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St. Catherine of Siena, OP – April 29
Readings: Rev 1:5-8 or Col 1:24-29; Psa 103 (1-4, 8-9, 13); Jn 7:14-18, 37-39
1/ Reading I Col 1:24-29:
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.
2/ Responserial Psalm: Psa 103 (1-4, 8-9, 13)
Response: Praise the Lord my soul.
– Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
13 As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear him.
3/ Gospel (Jn 7:14-18, 37-39):
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 The Jews marveled at it, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me; 17 if any man’s will is to do his will, he shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. 38 He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, `Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
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THEME: Love the Church by preaching the Good News.
The Church is the spouse of Christ. According to St. John, Christ established the Church when he let the soldier pierced through His side: water and blood were immediately flowing from His heart. Water is the symbol of the sacrament of Baptism, used to purify sins of all people. Blood is the symbol of the sacrament of Eucharist, used to nourish people’s souls on the way to heaven.
St. Paul extended this image further with his theology of the body. He explained: Christ is the head of the body which is the Church. All of us are members of the one body, the Church. If one member suffers, the whole body shall also suffer. In order for Christ’s body to be healthy, all members must also be healthy.
In order to increase members and to be healthy, the Church needs to preach the Gospel to the end of the earth as Christ commanded His disciples before He ascended to heaven. In order for the Church to be wholesome, all members must be nourished by the truth and the sacraments.
Two readings were chosen in today feast of St. Catherine of Sienna to show the need of preaching the Good News in developing and protecting the Church. In the first reading, St. Paul desired to fulfill his mission of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, given to him by the Resurrected Christ. He knew difficulties and sufferings shall come when he carries out his mission, but he is willing to suffer for the sake of the Church, Christ’s body. In the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus revealed and explained His divine nature for the Jews by telling them that all His teachings aren’t His own teachings but come from God the Father. All that He sees and hears from His Father, He preaches to His disciples and people.
1/ Reading I: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.”
1.1/ The relationship between Christ as the head and the Church as His body:
St. Paul revealed for his people God’s Mysterical Plan of Salvation. This mystery was hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to His saints. There are two stages according to this plan: In the first stage, God chose the Israelites as His own people to prepare for the Messiah to come. In the second stage, when the Messiah comes, this plan of salvation is opened to all the Gentiles throughout the world.
In St. Paul’s words to the Colossians: “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
According to this plan, Christ’s mission is to fulfill God’s will by preaching of the Good News and by accepting death on the cross to forgive all people’s sins and to bring salvation to all. Besides these missions, Christ also chose His apostles and disciples to train and to send them out to preach the Good News after He fulfilled His mission on earth. The apostles and disciples continued the mission of preaching the Gospel and extending Christ’s salvation to all until the Last Day.
1.2/ Like Christ, preachers of the Good News shall be suffered:
Christ predicted sufferings for all His disciples when they preach the Gospel and gave the reason why they happen, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, `A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me.” (Jn 15:18-21)
St. Paul also understood why sufferings happen so he said to the Colossian faithfuls: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col 1:24).
St. Catherine of Sienna also knew the meaning of suffering so she wrote: “The desire of sufferings together with charity have the power to forgive all sins and to reduce many punishments for one’s and others’ sins.” Due to the love for Christ and for all members of the Church, one is ready to be on the way to preach the Gospel and to endure all sufferings because he/she knows these two elements will bring many memberss to God and reducing many punishments for oneself and for others.
2/ Gospel: “I speak of what I have seen with my Father” (Jn 8:38).
2.1/ “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.”
(1) The Jews used their experience to question Jesus, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” In other place, they insulted him because He was born in the family of Joseph, the carpenter, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” (Mt 13:54b-55).
Jesus answered and revealed to them the origin of His divinity: “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me” (Jn 7:16).
(2) Jesus also gave them the condition to recognize the truth which comes from God, is to do God’s will, “If any man’s will is to do his will, he shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.” (Jn 7:17-18). According to John, Jesus came to the world is to execute His Father’s will. He was ready to die to fulfill His plan and to glorify His Father. In opposition, many scribes and Pharisees, though they proclaimed themselves as the people of God, didn’t do God’s will and glorify God; but only did for their own will and glory.
2.2/ The Spirit is the Lord of truth: The passage continued to the next; but still kept the connection with the truth when it mentioned the role of the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth and will replace Jesus’ role when Jesus shall ascend to heaven until the Last Day.
(1) Jesus revealed the Spirit who is His successor in the plan of salvation: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. 38 He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, `Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” (Jn 7:37-38). Who is the object of the thirsty and “out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” which Jesus mentioned in this passage? Jesus might use Isaiah 55:1 to illustrate His ideal here. The whole chapter of Isa 55 talked about God’s wisdom. This wisdom is higher than all human wisdom and guarantees the effects for those who follow this wisdom.
(2) The Spirit is the source of all truth: The next sentence also talked about Jesus’ idea when St. John explained, “Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
According to John, Jesus is glorified when He is raised up on the cross, and when He gives up His last breath is the moment that He hands His Spirit for those who believed in Him. In the Last Discourse to His disciples (ch. 14-17), Jesus revealed to His disciples many things that relating to the role of the Holy Spirit: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (Jn 16:13).
According to St. Catherine, a disciple of Christ must learn to know all these truth before preaching the Good News to others. She herself desired to be taught by Christ Himself during her dialogue with Him during her ecstasy. She also used this knowledge to help the pope, Gregory XI, to move His throne back to Rome. Many Catherine’s disciples called her “mother” because she helped them to solve their difficult problems by the truth she had learned from Christ.
APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– Each one of us is a member of one body which is the Church, with Christ as the head. We have a duty to make the Church growing and be healthy because we ourselves also are benefitted from it.
– The two things we must do are to preach the Good News to the end of the earth and to suffer joyfully for the purification of the Church in order to reduce punishments caused by our sins and the sins of others.
– To proclaim the Gospel according to God’s will, we need to study Scripture often and according to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. He shall help us to understand Christ’s teachings and to solve difficult and important problems in our daily life.