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Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1045
Psalter: Monday, Week I, 1102
Common of Virgins: 2108 (verse)
Proper of Seasons: 823 (first reading)
Proper of Saints: 1794 (second reading, concluding prayer)

Office of Readings for Monday in Easter, the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor

God, come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe, alleluia.

Psalm 6
A suffering man cries to God for mercy
I am filled with dismay… Father, save me from this hour. (John 12:27)

Lord, do not reprove me in your anger:
punish me not in your rage.
Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength;
Lord, heal me, my body is racked;
my soul is racked with pain.

But you, O Lord…how long?
Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me in your merciful love,
for in death no one remembers you;
from the grave, who can give you praise?

I am exhausted with my groaning;
every night I drench my pillow with tears;
I bedew my bed with weeping.
My eye wastes away with grief;
I have grown old surrounded by my foes.

Leave me, all who do evil;
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
The Lord will accept my prayer.
All my foes will retire in confusion,
foiled and suddenly confounded.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord God, you love mercy and tenderness; you give life and overcome death. Look upon the many wounds of your church; restore it to health by your risen Son, so that it may sing a new song in your praise.

Ant. Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe, alleluia.

Ant. 2 The poor are not alone in their distress. God is here to help them, alleluia.

Psalm 9A
Thanksgiving for victory
You will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad,
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.

See how my enemies turn back,
how they stumble and perish before you.
You upheld the justice of my cause;
you sat enthroned, judging with justice.

You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked;
you have wiped out their name for ever and ever.
The foe is destroyed, eternally ruined.
You uprooted their cities: their memory has perished.

But the Lord sits enthroned for ever.
He has set up his throne for judgment;
he will judge the world with justice,
he will judge the people with his truth.

For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you:
you will never forsake those who seek you.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The poor are not alone in their distress. God is here to help them, alleluia.

Ant. 3 I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather, alleluia.

II

Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion.
Proclaim his mighty works among the peoples;
for the Avenger of blood has remembered them,
has not forgotten the cry of the poor.

Have pity on me, Lord, see my sufferings,
you who save me from the gates of death;
that I may recount all your praise
at the gates of the city of Zion
and rejoice in your saving help.

The nations have fallen in the pit which they made,
their feet caught in the snare they laid.
The Lord has revealed himself, and given judgment.
The wicked are snared in the works of their own hands.

Let the wicked go down among the dead,
all the nations forgetful of God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten
nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.

Arise, Lord, let men not prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
Lord, strike them with terror,
let the nations know they are but men.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord God, when you judge, do not be deaf to the shouts of the poor; bring havoc to the madness of oppressors. Look at our wounds and save us from the gates of death, so that we may always rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion.

Ant. I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather, alleluia.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

You have shown me how to live.
— You will fill me with joy in your presence.

READINGS

First reading
From the Book of Revelation
19:11-21
The victory of the Word of God

The heavens were opened, and as I, John, looked on, a white horse appeared; its rider was called “The Faithful and True.” Justice is his standard in passing judgment and in waging war. His eyes blazed like fire, and on his head were many diadems. Inscribed on his person was a name known to no one but himself. He wore a cloak that had been dipped in blood, and his name was the Word of God. The armies of heaven were behind him riding white horses and dressed in fine linen, pure and white. Out of his mouth came a sharp sword for striking down the nations. He will shepherd them with an iron rod; it is he who will tread out in the winepress the blazing wrath of God the Almighty. A name was written on the part of the cloak that covered his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Next I saw an angel standing on the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midheaven: “Come! Gather together for the great feast God has prepared for you! You are to eat the flesh of kings, of commanders and warriors, of horses and their riders; the flesh of all men, the free and the slave, the small and the great.” Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and the armies they had mustered to do battle with the One riding the horse, and with his army. The beast was captured along with the false prophet who performed in its presence the prodigies that led men astray, making them accept the mark of the beast and worship its image. Both were hurled down alive into the fiery pool of burning sulphur. The rest were slain by the sword which came out of the mouth of the One who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on the flesh of the slain.

RESPONSORY Revelation 19:13,15,16

He wore a cloak soaked in blood, and his name was the Word of God.
— In the winepress he will tread out the burning anger of the almighty God, alleluia.

On his cloak and on his thigh was written: King of kings, and Lord of lords.
— In the winepress he will tread out the burning anger of the almighty God, alleluia.

Second reading
From the dialogue On Divine Providence by Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor
I tasted and I saw

Eternal God, eternal Trinity, you have made the blood of Christ so precious through his sharing in your divine nature. You are a mystery as deep as the sea; the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find the more I search for you. But I can never be satisfied; what
I receive will ever leave me desiring more. When you fill my soul I have an even greater hunger, and I grow more famished for your light. I desire above all to see you, the true light, as you really are.

I have tasted and seen the depth of your mystery and the beauty of your creation with the light of my understanding. I have clothed myself with your likeness and have seen what I shall be. Eternal Father, you have given me a share in your power and the wisdom that Christ claims as his own, and your Holy Spirit has given me the desire to love you. You are my Creator, eternal Trinity, and I am your creature. You have made of me a new creation in the blood of your Son, and I know that you are moved with love at the beauty of your creation, for you have enlightened me.

Eternal Trinity, Godhead, mystery deep as the sea, you could give me no greater gift than the gift of yourself. For you are a fire ever burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love that fills my being. Yes, you are a fire that takes away the coldness, illuminates the mind with its light and causes me to know your truth. By this light, reflected as it were in a mirror, I recognize that you are the highest good, one we can neither comprehend nor fathom. And I know that you are beauty and wisdom itself. The food of angels, you gave yourself to man in the fire of your love.

You are the garment which covers our nakedness, and in our hunger you are a satisfying food, for you are sweetness and in you there is no taste of bitterness, O triune God!

RESPONSORY

My sister and my beloved, open yourself to me, you are a coheir of my kingdom and you have understood the hidden mysteries of my truth.
— You are enriched with the gift of my Spirit, cleansed of all sin by the shedding of my blood, alleluia.

Go forth from the quiet of contemplation and courageously bear witness to my truth.
— You are enriched with the gift of my Spirit, cleansed of all sin by the shedding of my blood, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who set Saint Catherine of Siena on fire
with divine love in her contemplation of the Lord’s Passion
and her service of your Church,
grant, through her intercession,
that your people, participating in the mystery of Christ,
may ever exult in the revelation of his glory.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.