Catherine of Genoa, Mystic and Nurse, 1510

The Collect:

Rite I:
Gracious God, reveal to thy church the depths of thy love; that, like thy servant Catherine of Genoa, we might give ourselves in loving service, knowing that we have been perfectly loved by thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rite II:
Gracious God, reveal to your church the depths of your love; that, like your servant Catherine of Genoa, we might give ourselves in loving service, knowing that we have been perfectly loved by you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

First Lesson: Zephaniah 1:7–18

⁷ Be silent before the Lord God!
   For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
   he has consecrated his guests. 
⁸ And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
   and all who dress themselves in foreign attire. 
⁹ On that day I will punish
   all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their master’s house
   with violence and fraud. 

¹⁰ On that day, says the Lord,
   a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
   a loud crash from the hills. 
¹¹ The inhabitants of the Mortar wail,
   for all the traders have perished;
   all who weigh out silver are cut off. 
¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
   and I will punish the people
who rest complacently on their dregs,
   those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
   nor will he do harm.’ 
¹³ Their wealth shall be plundered,
   and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
   they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
   they shall not drink wine from them. 

¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near,
   near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter,
   the warrior cries aloud there. 
¹⁵ That day will be a day of wrath,
   a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
   a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness, 
¹⁶   a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
   and against the lofty battlements. 

¹⁷ I will bring such distress upon people
   that they shall walk like the blind;
   because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
   and their flesh like dung. 
¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold
   will be able to save them
   on the day of the Lord’s wrath;
in the fire of his passion
   the whole earth shall be consumed;
for a full, a terrible end
   he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. 

Psalm: Psalm 86:3–12

³ Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; *
       I call upon you all the day long.
⁴ Gladden the soul of your servant, *
       for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, *
       and great is your love toward all who call upon you.
⁶ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, *
       and attend to the voice of my supplications.
⁷ In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *
       for you will answer me.
⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, *
       nor anything like your works.
⁹ All nations you have made will come and
                               worship you, O Lord, *
        and glorify your Name.
¹⁰ For you are great;
     you do wondrous things; *
       and you alone are God.
¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord,
     and I will walk in your truth; *
       knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.
¹² I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *
       and glorify your Name for evermore.

Gospel: John 15:5–17

⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

¹² ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷ I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

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