Did you know that each month has a traditional Catholic devotion? This year, let’s focus on each devotion month-by-month to grow in our faith and traditions! Make yourself notes, write them on your calendar, and pray a specific prayer each day of the month to remember. You could use a prayer already associated with the devotion or pray a personal one.
“I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament,” J.R.R. Tolkien is often quoted.
For this month of April, devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, you probably expected a saint quote or Catechism reference, but this famous author of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit says something the saints would all agree with (and, rumor has it, there is a case for his canonization).
Instead of loving idols, let’s worship and adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. This month we also celebrate Holy Week, when Christ gave His life for us and rose again! When He ascended into heaven, He did not abandon us. In fact, His mercy is endless and on April 24th we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday to remind us of this. Learn to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, check out our guide. He is truly present in the Eucharist, and we are surrounded by the Holy Spirit.
If you don’t fully embrace the Eucharist as the True Presence of Jesus Christ, His Body, and Blood, perhaps read up on it and pray for God’s guidance to help any unbelief in you about it.
April Feast Days
April 1 – Spy Wednesday
April 2- Holy Thursday
April 3 – Good Friday
April 4 – Holy Saturday | St. Isidore
April 5 – Easter| St. Vincent Ferrer
April 7 – St. John Baptist de la Salle | Divine Mercy Sunday
April 8 – St. Julie Billiart
April 12 – Divine Mercy Sunday
April 16 – St. Bernadette
April 21 – St. Anselm
April 22 – Earth Day
April 23 – St. George
April 25 – St. Mark
April 27 – St. Louie de Montfort
April 29 – St. Catherine of Sienna
April 30 – St. Pius V
What To Reflect On In April For Catholics
- How do you thank the Lord for His sacrifice on the cross?
- What does it mean to you to receive the Eucharist reverently?
- How do you feel God’s love in adoration?
- What best helps you focus in Mass and Eucharistic Adoration?
- How do you share the love of Christ through the Blessed Sacrament with others?
- Do you let the Holy Spirit work in your life?
- How do you follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting in your daily life?
April’s Catholic Challenge
This month’s challenge is to go to adoration and pray a Holy Spirit prayer every day. Whether your parish has a special adoration hour weekly with praise or is blessed with perpetual adoration, make an effort to visit the Lord. Consider signing up for an hour in perpetual adoration or organizing a special Eucharistic adoration hour. (Here are some song suggestions: https://catholic-link.org/21-songs-for-eucharistic-adoration-and-prayer/.)
The goal is to gaze lovingly and in awe at the Consecrated Host and share that love with others with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Catholic Books To Read In April
Catholic Prayer To Learn In April
We encourage you to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet this month. Learn how to HERE!
O Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I call upon You and I beg Your mercy for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and unfathomable mercy, I plead with You for poor sinners. O Most Sacred Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable graces upon the entire human race, I beg of You light for poor sinners. O Jesus, be mindful of Your own bitter Passion and do not permit the loss of souls redeemed at so dear a price of Your most precious Blood. O Jesus, when I consider the great price of Your Blood, I rejoice at its immensity, for one drop alone would have been enough for the salvation of all sinners. Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equaled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God’s mercy will never be exhausted. Oh, what immense joy burns in my heart when I contemplate Your incomprehensible goodness, O Jesus! I desire to bring all sinners to Your feet that they may glorify Your mercy throughout endless ages/
You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.
– DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!
4 Ways To Grow In The Eucharist
Check out Eucharistic Miracles.
Focus on the Eucharist at Mass.
Read Catalina Rivas’ Visions of the Holy Mass, given the imprimatur by Bishop Rene Fernandez Apaza.
Dedicate time to better embrace the presence of our God in the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Spirit.
Adoration Resources To Help You Grow In Your Eucharistic Devotion
Why go to adoration? Amazing things happen when you do, and we can’t recommend it enough.
Don’t know what to do in adoration? Here are an infographic and a guide.
Don’t know much about the Holy Spirit? Check this out:
What is the Holy Spirit? Read this:
