Women of Grace by Johnnette Benkovic Williams:

April 29

Feast of St. Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380)

“You asked for suffering…You were, in effect, asking for love and light and knowledge of the truth. For suffering and sorrow increase in proportion to love. When love grows, so does sorrow … Endure courageously, then.”

-From The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena

Today’s Reflection:

What trial are you enduring courageously? Take consolation in God’s love for you and His constant presence with you in every difficulty.

My research update who is St. Catherine of Siena?

APRIL 29 + Today is the Feast Day of Spiritual Warrior Saint Catherine of Siena + Pray for us

Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. She remains a greatly respected figure for her writings and political boldness to “speak truth to power” — it is exceptional for a woman, in her time period, to have had such influence in politics and on world history. She is one of the most influential writers in Catholicism, to the point that she was the first woman and one of only four women to be declared a Doctor of the Church.

Catherine was born during the outbreak of the plague in Siena, Italy on March 25, 1347. She was the 25th child born to her mother, although half of her brothers and sisters did not survive childhood. Catherine herself was a twin, but her sister did not survive infancy.

She joined the Third Order of St. Dominic when she was a teenager and received the stigmata and the Crown of Thorns at twenty-eight years of age. Catherine endured an intense pain in her head, caused by the miraculous hidden thorns which continually pierced it.

Catherine often visited hospitals and homes where the poor and sick were found. Her activities quickly attracted followers who helped her in her mission to serve them. She was drawn further into the world as she worked, and eventually she began to travel, calling for reform of the Church and for people to confess and to love God totally. She became involved in politics and was key in working to keep city states loyal to the Pope. She petitioned for peace and became involved in the fractured politics of her time, but was instrumental in restoring the Papacy to Rome and in brokering peace deals during a time of conflict and war between the Italian city states.

By 1380, the 33-year-old mystic had become ill and her illness accelerated her inability to eat and drink. Within weeks, she was unable to use her legs. She died on April 29, following a stroke just a week prior.

She died while in Rome, but her hometown, Siena, wanted to have her body. When a few of her followers from home realized they would not be able to smuggle her whole body past the guards in Rome, they took only her head, hidden in a paper bag. They were stopped by the guards and the smugglers prayed to Catherine to protect them. When the guards looked in the bag, they saw not the small, beautiful head of the saint, but hundreds of rose petals. When they returned to Siena, her head had re-materialized … Saint Catherine’s final miracle. Her head was placed in a splendid reliquary, where it remains today. The rest of her incorrupt body is preserved in the magnificent Dominican Church of Santa Maria Della Minerva in Rome.

St. Catherine of Siena: Crown of Thorns

This great Saint was born in Siena, an ancient city of Tuscany, Italy, in the year 1347. She joined the third Order of St. Dominic when very young. This holy religious received the sacred stigmata of the Five Wounds and the Crown of Thorns at twenty-eight years of age. On this occasion, the Saint being sorely afflicted on account of various calumnies raised against her honor and reputation, our Divine Savior appeared to her with a crown of gold, all inlaid with pearls and precious stones in His right hand, and holding in His left a Crown of Thorns, and affectionately said to her: know my dear daughter that you must of necessity be crowned some time or other, with one of these two crowns. Therefore take your choice; either the Crown of Thorns in this transitory life, and have the other reserved for your everlasting glory; or take the crown of gold at present and hereafter that of thorns. “It is a long time, O Lord, answered the holy virgin, since I have made an entire renunciation of my own will to follow but Yours, and consequently, it is not for me to choose anything. If, however, You will  have me to answer, I desire to select that which is most acceptable to Your Divine Heart: and the better to imitate Your example, I do most willingly accept the crown of suffering and ignominy.” Having said this, St. Catherine took from our Savior’s left hand the Crown of Thorns and placed it upon her head, she fervently pressed it down with such force, that from that time this illustrious Saint always endured an intense pain in her head, caused by the miraculous hidden thorns which continually pierced it.

