Book Review: The Dialogue by Catherine of Siena

The Dialogue by Catherine of Siena

Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) was a lay person following Dominican spirituality who was a mystic and also involved in secular and papal politics. She is most famous for convincing Pope Pius XI to return to Rome from Avignon in 1376. She also wrote many letters and some prayers, though her major work is The Dialogue of Divine Providence. It's written as a conversation between God and a soul and was dictated by Catherine while in an ecstatic state.

The dialogue works through several questions that the soul (presumably Catherine's) has for God that He lovingly answers. The main focus is on achieving spiritual perfection through a holy life. God describes the path to Heaven He has laid out for us, describing it as a bridge between Earth and Heaven. That bridge is Christ and has three primary stages that match the progress in virtue and grace. In the first stage, motivated by the fear of punishments like eternal damnation, a person seeks a virtuous life without much love in their heart for the Lord. They just want to avoid suffering. This stage is identified with being at the feet of the Lord. In the second stage, a person is virtuous for the consolations of doing good. The focus is still on the self, on one's own wellbeing, the happy feelings one gets when doing a good deed. Here, the soul approaches the heart of Jesus on the cross. The final stage is full perfection, where one is virtuous because it pleases the Lord and conforms to the Divine Will, regardless of personal consolation or discomfort. This stage is at the mouth of Christ and represents a full union with God. 

The soul also asks about for the world with all its problems and challenges. God discusses the respect that is owed to those with religious vocations (especially bishops and the pope), even if they commit grave sins and provide scandal to the world. He will judge such people; it is not our role to condemn them. He will provide what is needed for people to make it to Heaven. The many people that make up the Mystical Body of Christ all have different roles to play and are given different gifts and abilities to use for His greater glory and the sanctification of themselves and others. The importance of obedience in the spiritual life is discussed at length.

The book is very well written. While she has deep insights into human and divine relationships, they are presented in a very concrete way that is easy to understand. She is occasionally repetitive, re-emphasizing themes and ideas that are important. I found the book very helpful and inspiring. The mystical insights are not shrouded in a fog of technical terms or unfamiliar situations. We've all dealt with good and bad bosses (in family or work or politics or society), we've all felt the inadequacy of efforts or the frustration of unfruitful exertions. Her advice is timely and easy to take. It is easy to see why she was declared a Doctor of the Church. 

Highly recommended.

Sample Quote: 

Why we have individual charisms: "These and many other virtues I give differently to different souls, and the soul is most at ease with that virtue which has been made primary for her. But through her love of that virtue she attracts all the other virtues to herself, since they are all bound together in loving charity." [pp.37-38]

An entirely Dominican metaphor: "Just as a dog stationed at the gate barks when it sees enemies, and by its barking wakes up the guards, so this dog of conscience would wake up the guard of reason, and reason together with free choice would discern by the light of understanding who was a friend and who an enemy. To friends, that is, the virtues and holy thoughts of the heart, they would give warm affectionate love by exercising them with great care. To enemies, that is, vice and perverse thoughts, they would deal out hatred and contempt, striking them down with the sword of hatred and love by reason's light and free choice's hand. So at the moment of death their conscience does not gnaw but rests peacefully because it has been a good watchdog." [p. 263]

Book Review: Women of Hope by Terry Polakovic

Women of Hope: Doctors of the Church by Terry Polakovic

So far (September 2024), four women have been declared Doctors of the Church by the Catholic Church. A Doctor of the Church is a saint who is recognized for their writings and teachings that have contributed to the intellectual and, more importantly, spiritual development of people. The two most famous doctors are Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. This book gives overviews of the women who are doctors, in the order that they were declared. 

Saint Teresa of Avila lived in the 16th century as a Spanish Carmelite. At the time, many religious orders were in decline, in need of reform. She was a passionate advocate for that reform, especially in her own order. Her early life needed improvement and she found life in the convent transformative. She wrote much and advised others at all levels of society. Her reforms had a great impact and her writings, especially The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, are beloved classics.

Saint Catherine of Siena lived in central Italy during the 14th century. She was born to a large family but was constantly looking for solitude. She had vision of Jesus from her youth though she did not become a cloistered nun. She lived in the world, writing many letters advising on spiritual matters. She also traveled, especially to Avignon, France, where the Popes had been living since the early 1300s. She pleaded with Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. She convinced him and in 1377 the pope returned to Rome. In addition to her letters, she wrote The Dialogue of Divine Providence, a series of questions and answers between her and God the Father on spiritual issues.

Saint Therese of Lisieux lived in Normandy, France, at the end of the 19th century. She had a rather unremarkable life. She grew up in a typical middle-class family. Most of her sisters went to the same convent, a Carmelite in Normandy. She died at a young age (24!) of illness. She probably would have been forgotten but her superior ordered her to write about her life, resulting in the spiritual classic The Story of a Soul. She details her simple life and her simple spirituality. She did everything from her youngest age to please God. Even small acts can become sacred and salvific when done in a Christ-like spirit. The first printing of her book was distributed among the Carmel convents but soon was recognized as a powerful witness to a life of Christian simplicity and love. It spread like wildfire.

Saint Hildegard of Bingen lived in 12th century Germany. She started her spiritual journey as a young woman who became an anchoress--a religious who was sealed into a cell next to a church or monastery. In her case, it was a monastery and she was in with some other women. She was in the cell for twenty-five years. She and her companions attracted many people for advice and other women to their vocation. They outgrew their cell and moved to a run-down monastery, what we would now call a "fixer-upper." She had spent her years praying and reading, so when she came out, she had a large body of knowledge and much preparation. She wrote books and plays along with letters. She composed music for the plays; she wrote about the medicinal value of plants. She lived to her eighties in a time when life expectancy was mid-thirties. She has only recently been rediscovered and was made a doctor of the church by Pope Benedict XVI.

Author Terry Polakovik does a good job present overviews of the women's lives and their impacts on the Church. She identifies them as women of hope because, in spite of their situations of hardship, they trusted in God and kept the faith. The book was written during the Covid pandemic and Polakovik draws some parallels with contemporary situations and reactions. I found this aspect interesting but its relevance will probably wane in the coming years. The text is interspersed with reflection questions, some of which draw on our current issues around Covid.

Recommended--this is a good introduction to these four women and provides plenty of pointers to find out more about them.