TUESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

Antiphon

Rev 19: 7, 6

Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to God,

for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns, alleluia.

Collect

Enable us, we pray, almighty God,

to proclaim the power of the risen Lord,

that we, who have received the pledge of his gift,

may come to possess all he gives

when it is fully revealed.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

Reading

ACTS 4:32-37

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,

and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,

but they had everything in common.

With great power the Apostles bore witness

to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,

and great favor was accorded them all.

There was no needy person among them,

for those who owned property or houses would sell them,

bring the proceeds of the sale,

and put them at the feet of the Apostles,

and they were distributed to each according to need.

Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas

(which is translated Ason of encouragement"),

a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,

sold a piece of property that he owned,

then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5

R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

The LORD is king, in splendor robed;

robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.

R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

And he has made the world firm,

not to be moved.

Your throne stands firm from of old;

from everlasting you are, O LORD.

R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:

holiness befits your house,

O LORD, for length of days.

R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Alleluia

JN 3:14-15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Son of Man must be lifted up,

so that everyone who believes in him

may have eternal life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

JN 3:7B-15

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

"'You must be born from above.'

The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,

but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;

so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus answered and said to him,

'How can this happen?"

Jesus answered and said to him,

"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?

Amen, amen, I say to you,

we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,

but you people do not accept our testimony.

If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,

how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

No one has gone up to heaven

except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

SAINT OF THE DAY

April 30

Saint Pius V (1504 - 1572)

This is the pope whose job it was to implement the historic Council of Trent. If we think popes had difficulties in implementing Vatican Council II, Pius V had even greater problems after Trent four centuries earlier.

During his papacy (1566-1572), Pius V was faced with the almost overwhelming responsibility of getting a shattered and scattered Church back on its feet. The family of God had been shaken by corruption, by the Reformation, by the constant threat of Turkish invasion, and by the bloody bickering of the young nation-states. In 1545, a previous pope convened the Council of Trent in an attempt to deal with all these pressing problems. Off and on over 18 years, the Fathers of the Church discussed, 

condemned, affirmed, and decided upon a course of action. The Council closed in 1563.

Pius V was elected in 1566 and charged with the task of implementing the sweeping reforms called for by the Council. He ordered the founding of seminaries for the proper training of priests. He published a new missal, a new breviary, a new catechism, and established the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine classes for the young. Pius zealously enforced legislation against abuses in the Church. He patiently served the sick and the poor by building hospitals, providing food for the hungry, and giving money customarily used for the papal banquets to poor Roman converts. His decision to keep wearing his Dominican habit led to the custom–to this day–

of the pope wearing a white cassock.

In striving to reform both Church and state, Pius encountered vehement opposition from England’s Queen Elizabeth and the Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Problems in France and in the Netherlands also hindered Pius’s hopes for a Europe united against the Turks. Only at the last minute was he able to organize a fleet which won a decisive victory in the Gulf of Lepanto, off Greece, on October 7, 1571.

Pius’s ceaseless papal quest for a renewal of the Church was grounded in his personal life as a Dominican friar. He spent long hours with his God in prayer, fasted rigorously, deprived himself of many customary papal luxuries, and faithfully observed the spirit of the Dominican Rule that he had professed.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 94 (95)

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,

let us acclaim God our salvation.

Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks,

let us acclaim him with songs.

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

For the Lord is a great God,

a king above all gods.

For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands,

and the peaks of the mountains are his.

For the sea is his: he made it;

and his hands formed the dry land.

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

bend the knee before the Lord who made us;

for he himself is our God and we are his flock,

the sheep that follow his hand.

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

If only, today, you would listen to his voice:

“Do not harden your hearts

as you did at Meribah,

on the day of Massah in the desert,

when your fathers tested me –

they put me to the test,

although they had seen my works.”

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

“For forty years they wearied me,

that generation.

I said: their hearts are wandering,

they do not know my paths.

I swore in my anger:

they will never enter my place of rest.”

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Hymn

Love’s redeeming work is done,

fought the fight, the battle won.

Lo, our Sun’s eclipse is o’er!

Lo, he sets in blood no more!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal!