         During her short life, this admirable servant of God worked hard and suffered much for the welfare of the Church in general, and for her native country in particular. She died in Rome while on her mission of charity, April 29th, 1380, when scarcely thirty-three years old. St. Catherine was canonized by Pope Pius II, 80 years after her holy death. Her body is preserved incorrupt in the magnificent Dominican Church of Santa Maria Della Minerva in the Eternal City, of which she has been declared by the present Pope Pius IX, one of its principal patron Saints. The left hand of this holy religious is kept in a rich reliquary in the convent of St. Sixtus and St. Dominic on the Palatine hill in Rome, and her left foot is preserved as a precious relic in the city of Venice, on both of which members the miraculous impressions of the sacred stigmas are at this moment plainly visible. [Bolland. Acta s.s 55. 30th April]

Mother of God: The Greek word for the title is Theotokos, which literally means “God-bearer.”

Two excellent articles even read 2 Samuel 6:

Why Do We call Mary the Mother of God? and Mary, the Ark of Covenant

Mary visits Elizabeth

CCC 148 The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that “with God nothing will be impossible” and so giving her assent: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word.”¹ Elizabeth greeted her: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”² It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed.³

CCC 448 Very often in the Gospels people address Jesus as “Lord”. This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing.⁴ At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, “Lord” expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus.⁵ In the encounter with the risen Jesus, this title becomes adoration: “My Lord and my God!” It thus takes on a connotation of love and affection that remains proper to the Christian tradition: “It is the Lord!”⁶

CCC 495 Called in the Gospels “the mother of Jesus”, Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as “the mother of my Lord”.⁷ In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father’s eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly “Mother of God” (Theotokos).⁸

CCC 523 St. John the Baptist is the Lord’s immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way.⁹ “Prophet of the Most High”, John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last.¹⁰ He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother’s womb welcomes the coming of Christ, and rejoices in being “the friend of the bridegroom”, whom he points out as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”.¹¹ Going before Jesus “in the spirit and power of Elijah”, John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom.¹²

CCC 717 “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”¹³ John was “filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb”¹⁴ by Christ himself, whom the Virgin Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth thus became a visit from God to his people.¹⁵

CCC 2676 This twofold movement of prayer to Mary has found a privileged expression in the Ave Maria:
Hail Mary [or Rejoice, Mary]: the greeting of the angel Gabriel opens this prayer. It is God himself who, through his angel as intermediary, greets Mary. Our prayer dares to take up this greeting to Mary with the regard God had for the lowliness of his humble servant and to exult in the joy he finds in her.¹⁶
Full of grace, the Lord is with thee: These two phrases of the angel’s greeting shed light on one another. Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. The grace with which she is filled is the presence of him who is the source of all grace. “Rejoice. .. O Daughter of Jerusalem. .. the Lord your God is in your midst.”¹⁷ Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the ark of the covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells. She is “the dwelling of God. .. with men.”¹⁸ Full of grace, Mary is wholly given over to him who has come to dwell in her and whom she is about to give to the world.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. After the angel’s greeting, we make Elizabeth’s greeting our own. “Filled with the Holy Spirit,” Elizabeth is the first in the long succession of generations who have called Mary “blessed.”¹⁹ “Blessed is she who believed. .. ”²⁰ Mary is “blessed among women” because she believed in the fulfillment of the Lord’s word. Abraham. because of his faith, became a blessing for all the nations of the earth.²¹ Mary, because of her faith, became the mother of believers, through whom all nations of the earth receive him who is God’s own blessing: Jesus, the “fruit of thy womb.”

CCC 2677 Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, “And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”²² Because she gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: “Let it be to me according to your word.”²³ By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: “Thy will be done.”
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death: By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the “Mother of Mercy,” the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. And our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender “the hour of our death” wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son’s death on the cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing²⁴ to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise.

