APRIL 29, 2015 : MEMORIAL OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 281

Reading 1ACTS 12:24—13:5A

The word of God continued to spread and grow. 

After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,
they returned to Jerusalem,
taking with them John, who is called Mark. 

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.” 
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia
and from there sailed to Cyprus. 
When they arrived in Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.

Responsorial PsalmPS 67:2-3, 5, 6 AND 8

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.

GospelJN 8:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 12:44-50

Jesus cried out and said,
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. 
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. 
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. 
And I know that his commandment is eternal life. 
So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "Believe.. that you may not remain in darkness"

What kind of darkness does Jesus warn us to avoid? It is the darkness of unbelief and rejection - not only of the Son who came into the world to save it - but rejection of the Father who offers us healing and reconciliation through his Son, Jesus Christ. In Jesus' last public discourse before his death and resurrection (according to John's Gospel), Jesus speaks of himself as the light of the world. In the scriptures light is associated with God's truth and life. Psalm 27 exclaims, The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Just as natural light exposes the darkness and reveals what is hidden, so God's word enables those with eyes of faith to perceive the hidden truths of God's kingdom. Our universe could not exist without light - and no living thing could be sustained without it. Just as natural light produces warmth and energy - enabling seed to sprout and living things to grow - in like manner, God's light and truth enables us to grow in the abundant life which only he can offer us. Jesus' words produce life - the very life of God - within those who receive it with faith.

To see Jesus, the Word of God who became flesh for our sake (John 1), is to see God in visible form. To hear the words of Jesus is to hear the voice of God. He is the very light of God that has power to overcome the darkness of sin, ignorance, and unbelief. God's light and truth brings healing, pardon, and transformation. This light is not only for the chosen people of Israel, but for the whole world as well. Jesus warns that if we refuse to listen to his word, if we choose to ignore it or to take it very lightly, then we choose to remain in spiritual darkness.

Jesus made it clear that he did not come to condemn us, but rather to bring abundant life and freedom from the oppression of sin, Satan, and a world in opposition to God's truth and goodness. We condemn ourselves when we reject God's word of truth, life, and wisdom. It is one thing to live in ignorance due to lack of knowledge and understanding, but another thing to disdain the very source of truth who is Christ Jesus, the Word of God sent from the Father. Jesus says that his word - which comes from the Father and which produces eternal life in us - will be our judge. Do you believe that God's word has power to set you free from sin and ignorance and to transform your life in his way of holiness?

Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) summed up our need for God's help in the following prayer he wrote: "God our Father, we find it difficult to come to you, because our knowledge of you is imperfect. In our ignorance we have imagined you to be our enemy; we have wrongly thought that you take pleasure in punishing our sins; and we have foolishly conceived you to be a tyrant over human life. But since Jesus came among us, he has shown that you are loving, and that our resentment against you was groundless."

God does not wish to leave us in spiritual darkness - in our ignorance and unbelief. He is always ready to give his light, wisdom, and truth to all who seek him and who hunger for his word. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit he helps us to grow each and every day in faith, knowledge, and understanding of his life-giving word. Do you want to know more of God and grow in his transforming love? Look to Jesus, the Light of God, and in his truth you will find joy, freedom, and wholeness of body, mind, heart, and soul.

"Lord Jesus, in your word I find life, truth, and freedom. May I never doubt your word nor forget your commandments. Increase my love for your truth that I may embrace it fully and live according to it."

www.dailyscripture.net

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, JOHN 12:44-50
(Acts 12:24 ̶ 13:5a; Psalm 67)

KEY VERSE: "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me" (v 44).
TO READ: In the prologue to John's Gospel, Jesus was described as the "Word made flesh" (Jn 1:14). In Jesus' words and deeds, in his life, death and resurrection, he was the fullness of divine revelation. Whoever saw Jesus saw God, and whoever heard Jesus heard God's own words. All who believed in Jesus' life-giving word must also believe in the one who sent him. Jesus did not speak on his own authority, but by God's command. The light of God's truth that Jesus revealed cast out the darkness of sin and ignorance in the world. Each individual is given the freedom to accept or reject this truth. Jesus did not come to condemn those who refuse to believe in him (Jn 3:17); however, anyone who denied the truth would be judged by God's Word.
TO REFLECT: Do I proclaim the word of God by my words and deed?
TO RESPOND: Risen Lord, increase my faith in your word.

