Saturday, June 30, 2018

The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena: A Review




The Dialogue of Catherine of Siena is a marvelous gift of spiritual literature recorded in the
form of a dialogue between Catherine and God, during one of her mystical
experiences- ‘ecstatic encounters’- with him. The Dialogue reads almost like another Gospel, interspersed with responses and petitions on Catherine’s part. With the wealth of wisdom in this relatively short book of 366 pages, her distinction as one of only four women to be honored as Church Doctors is clearly seen. However, Catherine’s merit lies perhaps first in her virtuous humility and keen sense of charity. Her relationship with God, shows in her complete docility to God’s will; Catherine was ablaze with the fiery desire for “God’s honor and the salvation of souls”. She absolutely exemplifies the words of Christ from the Gospel of John which she quoted in the first page of her prologue, “If you love me and keep my word, I will show myself to you, and you will be one thing with me and I with you.”


Catherine’s work is divided into ten chapters, almost all of which build upon each-other, although they can, without too much confusion, be read independently. Her prologue is the only real exception to this rule, as it provides a foundation and an explanatory principle for the entire book. The other chapters are titled: The Way of Perfection, Dialogue, The Bridge, Tears, Truth, The Mystical Body of Holy Church, Divine Providence, Obedience, and Conclusion.
The premise of the entire work (given in the Prologue) are Catherine’s four self-styled, “petitions”, directed to God the Father. The first is for her own growth in holiness, so as to be better able to serve her neighbors, the second is “for the reform of Holy Church”, the  third, for the salvation of the entire world, and the last, for the provision of God’s Providence in regard to a particular (and apparently clandestine) intention of her own. The subsequent chapters of the Dialogue are God’s response to each of her petitions given with beautiful analogies, and great lucidity and specificity. The main focus of the book, is without doubt, Salvation and the way toward it, as God explains in detail to Catherine at her request.
In the first chapter after the prologue, "The Way of Perfection," God responds to Catherine’s desire to amend the offenses committed against his honor and to make reparation for the sins of others through her own sufferings. This desire of hers was introduced in the Prologue and corresponds with her desire that God should be merciful to the world. God explains to Catherine that, any amount of finite suffering can never equal the infinitude of an offense against Himself because he is eternal; yet he assures her that the soul immersed in God is gifted with a share in his own eternally loving desire which (when joined to holy actions) is therefore beneficial for the salvation of souls.
In this first substantial chapter, God continues in a discourse on the way to become perfect, in response to Catherine’s first petition; many themes are introduced which are referred to quite frequently throughout the entire work. One important element is God’s explanation of the soul’s three God-given and salvation oriented powers: memory, understanding, and will, which are intended as a great help to salvation and are all interconnected. Another recurrent theme introduced in this chapter, is that there is no virtue or vice that does not “come to birth” through interactions with one’s ‘neighbors’. The last large theme of this chapter is God’s use of the analogy of a tree to aid in Catherine’s understanding of the relations between the virtues. Knowledge of self- joined to knowledge of God, the role of discernment, charity, humility, and patience are all shown to be deeply intertwined.
The next chapter, “Dialogue,” contains a great deal of intimate discussion concerning God’s mercy. Here, Catherine, really does seem to be “one thing” with God in her love and desire for souls. This chapter showcases Catherine’s intensely loving relationship with God. The most strikingly beautiful aspect of this relationship, is the way in which God, because of his Love for Catherine, allows himself to be bound by her desire for souls. The conversation sways back and forth between them with Catherine begging for God’s mercy for the world and God yielding to her bold yet humble requests. God expresses how greatly he desires to be merciful to the world through the grief-stricken tears of his servants.
In the third chapter, “The Bridge," God further enlightens

