I just finished reading the biography of St Catherine of Siena written by the famous Norwegian author Sigrid Undset, who had won the Nobel prize for literature in 1928. It was quite an amazing book, detailing the life of an Italian mystic who lived at the 14th century and who died at the young age of 33. She was a Dominican lay woman who had considerable influence in advising popes and other lay leaders. This was the era in which it was disputed who actually was pope and when the popes were in exile in France, quite a tumultuous time in Church history. There was a lot of political turmoil in Italy at the time as well. And from the details of the biography, Catherine seemed immeshed in so much of the intrigue of that era, always traveling with a large group of people who were her followers and friends. In 1990, Pope John Paul II named her one of the patron saints of Europe. She was named a Doctor of Church by Pope Paul VI. This quote of hers reflects the courage and zeal with which she lived out her faith: “Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.”
We have had readings from the Acts of Apostles during these weeks of the Easter season. Last week, we heard about the stoning of Stephen, in which a man named Saul was a participant. We heard about Saul’s persecution of followers of Jesus. Saul has a great conversion and he becomes a great evangelizer in the Christian community. Today, we hear about the preaching of Saul and Barnabas, how they were chosen by the Holy Spirit to work in the community and to go to a special mission to Cyprus. Saul will later be known by the name Paul. He becomes the great evangelizer to the Gentiles of the Ancient world. As we hear about the stories of the early Church from Acts, we might think about the ways that God calls us to spread Christ’s Good News in our words and our actions. All of us in our own way and with our own gifts can help bring this Gospel message to others.
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