Catherine was born in the year 1447 to noble parents, Giacopo and Francesca Fieschi in Italy. But even though her parents were wealthy Catherine took no note of the luxurious lifestyle that could have been hers, and instead from a very early age she embraced a life of penance and austerities.
From a very young age Catherine loved to pray and contemplate the sufferings endured on our Lords behalf for the Salvation of man, this deeply touched the heart of the young Catherine and led her to long for the life of a Religious. Following this movement of her soul, Catherine at the young age of 13 years spoke to her Spiritual Director and enquired to join a Religious Order, but even though the Priest was amazed at the wisdom of such a young soul, still prudence prevailed and Catherine was advised that she was too young to endure such an austere life. Being obedient in heart and soul, though disappointed Catherine accepted the decision with a spirit of equanimity. Catherine eventually married a young Genoese man of noble birth, Giuiliano Adorno, but this would not lead to happiness for Catherine as in her effort to please her husband she tried to embrace the vanities of the world, which led to a deep seated loathing of such useless activities, which prevailed in the society of her time.
This led Catherine on an inner journey to reach out desperately to God that He not forsake her, and so Catherine prayed to St. Benedict for help in these words, "Pray to God for me, Oh, St Benedict, that for three months he may keep me sick in bed." This was a time of great confusion for Catherine as she was unable to combine the worldly life with the deep inner calling to live a holy and humble life. Upon talking to her sister who had entered the Religious life, Catherine went to see her Confessor and upon opening her heart to this holy Priest, God touched the soul of Catherine with such force that she was overcome with the sense of her own misery and with anguish of heart she collapsed at the revelation of gazing upon God's Goodness.
Through this experience Catherine was cured of her mental confusion and anguish of heart as God infused into her soul the terrible stain that sin had upon the soul and it's relationship with the Divine Creator. And while immersed in prayer Catherine said upon reflecting on this experience as if God were speaking through her, "oh Love! can it be that you have called me with so much love, and revealed to me at one view, what no tongue can describe?" And it was here that our Lord would appear to her in a vision which showed her how sin truly had made our Lord suffer for she saw the Man of Sorrows laid low and bloodied with the Cross upon His shoulder as He took upon Himself her own iniquities. Through this vision Catherine detested sin in all its forms and was heard to exclaim, "Oh Love, no more sin, no more sin! Oh Love, if it be necessary I am prepared to make a public confession of my sins." Through this one vision and interior Light within her soul Catherine understood the price that our Lord paid for each sinner, this moved her deeply and made her resolute not to sin and offend our Lord anymore. And while gazing upon the Crucified Lord and upon His Most Sacred Heart, Catherine pronounced, "I have no longer either soul or heart; but my soul and my heart are those of my Beloved;" for Catherine through the Grace of God was being transformed so that no longer did she live but that Christ liveth within her soul.
Catherine also felt compelled to receive our Lord in the Eucharist everyday, till finally one day a Priest spoke these words to her, "You receive communion every day, how are you now satisfied?" For there were some who did not understand the movement of God within Catherine's soul, but upon becoming gravely ill Catherine requested the Eucharist be given to her as she said to her Confessor, "If you would give me my Lord three times only, I should be cured." Upon this happening Catherine was miraculously and immediately healed of her illness.
This remarkable woman like many other Saints would feel a deep wound in her heart, and was once heard saying, "My heart is not like that of others, for it only rejoices in its Lord; and therefore give him to me." When once in prayer she was overhead praying, "Oh, Lord, I do not desire to follow thee for these consolations, but only for pure love." Catherine had a Divine Light shining within her soul and intellect so she was able to convey what a deep mystery was revealed to a soul upon receiving the Eucharist and how God was incorporated into their very essence through the Eucharist, for as she was heard to exclaim when gazing at the Priest during Consecration: "Take it, take it quickly, to your heart, for it is the Lord of the heart." Through Divine guidance Catherine was shown how integral to the soul was the importance of daily Communion, and to also make sure that the soul was not in a state of sin whether it be venial or mortal. And once upon receiving Communion Catherine gazed towards her Lord and said, "O Lord perhaps thou wouldst draw me to thee by this fragrance? I do not desire it; I desire nothing but thee, and thee wholly; thou knowest, that from the beginning I have asked of thee the grace that I might never see visions, nor receive external consolations, for so clearly do I perceive thy goodness, that I do not seem to walk by faith but by a true and heartfelt experience."