Christ has burst the gates of hell;

death in vain forbids him rise;

Christ has opened paradise.

Lives again our victor King;

where, O death, is now thy sting?

Dying once, he all doth save;

where thy victory, O grave?

Soar we now where Christ has led,

following our exalted Head;

made like him, like him we rise,

ours the cross, the grave, the skies.

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!

Praise to thee by both be given:

thee we greet triumphant now;

hail, the Resurrection thou!

Psalm 36 (37)

The fate of the evil and the righteous

Commit your life to the Lord,

and he will act on your behalf.

Alleluia.

Do not envy the wicked;

do not be jealous of those that do evil.

They will dry up as quickly as hay;

they will wither like the grass.

Put your trust in the Lord and do good,

and your land and habitation will be secure.

Take your delight in the Lord,

and he will give you what your heart desires.

Entrust your journey to the Lord, and hope in him:

and he will act.

He will make your uprightness shine like the light,

your judgement like the sun at noon.

Take your rest in the Lord, and hope in him:

do not envy the one who thrives in his own way,

the man who weaves plots.

Abstain from wrath, abandon anger:

do not envy him who turns to evil,

for those who do evil will be destroyed,

but those on the side of the Lord

will inherit the earth.

A moment yet – and the sinner will be gone:

you will look where he was and find nothing.

But the meek will inherit the land

and delight in abundant peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Commit your life to the Lord,

and he will act on your behalf.

Alleluia.

Psalm 36 (37)

Turn away from evil and do good:

the Lord will support the just.

Alleluia.

The wicked will plot against the righteous

and gnash his teeth at him;

but the Lord will deride him in his turn,

for the Lord has seen what awaits him.

The wicked have pulled out their swords,

the wicked have drawn their bows,

to throw down the poor and the destitute,

to murder whoever follows the straight path.

But their swords will enter their own hearts,

and their bows will splinter.

For the righteous, the little they have is better

than the abundant wealth of the wicked.

The limbs of the wicked will be broken

while the Lord gives his strength to the just.

The Lord knows when the day of the perfect will come;

and their inheritance will be eternal.

They will not be troubled in evil times,

and in times of famine they will have more than enough.

For the wicked will perish:

the enemies of the Lord will be like the flowers of the fields,

and like smoke they will vanish away.

The wicked man borrows and does not return;

but the righteous takes pity and gives.

The blessed ones of the Lord will inherit the earth,

but those whom he curses will be cut off.

It is the Lord who strengthens the steps of man

and chooses his path.

Even if he trips he will not fall flat,

for the Lord is holding his hand.

I was young and I have grown old,

but I have not seen the righteous man abandoned

nor his children seeking for bread.

All day long he takes pity and lends,

and his seed will be blessed.

Shun evil and do good,

and you will live for ever.

For the Lord loves right judgement,

and will not abandon his chosen ones.

The unjust will be destroyed for ever,

and the seed of the wicked will be cut off,

but the righteous will inherit the earth

and live there from age to age.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Turn away from evil and do good:

the Lord will support the just.

Alleluia.

Psalm 36 (37)

Wait for the Lord, keep to his way.

Alleluia.

The mouth of the righteous will speak wisdom,

and his tongue will utter right judgement.

The law of his God is in his heart

and his steps will not stumble.

The wicked man watches the just

and seeks to kill him;

but the Lord will rescue the just man from his hands

and not condemn the just in the time of judgement.

Put your hope in the Lord and follow his paths,

and he will raise you up and make the land your inheritance,

let you watch as the wicked are cut off.

I have seen the sinner triumph,

flourish like a green cedar,

but he is gone, he is there no longer:

I have looked for him but have not found him.

Preserve innocence, follow uprightness:

for the future belongs to the man of peace.

The unrighteous will be destroyed altogether,

their posterity will be cut off.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,

and their protection in time of trouble.

The Lord will come to their help and free them,

rescue them from the wicked and save them,

because they have put their trust in him.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Wait for the Lord, keep to his way.

Alleluia.

Christ, risen from the dead, dies no more, alleluia.

– Death will have no more power over him, alleluia.

