Blessed Catherine of
Saint Augustine
(1632 – 1668)
White
She was born in 1632 in France. She entered the Augustinian Hospitaller Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus in 1644. She spent her life ministering to the poor and sick in Quebec, and died there at the age of 36.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 17: 50; 21: 23
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will tell of your name to my kin, alleluia.
Collect
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, as we celebrate in mystery the solemnities of your Son’s Resurrection, so, too, we may be worthy to rejoice at his coming with all the Saints. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Acts 17:15,22-18:1
Paul’s escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could. So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech: ‘Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it. ‘Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: “We are all his children.” ‘Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man. ‘God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.’ At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to hear you talk about this again.’ After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 148:1-2,11-14
R/ Your glory fills all heaven and earth.
Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host.
All earth’s kings and peoples, earth’s princes and rulers, young men and maidens, old men together with children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord for he alone is exalted. The splendour of his name reaches beyond heaven and earth.
He exalts the strength of his people. He is the praise of all his saints, of the sons of Israel, of the people to whom he comes close.
Gospel Acclamation : Col3:1
Alleluia, alleluia! Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 16:12-15
Jesus said: ‘I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.’
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who by the wonderful exchange effected in this sacrifice have made us partakers of the one supreme Godhead, grant, we pray, that, as we have come to know your truth, we may make it ours by a worthy way of life. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Jn 15: 16, 19
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, and have appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last, alleluia.
Prayer after Communion
Graciously be present to your people, we pray, O Lord, and lead those you have imbued with heavenly mysteries to pass from former ways to newness of life. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
At his departure from the world, Jesus promised a particular type of teacher, the Holy Spirit. He says he still has so many things to teach them but that he will lead them to the complete truth when the Holy Spirit comes. Thus, Jesus kept the Holy Spirit to be our teacher who would lead us to the complete truth. But how do we get access to this teacher, and how do we understand his teaching? Only by prayer and meditation. There is no other way to communicate with this teacher if we do not pray and meditate. If today’s world is so ignorant, people no longer listen to the Spirit. As Christians, we must renew our commitment to listen to the Spirit in prayer. Let us pray for the grace to receive the truth from the Holy Spirit and count on him to guide us always.