``Where
the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
Feast of St. Catherine of Siena
Background:
Proving that the apple sometimes falls very far from the tree is the
life of the grandson of the great King St. Louis IX of
France: King Philip IV, a man thought to be so handsome that he was
known as "Philippe Le Bel" (Philip the Fair). And proving that, in
reality, "handsome is as handsome does," he did some very ugly things,
like debasing the currency, provoking war with England, claiming half
of priests' incomes as taxes, seizing Church property, and trying to
assert political control over the Church in France. Pope Boniface VIII
responded with the Bull Ausculta fili,
which began:
Listen, my son,
to the precepts of a father and to the instructions of a master, who
holds the place of him who is the sole Master and Lord; open your heart
to the admonitions of a most loving other, the Church; dispose
yourself to return to God from whom either by weakness, or by the bad
advice of others you have strayed away. Let not the king flatter
himself that he has no superior on earth but God, and that he is not
subject to the power of the Pope. He who thinks thus is an infidel.
The Pope was ignored, so he issued the Bull Unam Sanctam, which first restated
the fact that the Church is the sole ark of salvation, and then went on
to clarify the Church's relationship with temporal powers:
We are informed
by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are
two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. For when the
Apostles say: ‘Behold, here are two swords,‘ that is to say, in the
Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that
there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that
the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to
the word of the Lord commanding: ‘Put up thy sword into thy scabbard‘.
Therefore, both are in the power of the Church, namely, the spiritual
sword and the material. But indeed, the latter is to be exercised on
behalf of the Church; and truly, the former is to be exercised by the
Church. The former is of the priest; the latter is by the hand of kings
and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.
Philip IV responded to this by having the Pope kidnapped and imprisoned
in the town of Anagni, about 35 miles southeast of Rome. The people of
the town reacted with outrage, and freed the Pope, who returned to
Rome, but died shortly thereafter.
Pope Boniface VIII was followed by Blessed Pope Benedict XI, but his
reign was all too brief, and what followed -- after an eleven
month-long conclave -- was catastrophic: Pope Clement V, a Frenchman
who was weak and who allowed himself to be played like Philip IV's
puppet. Because he owed them money, the King asked the Pope to suppress
the Knights Templar, and the Pope did. The King asked the Pope to put
his predecessor on trial as a heretic, and though he protested that
Bonface VIII was innocent, and though the trial was never completed, he
did. Then the King asked the Pope to move the seat of the papacy to
Avignon, France, and the Pope did.
Thus, in 1309, began "the Avignon papacy" or the "Babylonian captivity
of the papacy," as some call it. Pope after Pope would remain in
Avignon, and would for decades.
The Popes had been in Avignon for 38 years when Catherine was
born in Siena -- about 150 miles northwest of Rome, in Tuscany -- on
March 25, 1347, the Feast of the
Annunciation. She had a twin sister, and was one of the twenty-five
children born to her parents, Jacomo (a wool-dyer) and Lapa Benencasa.
Catherine's twin died very early on, but Catherine was able to grow up,
and she did so in a way that inspired everyone around her. She was a
very sweet and very pious child, one with little religious habits, such
as often praying an Ave at each step of the stairs going upstairs or
down in her home. More than that, though, she was given to intense
meditation and prayer while still very, very young. This devotion was
rewarded by God granting her visions from a very early age. In the
biography he wrote about her, her confessor, Raymond of Capua, tells us
of her first
vision and of some extraordinary graces:
Catharine was
six years of age, when her mother sent her, with her little brother
Stephen, to the house of their sister Boneatura, either to carry
something, or obtain information: their commission being executed, the
children were returning by the valley known as the Vaile Piatta, when
Catharine, raising her eyes to heaven, saw opposite to her, on the
gable end of the Church of the I'riar Preachers, a splendid throne
occupied by our Lord Jesus Christ clothed in pontifical ornaments, and
his sacred brow adorned with a tiara. At his side were St. Peter, St.
Paul and St. John the Evangelist. Catharine stood still ravished with
admiration and contemplated with love Him who thus manifested himself
to her in order to captivate more fully her devoted heart; the Saviour
gave her a look of serene majesty, smiled upon her with benign
tenderness, and then extending his hand gave her his blessing in the
form of a cross, as is customary with Bishops...
...Her mother informed me, and Catharine was obliged to acknowledge it
to me, that when purposing to mount the stair-case she was borne up to
the top without touching the steps with her feet, and such was the
rapidity of her ascent that the mother trembled lest she should fall.