1 Lk 1:37-38; cf. Gen 18:14.
2 Lk 1:45.
3 Cf. Lk 1:48.
4 Cf Mt 8:2; 14:30; 15:22; et al.
5 Cf. Lk 1:43; 2:11.
6 Jn 20:28,21:7.
7 Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.
8 Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.
9 Cf. Acts 13:24; Mt 3:3.
10 Lk 1:76; cf. 7:26; Mt 11:13.
11 Jn 1 29; cf. Acts 1:22; Lk 1:41; 16:16; Jn 3:29.
12 Lk 1:17; cf. Mk 6:17-29.
13 Jn 1:6.
14 Lk 1:15, 41.
15 Cf. Lk 1:68.
16 Cf. Lk 1:48; Zeph 3:17b.
17 Zeph 3:14,17a.
18 Rev 21:3.
19 Lk 1:41, 48.
20 Lk 1:45.
21 Cf. Gen 12:3.
22 Lk 1:43.
23 Lk 1:38.
24 Cf. Jn 19:27.

Today is feast day: April 21st. St. Anselm. I enjoy reading ST. ANSELM, C. ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. I read St. Anselm’s quote (scroll down photo) – One of his writings in Latin was so popular. St. Anselm Proslogium: Monologium an Appendix in Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilon; And Cur Deus Homo, Translated From the Latin (Classic Reprint).

“For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. For I believe this: unless I believe, I will not understand.”

Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

Today I read newsletter “Fourth Sunday of Easter” from Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Please click April 21. 🤟💜🙏🔥🕊️📿🙏

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 50

Reading 1 Acts 4:8-12

Responsorial Psalms Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 (April 20).*

*April 21: Psalms 118

Responsorial Psalm 

Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜🙏

R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2 1 Jn 3:1-2

ALLELUIA Jn 10:14

GOSPEL Jn 10:11-18

In the reading from Acts, Peter explains to the leaders of Israel how they cured a crippled man. They probably expected Peter to take credit for the cure, so they were waiting for him to hang himself by his words. Peter, of course, gives the credit to Jesus and then makes two important points.

First he calls Jesus the “stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” This quote from Psalm 118 was used often by the early Christians to show that Jesus was rejected by fellow Jews when he was crucified, but was actually doing God’s will when he gave his life on the cross. Thus he became not just a martyr, but the savior of the world. This gave comfort to those who had expected the leaders of Israel to follow Jesus and recognize him as the Messiah. It also told those leaders that they could be forgiven for crucifying Jesus if they would simply repent.

The second point made by Peter was that Jesus is the one and only savior of the world. In those days, the Roman emperor was considered to be a god and was called a savior. Peter says this to the leaders because they had to obey the emperor and his appointed rulers over Israel. While we no longer look to politicians to be saviors, we need to remember that Jesus is the Savior: he forgives our sins, shows us how to love God and our neighbors, and hears our prayers. He lives in us to support us when the answer to our prayers is “no.” And in the end, he is with us when we die to bring us to eternal life. When we love others (and are loved by others) we experience a taste of God’s love. Now the choice is yours: to reject the Savior or make Him the cornerstone of your life.

Tom Schmidt

Catholic Catechism Second Edition

PART FOUR
CHRISTIAN PRAYER

SECTION ONE
PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

CHAPTER TWO
THE TRADITION OF PRAYER 

ARTICLE 2
💜THE WAY OF PRAYER💜

2663 In the living tradition of prayer, each Church proposes to its faithful, according to its historic, social, and cultural context, a language for prayer: words, melodies, gestures, iconography. The Magisterium of the Church¹⁵ has the task of discerning the fidelity of these ways of praying to the tradition of apostolic faith; it is for pastors and catechists to explain their meaning, always in relation to Jesus Christ.  🤟💜🙏🕊️🔥📿

15 Cf. DV 10.

💜Prayer to the Father💜

2664 There is no other way of Christian prayer than Christ. Whether our prayer is communal or personal, vocal or interior, it has access to the Father only if we pray “in the name” of Jesus. The sacred humanity of Jesus is therefore the way by which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to God our Father.

