Novena to St Catherine - Day 1

“O Eternal Trinity, our supreme love and true light enlighten me.”

O Eternal Trinity, All Powerful God, we are dead trees, whilst You are the Tree of life. O infinite God, what a sight to see in Your light the tree of Your creature. O supreme Purity, You gave that tree for branches, the powers of the soul, intelligence, memory, will. And what fruits should these branches bear? The memory should retain You, the intelligence know You, the will love You.

When first planted by the gardener, how happy was the condition of this tree. But also, O my God, it is diseased, it now bears poisonous fruit; a tree of life has become a tree of death.

But, Eternal Trinity, You love Your creature even to folly. Impelled by the same love that created it, when evil fruits were produced, because separated from You the life giver, You saved the dying tree by grafting upon it Your Divinity.

Life-giving graft, You mingled sweet sap with our bitterness, splendour with darkness, wisdom with folly, life with death, the infinite with the finite.

After the injury done by Your creature, what made You give life by this union? Love! Love alone was the marvellous graft that vanquished death.

But that did not suffice the flame of your charity, O Eternal Word; You would water the tree with Your own Blood, and the warmth of that Blood made it fructify so long as man was united and lived in You. His heart and affections must be bound to You by the cords of obedience and charity, united to the celestial graft, the branches bear fruit. O Infinite Love, what marvels You have worked in Your creatures! Why will not men water their tree at the fountain of Blood? Eternal Life is poured out for us poor creatures, yet we ignore, and refuse to profit by it.

I have sinned O my Lord have pity on me.

Jesus Love! O Love of Jesus.