header image
Home arrow Who is St. Catherine
St. Catherine of Siena
cathsiena.jpg
  • About St. Catherine  ( 3 items )

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Life of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

  • Writings  ( 4 items )
    In the ages of Faith, as the fourteenth century certainly was, those who became advisors and guides to both ecclesiastics and those in authority in the state were, in general, people who themselves had the Faith. In other words, it must seem strange, even odd, for a young woman, actually in her twenties, to be consulted by kings, princes, and even the Pope. Behind that phenomenon, which it is for us a phenomenon, is something that we should try to recover. In the last analysis, a person is as worthy of being consulted – that person's judgment is worth listening to and being followed – in the degree or measure that person is living a life of union with God, which is almost the reverse of our modern, academically-preoccupied society. Either the natural or the supernatural gifts of people are ignored. What matters: how much education, what degrees you've got, what license, what rights you have, especially from the state, to exercise whatever intelligence you may have. In other words, Catherine of Siena shows how, over the centuries, to the ages of Faith, those only, who lived holy lives, were consulted because it was assumed that holy people were wise people; that one's union with God is a precondition for one's having a good, clear mind and a will that is worth following. ~Fr. John Hardon, S.J.