Collect taken from the Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena
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…
“O God, who set Saint Catherine of Siena on fire with divine love in her contemplation of the Lord’s Passion and her service or your Church”
– To be “on fire with divine love” is our ultimate destiny and our true happiness. It is something cannot be simply chosen, but must come from God. But, we can do those things which dispose us to be set aflame. Two such things are contemplation of the Lord’s passion and service of the Church
“grant, through her intercession, that your people, participating in the mystery of Christ, may ever exult in the revelation of his glory”
– This prays that we might exult in the revelation of God’s glory. Like being aflame with divine love, exulting in God’s glory is our true destiny and happiness. There are many ways that this exultation can happen, but this collect points out the value of St. Catherine’s intercession and the importance of “participating in the mystery of Christ.” That participation is similar to contemplating the Lord’s passion, but is especially accomplished in the 7 Sacraments – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass of course being the preeminent form of participation.
Questions & Advice: Are you on fire with divine love? Do you want to be? How much time and energy do you spend contemplating the Lord’s passion (like in the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary)? What about serving the Church? Do you exult in the glory of Christ or are you ashamed of his glory because it contradicts the world’s selfish version of glory? Do you see every mass as a participation in the mystery of Christ or as something you just have to do?
Try spending some time simply reading and reflecting on the passion as written in the Gospels. If you don’t already, consider a daily rosary or at least praying one decade each day. It’s important to contemplate Christ in some way every day.
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| Sancta Catharina, ora pro nobis! |