Man of Sorrows and the Cross
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963
The Mass of the Holy Cross originally had a large miniature that is now missing. It faced this smaller image showing Christ as the Man of Sorrows standing on his lowered Cross. The scene does not represent a narrative event; rather it is an allegorical image of Christ's triumph over his Cross, his victory over death. The border vignette offers another allegorical image: Christ in the Winepress. Just as grapes are squeezed, Christ is crushed by the winepress; his salvific blood flows into a Eucharistic chalice.
Hours and Masses for the Seven Days of the Week
The most unusual texts in Catherine's manuscript are the series of Hours and Masses for every day of the week. Medieval Christian tradition associated certain figures or themes with different days. Thus Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, was the Lord's Day; Thursday was connected with the Eucharist since that sacrament was instituted on Holy Thursday; and Monday was the day of the dead, since their torments were suspended on Sunday but recommenced the following day. In Catherine's prayer book, the themes for the Hours and Masses of the seven days of the week are:
| Sunday | the Trinity |
| Monday | the Dead |
| Tuesday | the Holy Spirit |
| Wednesday | All Saints |
| Thursday | the Blessed Sacrament |
| Friday | the Compassion of God |
| Saturday | the Virgin. |
Image courtesy of Faksimile Verlag Luzern