A Happy Change of Pace from FrancisDoom: Various Quotes from St. Catherine of Siena

Thinking about Francis and the Rome Plow he is taking through the Church can quickly get depressing.  Plus, it’s always good to be encouraged.  I find few Saints more encouraging than St. Catherine of Siena.  The following quotes are rather random, but they all contain great spiritual direction and solid catechesis.  I pray you enjoy!

Quote 1:

O Charity, you are the sweet, holy bond uniting the soul to its Creator; you unite God to man and man to God.  you kept the Son of God nailed to the wood of the Holy Cross.  You unite those whom discord keeps apart. You enrich  with virtue those who are poor, because you give life to all the virtues.  You bring peace and suppress hatred and war.  You give patience, strength, and perseverance in return for every good and holy work.  You are never weary, you never turn aside from the love of God and neighbor, either because of weariness, pain, contempt, or insult.

O Christ, sweet Jesus, give me this holy charity, that I may persevere in doing good and never give it up; for he who possesses charity is founded on You, the living rock, and by following Your example, he learns from  You how to love his neighbor.  In You, O Christ, I read the rule and doctrine which are right for me, for You are the way, the truth, and the life.  If I read You, I shall follow the right path and shall occupy myself solely with the honor of God and the salvation of souls.

Quote 2:

I give You thanks, O eternal Father, because You have not despised Your creature, nor turned away Your face from me, nor ignored my desires. You, who are light, did not despise my darkness; You, who are life, did not go far away from me who am death; nor did You, the physician, fail to heal my wounds.……Your wisdom, mercy, and infinite goodness have not looked with scorn at all these and the infinite number of other evils and faults that are in me. What forced You to love me and to grant me so many graces? It was not my virtues but only Your charity. May I always keep Your favors in mind, and may my will burn with the fire of Your charity.

O inestimable Love, how admirable are the things You have done in Your creature! O my wretched, blind soul, where is your cry of gratitude, where are the tears you should shed in the sight of your God who is unceasingly calling to you?  Where are all my yearning desires in the sight of divine mercy? They are not in me because I have not yet lost myself, for if I were lost and had sought only You, my God, only the glory and the praise of Your Name, my heart would have thrilled in a hymn of gratitude.

Thanks be to You, o eternal, most high Trinity!  I am she who is not and You are He who is. Glorify Yourself by enabling me to praise You.  Pardon me, O Father, pardon me who am miserable, and ungrateful to You for the immense benefits I have received. I confess that Your goodness has preserved me, Your spouse, although because of my many defects I have often been unfaithful to You.

Quote 3:

O God, You have seen the weakness of our human nature; You know how weak, frail, and miserable it is; therefore, You, the sovereign Provider, Who in all things have provided for all the needs of Your creatures, You, the perfect repairer, who have given a remedy for all our ills, You gave us the rock and fortitude of will to strengthen the weakness of our flesh.  This will is so strong that no demon or creature can conquer it if we do not will it, that is, if our free will, which is in our own hands, does not consent.

O infinite Goodness, where does such great strength in Your creature’s will come from?  From You, sovereign, eternal Strength, because it shares in the strength of Your will.  Hence, we can see that our will is strong to the degree in which it follows Yours, and weak to the degree in which it deviates from Yours because You created our will to the likeness of Your Will, and therefore being in Yours, it is strong.

In our will, O eternal Father, You show the fortitude of Your Will; if You have given so much fortitude to a little member, what should we think Yours to be, O Creator and Ruler of all things?

It seems to me that this free will which You have given us is fortified by the light of faith, for in this light it knows Your will, which wishes nothing but our sanctification.  Then our will, fortified and nourished by our holy Faith, gives life to our actions, which explains why neither good will nor lively faith can exist without works.  Faith nourishes and maintains the fire of charity, because it reveals to our soul Your love and charity to us, and thus makes it strong in loving You.

Quote 4, especially important in light of Francis and all the travails afflicting the Church and pious souls:

O eternal God, grant me the virtue of perseverance; without it, no one can please You nor be acceptable to You.  This virtue brings to the soul an abundance of charity and the fruit of every effort.  Oh! how happy I should be, Lord, if You would give me this virtue, because even here on earth it will make me enjoy a pledge of eternal life. But Your light reveals to me that I cannot attain it unless I suffer much, because this life cannot be lived without suffering.  he who would escape suffering woulf deprive himself of holy perseverance. 

Finally, a bonus from St. Bernard:

No one is so presumptuous that he thinks his justice or holiness is enough to assure his salvation [Unless he is a protestant, or Francis but I repeat].  For this reason I hasten to You, O Jesus: Your Passion is my supreme refuge and sole remedy!  It comes to help us when our wisdom fails, when our justice is weak, and the merits of our holiness are useless.  When my strength grows weak, I shall not be discouraged.  I know what I must do: “I shall take the chalice of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” Open by eyes, O God, that I may always know what is pleasing to You and then I shall be wise. Pardon the faults of my youth and ignorance, and I shall be just.  Lead me, O God, on Your path, and I shall be holy.  But if Your Blood does not intercede for me, I shall not be saved.

———-End Quote———

That’s it!