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| “Catherine of Alexandria” by Caravaggio, c. 1598 |
Readings
and Commentary: [2]
Reading
1:
Revelation 21:5-7
Then he said, "Write these words down,
for they are trustworthy and true."
He said to me, "They are accomplished.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give a gift
from the spring of life-giving water.
The victor will inherit these gifts,
and I shall be his God,
and he will be my son."
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Commentary on Rv
21:5-7
In this passage from the Revelation of St.
John, the evangelist speaks of the reign of God having already begun (“I
make all things new…” and “They are accomplished”). The
“victor[s]” referred to are Christians who have been faithful in the face of
trials, and the promise given is the adoption by Christ in Baptism.
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm
124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8
Had not the LORD been with us—
When
men rose up against us,
then
would they have swallowed us alive,
When
their fury was inflamed against us.
R.
Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler’s snare.
Then
would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The
torrent would have swept over us;
over
us then would have swept the raging waters.
R.
Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler’s snare.
Broken
was the snare,
and
we were freed.
Our
help is in the name of the LORD,
who
made heaven and earth.
R.
Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler’s snare.
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Commentary on Ps
124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8
The
psalm is one of thanksgiving to the Lord for his gift of salvation: salvation
from physical enemies and salvation from nature’s fury. The song thanks God who
rescues us if we but reach out to him.
CCC:
Ps 124:8 287
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Gospel: Mt
10:28-33
Jesus said to the Twelve:
"Do
not be afraid of those who kill the body
but
cannot kill the soul;
rather,
be afraid of the one who can destroy
both
soul and body in Gehenna.
Are
not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet
not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.
Even
all the hairs of your head are counted.
So
do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone
who acknowledges me before others
I
will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But
whoever denies me before others,
I
will deny before my heavenly Father."
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Commentary on Mt
10:28-33
Jesus
concludes his instructions to the Apostles as he sends them out. He tells them
not to fear the persecution he has told them they will face. This fear should
be absent because, while the body may be killed, their souls are safe with him.
He concludes this passage telling them that the Father is watching over them
and they have nothing to fear.
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Reflection:
St.
Catherine lived in the late third century in Alexandria, Egypt. She was known to be a brilliant student and
at a very young age (18 according to early tradition) became very learned in
all manner of academic studies as well as a devout Christian. As the daughter of Constus, the governor of
Alexandria during the reign of the emperor Maximian (286–305), she went to
Maximian and confronted him over his vicious persecution of Christians. The
emperor was amazed at her audacity and attempted to have her dissuaded from her
faith by his own academicians and advisors.
Not only did they fail in their attempts but in many cases, they too
were converted to the faith, even though it meant instant martyrdom.
St. Catherine (also known as Catherine of the Wheel) got this later
assignation because Maximian attempted to execute her on a spiked wheel. Catherine touched the intended instrument of
her torture and death and it shattered.
Outraged by this miracle, Maximian commanded that she be beheaded. Angels
transported her body to the highest mountain (now called Mt. Saint Catherine)
next to Mount Sinai. In 850, her incorrupt body was discovered by monks from
the Sinai Monastery.
The heroic virtue of St. Catherine should serve
to remind us that God, through our Savior Jesus, his son, sends us into an
unforgiving world as well. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul,” we are told in the Gospel. Those words require action based upon belief.
We are reminded of a young child who was caught on the second floor of a burning
building and a stranger below called to the child to jump into his arms,
assuring her he would catch her. She
could not jump, not because she did not know her situation, but because she could
not trust the stranger to catch her.
When her father ran up below and told her to jump, she immediately leapt
into his arms.
St. Catherine had that kind of
faith in our Lord. We are called to have
that same unfaltering faith. On St.
Catherine’s feast day, we ask for her intercession. May she ask our Father to give
us the courage to face all resistance to the Lord with courage and words to
persuade others of the way to life through Christ.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Catherine of Alexandria”
by Caravaggio, c. 1598
[2] The readings are taken from the New
American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were
developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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