Cathy Lee
January 16, 2008
Mystics - Presentation
St. Catherine of
St. Catherine was born in
Catherine received no formal education, and at the age of four or seven (debate among writers) she saw a vision of Christ and consecrated her virginity to Christ despite her family's opposition. She was believed to have seen a vision at a very early age of Christ seated in glory with Peter, Paul and John, and she saw visions and practiced extreme austerities.. She loved prayer and solitude and when she was with other children, she would teach them to do what gave her so much happiness.
At age 12, her parents began to urge her to pay more attention to her appearance, with marriage in mind. To please her mother and sisters, she would dress in bright gowns and jewels that were fashionable at the time with young girls, but she soon repented of this vanity, and declared quite finally that she would never marry. Her parents persisted in finding her a husband so she cut off her hair that was her beauty so she would not look attractive. As a punishment, she was made to do menial work in the household, and the family never allowed her to be alone, since she loved to be in solitude. Catherine bore this with patience, and wrote in The Dialogue that god had shown her how to build in her soul a private cell where no tribulation could enter. She dreamed of dressing up like a man to become a Dominican friar.
Catherine's father at last came to realize, e that the pressure on her was
useless and she was permitted to have a small, dimly lighted room set apart for
her use, which was a cell nine feet by three. She began a life of prayers
and fasting, scourged herself three times daily with an iron chain, and slept
on a board. She first wore a hair shirt, later replacing it by an iron-spiked
girdle. Catherine obtained her desire with permission at age 16 to assume
the black habit of the Sisters of Penance of St. Dominic. This order was
normally only for matrons and widows. Catherine increased her
asceticism, eating and sleeping very little. For three years, she spoke
only to her confessor and never went out except to the
She had visions, but at times, those visions would be loathsome forms and degrading forms that would come to her imagination. There were also long periods of time that Catherine felt abandoned by God. At one time she prayed to God, “O Lord, where wert Thou when my heart was so sorely vexed with foul and hateful temptations?” to which she heard a voice saying to her, “Daughter, I was in thy hear, fortifying thee by grace,” and the voice said that God would now be with her more openly, for the period of probation was nearing an end.
On Shrove Tuesday, 1366, Catherine was praying in her room when a vision, that she would later write in one of her letters as a “Mystical Marriage” with Christ, who appeared with his mother, Mary and heavenly host. The Virgin Mary took her hand, held it up to Christ, who placed a ring upon it and espoused her to Himself, bidding her to be of good courage, she was now armed with faith that could overcome all temptations. Catherine could see the ring, but it was invisible to others. With this, her years of solitude ended and she began to serve in the community. As a Dominican, she served as a nurse in the city hospital to those with the worse diseases.
Her “spiritual family” include many people who were well known in her day, including her own sister in law, a noble widow, the artist, Vanni who painted her portrait, and the English hermit, Father Sani, who abandoned his solitude to be near her, saying he felt more peace when he was near her than he found in his cell. Catherine would read their thoughts and often knew their temptations when they were away from her. Through all this, public opinion was divided, some thinking she was a saint while others called her a fanatic and a hypocrite. At one time, charges were brought against Catherine, but they were disproved.
When the
plague broke out, Catherine nursed the people with joy, preparing them for
death, burying them herself, and bringing many to conversion. Father Santi was
one of those who contacted the disease and recovered. She had great pity for those men who were
condemned to die. During one case,
Catherine went to the scaffold with a young knight, sentenced to death for
sedition against the government of
She became known for settling
disputes between people and in 1376, Catherine went to
Her
strength was leaving her and she was in great agony, which she begged her
Divine Bridegroom to let her bear the sin of the world, and to receive her body
for the unity of the Church, lasting three months. Catherine died in
Catherine, or Caetrina (my father called me that) called herself in her letters, was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II, and her feast day is observed not only by Catholics, but by the Lutherans too. Pope Paul VI gave her the title of Doctor of the Church in 1970. Catherine is a patron saint of firefighters and nurses.
Bibligraphy
Beasley-Topliffe, Keith, A Life
of Total Prayer:
Selected Writings of Catherine of
Bence, Kathy, Under Her Wings:
Spiritual Guidance from Women Saints, Upper Room Books,
Oden, Amy, Ed., In Her Words: Women’s
Writings in the History of Christian Thought, Abingdon Press,
Internet