Inspired by the lives of the Desert Fathers,
[o]ne morning,
she set forth in search of the desert; after having prudently provided
herself with a loaf of bread she directed her course towards the
residence of her married sister, who lived near one of the gates of
Sienna. She left the ety ‘or the first time in her life, and as soon as
she perceived the valley, and the habitations a little more distant
from one another she thought she was certainly approaching ‘‘the
desert." Having found a kind of grotto underneath a shelving rock, she
joyfully entered it, convinced that she was now in her much desired
solitude. She knelt, and adored Him who had condescended to appear to
her and bless her, and God who accepted the pious desires of his
spouse, but who had other designs over her, would testify to her how
agreeable her fervor was to him. She had scarcely begun her meditation,
than she was elevated little by little to the very vault of the grotto,
and remained thus to the hour of None. Catharine, presuming that this
was a snare of Satan to distract her, and turn her from her holy
purpose, increased the ardor of her prayers.
At length about the hour in which the Saviour completed his
sufferings on the cross, she descended to the earth, and God revealed
to her that the moment of sacrifice had not yet come, and that she was
not to quit the house of her father. On leaving the grotto she became
anxious on finding herself so far from the town, and dreaded the
trouble that would arise in the hearts of her family who would imagine
her to be lost; she recommended herself to God, and suddenly the holy
child was transported, in the twinkling of an eye, to the gates of
Sienna, whence she speedily returned home, and never disclosed this
circumstance to any but her confessors, of whom I am the last and the
most unworthy.
She was a true mystical prodigy.
At the age of seven, she pledged her virginity to Christ, and when she
was a teenager, she came to know she wanted nothing more than to serve
God. Her parents
wanted her to marry and enlisted a Dominican friar to help them talk
her into doing so. After talking to Catherine, though, he became
convinced of the reality of her vocation, and advised her to cut off
her hair to show her sincerity to her family. She did, and covered
herself with a veil.
When her family saw what she'd done, they became angry, and to punish
her, made her do all the household menial work, even letting go their
kitchen maid so there'd be more of it. But Catherine did all of it with
great grace and joy. And soon thereafter, her father saw something
which he took as a sign:
One day, while
the servant of Jesus Christ was praying fervently in her brother's
room, the door being open, because her parents had forbidden her to
shut it, her father entered to take something that he needed in the
absence of his son. While looking about, hesaw his daughter who was
kneeling in one corner of the chamber, and having a snow-white dove
reposing on her head; at his approach it fled, and seemed to disappear
through the window. He enquired of his daughter what dove that was that
just flew away; she replied that she had not seen a dove or any other
bird in her room. This occurrence filled him with astonishment, and
awakened serious reflections in his mind.
Her family relented, and Catherine continued with her penances and
developed a great devotion to St.
Dominic. A dream she had of him caused her to know which Order she
should pursue: in the dream, the founders of all the religious orders
were all together, and they each encouraged her to find a religious
order to join. But St. Dominic said to her, "Daughter, be of good
heart, fear no obstacle, excite your courage for the happy day will
come when you shall be clothed in the pious habit you desire."
So, when she was 16, she became a Dominican tertiary (note that she
never became a nun; she was always a Third Order Dominican). She never,
ever allowed herself to be alone with a man, and she undertook severe
mortifications, sleeping only fifteen minutes a day -- on planks -- and
eating just barely enough to keep herself alive. The food her family
alloted her, she gave to the poor.
Her room in her father's house became her cell, and for three years,
she never left it except for when she went to church.
Her confessor and biographer, Raymond of Capua, came to know her at
this time, and sought evidence that the gifts he'd been hearing about
were from God and not the Evil One. So he came up with the idea that
if, through her prayers, he could experience a true and deep contrition
for his sins, it would be evidence that her gifts were from God. He
didn't let Catherine know that she was being tested, but simply asked
her to obtain from God remission for his sins. She said she would,
tomorrow. The next day, the two were talking. He writes,
Whilst she
spoke, I had a sudden vision of my sins, of surprising accuracy and
distinctness: I saw myself, divested of all things, in the presence of
my Judge, and I felt that I merited death, as do malefactors when
stricken by the justice of men; I saw also the bounty of my Judge, who
by his grace took me into his service and replaced death by life, fear
by hope, sorrow by joy, and shame by glory. These mental visions so
triumphed over my hardness and obduracy of heart, that I began to shed
torrents of tears over my sins: and my grief became so profound that I
thought I should die of it
He had another, rather spooky experience with her that convinced him of
the truly
supernatural goings-on that marked her life:
She was detained
by sufferings in her bed, and she sent me notice that she desired to
speak with me concerning some revelations. I went and approached her
couch; she began then, notwithstanding the fever which burned in her
veins, to discourse to me of God, and’ to explain to we all that had
been revealed to her during the day; the things were so extraordinary,
that I forgot what had just happened to me, and I asked myself, ‘‘must
I believe what she says?"
