A Bridge to Heaven
Apr 29: Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church
St. Catherine was illiterate until she was an adult, yet her writings were so influential and deeply moving, she was named a Doctor of the Church. (The Church has only named 37 Doctors.) She convinced Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome after the papacy had been seated in Avignon for nearly 70 years. Later, she used her position of influence to pursue peace among warring city-states.
She also wrote about Jesus as a “bridge” between Heaven and Earth, with three great stairways. Rising by these stairs, the soul passes through the three stages of sanctification: 1) detachment from sin, 2) the practice of the virtues, and 3) sweet and loving union with God.
That’ll help explain why the lectionary chooses the following readings for her feast day.
Reading 1
1 Jn 1:5B-2:2
Beloved: This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say, "We have fellowship with him," while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, "We are without sin," we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
John offers very clear advice—don’t sin. And if you do sin, which we all do, don’t say you don’t sin.
Once you’ve sinned, do the next best thing—appeal to our Advocate in Heaven, Jesus Christ. He’s the bridge1 between our sinful life on Earth and eternal life in Heaven. He's the only way we'll get there.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 13-14, 17-18
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity
to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward his children's children
among those who keep his covenant.
R. O, bless the Lord, my soul!
We should be thankful for God’s forgiveness. Why does he forgive? Because he has compassion, empathy. He knows what temptation is like, because Jesus Himself was tempted.
Jesus knows how difficult temptation is. In fact, no one can know until they’ve resisted it, and Jesus is the only person who’s resisted it completely. So, he’ll advocate for us, when the time of judgement comes.
Alleluia
See Mt 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the Middle Ages, women weren’t given high status, yet Catherine was trusted enough to bring the Papacy back to Rome and negotiate between warring states. She saw Jesus in everyone, and in return, they saw Him in her.
Gospel
Mt 11:25-30
At that time Jesus responded: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
“Take my yoke upon you… for my woke is easy.” It always seemed like a weird phrase to me. Have you ever tried to lift a yoke? It’s heavy.
But that’s not the kind of yoke Jesus is talking about. A yoke is for two farm animals, not one. They’re supposed to work together.
Jesus wants you to attach yourself to His yoke, because not only can He help lift it, he’ll also guide you. He goes left, you go left; He goes right, you go right.
He wants us to tie ourselves to Himself so closely, we don’t even think about it anymore. It’s just our muscles reacting to the feeling of Him tugging at our shoulders. Jesus will guide us home.
See? I told you it would tie together.