was the founder of the Company of Mary, the Daughters of Wisdom and the Brothers of Saint Gabriel. Ordained in 1700, he was first appointed chaplain to a hospital in Poitiers. While his introduction of much needed reforms led to the beginning of a congregation for women staff members, it also stirred up resentment, and he was forced to leave. He began instead to preach missions for the poor. Again, his success caused resentment and he was forced to stop. He left on foot for Rome and received from the pope the title of 'missionary apostolic.' For the rest of his life he preached and gave missions. He died at the age of 43, having just begun to form his association of ordained men, the Missionaries of the Company of Mary. April 29 ~ Saint Catherine of Siena
One of four women honoured with the title of Doctor of the Church, Catherine was born in Siena, Italy, in 1347, her parents' twenty-fifth and youngest child. At the age of seven, following a vision of Christ in glory, she is reported to have vowed her virginity to God. She joined the Dominican Third Order in 1365, spending years in seclusion from the world, fasting and praying. In 1368, after a vision where Christ accepted her as his "bride," she felt called to carry this love to others. She cared for the poor and tended the sick; she corresponded with people from all walks of life, even counselling princes and popes; she was renowned as a peacemaker. She is especially remembered for her spiritual reflections. She died in Rome in 1380. This great Christian mystic was canonized in 1461, became a patron of Italy in 1939, and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970. With St Bridget of Sweden and St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, she is co-patron of Europe. April 30 ~ Saint Marie of the Incarnation
The first missionary woman to the New World, Marie was born on Tours, France, in 1599. Denying her own attraction to religious life, Marie honoured her father's wishes and married Claude Martin in 1617. Claude died only three years later. Soon after, Marie began receiving revelations concerning the Incarnation, the Sacred Heart, and the Blessed Trinity. After seeking spiritual direction, she entered the Ursuline monastery in Tours. Encouraged by a dream, she set sail with two other Ursulines, arriving in Quebec City in 1639. There, they opened their first school in Lowertown. The school grew despite sickness, poverty and strained relations with the Native peoples. When Quebecers were threatened by tensions with the Iroquois nation, Marie was recalled to France but she chose to remain in New France. She composed catechisms in Huron and Algonquin, and a dictionary of French and Algonquin. Marie died in Quebec in 1672. She was beatified in 1980 and canonized in 2014. April 30 ~ Saint Pius V
Kind and generous in his private life, Pius is nevertheless remembered as an austere and severe person. Born into an impoverished family in Italy in 1504, Antonio Ghislieri spent much of early life tending sheep. At the age of 14 he entered the Dominican Order and became a professor. He was appointed bishop in 1556, and cardinal and inquisitor general in 1557. In 1566 he was elected pope, taking the name Pius. He is responsible for accomplishing the decrees of the Council of Trent, reforming the Roman Missal and the breviary, ordering a new edition of the works of Thomas Aquinas, fighting Protestantism, excommunicating Queen Elizabeth I and re-energizing the Inquisition. He died in 1572 and was canonized in 1712. May 1 ~ Saint Joseph the Worker
Although popular devotion to Joseph, husband of Mary, may have begun in the West as early as the 8th century, it was not until the 15th century that his name was entered in the Church calendar. Since that time, devotion to Joseph has been marked by growing enthusiasm. In 1955, Pope Pius XII proclaimed a second feast day in his honour: May 1, which is also Labour Day in many countries. A carpenter, Joseph exemplifies working people who are dignified by their labour and who bring Christ into the workplace. May 2 ~ Saint Athanasius
Born at Alexandria in Egypt about 297, Athanasius is one of the Greek Fathers and a Doctor of the Church. He was present at the Council of Nicaea (325), convened to oppose the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. Bishop of Alexandria and spiritual head of the desert hermits and of Ethiopia, Athanasius was brilliant and formidable defender of orthodoxy, incurring the wrath of a succession of non-Christian emperors who repeatedly forced him into exile. Athanasius wrote several outstanding treatises on Catholic doctrine, especially on the Incarnation, and introduced monasticism to the West. He died in 373. Through his example, his learning and his writings, he remains one of our greatest teachers. May 3 ~ Saint Philip & Saint James
Philip and James were apostles of Jesus. The choice of Philip as a disciple is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. John's Gospel records several conversations between Jesus and Philip, which demonstrates he was present throughout the Lord's public ministry. James, the son of Alphaeus, (called 'James the Less' because he was younger than the other apostle James) is mentioned in Mark and in Acts, and is the author of the canonical epistle. According to historians, he was a Christian of high repute and died a martyr's death by stoning about the year 62. Both men are patron saints of hatters; St. Philip is also the patron of pastry chefs, while St. James is a patron of druggists. May 4 ~ Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis
Elodie Paradis was born in 1840 in L'Acadie, Quebec. At age 17 she took vows with the Marianite Sisters, a branch of the Congregation of Holy Cross. She taught in Montreal, New York and Indiana before finding the opportunity to fulfill her calling of dedication to the care of priests and seminarians. In 1877, Mother Marie-Leonie (Elodie's religious name), with 14 young Acadian women, founded the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, in Memramcook, NB. Mother Marie-Leonie worked tirelessly for others and was known for her generosity and humility. She died in 1912 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1984. |
St. Stephen Catholic Parish
4302 57 Avenue
Olds, AB
403-556-3084
ststephen102@gmail.com
Facebook: St. Stephen's Catholic Parish - Olds, Alberta
4302 57 Avenue
Olds, AB
403-556-3084
ststephen102@gmail.com
Facebook: St. Stephen's Catholic Parish - Olds, Alberta