Whilst I hesitated and looked at her, her countenance suddenly changed
into that of a stern man who was regarding me fixedly, and who filled
me with terror: her oval face indicated the plentitude of life; her
scanty beard was the color of wheat, and her whole countenance bore the
impress of that majesty which revealed the holy presence of God. It was
impossible for me to perceive any other countenance than hers. I was
thoroughly terrified, and exclaimed, with lifted hands: ‘‘Oh! who looks
at me thus?’" Catharine answered, "He that is.’’ The vision
disappeared, and I again saw the face of Catharine, which I could not
distinguish before.
She was granted many revelations, including being told details of
Heaven,
Purgatory, and Hell. When she was twenty-one, she entered into a
"Mystical Marriage" with
Christ. From her biography:
The soul of
Catharine became daily more enriched with the grace of the Saviour. She
flew rather than walked in the paths of virtue, and she conceived the
holy desire of arriving at so perfect a degree of faith, that nothing
would henceforth be capable of separating her from her divine Spouse,
whom her heart aspired alone to please. She therefore beseught God to
augment her faith, and render it sufficiently strong to resist any and
every enemy.
Our Blessed Lord answered her, ‘‘I will espouse thee in
faith." And each time Catharine renewed her prayer, Jesus Christ
repeated the same answer.
One day, at the appreach of the holy season of Lent, when
Christians celebrate the Carnival, or a foolish adieu to the viands
which the Church is on the eve of prohibiting, Catharine withdrew inte
her cell there to enjoy her Spouse more intimately by fasting and
prayer: she reiterated her petition with more fervor than ever, and our
Lord answered her: ‘ Because thou hast shunned the vanities of the
world and forbidden pleasure, and hast fixed on me alone all the
desires of thy heart, I intend, whilst thy family are rejoicing in
profane feasts and festivals, to celebrate the wedding which is to
unite me to thy soul. I am going, according te my promise to espouse
thee in Faith.’’
Jesus Christ then spoke once more, when the Blessed Virgin
appeared; and with his glorious Mother, St. John the Evangelist, the
apostle St. Paul, St. Dominic, founder of her Order, and with them the
prophet David who drew from his harp tones of heavenly sweetness. The
Mother of God took in her holy hand, the right hand of Catharine, in
order to present it to her Son, asking Him to deign to espouse her in
Faith. The Saviour consented to it with love, and offered her a golden
ring, set with four precious stones, in the centre of whieh blazed a
magnificent diamond. He placed it himself on Catharine’s finger, saying
to her: "I thy Creator and Redeemer, espouse thee in Faith and thou
shalt preserve it pure, until we celebrate together in Heaven the
eternal nuptials of the Lamb. Daughter, now act courageously;
accomplish without fear the works that my Providence will confide to
thee; thou art armed with Faith, thou shalt triumph over all thy
enemies.”
The vision disappeared, and the ring remained on the finger of
Catharine. She saw it, but it was invisible to others!
Click to
enlarge
It was at this time that she was told by Christ to leave her cell and
enter into the world, and so she did. Between 1367 and 1374, she would
go at night to the Santa Maria della Scala hospital (St. Mary of the
Stairs Hospital) and tend to the sick. Later, she made excursions to
Italian towns -- Pisa, Lucca (later, the hometown of St. Gemma
Galgani), and Florence -- as a sort of ambassador
of the Pope in order to help quell to rebellion against the papal
states. In Pisa, she received the stigmata -- but they were visible
only to her, a grace she asked Christ for. And most famously, in 1377,
she went to Avignon and convinced the Pope of
the time -- Pope Gregory XI -- to move the papacy back to Rome where it
belongs. She had helped end the Avignon Papacy!1
The next year, the Pope called her to Rome, and she lived there for the
two remaining years of her life, spending her time serving the
poor and working for reform.
Though she learned to write very late in life, perhaps in a miraculous
manner, she wrote a lot and is famous for her letters, especially those
written admonishingly to the Popes of her day. She also wrote
about her visions and ecstasies in a book called "Dialogue." You can
find all of these works in this site's Catholic Library.
