Friday April 29, 2022

CATHERINE of Siena, Virgin and Doctor

             

Introduction

What a rich personality, this valiant woman became a doctor of the Church.  A Dominican Tertiary, she was the leader in Siena of a kind of “charismatic movement” with an evangelical lifestyle. Though very pleasant and joyful, she was very sad to see the Church suffering because Pope Gregory XI with his cardinals had moved from Rome to Avignon, France, what eventually led to the so-called “Western schism,” that divided the Church for a long time with popes and antipopes.   She went to the Pope, scolded him “for his short-sightedness” and convinced him to return to Rome. She died at the age of 33. In her we have a person who was an ascetic, mystic, charismatic, stigmatic, doctor.

 

Opening Prayer

All-wise and powerful God,
let us, like St. Catherine of Siena,
draw fortitude and wisdom and zeal
from intense contact with you
through sober living, deep prayer
and contemplation of the cross.
Make us bold enough to face
even the mighty of this world and of the Church
with a humble courage that seeks nothing else
than the good of the People of God.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

Reading 1    ACTS 5:34-42

A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law, respected by all the people,
stood up, ordered the Apostles to be put outside for a short time,
and said to the Sanhedrin, “Fellow children of Israel,
be careful what you are about to do to these men.
Some time ago, Theda’s appeared, claiming to be someone important,
and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed,
and all those who were loyal to him
were disbanded and came to nothing.
After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census.
He also drew people after him,
but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered.
So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men, and let them go.
For if this endeavour or this activity is of human origin,
it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them;
you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
They were persuaded by him.
After recalling the Apostles, they had them flogged,
ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus,
and dismissed them.
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name.
And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

 

Responsorial Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14

(see 4abc) One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
One thing I ask of the LORD
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Alleluia   MT 4:4B

Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel    JN 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples. 
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” 
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. 
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” 
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

 

Intercessions

–          For those who left the Church or have not yet found it, that the witnessing of our evangelical living may be the food that nourishes their hunger for God, we pray:

–          For people who have enough to eat, that they be concerned to bring to those in need the food of their help, love and justice, we pray:

–          For those who participate regularly in the Eucharist, that they may also learn and relish the food of your word, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
we celebrate with bread and wine
the sacrifice of your Son Jesus.
May it always give us a deeper commitment
to the good of your Church,
that we may learn to see the Church
not as something outside us
but as a living part of ourselves.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
we have listened to the words
of Jesus our teacher and Lord.

May we not be afraid
of any renewal for ourselves and for our Church
and let that renewal begin in ourselves
with a new youth for our faith,
a deeper life of prayer,
and the will to do what we see
to be your will and desire.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

Blessing

We believe in Jesus, our Risen Lord. He nourishes us with his Word of life; may it be Good News which we want to experience and practice. He nourishes us with his bread of life. May it prompt you to bring love and serving help to anyone in need, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Discerning Resources

Andrew would have made a great vocation promoter. In the sea of five thousand men (and possibly many women and children too), his eyes spotted a young man with some resources. It takes keen sense of discernment to identify young men and women with “five barley loaves and two fish” who could potentially become feeders of five thousand people. Though Andrew wasn’t sure of how useful the little resources would be, he did the right thing: he ensured that the boy and Jesus met. The rest, as they say, is history. How many miracles we—as parents, elders, teachers, priests, religious, siblings—have aborted and how many people have been left unfed by God’s Word, because of our failure or lack of interest to discern and trust the potential of our young men and women and bring them closer to Jesus!  

Reflection is taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF