Saturday, November 25, 2017

FEAST OF ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA

Sirach, Chapter 1, Verse 11-21

¹¹ The fear of the Lord is glory and exultation, gladness and a festive crown. ¹² The fear of the Lord rejoices the heart, giving gladness, joy, and long life. ¹³ Those who fear the Lord will be happy at the end, even on the day of death they will be blessed. ¹⁴ The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord; she is created with the faithful in the womb. ¹⁵ With the godly she was created from of old, and with their descendants she will keep faith. ¹⁶ The fullness of wisdom is to fear the Lord; she inebriates them with her fruits. ¹⁷ Their entire house she fills with choice foods, their granaries with her produce. ¹⁸ The crown of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, flowering with peace and perfect health. ¹⁹ Knowledge and full understanding she rains down; she heightens the glory of those who possess her. ²⁰ The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord; her branches are long life. ²¹ The fear of the Lord drives away sins; where it abides it turns back all anger.

For today’s reflection let us replace the word fear with trust; for does He not ask us in the revelation of the Divine Mercy to trust.

·         Trust of the Lord is glory.

·         Trust of the Lord gives joy.

·         Trust of the Lord gives blessedness upon death.

·         Trust of the Lord gives wisdom.

·         Trust of the Lord gives peace and perfect health.

·         Trust of the Lord turns back anger and drives away sin.

397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.

2797 Simple and faithful trust, humble and joyous assurance are the proper dispositions for one who prays the Our Father.

2828 "Give us": The trust of children who look to their Father for everything is beautiful. "He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." He gives to all the living "their food in due season." Jesus teaches us this petition, because it glorifies our Father by acknowledging how good he is, beyond all goodness.

St. Catherine of Alexandria[1]

A virgin and martyr of noble birth and learned in the sciences, when only eighteen years old, Catherine presented herself to the Emperor Maximinus who was violently persecuting the Christians, upbraided him for his cruelty and endeavoured to prove how iniquitous was the worship of false gods. Astounded at the young girl's audacity, but incompetent to vie with her in point of learning the tyrant detained her in his palace and summoned numerous scholars whom he commanded to use all their skill in specious reasoning that thereby Catherine might be led to apostatize. But she emerged from the debate victorious. Several of her adversaries, conquered by her eloquence, declared themselves Christians and were at once put to death. Furious at being baffled, Maximinus had Catherine scourged and then imprisoned. Meanwhile the empress, eager to see so extraordinary a young woman, went with Porphyry, the head of the troops, to visit her in her dungeon, when they in turn yielded to Catherine's exhortations, believed, were baptized, and immediately won the martyr's crown. Soon afterwards the saint, who far from forsaking her Faith, effected so many conversions, was condemned to die on the wheel, but, at her touch, this instrument of torture was miraculously destroyed. The emperor, enraged beyond control, then had her beheaded and angels carried her body to Mount Sinai where later a church and monastery were built in her honor.

St. Catherine of Alexandria[2] (also Catharine) (November 25th), virgin and martyr is invoked against diseases of the tongue, protection against a sudden and unprovided death. She is the patroness of Christian philosophers, of maidens, preachers, wheelwrights, and mechanics. She is also invoked by students, orators, and barristers as "the wise counselor." She is pictured with a broken wheel.

Daily Devotions

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Pray the 54 Day Rosary for our Pope and President

·         Please pray for me and this ministry

---

[1]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03445a.htm

[2]http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=886