First Reading

Apocalypse 2:1-11

Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus and say, “Here is the message of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who lives surrounded by the seven golden lamp-stands: I know all about you: how hard you work and how much you put up with. I know you cannot stand wicked men, and how you tested the impostors who called themselves apostles and proved they were liars. Know, too, that you have patience, and have suffered for my name without growing tired. Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make; you have less love now than you used to. Think where you were before you fell; repent, and do as you used to at first, or else, if you will not repent, I shall come to you and take your lamp-stand from its place. It is in your favor, nevertheless, that you loathe as I do what the Nicolaitans are doing. If anyone has ears to hear, 

let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: 

those who prove victorious I will feed from the tree of life set in God’s paradise.”

Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna and say, “Here is the message of the First and the Last, who was dead and has come to life again: I know the trials you have had, and how poor you are – though you are rich – and the slanderous accusations that have been made by the people who profess to be Jews but are really members of the synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you: I tell you, the devil is going to send some of you to prison to test you, and you must face an ordeal for ten days. Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize. If anyone has ears to hear, 

let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: 

for those who prove victorious there is nothing to be afraid of in the second death.”

Responsory

Be faithful to me,

even if it means death,

and I will give you the crown of life:

those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death, alleluia.

Fight to the death for truth,

and the Lord God will fight on your side:

those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death, alleluia.

Second Reading

From a book addressed to Monimus

by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop

The sacrament of unity and love

The spiritual building up of the body of Christ is achieved through love. As Saint Peter says: Like living stones you are built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And there can be no more effective way to pray for this spiritual growth than for the Church, itself Christ’s body, to make the offering of his body and blood in the sacramental form of bread and wine. For the cup we drink is a participation in the blood of Christ, and the bread we break is a participation in the body of Christ. Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, since we all share the same bread. And so we pray that, by the same grace which made the Church Christ’s body, 

all its members may remain firm in the unity of that body through the enduring bond of love.

We are right to pray that this may be brought about in us through the gift of the one Spirit of the Father and the Son. The holy Trinity, the one true God, is of its nature unity, equality and love, and by one divine activity sanctifies its adopted sons. That is why Scripture says that God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit he has given us. The Holy Spirit, who is the one Spirit of the Father and the Son, produces in those to whom he gives the grace of divine adoption the same effect as he produced among those whom the Acts of the Apostles describes as having received the Holy Spirit. We are told that the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, because the one Spirit of the Father and the Son, 

who with the Father and the Son is one God, had created a single heart and soul in all those who believed.

This is why Saint Paul in his exhortation to the Ephesians says that this spiritual unity in the bond of peace must be carefully preserved. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, he writes, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, with all humility and meekness and with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit.

God makes the Church itself a sacrifice pleasing in his sight by preserving within it the love which his Holy Spirit has poured out. Thus the grace of that spiritual love is always available to us, 

enabling us continually to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, 

holy and pleasing to him forever.

Responsory

I pray for them,

that they may all be one,

that they too may be one in us,

as you, Father, are in me,

and I in you.

I have given them the glory which you gave to me:

that they should all be one as we are one, alleluia.

You have sent me into the world,

and I have sent them into the world,

that they should all be one as we are one, alleluia.

Let us pray.

Almighty God,

give your Church the grace

to proclaim the power of Jesus, our Risen Lord.

We have received the first fruits of his grace:

prepare us for the full revelation of his gifts.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God forever and ever.

Amen.

Let us praise the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.

MEMORIAL OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

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, forever and ever.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena

Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Reading

ACTS 4:23-31

After their release Peter and John went back to their own people

and reported what the chief priests and elders had told them.

And when they heard it,

they raised their voices to God with one accord

and said, "Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth

and the sea and all that is in them,

you said by the Holy Spirit

through the mouth of our father David, your servant:

Why did the Gentiles rage

and the peoples entertain folly?

The kings of the earth took their stand

and the princes gathered together

against the Lord and against his anointed.

Indeed they gathered in this city

against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed,

Herod and Pontius Pilate,

together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

to do what your hand and your will

had long ago planned to take place.