St. Catherine suddenly took ill and died three months later, on April
29, 1380, in a house
across the street from the Church of Santa Chiara in Rome. The room in
which
she died is now a little chapel -- il Transito de Santa Caterina da
Siena -- contained in a theater at Piazza Santa
Chiara 14. Her body was taken to the Basilica of Santa Maria
Sopra Minerva in Rome, where it can be venerated today. Her head,
though, was taken to the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena, where it
can still be seen.
In Siena, her father's house still stands, and is now a shrine to which
have been added rooms and a great portico. The Santa Maria della Scala
hospital where she worked at night -- one of the oldest hospitals in
Europe -- also still stands. When she was there, a lay confraternity
called the Company of San Michele Arcangelo, which dedicated itself to
caring for the sick and the dead, set up their headquarters there, and
St. Catherine would often visit to pray with them. In her honor, they
came to call their confraternity Santa Caterina della Notte (St.
Catherine of the Night), and their oratory, which can be visited today
inside the hospital, is called the Oratory of the Company of St.
Catherine of the Night.
St. Catherine of Siena was canonized in 1461 and is the co-patron saint
of Rome (with SS. Peter
and Paul), of Italy (with St.
Francis of Assisi), and of Europe (with St.
Benedict, SS. Cyril and Methodius, St. Bridget of Sweden, and St.
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross -- a.k.a. Edith Stein), and she
is the patron saint of nurses. She was also
made one of the Doctors of the Church
in 1970 and is known as "The Mystic of the Incarnate Word."
In art, she can be recognized by her white and black Dominican habit,
and the presence of a lily, the crown of thorns the stigmata, and/or a
book. She's often depicted at the moment of her mystical marriage.
Note that her feast is traditionally held on April 30, but in the Novus
Ordo, it is kept on April 29. Note, too, that the traditional date of
the feast of St. Catherine of Siena is also Walpugisnacht -- the eve of
the Feast of St. Walburga.
O St Catherine,
thou lily of virginity and rose of charity who didst adorn the garden
of St Dominic, heroine of Christian zeal who wast chosen like Saint
Francis to be the special Patron of Italy, to thee we have recourse
with confidence, invoking thy mighty protection upon ourselves and upon
the whole Church of Christ, thy Beloved, in whose Heart thou didst
drink of the inexhaustible fountain of all grace and all peace for thee
and for the world. From that Divine Heart thou didst draw the living
water of virtue and concord in families, of upright conduct in young
people, of union among the discordant nations, of renewal of public
morality and of brotherly love, which is compassionate and benevolent
towards the unfortunate and suffering, and didst teach us by thy
example how to unite the love of Christ with the love of country.
If thou lovest the land of Italy and its people entrusted to
thee, if pity for us moves thee, if that tomb is dear to thee in which
Rome venerates and honors thy virginal remains, oh! graciously turn
thine eyes and thy favor upon our pain and upon our prayer, and fulfill
our desires.
Defend, assist, and comfort thy fatherland and the world.
Under thy protection and thy guidance be the sons and daughters of
Italy, our hearts and our minds, our labours and our hopes, our faith
and our love; that faith and that love which formed thy very life and
made thee the living image of Christ crucified in thy intrepid zeal for
His Spouse, Holy Church.
O heroic and holy messenger of union and peace for the Church
of Christ, thou who didst restore the successor of Peter to the
Apostolic Roman See in the splendor of its authority and teaching
office, protect and console him in his paternal and universal
solicitude, in his anxious cares and in his counsels for the salvation
and the tranquillity of the peoples of the earth; revive, preserve, and
increase in us and in all faithful Christians, O heavenly Patroness,
the affection and the filial submission which thou didst cherish for
him and for the fold of Christ in a world at peace. Amen.
There's not a lot of special music for the day that I am aware of, but
there is a musical work written by Marco Enrico Bossi for our Saint.
His Santa Caterina da Siena,
"Poemetto" for violin, string quartet,
harp, celesta and organ is written in 7 parts: Introduction
(Introduzione); First Fervors (I Primi Fervori); The Stigmata (Le
Stimmate); Tribulations (Le Tribolazione); The Mystical Ecstasy
(L'estasi Mystica); Death (La Morte); and Assumption (L'Assunzione):
As to food customs, the people of Siena eat a cookie called Ricciarelli
on this day. A recipe for you to try:
Whip together the egg whites and lemon juice until stiff
peaks form.
Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, salt, and
baking powder and fold into the egg whites a third at a time. Add the
orange zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract and fold in until
mixed.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grab clumps of the
dough and roll into walnut-sized balls. Roll the balls in the powdered
sugar, then shape into slight ovals and place on the baking sheet.