💜Prayer to Jesus💜

2665 The prayer of the Church, nourished by the Word of God and the celebration of the liturgy, teaches us to pray to the Lord Jesus. Even though her prayer is addressed above all to the Father, it includes in all the liturgical traditions forms of prayer addressed to Christ. Certain psalms, given their use in the Prayer of the Church, and the New Testament place on our lips and engrave in our hearts prayer to Christ in the form of invocations: Son of God, Word of God, Lord, Savior, Lamb of God, King, Beloved Son, Son of the Virgin, Good Shepherd, our Life, our Light, our Hope, our Resurrection, Friend of mankind. . . . 

2666 But the one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in his incarnation: JESUS. The divine name may not be spoken by human lips, but by assuming our humanity The Word of God hands it over to us and we can invoke it: “Jesus,” “YHWH saves.”¹⁶ The name “Jesus” contains all: God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation. To pray “Jesus” is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies. Jesus is the Risen One, and whoever invokes the name of Jesus is welcoming the Son of God who loved him and who gave himself up for him.¹⁷ 🤟🙏💜🔥🕊️📿🙏

2667 This simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many forms in East and West. The most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.” It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the publican and the blind men begging for light.¹⁸By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior’s mercy. 

2668 The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases,¹⁹ but holds fast to the word and “brings forth fruit with patience.”²⁰ This prayer is possible “at all times” because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus. 

2669 The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior’s steps. The stations from the Praetorium to Golgotha and the tomb trace the way of Jesus, who by his holy Cross has redeemed the world.

16 Cf. Ex 3:14; 33:19-23; Mt 1:21. 
17 Rom 10:13; Acts 2:21; 3:15-16; Gal 2:20.
18 Cf. Mk 10:46-52; Lk 18:13.
19 Cf. Mt 6:7.
20 Cf. Lk 8:15.

APRIL 17: THE LILY OF THE MOHAWKS
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Lay Virgin

Died: 1680

Her name “Tekakwitha” means “she who bumps into things.” She was the daughter of a Mohawk chief, which makes her a princess. She remained firm in her desire to live her life as a virgin. She had great love for the Holy Eucharist. She would walk miles everyday, even in deep snow, to go to Church. Her excitement for the Holy Mass was so great that she would stand before the door of the Church an hour or two before the Church opens.

Kateri Tekakwitha (feast day April 17), the first Native American to be canonized. This humble Mohawk princess was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1980 and canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, who entrusted her with “the renewal of the faith in the first nations and in all of North America.”

Please read true story about her faithfulness walking miles and going to Holy Mass even they mocked her faithful persecuted in Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for us! 🤟💜🙏🕊️🔥📿🙏

Christianity arrives
A new peace treaty with the French required the presence of Jesuit missionaries in villages with Christian captives. The new chief had to tolerate these “Blackrobes,” as he called them, but he did not like their presence in his village. Three missionaries even lodged with the chief and his family when they came into town. Their words had a great influence upon Kateri, but she dared not let her uncle know.

By the age of 19, however, Kateri asked to be baptized, and took the name Kateri, meaning “Catherine,” after St. Catherine of Siena. 

Because she was now a Christian, Kateri withstood great persecution from those in her tribe. She refused to work on Sunday, as it was the Lord’s Day, so the tribe withheld food from her on Sundays. They threw stones at her, mocked her, slandered her, and even tried to marry her off. Pope Francis observed:

Witnessing to the Gospel is not only about what is pleasing; we must also know how to bear our daily crosses with patience, trust, and hope. Patience … to tolerate difficulties and also to tolerate others, who are sometimes annoying or cause difficulties. Kateri Tekakwitha’s life shows us that every challenge can be overcome if we open our hearts to Jesus, who grants us the grace we need.

Click on North American Sanctity: St. Kateri Tekakwitha

St. Gertrude of Nivelles is celebrated on March 17 as the patron saint of cats and those who love them.