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Join us for an
hour of prayer from anywhere in the world. Our prayer group prays the
Rosary at
Saint Catherine
of Siena Cathedral Church every
week day after Mass between 8:30-9:30am EDT in Allentown, Pennsylvania,
USA Each day, we remember the intentions of our families & friends.
All we ask is that you remember us too. Give us your peace, Lord. Give
us your peace.
(gallery
music courtesy of Jamie
Marich, Jars
of Clay, & Josh
Woodward)
Also visit St. Catherine
of Siena Church-
in Wake Forest, NC. and this beautiful
stained glass window.
St. Catherine
of Siena
She was the youngest
but one of a very large family. Her father,
Giacomo di Benincasa, was a dyer; her mother, Lapa, the daughter of
a local poet. They belonged to the lower middle-class faction of tradesmen
and petty notaries, known as
"the Party of the Twelve", which between one revolution and another
ruled the Republic
of Siena from 1355 to 1368. From her earliest childhood Catherine
began to see visions
and to practise extreme austerities. At the
age of seven she consecrated her virginity to Christ; in her sixteenth
year she took the habit of the Dominican Tertiaries, and renewed
the life of the anchorites of the
desert in a little room in her father's house. After three years of
celestial visitations
and familiar conversation with Christ, she underwent
the mystical experience
known as the "spiritual espousals",
probably during the carnival of 1366. She now rejoined her family,
began to tend the sick, especially those afflicted with the most repulsive
diseases, to serve the poor, and to labour
for the conversion of sinners. Though always
suffering terrible physical pain, living for long intervals on practically
no food save the Blessed Sacrament,
she was ever radiantly happy and full of practical wisdom no less than
the highest spiritual insight. All her contemporaries bear witness to
her extraordinary personal charm, which prevailed over the continual
persecution to which
she was subjected even by the friars of her own
order and by her sisters
in religion. She began
to gather disciples round her, both men and women, who formed
a wonderful spiritual fellowship, united to her by the bonds of mystical love. During
the summer of 1370 she received a series of special manifestations of
Divine mysteries,
which culminated in a prolonged trance, a kind of mystical death, in
which she had a vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, and heard
a Divine command to leave her cell and enter the public life of the
world. She began to dispatch letters to men and women in every condition
of life, entered into correspondence with the princes and republics
of Italy, was consulted
by the papal legates
about the affairs of the Church, and set herself
to heal the wounds of her native land by staying the fury of civil war
and the ravages of faction. She implored the pope, Gregory XI, to leave
Avignon, to
reform the clergy
and the administration of the Papal States, and
ardently threw herself into his design for a crusade, in the hopes
of uniting the powers of Christendom against
the infidels,
and restoring peace to Italy by delivering
her from the wandering companies of mercenary soldiers. While at Pisa, on the fourth Sunday of Lent,
1375, she received the Stigmata, although,
at her special prayer, the marks
did not appear outwardly in her body while she lived.
Mainly through
the misgovernment of the papal officials, war broke out between
Florence and
the Holy See,
and almost the whole of the Papal States rose
in insurrection. Catherine had already been sent on a mission from the
pope to secure the
neutrality of Pisa and Lucca. In June, 1376,
she went to Avignon as ambassador
of the Florentines, to make
their peace; but, either through the bad faith of the republic or through
a misunderstanding caused by the frequent changes in its government,
she was unsuccessful. Nevertheless she made such a profound impression
upon the mind
of the pope,
that, in spite of the opposition of the French king and almost
the whole of the Sacred College,
he returned to Rome
(17 January, 1377). Catherine spent the greater part of 1377 in effecting
a wonderful spiritual revival in the country districts subject to the
Republic of Siena,
and it was at this time that she miraculously learned
to write, though she still seems to have chiefly relied upon her secretaries
for her correspondence. Early in 1378 she was sent by Pope Gregory to Florence, to make
a fresh effort for peace. Unfortunately, through the factious conduct
of her Florentine
associates, she became involved in the internal politics of the city,
and during a popular tumult (22 June) an attempt was made upon her life. She was bitterly
disappointed at her escape, declaring that her sins had deprived
her of the red rose of martyrdom. Nevertheless,
during the disastrous revolution known as "the tumult of the Ciompi",
she still remained at Florence or in its
territory until, at the beginning of August, news reached the city that
peace had been signed between the republic and the new pope. Catherine
then instantly returned to Siena, where she passed
a few months of comparative quiet, dictating her "Dialogue", the book
of her meditations and revelations.