And now, Lord, take note of their threats,

and enable your servants to speak your word

with all boldness, as you stretch forth your hand to heal,

and signs and wonders are done

through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook,

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 2:1-3, 4-7A, 7B-9

R. Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples utter folly?

The kings of the earth rise up,

and the princes conspire together

against the LORD and against his anointed:

"Let us break their fetters

and cast their bonds from us!"

R. Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.

He who is throned in heaven laughs;

the LORD derides them.

Then in anger he speaks to them;

he terrifies them in his wrath:

"I myself have set up my king

on Zion, my holy mountain."

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD.

R. Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.

The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;

this day I have begotten you.

Ask of me and I will give you

the nations for an inheritance

and the ends of the earth for your possession.

You shall rule them with an iron rod;

you shall shatter them like an earthen dish."

R. Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.

Alleluia

COL 3:1

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

If then you were raised with Christ,

seek what is above,

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

JN 3:1-8

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

He came to Jesus at night and said to him,

"Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,

for no one can do these signs that you are doing

unless God is with him."

Jesus answered and said to him,

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."

Nicodemus said to him,

"How can a man once grown old be born again?

Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?"

Jesus answered,

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless one is born of water and Spirit

he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

What is born of flesh is flesh

and what is born of spirit is spirit.

Do not be amazed that I told you,

'You must be born from above.'

The wind blows where it wills,

and you can hear the sound it makes,

but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;

so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

SAINT OF THE DAY

April 29

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347 - 1380)

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 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 “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. Pope Paul VI named her and Teresa of Avila doctors of the Church in 1970. Her spiritual testament is found in The Dialogue.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

The Lord is the king of virgins:

come, let us adore him, alleluia.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

The Lord is the king of virgins:

come, let us adore him, alleluia.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

The Lord is the king of virgins:

come, let us adore him, alleluia.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts forever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

The Lord is the king of virgins:

come, let us adore him, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

The Lord is the king of virgins:

come, let us adore him, alleluia.

Hymn

Love’s redeeming work is done,

fought the fight, the battle won.

Lo, our Sun’s eclipse is o’er!

Lo, he sets in blood no more!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal!

Christ has burst the gates of hell;

death in vain forbids him rise;

Christ has opened paradise.

Lives again our victorious King;

where, O death, is now thy sting?

Dying once, he all doth save;

where thy victory, O grave?

Soar we now where Christ has led,

following our exalted Head;

made like him, like him we rise,

ours the cross, the grave, the skies.

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!

Praise to thee by both be given:

thee we greet triumphant now;

hail, the Resurrection thou!

Psalm 102 (103)

Praise of the compassionate Lord

My soul, give thanks to the Lord,

and never forget all his blessings.

Alleluia.

My soul, bless the Lord!

All that is in me, bless his holy name.

My soul, bless the Lord!

Never forget all he has done for you.

The Lord, who forgives your wrongdoing,

who heals all your weaknesses.

The Lord, who redeems your life from destruction,

who crowns you with kindness and compassion.

The Lord, who fills your age with good things,

who renews your youth like an eagle’s.

The Lord, who gives fair judgements,

who gives judgement in favour of the oppressed.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord,

and never forget all his blessings.

Alleluia.

Psalm 102 (103)

As a father has compassion on his sons,

the Lord has pity on those who fear him.

Alleluia.

The Lord is compassion and kindness,

full of patience, full of mercy.

He will not fight against you for ever:

he will not always be angry.

He does not treat us as our sins deserve;

he does not pay us back for our wrongdoing.

As high as the sky above the earth,

so great is his kindness to those who fear him.

As far as east is from west,

so far he has put our wrongdoing from us.

As a father cares for his children,

so the Lord cares for those who fear him.

For he knows how we are made,

he remembers we are nothing but dust.

Man – his life is like grass,

he blossoms and withers like flowers of the field.

The wind blows and carries him away:

no trace of him remains.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

As a father has compassion on his sons,

the Lord has pity on those who fear him.

Alleluia.

Psalm 102 (103)

Give thanks to the Lord, all his works.

Alleluia.

