What does it take to be a saint? Ultimately, it takes grace and mercy of God. For we all, who are in Christ, are awaiting sainthood. In one sense, we are already saints, but in another sense, we are not yet saints. Such is the reality of the already/not yet nature of the kingdom of God. When we talk about the saints, we are typically referring to those who have gone on to join the “great cloud of witnesses” referred to in the book of Hebrews (see 12:1-2). Yet there are some people we encounter, this side of glory, who are living more into that reality than most. One such example, from history, is St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast day we celebrate today.
She was born Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa on March 25, 1347 to a large and devoted Christian family. Sadly, her twin sister, Giovanna, died a few days later, a tragic commonplace in medieval Europe. From an early age, her faith in Jesus remained strong. Throughout her life, Catherine was known as a mystic, someone who communes with God frequently through spiritual and supernatural experiences. One such experience occurred when she was between the ages of 5 and 7 as she was walking home with her brother after visiting their older sister who was married. In the vision, Catherine saw Jesus seated in the heavens, robed in the garments of a bishop surrounded by the Apostles Peter, Paul, and John, among others. Her brother didn’t see what Catherine saw and the experience ended when he called her name to get her attention. Later in life, she attested to having a stigmata (experiencing the wounds of Christ in one’s own body). Such experiences seem foreign to us today in a modern rationalistic society. Yet many people throughout the world still attest to such experiences today.
Catherine thwarted her parents’ plans for her life to marry a wealthy man and better herself. Instead, she joined a pious group of women known as the “Mantellates” who practiced Dominican spirituality. Her spiritual piety was seen as extreme, even among the standards of the day. She would go long periods and complete solitude and silence. She even practiced an extreme form of fasting where her only sustenance was a daily reception of the Eucharist. Yet her piety did not lead her toward self-righteousness, but towards self-reflection, Catherine was a great lover of the church, and sought to bring about very much needed, reforms. One such example was when she sought an audience with Pope Gregory XI and exhorted him to return the seat of the papacy back to Rome instead of Avignon, France (a topic for another day). On October 29, 1387, Catherine, suffered a massive stroke and died at the age of 33. Her last words are believed to be the same as our Lord, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit.”
Like all of the saints that have gone before us, modern Christians can learn a great deal from St. Catherine. Her passion and zeal for Christ is an example to us all for the kind of trust in our Savior that we are all called to possess. Her life was marked with great passion for the church’s witness in the world, and a love for the poor and those who live at the margins. She has also come to be known as a Doctor of the Church, one whose teachings and writings are timeless for Christians of all generations and not just those of her own time and place. Though we may not be called to a life of extreme forms of silence, solitude, and asceticism, we can learn much from St. Catherine in prioritizing times of silence and solitude in our own lives. As modern Christians in the West, this spiritual practice is one that we would do well to cultivate once again. Her life of asceticism also serves as an example to us in a culture that teaches us to gratify the desires and passions of our own heart. By going without, even if it is just for a short period of time, can teach us that God is our provider and that what he offers us is better.
Collect (Prayer) of the Day
O God, who didst grant to the blessed Catherine, a spirit of ardent love for you and a keen insight into your mysteries, mercifully grant that, guided by her example, we may be led to the fullness of your truth and the joy of eternal life. Amen.
Bible Reading
1 John 1:5-10 (ESV)
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Photo Credit Unsplash.com
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