In the meanwhile
the Great Schism had broken
out in the Church. From the outset
Catherine enthusiastically adhered to the Roman claimant, Urban VI, who in November,
1378, summoned her to Rome. In the Eternal City she spent
what remained of her life, working strenuously for the reformation of
the Church,
serving the destitute and afflicted,
and dispatching eloquent letters in behalf of Urban to high and
low in all directions. Her strength was rapidly being consumed; she
besought her Divine
Bridegroom to let her bear the punishment for all the sins of the world,
and to receive the sacrifice of her body
for the unity and renovation
of the Church;
at last it seemed to her that the Bark of Peter was laid upon
her shoulders, and that it was crushing her to death with its weight.
After a prolonged and mysterious agony of three months, endured by her
with supreme exultation and delight,
from Sexagesima Sunday
until the Sunday
before the Ascension, she died.
Her last political work, accomplished practically from her death-bed,
was the reconciliation of Pope Urban VI with
the Roman Republic (1380).
Among Catherine's
principal followers were Fra Raimondo delle Vigne, of Capua
(d. 1399), her confessor and biographer, afterwards General of the Dominicans, and Stefano
di Corrado Maconi (d. 1424), who had been one of her secretaries, and
became Prior General
of the Carthusians. Raimondo's
book, the "Legend", was finished in 1395. A second life of her, the
"Supplement", was written a few years later by another of her associates,
Fra Tomaso Caffarini (d. 1434), who also composed the "Minor Legend",
which was translated into Italian by Stefano
Maconi. Between 1411 and 1413 the depositions of the surviving witnesses
of her life and work were collected at Venice, to form the
famous "Process". Catherine was canonized by Pius II in 1461. The
emblems by which she is known in Christian art are
the lily and book, the crown of thorns, or
sometimes a heart--referring to the legend of her having
changed hearts with Christ. Her principal
feast is on
the 30th of April, but it is popularly celebrated in Siena on the Sunday following.
The feast of
her Espousals
is kept on the Thursday of the carnival.
The works of St.
Catherine of Siena rank among the classics of the Italian language,
written in the beautiful Tuscan vernacular
of the fourteenth century. Notwithstanding the existence of many excellent
manuscripts, the printed
editions present the text in a frequently mutilated and most unsatisfactory
condition. Her writings consist of
- the "Dialogue",
or "Treatise on Divine Providence";
- a collection
of nearly four hundred letters; and
- a series of
"Prayers".
The "Dialogue" especially,
which treats of the whole spiritual life of man in the form of
a series of colloquies between the Eternal Father and
the human soul
(represented by Catherine herself), is the mystical counterpart
in prose of Dante's "Divina Commedia".
A smaller work
in the dialogue form, the "Treatise on Consummate Perfection", is also
ascribed to her, but is probably spurious. It is impossible in a few
words to give an adequate conception of the manifold character and contents
of the "Letters", which are the most complete expression of Catherine's
many-sided personality. While those addressed to popes
and sovereigns, rulers of republics and leaders of armies, are documents
of priceless value to students of history, many of those
written to private citizens, men and women in the cloister or in the
world, are as fresh and illuminating, as wise and practical in their
advice and guidance for the devout Catholic today as
they were for those who sought her counsel while she lived. Others,
again, lead the reader to mystical heights of
contemplation,
a rarefied atmosphere of sanctity in which
only the few privileged spirits can hope to dwell. The key-note to Catherine's
teaching is that man, whether in the
cloister or
in the world, must ever abide in the cell of self-knowledge, which is
the stable in which the traveller through time to eternity must be born
again.
Saint Catherine
of Siena is a Dominican
Tertiary, born at
Siena, 25 March, 1347;
died at Rome, 29 April, 1380.
