Catholic Fire

April 29th is the feast of my Confirmation saint, St. Catherine of Siena, Caterina di Giacomo di Benicasa (1347 - 1380). As a mystic, activist, reformer, contemplative, and Doctor of the Church, she is one of the most prominent figures in Christian history. Catherine, the youngest of twenty-six children, was born in Siena on March 25, 1347. During her youth she had to contend with great difficulties on the part of her parents. They were planning marriage for their favorite daughter; but Catherine, who at the age of seven had already taken a vow of virginity, refused. To break her resistance, her beautiful golden brown tresses were shorn to the very skin and she was forced to do the most menial tasks. Undone by her patience, her mother and father finally relented and their child entered the Third Order of St. Dominic -- a lay order. Catherine managed a large household of followers, all of whom called her "Mama". She served as spiritual director to royalty and religiou...

Today is the feast of my Confirmation saint, St. Catherine of Siena, Caterina di Giacomo di Benicasa (1347 - 1380). As a mystic, activist, reformer, contemplative, and Doctor of the Church, she is one of the most prominent figures in Christian history. “I, CATHERINE, … write to strengthen you in the precious blood of the Son of God, desiring to see you consumed in the fire of his charity ….” That is the way Catherine of Siena, the fiery young lay Dominican of the mid-14th century, might well have chosen to introduce herself to today's 21st century readers. It was typical of this Dominican saint always to think and speak of herself only in connection with Christ and to present herself that way to others. She was a mystic (who had visions beginning at the age of seven) and a doctor of the Church -- a gifted, powerful and highly influential woman of her time. We celebrate Catherine of Siena as an international political figure and a feminist hero. We think of her as Eleanor Roosevelt...