Wednesday in the Second Week of Easter

We pray through the second week of Easter and place our whole day into Jesus’ hands through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We hear Saint Leo the Great on Christ living in his Church, forming one flock, and changing us through baptism and the Eucharist. 
• opening prayers and Morning Offering in union with the Mass 
• Saint Leo on Christ united to his saints as head and members 
• Christ present in the Church here and now through the Holy Spirit 
• baptismal rebirth and adoption as children of God across every nation 
• one flock and one shepherd, pastoral care and the courage of martyrs 
• the Eucharist changing us into what we receive through sincerity and truth 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. 
The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. 
More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org. 

Transcript

Opening Easter Prayer

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Wednesday, in the second week of Easter, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, Pope. My dear brethren, there is no doubt that the Son of God took our human nature into so close a union with Himself that one and the same Christ is present, not only in the firstborn of all creation, but in all his saints as well. The head cannot be separated from the members, nor the members from the head. Not in this life, it is true, but only in eternity will God be all in all. Yet even now he dwells whole and undivided in his temple, the church. Such was his promise to us when he said, See, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. And so, all that the Son of God did and taught for the world's reconciliation is not for us simply a matter of past history. Here and now we experience his power at work among us. Born of a virgin mother, by the action of the Holy Spirit, Christ keeps his church spotless and makes her fruitful by the inspiration of the same Spirit. In baptismal regeneration she brings forth children for God beyond all numbering. These are the sons of whom it is written, they are born not of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. In Christ, Abraham's posterity is blessed, because in him the whole world receives the adoption of sons, and in him the patriarch becomes the father of all nations, through the birth, not from human stock, but by faith of the descendants that were promised to him. From every nation on earth without exception, Christ forms a single flock of those he has sanctified, daily fulfilling the promise he once made. I have other sheep, not of this fold, whom it is also ordained that I shall lead, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. Although it was primarily to Peter that he said, Feed my sheep, yet the Lord guides all the pastors in the discharge of their office, and leads to rich and fertile pastures all those who come to the rock. There is no counting the sheep who are nourished with his abundant love, and who are prepared to lay down their lives for the sake of the good shepherd who died for them. But it is not only the martyrs who share in his passion by their glorious courage. The same is true by faith of all who are reborn through baptism. That is why we are able to celebrate the Lord's paschal sacrifice with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. The leaven of our former malice is thrown out, and a new creature is filled and inebriated with the Lord Himself, for the effect of our sharing in the body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive. As we have died with him and have been buried and raised to life with him, so we bear him within us, both in body and in spirit, in everything we do. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. Alleluia. I shall look after my sheep and seek them out. I shall bring them out from among the peoples and lead them to pasture. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. Alleluia. As we recall year by year the mysteries by which, through the restoration of its original dignity, human nature has received the hope of rising again, we earnestly beseech your mercy, Lord, that what we celebrate in faith we may possess in unending love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord and give him thanks. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.