We have only four female Doctors of the Church, one being St Catherine of Siena, the saint we celebrate today. Catherine is quite a remarkable woman who lived in Italy way back in the later half of the 14th century. Catherine is held in such high esteem that she has been named the patron saint of Italy and the co-patron saint of all of Europe. She was the youngest of 25 children. She felt the call from God in her life in a special way early on, as she had a vision of Christ when she was only 7 years old.
Catherine lived in a very tumultuous era in which the Pope was in exile in France and there was much disunity amongst the Catholic faithful. Although Catherine felt the call to live as a Dominican tertiary and to care for the poor and the sick, she also felt God calling her to bring unity to the Church. She wrote hundreds of letters to the pope, to kings, and other powerful world leaders, counseling them on their duty to make peace and to bring unity to the Church. She even traveled to Avignon, France on a mission to bring the pope back to Rome.
Though Catherine died at the young age of 33, she is remembered for her leadership and courage. She was an unlikely choice to bring counsel to such powerful men in the Church and government, but that is what God called her to do. Catherine of Siena once said: "If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire!”
In the Gospel today, we hear a message that is central to Christ’s teachings: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” We are to called to have that same devotion and faith that Catherine of Siena had in her lifetime.
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