Entering the Joy: Easter Entrance Antiphons. Feast of St Catherine of Siena

 Entering the Joy: 

Eastertide Entrance Antiphon Series.

He Is Not Here. He Is Risen.

Entering the Joy: Easter Entrance Antiphon: Feast of St Catherine.

Today's Entrance Antiphon alludes to the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matthew 25:1–13).

Entrance Antiphon (St Catherine of Siena):

"Here is a wise virgin, from among the number of the prudent, who went forth with lighted lamp to meet Christ, alleluia."

Let’s explore it first:

1. "A wise virgin"

• "Wise" here isn't just intelligence — it's spiritual attentiveness.
• The Wise Virgins kept their lamps trimmed and burning — they were ready when the Bridegroom came.

2. "From among the number of the prudent"

• Prudence is not fear or hesitation, rather it is the right judgment of when and how to act.
• It is choosing to be prepared even when others are careless or distracted.

3. "Lighted lamp"

• The lamp symbolizes faith, hope, and love burning actively.
• Oil often symbolizes the Holy Spirit — the ongoing fuel for the soul.

4. "To meet Christ"

The goal is not just to be prepared for anything.  It is to be prepared specifically to meet Jesus.

• Readiness is about relationship, not just duty.

How this fits into Eastertide:

• We are living in the “in-between” time: Christ has risen and ascended — but we are still waiting for the final fulfilment.
• Eastertide invites us to live as wise and ready people which means that we need to be awake, joyful, alert, lamps lit, faith alive.

 

Feast of St Catherine of Siena – Reflection on the Entrance Antiphon

Today’s antiphon paints a vivid picture: a wise and prudent soul, lamp lit, walking out to meet her Beloved.

This wisdom isn’t just head knowledge.

It’s the wisdom of prepared love — the readiness of a heart that stays awake, even when the wait is long.

St Catherine of Siena lived this reality:

• She burned brightly with faith.
• She let herself be fuelled by love of Christ.
• She moved toward Jesus with courage, even when it meant confronting emperors or traveling across Italy.

In the parable of the Wise Virgins, those who brought oil were welcomed into the wedding feast. Those who came unprepared found the door shut

Today’s entrance antiphon invites us into the heart of St Catherine of Siena’s life: a soul ablaze with love, a lamp burning brightly for Christ.

St Catherine was not only a woman of deep action — advising popes, healing divisions — but also a mystic who spent hours contemplating the Passion of Christ.
She understood that the Resurrection does not erase the wounds of Christ. Jesus rises with His scars still visible — glorified, but not sanitized.

For St Catherine, and for us, contemplating Christ’s wounds is not morbid; it is the wellspring of wisdom.
In the wounds of the Risen Christ, she found courage, love, and the fire to live for others.

If you wish to listen to a homily which connects the love that St Catherine discovered for Christ, here is the link. 

Easter joy is not naïve.
It sees the scars and still sings “Alleluia.”
It keeps the lamp lit even in the darkness because it knows that the Bridegroom is coming.

Today we are invited to do the same — to let the memory of Christ’s Passion fuel our joy, not diminish it.
To meet Him — scarred, risen, glorious — with our lamps still burning.

 

Eastertide reminds us:

Christ has already opened the door — but we are still called to keep our lamps burning brightly until the final meeting.

Even in small ways today, we can live like the Wise Virgins — trusting, joyful, ready.

 

Spirituality in Action

How will I practice this antiphon today?

• Check the "oil" in your spiritual life: Prayer, Scripture, love — are they part of your daily living?
• Light a candle today in prayer, asking God to keep your lamp of faith burning brightly. Let us keep our light burning brightly even in a wounded world.
• Choose an act of love today that you might otherwise postpone. Kindness is oil for the lamp.
• Reflect: If Christ knocked on my door today, would I be ready to greet Him with joy?
• Spend a few moments contemplating Christ’s wounds today especially and in our prayer time so the we remember they are now signs of victory, not defeat.
• Pray: "Jesus, let my heart stay awake, my love stay strong, my hope stay lit."
• If you feel weak or tired, offer that feeling to Christ — He knows the cost of waiting and of loving through suffering.

 Closing Prayer:

Lord Jesus,
Keep my lamp burning brightly today.
Let wisdom guide my steps,
and let love fuel my heart,
so that whenever You call,
I may run with joy to meet You.
Alleluia.