Eastertide is the fifty-day season from Easter Sunday to Pentecost, a time when the Church reflects on the risen Christ, the growth of the Easter mystery, and the mission of the apostles. A “Double of the II Class” is an older liturgical rank indicating this feast is important: it is celebrated with special prayers, readings, and a fuller ceremonial, but it is not at the very highest level of solemnities. In the divino_afflatu calendar this celebration falls within the third week of Eastertide, so its prayers and liturgy are shaped by the joyful, resurrection-centred spirit of the season. There is no octave or vigil noted here, so the observance is a single-day liturgical celebration rather than an extended eight-day octave or a special vigil liturgy.
Introit (Daily Prayer)
Ps 63:3 Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from the multitude of the workers of iniquity. allelúja. allelúja. Ps 63:2 Hear, O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to thee : deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy. Glory Be to the Father…
Pro rogationibus Mercifully grant our prayers, we beseech thee, O Lord, that while we receive thy gifts in tribulation, we may be comforted, and so increase in thy love. Through our Lord…
Weekly Prayer
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
Weekly Formation
Beatitude 9
The Beatitudes
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
This Beatitude applies the promise of persecution personally to those insulted, opposed, or falsely accused because of Christ. Their joy rests not in the pain itself but in union with Christ and the promised reward that earthly hostility cannot take away.
Saint & Feast
Principal celebration
Mark the Evangelist
St. Mark the Evangelist
credited author of the Gospel of Mark and Christian saint; traditionally identified with John Mark
Born
0012-00-00 · Palestine
Died
0068-04-25 · Alexandria
Mark the Evangelist, also known as John Mark or Saint Mark, was the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Most modern Bible scholars have concluded that the Gospel of Mark was written by an anonymous author rather than an identifiable historical figure, though the topic remains contentious among experts. According to Church tradition, Mark founded the episcopal see of Alexandria, which was one of the five most important sees of early Christianity. His feast day is celebrated on April 25, and his symbol is the winged lion.
In 799, Pope Leo III sought refuge at the court of Charlemagne after being attacked by Roman citizens. This event marked a significant moment in the relationship between the papacy and the Frankish kingdom, leading to the eventual coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor, which strengthened the Church's influence in Europe.
This event reminds us of the importance of seeking divine protection and support in times of distress.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
In the face of death, Christians who unite their death to Jesus can view it as a step toward him and an entrance into everlasting life. Death brings earthly life, the time for accepting or rejecting God’s grace in Christ, to an end. At the moment of death, each person receives eternal retribution in a particular judgment that refers his or her life to Christ, according to faith and works. Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ in heaven. Heaven is perfect communion of life and love with the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, the angels, and all the blessed: the ultimate fulfillment of our deepest longings. There the blessed see God face to face in the beatific vision, rejoice in doing his will, and reign with Christ forever.
¶ 1021
Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. the parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul -a destiny which can be different for some and for others.
Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately,-or immediate and everlasting damnation.
¶ 1023
Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they "see him as he is," face to face:
¶ 1024
This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed - is called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.
¶ 1025
To live in heaven is "to be with Christ." the elect live "in Christ," but they retain, or rather find, their true identity, their own name.
¶ 1026
By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has "opened" heaven to us. the life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ.
¶ 1027
This mystery of blessed communion with God and all who are in Christ is beyond all understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it in images: life, light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father's house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise: "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him."
¶ 1028
Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man's immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. the Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory "the beatific vision":
Baltimore track
Baltimore Catechism No. 3
Lesson 9 — On the Holy Ghost and His Descent Upon the Apostles
Q. 444.Will the Holy Ghost abide with the Church forever?
A.The Holy Ghost will abide with the Church forever, and guide it in the way of holiness and truth.
Q. 445.What benefit do we derive from the knowledge that the Holy Ghost will abide with the Church forever?
A.From the knowledge that the Holy Ghost will abide with the Church forever we are made certain that the Church can never teach us falsehood, and can never be destroyed by the enemies of Our Faith.
Q. 446.What visible power was given to the Apostles through the coming of the Holy Ghost?
A.Through the coming of the Holy Ghost the Apostles received the "gift of tongues," by which they could be understood in every language, though they preached in only one.