Saint Catherine of Siena
(1347 – 1380)
White
Born in Siena, she entered Third Order of the Dominicans. She is remembered for her burning love of God and neighbour and contributions to doctrine. In 1970 Pope Paul VI declared her a Doctor of the Church.
Entrance Antiphon
Here is a wise virgin, from among the number of the prudent, who went forth with lighted lamp to meet Christ, alleluia.
Collect
O God, who set Saint Catherine of Siena on fire with divine love in her contemplation of the Lord’s Passion and her service of your Church, grant, through her intercession, that your people, participating in the mystery of Christ, may ever exult in the revelation of his glory. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Acts 14:5-18
Eventually with the connivance of the authorities a move was made by pagans as well as Jews to make attacks on the apostles and to stone them. When the apostles came to hear of this, they went off for safety to Lycaonia where, in the towns of Lystra and Derbe and in the surrounding country, they preached the Good News. A man sat there who had never walked in his life, because his feet were crippled from birth; and as he listened to Paul preaching, he managed to catch his eye. Seeing that the man had the faith to be cured, Paul said in a loud voice, ‘Get to your feet – stand up’, and the cripple jumped up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had done they shouted in the language of Lycaonia, ‘These people are gods who have come down to us disguised as men.’ They addressed Barnabas as Zeus, and since Paul was the principal speaker they called him Hermes. The priests of Zeus-outside-the-Gate, proposing that all the people should offer sacrifice with them, brought garlanded oxen to the gates. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening they tore their clothes, and rushed into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, what do you think you are doing? We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that these hold. In the past he allowed each nation to go its own way; but even then he did not leave you without evidence of himself in the good things he does for you: he sends you rain from heaven, he makes your crops grow when they should, he gives you food and makes you happy.’ Even this speech, however, was scarcely enough to stop the crowd offering them sacrifice.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 113B:1-4,15-16
R/ Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.
Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory for the sake of your love and your truth, lest the heathen say: ‘Where is their God?’
But our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he wills. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
May you be blessed by the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The heavens belong to the Lord but the earth he has given to men.
Gospel Acclamation : Col3:1
Alleluia, alleluia! Christ has risen and shone upon us whom he redeemed with his blood. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 14:21-26
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them will be one who loves me; and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him. Judas – this was not Judas Iscariot – said to him, ‘Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus replied: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words. And my word is not my own: it is the word of the one who sent me. I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the saving sacrifice we offer in commemoration of Saint Catherine,
so that, instructed by her teaching, we may give ever more fervent thanks to you, the one true God. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. 1 Jn 1: 7
If we walk in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
May the heavenly table at which we have been fed, O Lord, confer eternal life upon us, as even in this world it nourished the life of Saint Catherine. Through Christ our Lord.
Mediation
And anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him.” These words are John’s definition of God. God is love. Consequently, love brings us to union with God and our neighbour. God’s love and my love must point in the same direction if we are to be one. Love is not just a feeling; it is a decision. To make this decision means to “cut away,” to get rid of whatever is blocking my way of loving God and my neighbour. What is stopping my surrender to God’s will? What is blocking my being one with him? Is there anything in my life preventing me from making this decision to love God right now? If so, removing this block is what we are to be concerned about.