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"Everything
comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does
nothing without this goal in mind."
-Saint Catherine of Siena
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Prayers for the end of Catholic Mass
My
God the Father,
I offer to Thee this Mass and this Holy
Communion
which
I have just received. And I unite this offering with all the Masses
offered,
and all the Holy Communions received this day, and every
day
from the dawn of the Christian era, till the end of time. I join this
with
the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, my redeemer. And with
all
prayers, works, suffering, zeal and devotion of every member
of
the mystical body of Christ. I offer all of this infinite merit to Thee,
my
heavenly Father, through the most holy name of Jesus, and
through
Mary Immaculate, my Mother, in reparation for every sin,
offense
or imperfection that I have ever been guilty of during my
entire
life. I also recommend to Thee, each of my dear ones; my
relatives,
benefactors, friends and enemies; all with whom I come
in
contact in any way, whether in business, social, or any other
relation.
I commend to Thee, in a special way, all who have
asked
me to pray for them. I recommend to Thee, their petitions,
I
beg of Thee to grant their requests, if they are in conformity with
Thy
holy will. I also beseech Thee to have compassion on our
departed,
who look to me for prayers; for whom I have been
asked
to pray, and for whom I have promised to pray. Amen.
Oh,
Mary Virgin of Heaven and of all the
angels there. I beg of
you
to listen to my very special prayer. I need your intercession and
in
this my fervent plea. I call your name a thousand times upon my
Rosary.
I say the Memorare and I know that it is true. And that is why
I
fold my hands and bow my head to you. Oh Virgin Mary, Mother
dear
by every virtue blest. Please ask your son, Our Lord and God to
grant
this one request. Look not upon my sinful soul, but hear my
humble
heart. That I may put away the past and make a nobler start.
Oh
Mary, pray for me now, and at the hour of my death. Amen.
Lord
Jesus Christ, I am sorry for my sins.
I acknowledge you as the
Son
of the Living God. I accept you as my Lord and my God. I invite
you
into my life. Lord Jesus Christ, I receive you as my personal
Savior.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Heal and strengthen me. I love
you Jesus. May the Christ child bring peace upon Earth. Amen.
Heavenly
Father, I call on you right now in
a special way. It is
through
your power that I was created. Every breath I take, every
morning
I wake, and every moment of every hour, I live under your
power.
Father, I ask you now to touch me with that same power. For
you
have created me from nothing, so you can certainly recreate me. Fill
me
with the healing power of your spirit. Cast out anything that should
not
be in me. Mend what is broken. Root out any unproductive cells.
Open
any blocked arteries or veins or nerves and rebuild any damaged
areas.
Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection. Take away
hurts,
bitterness, bad memories, feelings and emotions that are not
of
You. Begin the healing and help us to see You in each other, to
love
as you love. Let the warmth of your healing love pass through
my
body to make new any unhealthy areas so that my body will
function
the way you created it to function. And Father, restore
me
to full health in mind and body so that I may serve you the
rest
of my life. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Last
prayer by Fr. Larry J. Hess, Catholic Campus Ministry of Cedar
Crest and
Muhlenberg Colleges,
2400 Chew Street, Allentown, PA 18104-5586, Phone: 610-821-3122
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Processus contestationum super sanctitate
et doctrina beatae Catharinae de Senis, in MARTENE AND DURAND, Veterum
Scriptorum et Monumentorum Amplissima Collectio (Paris, 1729), VI;
GIGLI, L'opere della serafica Santa Caterina da Siena (Siena
and Lucca, 1707-54); TOMMASEO, Le Lettere di S. Caterina da Siena
(Florence, 1860); Italian translations of the Legend and
the Supplement are included in the first and fifth volumes of
GIGLI's Edition; important portions of the Process are
still left unpublished in manuscripts in the Biblioteca Comunale of
Siena and the Biblioteca Casanatense at Rome.
EDMUND G. GARDNER
Transcribed by Lois Tesluk
The Catholic Encyclopedia,
Volume III
Copyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight
Nihil Obstat, November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Prayer book was created
with the intention of love & peace, and is hosted through
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