Let them sit at room temperature for about an hour, until the
tops have dried out. Once the tops are dry, gently squeeze the cookies
so little cracks form on the tops. Bake at 300F for about 20 minutes.
(This recipe makes about 40 cookies)
Serve your ricciarelli with
coffee, tea, or the spiced liqueur now named for our Saint -- L’Elisire
di Santa Caterina da Siena (the Elixir of St. Catherine of
Siena). It's
made from a
recipe brought back by friars from the Holy Land and given to the
Basilica
of San Domenico in Siena. Legend relates that St. Catherine gave some
of
it to one
of the sick people she tended to, thereby effecting a cure.
I have no ideas regarding children's activities or crafts for the day
-- except for one: has your child ever written a letter -- a real,
handwritten letter on real paper that one puts in a real envelope and
stamps and puts in the mail? It was always such fun to find different
kinds of stationery as a kid, write something, send it, and get a
letter back. Letter writing is becoming a lost art in the world of
emails and texting. Maybe having your child write a letter, perhaps to
a grandparent or aunt or uncle, would be a good thing to do today. Or
consider finding her a pen pal! Remember those? To help you out, here
are seven types of
stationery your child might like, in pdf format. You'd just have to
print out the single page she likes.
Learn more about St. Catherine of Siena by reading her biography and
works in this site's Catholic
Library.
Readings
The Liturgical Year
By Dom Prosper
Geuranger
The Dominican Order, which, yesterday, presented a rose to our Risen
Jesus, now offers Him a lily of surpassing beauty. Catherine of Sienna
follows Peter the Martyr: it is a coincidence willed by Providence, to
give fresh beauty to this season of grandest Mysteries. Our Divine King
deserves everything we can offer Him; and our hearts are never so eager
to give Him every possible tribute of homage, as during these last days
of His sojourn among us. See how nature is all flower and fragrance at
this loveliest of her seasons! The spiritual world harmonizes with the
visible, and now yields her noblest and richest works in honour of her
Lord, the Author of Grace.
How grand is the Saint, whose Feast comes gladdening us today! She is
one of the most favoured of the holy spouses of the Incarnate Word. She
was His, wholly and unreservedly, almost from her very childhood.
Though thus consecrated to Him by the vow of holy Virginity, she had a
mission given to her by divine Providence which required her living in
the world. But God would have her to be one of the glories of the
Religious State; He therefore inspired her to join the Third Order of
St. Dominic. Accordingly, she wore the Habit and fervently practised,
during her whole life, the holy exercises of a Tertiary.
From the very commencement, there was a something heavenly about this
admirable servant of God, which we fancy existing in an angel who had
been sent from heaven to live in a human body. Her longing after God
gave one an idea of the vehemence wherewith the Blessed embrace the
Sovereign Good on their first entrance into heaven. In vain did the
body threaten to impede the soaring of this earthly Seraph; she subdued
it by penance, and made it obedient to the spirit. Her body seemed to
be transformed, so as to have no life of its own, but only that of the
soul. The Blessed Sacrament was frequently the only food she took for
weeks together. So complete was her union with Christ, that she
received the impress of the sacred Stigmata, and, with them, the most
excruciating pain.
And yet, in the midst of all these supernatural favours, Catherine felt
the keenest interest in the necessities of others. Her zeal for their
spiritual advantage was intense, whilst her compassion for them, in
their corporal sufferings, was that of a most loving mother. God had
given her the gift of Miracles, and she was lavish in using it for the
benefit of her fellow creatures. Sickness, and death itself, were
obedient to her command; and the prodigies witnessed at the beginning
of the Church were again wrought by the humble Saint of Sienna.
Her communings with God began when she was quite a child, and her
ecstasies were almost without interruption. She frequently saw our
Risen Jesus, Who never left her without having honoured her, either
with a great consolation, or with a heavy cross. A profound knowledge
of the mysteries of our holy faith, was another of the extraordinary
graces bestowed upon her. So eminent, indeed, was the heavenly wisdom
granted her by God, that she, who had received no education, used to
dictate the most sublime writings, wherein she treats of spiritual
things with a clearness and eloquence which human genius could never
attain to, and with a certain indescribable unction which no reader can
resist.