The Lord has been kind from the beginning;

to those who fear him his kindness lasts for ever.

His justice is for their children’s children,

for those who keep his covenant,

for those who remember his commandments

and try to perform them.

The Lord’s throne is high in the heavens

and his rule shall extend over all.

Bless the Lord, all his angels,

strong in your strength, doers of his command,

bless him as you hear his words.

Bless the Lord, all his powers,

his servants who do his will.

Bless the Lord, all he has created,

in every place that he rules.

My soul, bless the Lord!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Give thanks to the Lord, all his works.

Alleluia.

God raised Christ from the dead, alleluia,

– so that our faith and hope would be in God, alleluia.

First Reading

Apocalypse 14:14-15:4

Now in my vision I saw a white cloud and, sitting on it, one like a son of man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the sanctuary, and shouted aloud to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Put your sickle in and reap: harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to work on the earth, and the earth’s harvest was reaped.

Another angel, who also carried a sharp sickle, came out of the temple in heaven, and the angel in charge of the fire left the altar and shouted aloud to the one with the sharp sickle, ‘Put your sickle in and cut all the bunches off the vine of the earth; all its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel set his sickle to work on the earth and harvested the whole vintage of the earth and put it into a huge winepress, the winepress of God’s anger, outside the city, where it was trodden until the blood that came out of the winepress was up to the horses’ bridles as far away as sixteen hundred furlongs.

What I saw next, in heaven, was a great and wonderful sign: seven angels were bringing the seven plagues that are the last of all, because they exhaust the anger of God. I seemed to see a glass lake suffused with fire, and standing by the lake of glass, those who had fought against the beast and won, and against his statue and the number which is his name. They all had harps from God,

and they were singing the hymn of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb:

‘How great and wonderful are all your works,

Lord God Almighty;

just and true are all your ways,

King of nations.

Who would not revere and praise your name, O Lord?

You alone are holy,

and all the pagans will come and adore you

for the many acts of justice you have shown.’

Responsory

Those who were victorious sang the song of the Lamb:

Lord, God Almighty, how great and wonderful are all your works!

King of all ages, how right and true are your ways, alleluia.

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

worker of wonders? King of all ages,

how right and true are your ways, alleluia.

Second Reading

From the dialogue On Divine Providence

by Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor

I tasted and I saw

Eternal God, eternal Trinity, you have made the blood of Christ so precious through his sharing in your divine nature. You are a mystery as deep as the sea; the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find the more I search for you. But I can never be satisfied; what I receive will ever leave me desiring more. 

When you fill my soul I have an even greater hunger,

and I grow more famished for your light. I desire above all to see you, the true light, as you really are.

I have tasted and seen the depth of your mystery and the beauty of your creation with the light of my understanding. I have clothed myself with your likeness and have seen what I shall be. Eternal Father, you have given me a share in your power and the wisdom that Christ claims as his own, and your Holy Spirit has given me the desire to love you. You are my Creator, eternal Trinity, and I am your creature. 

You have made of me a new creation in the blood of your Son,

and I know that you are moved with love at the beauty of your creation, for you have enlightened me.

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. Yes, you are a fire that takes away the coldness, illuminates the mind with its light and causes me to know your truth. By this light, reflected as it were in a mirror, 

I recognize that you are the highest good, one we can neither comprehend nor fathom.

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.

You are the garment which covers our nakedness, and in our hunger you are a satisfying food,

for you are sweetness and in you there is no taste of bitterness, O triune God!

Responsory

Now that you are endowed with the gift of my Spirit,

cleansed from all stain by the outpouring of my blood,

leave the quiet of contemplation and resolutely take up the work of witnessing to my truth, alleluia.

Open your heart to me, my sister, co-heir with me of my kingdom;

my beloved, who have understood Truth’s hidden mysteries;

leave the quiet of contemplation and resolutely take up the work of witnessing to my truth, alleluia.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, you made Saint Catherine of Siena

a contemplative lover of the Lord’s sufferings

and an ardent servant of your church.

Grant through her prayer

that your people may be united to Christ in his mystery,

and rejoice for ever in the revelation of his glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Let us praise the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.