Catherine of Siena lived in the 14th
century in Italy. She was a lay woman
who worked in the Dominican order, but had very little formal education. However, Catherine was considered to be one
of the most brilliant theological minds of her day. There was a lot of problems plaguing the
papacy in her day. Catherine used her
skills of persuasion to convince Pope Gregory XI to move back to Rome from his
exile in Avignon, France. Catherine is
held is very high esteem in our Church today.
Catherine, along with Teresa of Avila, were named as the first women
Doctors of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
She was named as one of the patrons of Italy along with Francis of
Assisi in 1940, and was named as one of Europe’s patron saints by Pope John
Paul II in 1999. This quote of hers reflects
her courage and tenacity in living out her faith: “Proclaim the truth and do
not be silent through fear.”
Our psalm today proclaims: Not to us, O
Lord, but to your name give the glory.”
Catherine of Siena reflected this belief in the way she lived her life,
giving glory and honor to God in the way she courageously brought the Gospel to
the world and they way she challenged others to live out the values of the
Gospel. May we all live out our faith
with this same honesty and courage as a reflection of the reality of the risen
Lord in our world.
No comments:
Post a Comment