But God would not permit such a treasure as this to lie buried in a
little town of Italy. The Saints are the supports of the Church; and
though their influence be generally hidden, yet, at times, it is open
and visible, and men then learn what the instruments are, which God
uses for imparting blessings to a world, that would seem to deserve
little else besides chastisement. The great question, at the close of
the 14th Century, was the restoring to the Holy City the privilege of
its having within its walls the Vicar of Christ, who, for sixty years,
had been absent from his See. One saintly soul, by merits and prayers,
known to heaven alone, might have brought about this happy event, after
which the whole Church was longing; but God would have it done by a
visible agency, and in the most public manner. In the name of the
widowed Rome, in the name of her own and the Church's Spouse, Catherine
crossed the Alps, and sought an interview with the Pontiff, who had not
so much as seen Rome. The Prophetess respectfully reminded him of his
duty; and in proof of her mission being from God, she tells him of a
secret which was known to himself alone. Gregory the Eleventh could no
longer resist; and the Eternal City welcomed its Pastor and Father. But
at the Pontiff's death, a frightful schism, the forerunner of greater
evils to follow, broke out in the Church. Catherine, even to her last
hour, was untiring in her endeavours to quell the storm. Having lived
the same number of years as our Saviour had done, she breathed forth
her most pure soul into the hands of her God, and went to continue, in
heaven, her ministry of intercession for the Church she had loved so
much on earth, and for souls redeemed in the precious Blood of her
Divine Spouse.
Our Risen Jesus, Who took her to her eternal reward during the Season
of Easter, granted her whilst she was living on earth, a favour, which
we mention here, as being appropriate to the mystery we are now
celebrating. He, one day, appeared to her, having with Him His Blessed
Mother. Mary Magdalene, she that announced the Resurrection to the
Apostles, accompanied the Son and the Mother. Catherine's heart was
overpowered with emotion at this visit. After looking, for some time,
upon Jesus and His holy Mother, her eyes rested on Magdalene, whose
happiness she both saw and envied. Jesus spoke these words to her: "My
beloved! I give her to thee, to be thy mother." Address thyself to her,
henceforth, with all confidence. I give her special charge of thee."
From that day forward, Catherine had the most filial love for
Magdalene, and called her by no other name than that of Mother.
Let us now read the beautiful, but too brief, account of our Saint's
Life, as given in the Liturgy.
Catharine, a virgin of Sienna, was born of pious parents. She asked for
and obtained the Dominican habit, such as it is worn by the Sisters of
Penance. Her abstinence was extraordinary, and her manner of living
most mortified. She was once known to have fasted, without receiving
anything but the Blessed Sacrament, from Ash Wednesday to Ascension
Day. She had very frequent contests with the wicked spirits, who
attacked her in divers ways. She suffered much from fever, and other
bodily ailments.
Her reputation for sanctity was so great, that there were brought to
her, from all parts, persons who were sick or tormented by the devil.
She, in the name of Christ, healed such as were afflicted with malady
or fever, and drove the devils from the bodies of them that were
possessed.
Being once at Pisa, on a Sunday, and having received the Bread of
heaven, she was rapt in an ecstacy. She saw our crucified Lord
approaching to her. He was encircled with a great light, and from His
five Wounds there came rays, which fell upon the five corresponding
parts of Catherine's body. Being aware of the favour bestowed upon her,
she besought our Lord, that the stigmata might not be visible. The rays
immediately changed from the colour of blood into one of gold, and
passed, under the form of a bright light, to the hands, feet, and heart
of the Saint. So violent was the pain left by the wounds, that it
seemed to her as though she must soon have died, had not God diminished
it. Thus our most loving Lord added favour to favour, by permitting her
to feel the smart of the wounds, and yet removing their appearance. The
servant of God related what had happened to her to Raymund, her
Confessor. Hence, when the devotion of the Faithful gave a
representation of this miracle, they painted, on the pictures of St.
Catherine, bright rays coming from the five stigmata she received.
Her learning was not acquired, but infused. Theologians proposed to her
the most difficult questions of divinity, and received satisfactory
answers. No one ever approached her, who did not go away a better man.
She reconciled many that were at deadly enmity with one another. She
visited Pope Gregory the Eleventh, (who was then at Avignon,) in order
to bring about the reconciliation of the Florentines, who were under an
interdict on account of their having formed a league against the Holy
See. She told the Pontiff that there had been revealed to her the vow
which he, Gregory, had made of going to Rome. a vow which was known to
God alone. It was through her entreaty, that the Pope began to plan
measures for taking possession of his See of Rome, which he did soon
after. Such was the esteem in which she was held by Gregory, and by
Urban the Sixth, his successor, that she was sent by them on several
embassies. At length, after a life spent in the exercise of the
sublimest virtues, and after gaining great reputation on account of her
prophecies and many miracles, she passed hence to her divine Spouse,
when she was about the age of three and thirty. She was canonized by
Pius the Second.
