Catholic Ireland
Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 29th April, 2024
29-04 St Catherine of Sienna, virgin + doctor of the Church, Feast
(Patron of Europe)
FIRST READING
A reading from the first letter of St John 1:5-2:2
The blood of Jesus God’s Son, purifies us from all sin.
This is what we have heard from Jesus Christ, and the message that we are announcing to you: God is light; there is no darkness in him at all.
If we say that we are in union with God while we are living in darkness, we are lying because we are not living the truth.
But if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we say we have no sin in us we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth; but if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong. To say that we have never sinned is to call God a liar and to show that his word is not in us.
I am writing this, my children, to stop you sinning; but if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just;
he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 102
Response My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
1. My soul, give thanks to the Lord, all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings. Response
2. It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion. Response
3. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end; he will not be angry for ever. Response
4. As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear him;
for he knows of what we are made, he remembers that we are dust. Response
5. But the love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear;
his justice reaches out to children’s children when they keep his covenant in truth. Response
Gospel Acclamation Mt 11: 25
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children .
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 11:25-30 Glory to you, O Lord
You have hidden these things from the learned and the clever, and reveal them to mere children.
Jesus exclaimed,
‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever
and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
____________________________________
Gospel Reflection 29th April Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena Mt 11:25-30
Born in 1347, Catherine entered the Dominican Third Order at the age of eighteen 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, working with the sick, the poor, prisoners and plague victims. In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes. She spent the last two years of her life in Rome in prayer, pleading on behalf of the cause of Pope 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 followers and was canonized in 1461.
A contemplative, her life of prayer expressed itself in the loving service of those in need. A mystic, she involved herself as a peacemaker and a reconciler in the great affairs of church and state of the day. In the words of today’s first reading, she lived her life in the light, in God who is light, and brought the light of God’s reconciling love to her broken church and world.
Today’s gospel reading gives us an insight into the prayer of Jesus, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’. Jesus’ communion with God in prayer directs him to those who labour and are overburdened, inviting them to come to him and receive the gift of rest, the revival of their drooping spirits. This two fold dynamic of prayerful communion with God and loving service of the broken and needy that shaped the life of Jesus also shaped the life of Catherine. It also shapes all of our lives.
__________________________________
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