Memorial of Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church 

At the age of six, Catherine of Siena had a vision in which Jesus appeared and blessed her. Her parents wanted her to marry, but she resisted and became a Dominican tertiary. Catherine was a mystic and a stigmatist (a person bearing marks resembling the wounds of Christ). In a vision, she was united in a mystical marriage with Christ, and he presented her with a wedding ring. Catherine was a counselor to Pope Gregory XI and Pope Urban VI. She helped bring peace to her native Sienna, to Italy, and to 14th century Europe. She spent all her energies for the Church, and through her efforts was able to achieve the Pope's return from Avignon to Rome. She was proclaimed Doctor of the Church on 4 October 1970.

Eternal Trinity, Godhead, mystery deep as the sea, you could give me no greater gift than the gift of yourself. For you are a fire ever burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love that fills my being . . .  illuminates the mind with its light, and causes me to know your truth. And I know that you are beauty and wisdom itself. The food of angels, you gave yourself to man in the fire of your love." St. Catherine of Siena, On Divine Providence.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Wednesday 29 April 2015

St Catherine of Siena.
Acts 12:24-13:5. O God, let all the nations praise you! —Ps 66(67):2-3, 5-6, 8. John 12:44-50.

Readings

‘Those who see me see the one who sent me.’

Responding to Philip and speaking of his Father, Jesus repeats these words at the Last Supper. Indeed, by proclaiming them in everything he did throughout his earthly life, he not only revealed God to humankind but also revealed humankind to itself.

Jesus incarnated God’s love for us and modelled what our love for one another should be. With good reason did he say to his disciples, ‘Learn of me.’

Ultimately, it is only in love given and received that we can witness to the Good News and be authentically human. If we lived this truth, we could then say with Paul, ‘Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Love Alone

I propose to have no other purpose in all my activities, either interior or exterior, other than the motive of love alone, by constantly asking myself: “Now what am I doing in this action? Do I love God?” If I should notice any obstacle to pure love, I shall take myself in hand and recall that I must seek to return my love for his love. –St. Teresa Margaret

— from Sisterhood of Saints 

April 29
St. Catherine of Siena
(1347-1380)

The value Catherine makes central in her short life and which sounds clearly and consistently through her experience is complete surrender to Christ. What is most impressive about her is that she learns to view her surrender to her Lord as a goal to be reached through time.

She was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa and grew up as an intelligent, cheerful and intensely religious person. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace, and she was given a room of her own for prayer and meditation.

She entered the Dominican Third Order at 18 and spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer and austerity. Gradually a group of followers gathered around her—men and women, priests and religious. An active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life. Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction and encouragement of her followers, began to take more and more note of public affairs. Opposition and slander resulted from her mixing fearlessly with the world and speaking with the candor and authority of one completely committed to Christ. She was cleared of all charges at the Dominican General Chapter of 1374.

Her public influence reached great heights because of her evident holiness, her membership in the Dominican Third Order, and the deep impression she made on the pope. She worked tirelessly for the crusade against the Turks and for peace between Florence and the pope

In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes and putting even saints on opposing sides. Catherine spent the last two years of her life in Rome, in prayer and pleading on behalf of the cause of Urban VI and the unity of the Church. She offered herself as a victim for the Church in its agony. She died surrounded by her "children" and was canonized in 1461. 

Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. In 1939, she and Francis of Assisi were declared co-patrons of Italy. Paul VI named her and Teresa of Avila doctors of the Church in 1970. Her spiritual testament is found in The Dialogue.

Comment:

Though she lived her life in a faith experience and spirituality far different from that of our own time, Catherine of Siena stands as a companion with us on the Christian journey in her undivided effort to invite the Lord to take flesh in her own life. Events which might make us wince or chuckle or even yawn fill her biographies: a mystical experience at six, childhood betrothal to Christ, stories of harsh asceticism, her frequent ecstatic visions. Still, Catherine lived in an age which did not know the rapid change of 21st-century mobile America. The value of her life for us today lies in her recognition of holiness as a goal to be sought over the course of a lifetime.