Pope Pius the Second, one of the glories of Sienna, composed the two
following Hymns, in honour of his saintly and illustrious fellow
citizen. They form part of the Office of St. Catherine of Siena, in the
Dominican Breviary.
Hymn
Carry up to
heaven, O holy virgin Catherine! these canticles of praise, which we,
gladdened as we are by thy feast, sing thus in thine honour.
If they are unworthy of thine acceptance, pardon us, we
beseech thee. Nay, we own, O glorious Saint! that we are not equal to
the task we have undertaken.
But who is he, that could worthily praise such a Saint as
this? Is there, in the wide world, a poet that could write an ode
immortal enough for this heroine, whom no enemy could vanquish?
O Catherine! illustrious example of all that is noble! thou
wast rich in virtue and wisdom; and with the riches of thy temperance,
fortitude, piety, justice and prudence, thou ascendedst into heaven.
Who has not heard of thy glorious virtues and deeds, which
were never surpassed in this world! Thy compassions for the sufferings
of Christ stamped thee with the impress of his wounds.
Bravely despising the vain grandeurs of this short, mournful,
and miserable life,--thy ambition was for heaven alone.
Let us all give infinite thanks to the Son ever blessed of
the Eternal Father! let us give glory to the Holy Ghost! to the Three,
one equal praise! Amen
Hymn
Well indeed may
we sing thy praise, O Catherine! for, by thy wondrous virtues, thou
receivedst a triumphant welcome from heaven itself.
Yes, it is in heaven alone, where thou art enriched with all
good things, that thou receivedst the reward of thy holy life, and the
recompense of thy grand virtue.
Great was thy veneration for the Patriarch of Preachers, that
perfect model of every virtue; thou enteredst his Order, and art one of
its brightest glories.
Joys of earth, vanity of dress, beauty of body, none had
charms for thee. Sin, the injustice offered to God by his creature, oh!
this thou couldst not brook.
To reduce thy body to subjection, and to atone for the sins
of men, oft didst thou severely scourge thyself, till thine innocent
blood would flow in streams on the ground.
Thou hadst compassion on all that were suffering, no matter
where they might be, or what their misfortune. Thy sympathy was ever
ready for them, too, that were a prey to care.
But our hymn would never end, were we to tell all thy
praises, O Catherine! whose sanctity far surpaSssed that of other
mortals.
The savage soldiers and leaders, who were threatening the
people of Sienna with death, withdrew at thy word.
Oft was thy mind applied, with all its power, to the study of
sacred things: and thy letters, teeming with wisdom and elegance, are
still treasured in some of our richest cities.
Thou excelledst in the power of reclaiming sinners, and
persuading all to follow what was right. Thus didst thou speak to them:
"Virtue alone can make man happy."
Far from fearing, thou hadst a brave contempt for the dread
claims of death, which thou wast wont to call the recompense of life.
When, therefore, the time came for thee to leave thy sacred
body to the tomb, and ascend into heaven, thou gavest lessons of
consolation to them that stood weeping around thee.
And having adored the Body of Christ, and received, amidst
abundant tears of devotion, the saving Host, thy last words were
instructions to all how to lead a holy life.
Let us all give infinite thanks to the Son ever blessed of
the Eternal Father! let us give glory to the Holy Ghost! to the Three,
one equal praise! Amen.
Prayer
Holy Church,
filled as she now is with the joy of her Jesus' Resurrection, addresses
herself to thee, O Catherine, who followest the Lamb whithersoever He
goeth (Apoc. xiv. 4). Living in this exile, where it is only at
intervals that she enjoys His presence, she says to thee: Hast thou
seen Him, whom my soul loveth (Cant. iii. 3)? Thou art his Spouse; so
is she: but there are no veils, no separation, for thee; whereas, for
her, the enjoyment is at rare and brief periods, and, even so, there
are clouds that dim the lovely Light. What a life was thine, O
Catherine! uniting in itself the keenest compassion for the sufferings
of Jesus, and an intense happiness by the share He gave thee of His
glorified life. We might take thee as our guide both to the mournful
mysteries of Calvary, and to the glad splendours of the Resurrection.
It is these second that we are now respectfully celebrating: oh! speak
to us of our Risen Jesus. Is it not He that gave thee the nuptial ring,
with its matchless diamond set amidst four precious gems? The bright
rays, which gleam from thy stigmata, tell us, that when He espoused
thee to Himself, thou sawest Him all resplendent with the beauty of His
glorious Wounds.
