WEDNESDAY OF THE 
Confessor
Painting depicting Saint Catherine of Genoa
SIMPLE / PURPLE
The
Church of the New Testament continues the Israel of the Old Testament.
The faithful of God are one social, religious unit that extends backward
to our first parents and forward over the world to the end of time. All
derive grace from Christ. Hence all, by grace, are brothers in Christ.
Old and New Testament saints are celebrated in the one Sacrifice of
Christ.
Jesus
came to cleanse His people anew, to give them a new and vastly higher
dignity, to make them charitable and apostolic. It is now their
conscience mission to bring all men to a baptized brotherhood in Christ
-- a brotherhood that reaches across every line of nation, race, or
color.
INTROIT Ezech. 36:23-26
When
I shall be sanctified in you, I will gather you from every land; and I
will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from your
filthiness, and I will give you a new spirit.
Ps. 33:2. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall ever be in my mouth.
V. Glory be . . .
Let us pray.
V. Let us kneel.
R. Arise.
COLLECT
O
God, You reward the just man and grant pardon to the sinner if he does
penance by fasting. Be merciful to Your people who implore You, and
forgive us our sins through our confession of guilt. Through our Lord . .
.
LESSON Ezech. 36:23-28
Thus
says the Lord God: "And I will sanctify my great name, which was
profaned among the Gentiles, which you have profaned in the midst of
them: that the Gentiles may know that I am the Lord, when I shall be
sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the
Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and
will bring you into your own land. And I will pour upon you clean water,
and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse
you from all your idols. And I
will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart
of flesh. And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause
you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them.
And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and you
shall be my people, and I will be your God," says the Lord Almighty.
GRADUAL Ps. 33:12, 6
Come, children, hear me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
V. Turn to Him that you may be enlightened, and your faces may never blush with shame.
COLLECT
O
Almighty God, grant that we may be happy in chastising our bodies
through fasting. May we bring our passions under control, and thus more
easily attain the rewards of heaven. Through our Lord . . .
In the twelfth century, Isidore earned his living as a day laborer on an estate just outside Madrid. Because he attended Mass daily, some fellow laborers, reported to the owner that Isidore was neglecting his work. St. Isidore was not troubled by what was said of him, because he knew that the Christian must have patience and must keep up his courage, "for the coming of the Lord is at hand"
O Merciful God, shield us from the pride that comes from learning, through the intercession of Your holy farm worker Isidore. May his merits and example help us to please You by our humble service.
O God Who, in blessed Catherine, contemplating the Passion of Thy Son, didst make fiercely to burn up the fire of Thy love, moved by her prayers, enkindle within us, we beseech Thee, the flame of charity, and grant us a share in the fruit of that same sacred Passion. Through the same . . .
LESSON Isa. 1:16-19
Thus
says the Lord God: "Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of
your devices from my eyes, cease to do perversely, Learn to do well:
seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend
the widow. And then come, and accuse me", saith the Lord: "If your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red
as crimson, they shall be white as wool. If you be willing, and will
hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land," says the Lord
Almighty.
GRADUAL Ps. 32:12, 6
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His own inheritance! V. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all the celestial bodies thereof were created.
TRACT Ps. 102:10; 78:8-9
O Lord, repay us not according to the sins we have committed, nor according to our iniquities.
V. O Lord, remember not our iniquities of the past; let Your mercy come quickly to us, for we are being brought very low. (All kneel.)
V. Help us, O God our Savior, and for the glory of Your name, O Lord, deliver us; and pardon us our sins for Your names sake.
GOSPEL John 9:1-38
At
that time Jesus, passing by, saw a man who was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him: "Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man or his
parents, that he should be born blind?" Jesus answered: "Neither
hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should
be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me,
whilst it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I
am in the world, I am the light of the world."
When he had
said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle
and spread the clay upon his eyes, And said to him: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloe," which is interpreted, 'Sent.' He went therefore and washed: and he came seeing.
The
neighbours, therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a
beggar, said: "Is not this he that sat and begged?" Some said: "This is
he." But others said: "No, but he is like him." But he said: "I am he."
They said therefore to him: "How were thy eyes opened?" He answered:
"That man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said
to me: 'Go to the pool of Siloe and wash.' And I went: I washed: and I
see." And they said to him: "Where is he?" He saith: "I know not."
They
bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was the sabbath,
when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again therefore the
Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. But he said to them:
"He put clay upon my eyes: and I washed: and I see." Some therefore of
the Pharisees said: "This man is not of God, who keepeth not the
sabbath." But others said: "How can a man that is a sinner do such
miracles?" And there was a division among them. They say therefore to
the blind man again: "What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy
eyes?" And he said: "He is a prophet."
The Jews then did not believe
concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until
they called the parents of him that had received his sight,
And
asked them, saying: "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How
then doth he now see?" His parents answered them and said: "We know that
this is our son and that he was born blind: But how he now seeth, we
know not: or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. Ask himself: he is
of age: Let him speak for himself."
These things his parents said,
because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed among
themselves that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be
put out of the synagogue. Therefore did his parents say: "He is of age.
Ask himself."
They therefore called the man again that had been
blind and said to him: "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a
sinner." He said therefore to them: "If he be a sinner, I know not. One
thing I know, that whereas I was blind. now I see." They said then to
him: "What did he to thee? How did he open thy eyes?" He answered them:
"I have told you already, and you have heard. Why would you hear it
again? Will you also become his disciples?" They reviled him therefore
and said: "Be thou his disciple; but we are the disciples of Moses. We
know that God spoke to Moses: but as to this man, we know not from
whence he is." The man answered and said to them: "why, herein is a
wonderful thing, that you know not from whence he is, and he hath opened
my eyes. Now we know that God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a
server of God and doth his, will, him he heareth. From the beginning of
the world it hath not been heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of
one born blind. Unless this man were of God, he could not do anything."
They answered and said to him: "Thou wast wholly born in sins; and dost
thou teach us?" And they cast him out.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And when he had found him, he said to him: "Dost thou believe in the Son of God?" He answered, and said: "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?" And Jesus said to him: "Thou hast both seen him; and it is he that talketh with thee." And he said: "I believe, Lord." And falling down, he adored him.
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 65:8-9, 20
Bless
the Lord our God, you nations; loudly sound His praise. He has given
life to my soul, and has not let my feet falter. Blessed be the Lord,
who has not refused my prayer nor His mercy to me!
SECRET
O
Almighty God, wash away our sins through these sacrificial gifts so that
we may receive Your blessings of true health of mind and body. Through
our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT ISIDORE
Let
our prayers win peace for Your people, O Lord, so that their offerings
may be pleasing in Your sight. Grant the requests we confidently make of
You through the intercession of Your blessed confessor Isidore.
Commoration of SAINT CATHERINE
Look down in Thy loving kindness, O Lord, we beseech Thee, on this our sacrifice and through the intercession of blessed Catherine, enkindle in us the spirit of Thy love. Through our Lord . . .
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Jo. 9:11
The Lord made clay with spittle and anointed my eyes, and I went and washed, and I saw; and I believed in God.
POSTCOMMUNION
O
Lord our God, may the Sacrament we have received nourish us with
spiritual food and comfort us with bodily aid. Through our Lord . . .
PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O
Lord, in Your mercy hear the prayers of those who call upon You. Make
their wills like Your will so that You may fulfill their every desire.
Through our Lord . . .
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