Catherine (by means of analogy) on the way to salvation. Jesus Christ is described as a Bridge which “stretches from heaven to earth.” God explains to Catherine that the Bridge of Christ has three steps which correspond to three stages of the soul along its path to beatitude. These are the feet, side, and mouth of Christ on the Cross. The feet are the first step because the feet are the means by which one travels toward (or away from) God; here the soul must face and conquer her disordered passions. The second step is Christ’s open side because here the soul encounters God’s heart in the depths of her own heart; here the soul covers herself in goodness. The third step is Christ’s mouth where the soul discovers the perfect peace of union with God’s will; here the soul relishes all things given by God, having won the battle against self-will. 
Having described the Bridge of Salvation, God expounds on the state, in this life (as well as in the next), of those who choose not to follow this way in contrast to those who do. Those headed for damnation are those who, “travel beneath the Bridge” in the, “river of disordered love.” God continues on in this chapter at great length, explaining to Catherine, the different things that the soul may encounter on its journey, warning her about pitfalls, and recommending to her the tools she must use to avoid them.
One example is worth noting for its practicality and humor. God described to Catherine how to fight against the wiles of the evil one, by preparing her with special knowledge of the devil’s ‘game-plan’ (so to speak) in attacking souls. God said the devil would either attempt to convince her that she is already perfect or that she is wretched beyond the reach of grace. God instructed her to counter these attacks by abasing herself in abject humility and taking refuge in his mercy. God assured her that the evil one would then finally give up in exasperation, exclaiming:
Damnable woman! There is no getting at you! If I throw you down in confusion you lift yourself up to mercy. If I exalt you you throw yourself down. You come even to hell in your humility, and even in hell you hound me. So I will not come back at you again, because you beat me with the cudgel of charity.


             

 In the fourth chapter, “Tears,” Catherine asked God to explain the soul’s journey to God with respect to the nature of the tears they shed at each stage along the way. There are five types of tears. Tears of damnation and servile fear belong to those who are not sorrowful over offending God but only for themselves. Imperfect tears belong to those who have made a break with sin for love of God but only imperfectly attain to virtue. Perfect tears belong to those souls who have wholly embraced God and neighbor in pure love. This last type of tears belongs also to those whom God blesses with an added grace-”sweet” tears of intimate union with himself.
The chapter, “Truth” is God’s response to Catherine’s request for a better understanding of judgement, particularly how she might guard herself against judging the sins of others and how she might judge whether an experience she has is from God. To this end, God presents another analogy of the three spiritual stages in the form of three ‘lights’ coming forth from himself. He illustrates the perfection (or lack thereof) of souls based upon their relation to himself as Supreme Truth.  He explained that judgement is reserved for himself and that a true vision does not leave one with an emotional high without producing fruit in holy actions, because what is from God can never be sterile.
            The next chapter, “Mystical Body of Holy Church,” concerns Catherine’s second petition, “for the reform of Holy Church.” This chapter details the sorts of corruption which were alive in the Catholic Church at the time. God tells Catherine at length of the dignity of the office with which his ministers are endowed and details how great a sin it is to disrespect one of his ministers, even though he may be clearly in sin. God tells of the many sins of corrupt priests and religious. There were those who practiced simony, those who kept mistresses openly, those who sought office for reasons of political advancement, and there were even those who pretended to consecrate the Eucharist because they feared divine judgement on account of their sins. Yet, again and again, God emphasizes to Catherine that the sins of the minster cannot effect the validity of the sacraments. 
            The second to last chapter, “Divine Providence,” is God’s response to Catherine’s fourth petition: for the provision of providence. In this discourse, God reveals the ways in which his Providence has perfectly provided everything that is necessary for every person in every circumstance.
In the last chapter, "Obedience," God speaks to Catherine of the perfections of Holy Obedience, describing it as a key which Christ used to open the gates of heaven again after Adam’s sin locked the gate. He instructs Catherine that each person must take up this key in imitation of Christ in order to reach eternal salvation.
Catherine’s Dialogue is without doubt a work written for the salvation of souls through the humble service of a “most beloved daughter” of God. The Church cannot thank her enough for opening her heart to God’s will so that she could become the conduit of rich blessings flowing from God’s heart.


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