Feast Day of St. Catherine of Siena
Doctor of the Church (1347-1380)
The 25th child of a wool dyer in northern Italy, St. Catherine started
having mystical experiences when she was only 6, seeing guardian angels
as clearly as the people they protected.
She became a Dominican tertiary when she was 16, and continued to have
visions of Christ, Mary, and the saints. St. Catherine was one of the
most brilliant theological minds of her day, although she never had any
formal education. She persuaded the Pope to go back to Rome from
Avignon, in 1377, and when she died she was endeavoring to heal the
Great Western Schism. In 1375 Our Lord give her the Stigmata, which was
visible only after her death. Her spiritual director was Blessed Raymond
of Capua. St, Catherine's letters, and a treatise called "a dialogue"
are considered among the most brilliant writings in the history of the
Catholic Church. She died when she was only 33, and her body was found
incorrupt in 1430.
Saint Augustine
« Stay with us »
My brethren, when was it
that the Lord made himself recognized?
When he broke the bread. So we
ourselves are convinced, too: when we break the bread we recognize the
Lord. If he hadn't wanted to be recognized until that moment it was for
our sakes, we who were not to see him in the flesh but who were yet to
eat him in the flesh.
So you who believe in him, whoever you are, you
who do not bear the name of christian in vain, you who do not come casually
into the church, you who hear the word of God in fear and hope: for you
the broken bread will be a consolation. Our Lord's absence is not a
real absence.
Have trust, be faithful and he is with you even if you do
not see him. When the Lord hailed them the disciples had no faith. They
did not believe in his resurrection, they did not even hope that he
might be raised. They had lost faith; they had lost hope. They were dead
men walking alongside a living one; they were walking, dead, with life.
Life was walking with them but, in their hearts, life was not as yet renewed.
And do you long for life? Imitate the disciples and you will
recognize the Lord. They offered hospitality; our Lord seemed determined
to proceed on his way but they held him back... You too, then, keep
hold of the stranger if you wish to recognize your Savior... Learn where
to look for the Lord, where to possess him, where to recognize him: in
breaking bread with him.
