- Mark 16:1-6 -
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James,
and
Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very
early on
the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to
the
tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the
entrance
of the tomb?"
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very
large, had
been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed
in a
white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene,
who
was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid
him."
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From the first century on, people have struggled with the idea of
resurrection because it defies reason. But believing that Jesus rose from
the
dead is not negotiable for Christians. If the resurrection didn't happen,
then
Jesus Christ did not triumph over death. And without His victory, we
cannot be
free from sin and its punishment. Jesus said he would rise again and sit
at his
Father's right hand in heaven. He did exactly as he promised. His
supernatural
return to life is confirmation that everything He said was 100 percent
reliable.
<<>><<>><<>>
March 24th - St. Catherine of Vadstena, Bridgettine
(Also known as Catherine of Sweden)
Born at Ulfasa, Sweden, in 1331; died March 24, 1381; cultus approved in
1484 by
Pope Innocent VIII.
Fourth of the eight children of Saint Bridget and her husband, Ulf
Gudmarsson of
Nierck, Saint Catherine was sent to Risberg Convent to be educated at a
very
young age. She wished to remain in the convent to pursue a religious
vocation,
but she was married at age 13 or 14 to Eggard (Edgard) Lydersson von
Kürnen, a
lifelong invalid and long- suffering man. She and Eggard took a vow to
remain
celibate and she tended to him with great devotion. He allowed her to do
anything she pleased under the direction of the Church.
Catherine grew extremely sad when her father died and Saint Bridget went
to live
in Rome. For a time (as she herself told Saint Catherine of Siena), she
never
smiled. In 1349, Eggard permitted Catherine to travel to Rome to visit her
mother during the Jubilee of 1350. While in Rome she learned of her
husband's
death, which Saint Bridget had prophesied. (Farmer says that she returned
to
Sweden and nursed her husband until his death.) Even then she was for some
time
extremely unhappy, because Rome in the 14th century was a dissolute place
and
her mother would not let her go out.
From the time of her husband's death, she lived the life of devotion that
she
had desired, refusing persistent suitors who wished to marry the beautiful
young
widow. Some of them even lay in wait for her to carry her off. One was
distracted when a hart ran by just as Bridget and Catherine passed.
Others, it
is said, were blinded. To try to repulse such suitors, and also as an act
of
humility, Catherine always went about in the most ragged and threadbare
clothing.
Soon Catherine was her mother's devoted, reliable, and constant assistant,
and
served her for the next 25 years. In 1372, she and her mother made a
pilgrimage
to the Holy Land, returning by way of Rome, where Saint Bridget died the
following year. Catherine returned with her mother's body to Sweden and
there
she became abbess of the convent of Vadstena, founded by her mother, and
the
motherhouse of the Bridgettine (Salvatorian) Order.
Now followed intense work to promote the Bridgettine Order. Bound together
in
double monasteries, men and women pledged themselves to live in poverty,
save
for the right to buy as many books as they needed for study and devotion
In 1375, she returned to Rome to win papal approval for the order. She
succeeded
in getting Urban VI's approval but failed in bringing about the
canonization of
her mother. She died soon after her return from Rome. Her vita was written
by
Ulpho, a Brigittine friar, thirty years after her death (Attwater,
Attwater2,
Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth, White).
In art, Saint Catherine is commonly depicted as a Bridgettine abbess with
a
hind, which, according to legend, protected her from harm on many
occasions,
including attacks on her chastity (Roeder, White). She may also be shown
(1)
holding a lily; (2) dressing a poor man's wounds; or (3) as the Blessed
Sacrament is brought to her after her death (Roeder).
Saint Catherine's patronage is invoked as protection against abortion,
perhaps
because of the chastity of her life (White).
<><><><>
"To you, O Master, who loves all mankind
I hasten on rising from sleep.
By your mercy I go out to do your work
and I make my prayer to you.
Help me at all times and in all things.
Deliver me from every evil thing of this world
and from pursuit by the devil.
Save me and bring me to your eternal kingdom,
For you are my Creator,
You inspire all good thoughts in me.
In you is all my hope and to you I give glory,
now and forever."
-Saint Macarius
<><><><>
The first glorious mystery prayer of the Eucharistic Rosary, to
be offered before the Blessed Sacrament:
The Resurrection of Our Lord, offered for Faith, Hope, and
Charity:
O Christ Jesus! Thou comest forth glorious from the tomb,
victorious over all infernal powers; henceforth sufferings and
death have lost their empire over Thy glorious humanity.
What a consolation for us to know that, though confined to
the humble condition of Thy sacrament, Thou art in full
possession of the life, joy, and glory of Thy resurrection!
We adore Thee, O immortal King of ages, and we beg of
Thee, through the intercession of Thy holy Mother a lively and
loving faith in Thy real and life-giving presence in the Blessed
Sacrament.
<><><><>
Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue
Lovely Lady dressed in blue- Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy, Tell me what to say!
Did you lift Him up, sometimes, Gently on your knee?
Did you sing to Him the way Mother does to me?
Did you hold His hand at night? Did you ever try
Telling stories of the world? O! And did He cry?
Do you really think He cares If I tell Him things- Little
things that happen? And Do the Angels' wings
Make a noise? And can He hear Me if I speak low?
Does He understand me now? Tell me- for you know?
Lovely Lady dressed in blue- Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy, And you know the way.
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