Quote:

Catherine's book Dialogue contains four treatises—her testament of faith to the spiritual world. She wrote: "No one should judge that he has greater perfection because he performs great penances and gives himself in excess to the staying of the body than he who does less, inasmuch as neither virtue nor merit consists therein; for otherwise he would be an evil case, who for some legitimate reason was unable to do actual penance. Merit consists in the virtue of love alone, flavored with the light of true discretion without which the soul is worth nothing."

Patron Saint of:

Europe
Italy

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO: JOHN 12,44-50

Lectio: 

 Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Easter Time

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,
through your Son Jesus Christ
you assure us that he came
not to condemn us but to bring us life,
a life worth living,
a life that is rich and refreshing us and our world
with love and a spirit of service.
Let Jesus stay with us
as the light in which we see
all that is good and worth living for
and let us share in his life that has no end.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 12,44-50

Jesus declared publicly: Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in the one who sent me, whoever sees me, sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as light, to prevent anyone who believes in me from staying in the dark any more.
If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully, it is not I who shall judge such a person, since I have come not to judge the world, but to save the world: anyone who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already: the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.
For I have not spoken of my own accord; but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and what to speak, and I know that his commands mean eternal life. And therefore what the Father has told me is what I speak.

3) Reflection

• Today’s Gospel presents to us the last part of the Book of Signs (from 1 to 12), in which the Evangelist draws up a balance. Many believed in Jesus and had the courage to manifest their faith publicly. They were afraid to be expelled from the Synagogue. And many did not believe: “Though they had been present when he gave so many signs, they did not believe in him; this was to fulfil the words of the prophet Isaiah: ‘Lord, who has given credence to what they have heard from us? And who has seen in it a revelation of the Lord’s arm?” (Jn 12, 37-38). After this confirmation, John takes back some of the central themes of his Gospel:
• John 12, 44-45: To believe in Jesus is to believe in him who sent him. This phrase is a summary of the Gospel of John. It is the theme that appears and reappears in many ways. Jesus is so united to the Father that he does not speak in his own name, but always in the name of the Father. He who sees Jesus, sees the Father. If you want to know God, look at Jesus. God is Jesus!
• John 12, 46: Jesus is the light who comes into the world. Here John comes back to what he had already said in the Prologue: “The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone (Jn 1, 9). “The light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it” (Jn 1, 5). Here he repeats: “I have come into the world as light, to prevent anyone who believes in me from staying in the dark any more”. Jesus is a living response to the great questions which move and inspire the search of the human being. It is a light which enlightens the horizon. It makes one discover the luminous side of the darkness of faith.
• John 12, 47-48: I have not come to condemn the world. Getting to the end of a stage, a question arises: “How will judgment be? In these two verses the Evangelist clarifies the theme of judgment. The judgment is not done according to threats, with maledictions. Jesus says: “If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully, it is not I who shall judge such a person, since I have come not to judge the world, but to save the world. Anyone who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already: the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day. The judgment consists in the way in which the person defines himself before his own conscience.
• John 12, 49-50: The Father commanded me what to say. The last words of the Book of Signs are a summery of everything that Jesus says and does up until now. He reaffirms that which he affirmed from the beginning: “For I have not spoken of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and what to speak, and I know that his commands mean eternal life. And, therefore, what the Father has told me is what I speak.” Jesus is the faithful reflection of the Father. For this reason, he does not offer proofs or arguments to those who provoke him to legitimize his credentials. It is the Father who legitimizes him through the works that he does. And saying works, he does not refer to great miracles, but to all that he says and does, even the minutest thing. Jesus himself is the Sign of the Father. He is the walking miracle, the total transparency. He does not belong to himself, but is entirely the property of the Father. The credentials of an Ambassador do not come from him, but from the one he represents. They come from the Father.

4) Personal questions

• John draws up a balance of the revealing activity of God. If I made a balance of my life, what positive thing would there be in me?
• Is there something in me which condemns me?

5) Concluding Prayer

Let the nations rejoice and sing for joy,
for you judge the world with justice,
you judge the peoples with fairness,
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the nations praise you, God,
let all the nations praise you. (Ps 67,4-5)

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