Daughter of Magdalene! like her, thou art a messenger of the
Resurrection; and when thy last Pasch comes, the Pasch of thy
thirty-third year, thou goest to heaven, to keep it for eternity. O
zealous lover of souls! love them more than ever, now that thou art in
the palace of the King, our God. We, too, are in the Pasch, in the New
Life; intercede for us, that the life of Jesus may never die within us,
but may go on, strengthening its power and growth, by our loving Him
with an ardour like thine own.
Get us, great Saint, something of the filial devotedness thou
hadst for holy Mother Church, and which prompted thee to do such
glorious things! Her sorrows and her joys were thine; for there can be
no love for Jesus, where there is none for His Spouse: and is it not
through her that He gives us all His gifts? Oh, yes! we, too, wish to
love this Mother of ours; we will never be ashamed to own ourselves as
her children! we will defend her against her enemies; we will do
everything that lies in our power to win others to acknowledge, love,
and be devoted to her.
Our God used thee as His instrument, O humble Virgin, for
bringing back the Roman Pontiff to his See. Thou wast stronger than the
powers of this earth, which would fain have prolonged an absence
disastrous to the Church. The relics of Peter in the Vatican, of Paul
on the Ostian Way, of Lawrence and Sebastian, of Caecilia and Agnes,
exulted in their glorious Tombs, when Gregory entered with triumph into
the Holy City. It was through thee, O Catherine, that a ruinous
captivity of seventy years' duration was brought, on that day, to a
close, and that Rome recovered her glory and her life.
In these our days, hell has changed its plan of destruction:
men are striving to deprive of its Pontiff-King the City, which was
chosen by Peter as the See where the Vicar of Christ should reign to
the end of the world. Is this design of God, this design which was so
dear to thee, O Catherine! is it now to be frustrated? Oh! beseech Him
to forbid a sacrilege, which would scandalise the weak, and make the
impious blaspheme in their success. Come speedily to our aid! and if
thy Divine Spouse, in His just anger, permit us to suffer these
humiliations, pray that, at least they may be shortened.
Pray, too, for unhappy Italy, which was so dear to thee, and
which is so justly proud of its Saint of Sienna. Impiety and heresy are
now permitted to run wild through the land; the name of thy Spouse is
blasphemed; the people are taught to love error, and to hate what they
had hitherto venerated; the Church is insulted and robbed; Faith has
long since been weakened, but now its very existence is imperilled.
Intercede for thy unfortunate country, dear Saint! oh! surely, it is
time to come to her assistance, and rescue her from the hands of her
enemies. The whole Church hopes in thy effecting the deliverance of
this her illustrious province: delay not, but calm the storm which
seems to threaten a universal wreck!
Footnotes:
1 After the Avignon Papacy ended, the
Western Schism began: not long after the Pope returned to Rome, he died
and Urban VI was elected. But a group of French cardinals in Avignon
elected a "Clement VII" as "Pope." Confusion reigned, and did so for 39
years. As the Catholic Encyclopedia tells us, "The saints themselves
were divided: St. Catherine of Siena, St. Catherine of Sweden, Bl.
Peter of Aragon, Bl. Ursulina of Parma, Philippe d'Alencon, and Gerard
de Groote were in the camp of Urban; St. Vincent Ferrer, Bl. Peter of
Luxemburg, and St. Colette belonged to the party of Clement."
The confusion got worse in 1409 when a supposed council -- the "Council
of Pisa" -- proclaimed both men illegitimate, and named a third man,
Antipope Alexander V, as "Pope."
So at one time, there were three proclaimed Popes, with different parts
of Christendom supporting them, and they each died and had successors
over the next almost four decades.
Actual Popes: Urban VI >
Boniface IX > Innocent VII > Gregory XII
Avignon Antipopes:
Clement VII > Benedict XIII > Clement VIII > Benedict XIV
Pisan Antipopes:
Alexander V > John XXIII
The powers of the day clamored for a Council to settle things once and
for all. So the Council of Constance was held, in Constance, Germany,
and 29 Cardinals, 3 Patriarchs, 33 Archbishops, and 150 Bishops
attended, along with hundreds of abbots and theologians, and thousands
of monks and friars.
Now, when he was elected, Pope Gregory XII had promised to resign for
the good of the Church if Benedict XIV would quit his false claim on
the papacy. Benedict refused, but
Gregory -- the real Pope -- resigned anyway while the antipopes were
deposed by the Council. Then, in 1417, Martin V was elected as
successor to the abdicated Gregory XII, and things proceeded normally
from there. The Western Schism was over.
