A Saint for Us All, St. Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena, aka my Bossy Older Sister
April 29th is my favorite day of the year.
Why? Because today, the Church and the Dominican Order especially, celebrates one of her most illustrious and courageous saints: St. Catherine of Siena.
Catherine also has the privilege of being not only a saint but a Doctor of the Church—a special category of saint whose life and teaching are considered especially powerful or informative for the Church throughout the ages.
Catherine is also a saint near and dear to my heart and someone I often call “my bossy older sister spiritually.” Just this past year, I had the opportunity to spend 3 days in Siena. I prayed where she prayed, walked where she walked, I visited her home which still stands, as well as the Dominican basilica which overlooks her home.
As I sat there in Siena I came to believe even more strongly that Catherine is a saint for our times. A saint and a Doctor of the Church, who is a powerful witness and model of holiness for everyone.
Here’s just a few ways she does that:
Perhaps we have felt unlovable, that some aspect of ourselves is not as we would like it to be, that we should for some reason be ashamed of who we are or our body. Catherine responds to such fears and anxieties, saying “What is it you want to change? Your hair, your face, your body? Why? For God is in love with all those things and He might weep when they are gone.”
Perhaps we fear what it means to let our faith and our convictions about what is good and true and beautiful be known to others, perhaps we fear speaking up on matters of justice and peace, on issues of life and ethics. To such fears Catherine says, “Speak the truth in a million voices. It is silence that kills.”
Perhaps we have sinned or fallen short of what God asks of us or what we had hoped and expected of ourselves. Perhaps we refuse to forgive ourselves for a mistake we made in the past. To such worries, Catherine says, "Reflect that God requires nothing else of us except that we show our neighbors the love we have for God. God is more ready to forgive than we have been to sin."
Catherine has something to say about all of these things and so many more. All our worries, our anxieties, and concerns Catherine experienced as well.
But what carried her through—and what can carry us through these moments also—is the deep and abiding knowledge of God’s love.
For Catherine the greatest “self-knowledge” that one can have is the knowledge that we are loved by God and that we should try to see ourselves as God sees us.
As we come to know this love of God more fully, as we come to see ourselves and our neighbor as God sees us, our life, our emotions, our passions will all begin to shift and transform, taking on new life and energy because of the love of God which truly can change anything.
Because this love of God has been poured into our hearts, we can then be love to the world.
As we grow in this knowledge of love, we find ourselves working for justice and peace, we will find ourselves proclaiming the truth of the Gospel in words both gentle and fierce, and we will pour out our own lives in service of our neighbor and the Church. Just as Catherine did.
Now, Catherine was no superwoman. She was remarkable certainly, and I am among the first to champion her to others! But she is remarkable because Catherine lived the life of a Christian and poured her entire heart out for the sake of God and neighbor. She lived the life of Faith, Hope, and Love. She lived the life that we are called to live.
Let’s together pray this prayer attributed to Catherine, asking for her to intercede for us and the Church.
My Nature is Fire, Prayer 12 (XXII)
In your nature, eternal Godhead, I shall come to know my nature.
And what is my nature, boundless love? It is fire, because you are nothing but a fire of love.
And you have given humankind a share in this nature, for by the fire of love you created us.
And so with all other people and every created thing; you made them out of love.
O ungrateful people! What nature has your God given you? His very own nature!
Are you not ashamed to cut yourself off from such a noble thing through the guilt of deadly sin?
O eternal Trinity, my sweet love!
You, light, give us light.
You, wisdom, give us wisdom.
You, supreme strength, strengthen us.
Today, eternal God, let our cloud be dissipated so that we may perfectly know and follow your Truth in truth, with a free and simple heart.
God, come to our assistance!
Lord, make haste to help us!
Amen.
