Homily: Feast of Catherine of Sienna
Homily: Feast of Catherine of Sienna (1347-80) “A Woman to be Reckoned With”
St. Catherine of Sienna is one of the doctors of the church. She is a fascinating figure in church history. She is one of the two patron saints of Italy along with Francis of Assisi. St. Catherine was the 24th of 25 children.
At a young age, she decided not to marry. She joined the third order Dominicans. The third order is a group who live the Dominican way of life but continue to live in the world. Catherine was a lay person and never a religious.
St. Catherine began her vocation by spending several years in solitude and prayer. She was said to have mystical experiences. St. Catherine later decided to work in a hospital where she nursed the sick. During a famine and during a time of plague in 1374 she showed noteworthy charity.
Eventually, she gathered a disparate group of people around her. They were known as her family. This group began to travel from place-to-place calling people to reform. St. Catherine began to be known for her preaching. Many underwent conversion under her instruction. This is remarkable since she could not read or write until late in life.
As her reputation grew, she began to preach that the church itself needed reform. She pointed out the deficiencies in the clergy. She felt that the clergy needed to be “mirrors of freely chosen poverty, humble lambs, giving away the Church’s possessions.” She was upset that the clergy lived in luxury.
Eventually Catherine became an advisor to Gregory XI. He was living in Avignon in exile. She urged him to go back to Rome. She also was an advisor to Pope Urban VI. He was one of the Popes at the time of the Great Schism. She tried to bring the church back together and blamed herself for not praying and fasting enough so that the church might be unified.
She eventually collapsed because of her many penances and died at only forty-three. St. Catherine loved the church. She was broken hearted when the church was not as holy as it should be.
Reflection Questions:
- Can lay people have a big impact on the church? How might they make the church holier?
- St. Catherine did not mince words in her criticism of the church. Is it a sin to be too critical of the church? Or is it sometimes necessary to be critical?
Dear Parishioners,
Remember that we will be having a parish meeting this Sunday at 3 p.m. in Culemans Hall. We will review the present status of our building program. The bids for the work are favorable. The initial response from the diocese has been to move forward. We need to finalize contracts and sign them. The next six months will be an exciting time for our parish.
If you would like to get all the statistics and facts, please come to the meeting Sunday. There will also be a virtual tour of the new space and renderings to look at as well.
May Our Lady bring peace to our troubled world today.
Fr. Mark