Daily TV Mass Wednesday April 8, 2026

Fr. Henk van Meijel, S.J.

Transcript

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From the historic Loreto Abbey Chapel. With the kind cooperation of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the National Catholic Broadcasting Council presents the Daily TV Mass.

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Welcome to the celebration of the Daily TV Mass. I'm Father Hank van Mijel. The televising of this Mass is made possible by the contribution from Amelia Nativio and family from Toronto, Ontario. This Mass is offered for the eternal repose of the soul of Antonio Nativio, loving father, grandfather, brother, and friend. Please grant unto his family and friends the joy of seeing him again in the glorious light of everlasting life. We pray for peace and the well-being of all his family and friends, and that they may be comforted by the remembrance of your promise. Our thanks to Amelia and her family for making it possible for tens of thousands of the faithful across Canada, the United States, and around the world to share in this celebration. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. The peace of the Lord be with you. And as we have placed ourselves before the Lord on this Wednesday in the octave of Easter, we again recall our own weakness, our own need for God's guidance. You were sent to heal the contrite of heart. Lord have mercy. You came to call sinners. Christ have mercy. You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord have mercy. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. And we say together, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory. Lord God, Heavenly King, O God, Almighty Father, Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us, for you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen. And let us pray. O God, who gladden us year by year with so solemnity of the Lord's resurrection, graciously grant that by celebrating these present festivities we may merit through them to reach eternal joys. True, O Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

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A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and a man, lame from birth, was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple, called the beautiful gate, so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, Look at us. And the man fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, the man stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him. The word of the Lord.

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Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wonderful who seek for Let the hearts of those who seek for Lord reach seek the Lord and his strength seek his presence continually seek the spring of his anti Children of Jacob his chosen his judgment. This is the Lord be with you.

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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke. On the first day of the week, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about eleven kilometers from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And Jesus said to them, What are you discussing with each other while you walk along? They stood still, looked sad. Then one of them, whose name was Clopus, answered him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place these in these days? Jesus asked them, What things? They replied, The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was the prophet, mighty indeed and word, before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucify him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astonished us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of an angel who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found in just as the woman had said, but they did not see him. Then Jesus said to them, Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared. Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory? Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures, as they came near to the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, because it is almost evening, and the day now is nearly over. So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus, and he vanished from their sight. The two disciples said to each other, Were not our hearts burning within us while we were talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us. That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. These were saying, The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon. Then the two disciples told what had happened on the road, and how the Lord had made known to them in the breaking of the bread, the gospel of the Lord. I love the always the account of the road to Emmaus, and it's so because in my own life, but I think also for many who have rediscovered their faith. About 25 years ago, when I was in my darkest times of my own life, and there was conversion and God touched my heart. And when the story, when I first read it, I went, Oh, I'm just like them. I basically knew anything, everything that had to be known. I uh I knew all kinds of things, but still I did not see. And this is so uh with so many of us. Uh as a Catholic, I went to church every Sunday and you know did my Sunday thing. Uh did I really know what the gospel or what the harmony was about? Not really. I'm just going along and and but you you hear things and you see things, but we still can be so blind, can be so blind until God touches our heart, and then then it makes sense. And so we saw, we read in the same reading too, how Clopus and that other disciple, how their hearts all of a sudden were touched, and how they realized, oh, how blind we were, how blind we were, how blind I was. And this is not an uncommon story. I know of a Jesuit brother of mine who even went to the eastern religions to Buddhists, and he uh he was sitting actually uh meditating in a Buddhist temple somewhere in China or Tibet or wherever he was, and all of a sudden God touched Jesus touched his heart, and he woke up, the same like I woke up in my own way, and he realized how a great gift he had been given by God through our church, and so his heart woke up, and it literally led him to become one of the Jesuit one of my Jesuit brothers. But I don't think it's all that uncommon that when our hearts open up that we are uh and we're touched by God that things really uh change for us, and this is um and we find that great gift that God has given us. God has given us such a great gift through our baptism, which we saw, and confirmation of course, which we so often overlook. And we see in the accounts of in the first reading of Acts, we have the healing of the physically challenged person, the crippled, and who um uh Peter and John touch him, they say, I we don't have any money, but we have a much greater gift, Jesus Christ. And this is the thing uh we have to really remember, how Jesus touches our heart, how Jesus is that great gift we have given. And when our hearts open up to Christ, then we know too how that we don't have to worry anymore about money, how this Easter miracle is such a great gift that God will take care of us along our life journey here on earth. Amen. And so we bring our prayers before the Lord. We pray for all those in our daily TV Mass Prayer Intention book. We pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer for the month of April or community prayer that all that all who are burdened by grief or discouragement may be uplifted by the light of the risen Christ and renewed in hope. We pray to the Lord. With Pope Leo, we pray this month for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that their communities may support them with understanding and prayer. We pray to the Lord. We pray that in this Easter season the resurrection of Christ will bring renewed hope for those who feel abandoned by family and friends, and especially the elderly. For this we pray to the Lord. And for these prayers and the prayers in the silence of our own hearts, we lift them up to you, Lord. Amen.

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For our good and the good of all us, the Lady Church.

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Receive, we pray, O Lord, the sacrifice which has redeemed the human race and be pleased to accomplish in us salvation of mind and body through Christ O Lord.

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Amen.

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The Lord be with you.

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And with your spirit.

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Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is truly right and just our duty and our salvation at all times to acclaim you, but on this day above all to lord you yet more gloriously, when Christ or Passover has been sacrificed. For He is the true Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world. By dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising restored our life. Therefore, overcome with paschal joy, every land, every people exalts in your praise, and even the heavenly powers with the angelic host sing together the unending hymn of your glory as they acclaim. You are indeed holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy therefore these gifts we pray, by sending down your spirit upon them like the doof, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion, he took bread and giving you thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take this all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you. In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice, and once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples, saying, Take this all of you and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me. Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the bread of life and the chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you. Humbly we pray that partaking of the body and blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, your church spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with Leo or Pope, Francis or Bishop, the Order of Bishops, the clergy, and the entire people you have called your own. Remember also our sisters and brothers who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy. Welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all. We pray that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with Blessed Joseph, our spouse, with the Blessed Apostles and all the saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be co-heirs to eternal life, and may praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ. Through him and with him and in him. O God, Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, O glory and honor is yours for ever and ever.

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Amen.

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And at the Savior's command, informed by divine teaching, we dare to say, O Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day your daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, we pray from every evil. Graciously grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever. Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church, and graciously grant our peace and unity in accordance with your will, who live and reign forever and ever.

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Amen.

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The peace of the Lord be with you always.

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And with your spirit.

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And let us offer each other a sign of peace.

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You take all with us of N love come up, you take on with us.

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Behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

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My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this holy sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things, and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul, so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. Amen.

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Through Christ our Lord. The Lord be with you. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. Thanks be to God.

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Our thanks to our donors for the gift of this month.