THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA The Patron of Those Against Fire and Miscarriages Feast Day: April 29
"Eternal God, eternal Trinity, you have made the blood of Christ so precious through his sharing in your divine nature. You are a mystery as deep as the sea; the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find the more I search for you. But I can never be satisfied; what I receive will ever leave me desiring more. When you fill my soul I have an even greater hunger, and I grow more famished for your light. I desire above all to see you, the true light, as you really are." -excerpt from 'The Dialogue of Divine Providence'
One of the few women to be declared Doctor of the Church, Catherine, was born Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa, on the Feast of the Annunciation of Mary - March 25, 1347, in Siena, shortly before the Black Death ravaged Europe. Her parents were Lapa Piagenti, the daughter of a local poet, and Jacopo di Benincasa, a cloth dyer who ran his enterprise with the help of his sons.
At the age of six, after experiencing a vision of our Lord, Catherine consecrated her life to God. When she reached the age of 12, to convince her parents that she would never marry, she cut off her beautiful hair.
Catherine entered the Third Order of St. Dominic in 1365, and led a life of penance and prayer in her house. She was often subjected to trials and desolation.
One day, Catherine exclaimed: 'Oh Lord, where were you when my heart was so sorely troubled with temptations?'
The Lord replied: 'Daughter, I was in your heart, fortifying you by my grace.'
While Siena was celebrating a carnival, Catherine was praying in her room when our Lord appeared to her, accompanied by the Blessed Virgin Mary and a crowd of the heavenly host. Taking the girl's hand, the Blessed Virgin held it up to her Son, who placed a ring on it and espoused Catherine to himself. Although she cared for the sick and the prisoners, she was unjustly accused of being a fanatic and a hypocrite.
In 1375, as she was praying in the church of St. Cristina in Pisa, she received the stigmata from our Lord according to Raymond of Capua's biography. Because of her holiness, she was constantly called upon to arbitrate feuds and misunderstandings.
In June 1376, Catherine went to Avignon in France, to urge Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome, whence the pope has been absent for 74 years.
She spent the rest of her days composing 'The Dialogue of Divine Providence', a book which she wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Besides, Catherine wrote about 400 letters of great interest, all of them remarkable for beauty and spirituality.
Showing a remarkable combination of respect, frankness and familiarity, she called the Pope, 'my sweet daddy,' while reminding him of his obligations as the leader of the Universal Church.
After offering herself as the victim for the Church, Catherine died peacefully in the Lord at the age of 33 on April 29, 1380, having eight days earlier suffered a massive stroke which paralyzed her from the waist down. Her last words were: 'Father, into Your Hands I commend my soul and my spirit.'
Catherine beatified on Christmas Eve 1460 and canonized by Pope Pius II in 1461, Pope Paul VI named Catherine a Doctor of the Church on October 4, 1970; this title was almost simultaneously given to Teresa of Avila, making them the first women to receive this honor.