Catherine was born Alexandrina in 1522 in Florence, Italy. Catherine entered a convent at Prat in Tuscany and became known for her great sanctity. She is known for her “Ecstasy of the Passion, which she experienced from noon on Thursday till four o’clock on Friday.

Entrance Antiphon: Ps 94: 6-7

O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.

Collect

Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading: Genesis 3:9-24

The Lord God called to the man. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, ‘Be accursed beyond all cattle, all wild beasts. You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life. I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike its heel. To the woman he said: ‘I will multiply your pains in childbearing, you shall give birth to your children in pain. Your yearning shall be for your husband, yet he will lord it over you.’ To the man he said, ‘Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, ‘Accursed be the soil because of you. With suffering shall you get your food from it every day of your life. It shall yield you brambles and thistles, and you shall eat wild plants. With sweat on your brow shall you eat your bread, until you return to the soil, as you were taken from it. For dust you are and to dust you shall return.’ The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live. The Lord God made clothes out of skins for the man and his wife, and they put them on. Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil. He must not be allowed to stretch his hand out next and pick from the tree of life also, and eat some and live for ever.’ So the Lord God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Psalm 89 (90):2-6, 12-13

R/     O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

1.      Before the mountains were born or the earth or the world brought forth, you are God, without beginning or end.

2. You turn men back to dust and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’ To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, no more than a watch in the night.

3.      You sweep men away like a dream, like the grass which springs up in the morning. In the morning it springs up and flowers: by evening it withers and fades.

4.  Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever? Show pity to your servants.

Gospel Acclamation : Mt. 4:4

Alleluia, alleluia! Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Alleluia!

Gospel : Mark 8:1-10

A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said. Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven baskets full of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people. He sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Prayer over the Offerings

O Lord, our God, who once established these created things to sustain us in our frailty, grant, we pray, that they may become for us now, the Sacrament of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon :  Ps 106: 8-9

Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.

Prayer after Communion

O God, who have willed that we be partakers in the one Bread and the one Chalice, grant us, we pray, so to live that, made one in Christ, we may joyfully bear fruit for the salvation of the world. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

Despair: Where can we find enough food to feed these people? Sometimes we all get to this point when it is logically impossible to do anything. Remaining here cuts any possibility of progress.

Hope: what do you have? This is what the Load always asks of us when things appear bleak. He needs you to bring up something.

Faith: Seven loaves. For every situation, there is always something we have left, something you discover within you. It is this thing that the Lord takes from our situation and makes great.

Entrance Antiphon : Ps 94: 6-7

O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.

Collect

Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading : Genesis 3:1-8

The serpent was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ The woman answered the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, “You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.” Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.’ The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths. The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Psalm 31 (32):1-2, 5-7

R/     Happy the man whose offence is forgiven.

1.      Happy the man whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. O happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no guile.

2. But now I have acknowledged my sins; my guilt I did not hide. I said: ‘I will confess my offence to the Lord.’ And you, Lord, have forgiven the guilt of my sin.

3. So let every good man pray to you in the time of need. The floods of water may reach high but him they shall not reach.

4.  You are my hiding place, O Lord; you save me from distress. You surround me with cries of deliverance.

Gospel Acclamation : cf. Jn 6:63, 68

Alleluia, alleluia! Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!

Gospel : Mark 7:31-37

Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. ‘He has done all things well,’ they said, ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’

Prayer over the Offerings

O Lord, our God, who once established these created things to sustain us in our frailty, grant, we pray, that they may become for us now, the Sacrament of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon :  Ps 106: 8-9

Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.

Prayer after Communion

O God, who have willed that we be partakers in the one Bread and the one Chalice, grant us, we pray, so to live that, made one in Christ, we may joyfully bear fruit for the salvation of the world. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

Jesus does a remarkable thing:;he takes the man away from the crowd. It is, in almost all cases, important to find ourselves with the Lord, we must be away from the crowd. The faith of others is good for us, but our personal experience serves us better in strengthening the faith we have received. Decapolis was a gentile dominated territory. The Israelites saw the world of faith in two ways: the chosen people, and the gentiles. The mission of Jesus affects both worlds, giving each a chance to feel the presence of God.

She was born in Nursia in about 480, the twin sister of St. Benedict. She was dedicated to God from an early age and followed her brother to Cassino, where she died in about 547.

Teilo lived in the sixth century as a monk, with St. David at Mynyw. He founded his own monastery at Llandeilo Fawr where he died. At Llandaff he is venerated as founder of the See.

Entrance Antiphon : Ps 94: 6-7

O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.

Collect

Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading : Genesis 1:20-2:4

God said, ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven.’ And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind of living creature with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged creature. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the earth.’ Evening came and morning came: the fifth day. God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild beast.’ And so it was. God made every kind of wild beast, every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it was good. God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’ God created man in the image of himself,  in the image of God he created him,  male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage of plants for food.’ And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day. Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he had rested after all his work of creating. Such were the origins of heaven and earth when they were created.

Psalm 8:4-9

R/     How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

1.      When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him?

2.      Yet you have made him little less than a god; with glory and honour you crowned him, gave him power over the works of your hand, put all things under his feet.

3.      All of them, sheep and cattle, yes, even the savage beasts, birds of the air, and fish that make their way through the waters.

Gospel Acclamation : Ps. 118:24

Alleluia, alleluia! Train me, Lord, to observe your law, to keep it with my heart Alleluia!

Gospel : Mark 7:1-13

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations. You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’

Prayer over the Offerings

O Lord, our God, who once established these created things to sustain us in our frailty, grant, we pray, that they may become for us now, the Sacrament of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon :  cf. Ps 106: 8-9

Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.

Prayer after Communion

O God, who have willed that we be partakers in the one Bread and the one Chalice, grant us, we pray, so to live that, made one in Christ, we may joyfully bear fruit for the salvation of the world. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

Rituals, signs and gestures are important in every form of worship. In some cases, they are expressions of what lies within. Often, many lose sight of the use of these things and make them the essence of religious worship. True worship comes from within, and would, in all cases, stand above rituals. For example, the holiness of an act is expressed during worship by clasped palms, yet a clasped palm does not truly mean a person is holy, nor does the holiness of an act depend on the clasping of the palm, though the clasped palm is important in certain acts of worship.

She was born in Darfur (Sudan). She was kidnapped and sold as a slave. Rescued by an Italian family she became a Christian and joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity. She died in 1947.

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