Friday, April 30, 2021

St Catherine of Siena: So Close to Jesus


 Today we celebrate an amazing saint. We read about St Catherine of Siena in the book In Caelo et in Terra. 

From a young age, she had mystical visions in which Jesus appeared to her. BTW, she was the second youngest of TWENTY FIVE children! Half of them didn't survive childhood (which means they went to heaven early), but that's still an amazingly huge family. 

She became a Dominican tertiary, which means she didn't go to a monastery but instead lived by the order of St Dominic at home. For three years, she lived in silence and solitude in her room at home. Then she had a vision in which Jesus appeared to her and told her to help the poor and the sick, so she did for many years. He also gave her many instructions, which she wrote down. She gave many of these instructions to the pope, who eventually obeyed them, including moving back to Rome from Avignon. 

She died at the young age of 33, the same age that Jesus was when He died for a few days. You can read more about her here.

God, thanks for speaking so directly to St Catherine. Please open our hearts to hear from You as well. St Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

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