Also on the Annunciation of our Lady the Lord spoke to Catherine interiorly and requested that she go without food, as did He when our Lord was in the desert, upon hearing this Divine message, Catherine was unable to eat any food and so fasted through the Season of Lent. Catherine would follow this for the rest of her life and also during Advent. When questioned Catherine said, "If we regarded the operations of God, we should look at the interior more than the exterior. Living without food is purely an operation of God, without my will; but it is nothing to boast of, or to cause surprise, for to him it is as nothing. The pure light shows us, that we should not regard the manifestations that God makes of himself for our necessities and his own glory, but only the pure love with which his divine majesty performs his work in our behalf, and the soul becoming these pure operations of a love which looks for no good that we can do, must needs love him purely, without regard to any particular grace which she receives from him, but looking to him alone, for himself alone, who is worthy of being loved without measure, and with no reference either to soul or body."
Catherine lived in holy obedience to God as He guided her to do His Will as He spoke to her interior, "My daughter, observe these three rules, namely: never say I will or I will not. Never say mine, but always ours. Never excuse yourself, but always accuse yourself. When you repeat the `Our Father' take always for your maxim, Fiat voluntas tua, that is, may his will be done in everything that may happen to you, whether good or ill; from the `Hail Mary' take the word Jesus, and may it be implanted in your heart, and it will be a sweet guide and shield to you in all the necessities of life. And from the rest of Scripture take always for your support this word, Love, with which you will go on your way, direct, pure, light, watchful, quick, enlightened, without erring, yet without a guide or help from any creature; for love needs no support, being sufficient to do all things without fear; neither does love ever become weary, for even martyrdom is sweet to it. And, finally, this love will consume all the inclinations of the soul, and the desires of the body, for the things of this life."
Though Catherine lived a life of austere penance she did so for she understood how deadly is sin to the soul as a child of God can quickly turn to become a child of the Devil, if they choose to willfully disobey God through their actions. As Catherine explained, "If it were possible for me to suffer as much as all the martyrs have suffered, and even hell itself, for the love of God, and in order to make satisfaction to him, it would be after all only a sort of injury to God, in comparison with the love and goodness with which he has created, and redeemed, and, in a special manner, called me. For man, unassisted by God's grace, is even worse than the devil, because the devil is a spirit without a body, while man, without the grace of God, is a devil incarnate. Man has a free will, which, according to the ordination of God, is in nowise bound, so that he can do all the evil that he wills; to the devil, this is impossible, since he can act only by the divine permission; and when man surrenders to him his evil will, the devil employs it, as the instrument of his temptation." And to stress her point that it is the soul who chooses to do evil for Satan cannot infringe on man's free will, Catherine went on to explain this in her words, "I see that whatever is good in myself, in any other creature, or in the saints, is truly from God; if, on the other hand, I do any thing evil, it is I alone who do it, nor can I charge the blame of it upon the devil or upon any other creature; it is purely the work of my own will, inclination, pride, selfishness, sensuality, and other evil dispositions, without the help of God I should never do any good thing. So sure am I of this, that if all the angels of heaven were to tell me I have something good in me, I should not believe them. So long as any one can speak of divine things, enjoy and understand them, remember and desire them, he has not yet arrived in port; yet there are ways and means to guide him thither. But the creature can know nothing but what God gives him to know from day to day, nor can he comprehend beyond this, and at each instant remains satisfied with what he receives. If the creature knew the height to which God is prepared to raise him in this life, he would never rest, but on the contrary would feel a certain craving, a vehement desire to reach quickly that ultimate perfection, and would think himself in hell until he had obtained it."
But it is the explanation upon seeing the Holy Souls in Purgatory that this great Saint is well known for in her own words she describes the state of Purgatory as such, "The souls in Purgatory see all things, not in themselves, nor by themselves, but as they are in God, on whom they are more intent than on their own sufferings. . . . For the least vision they have of God overbalances all woes and all joys that can be conceived. Yet their joy in God does by no means abate their pain. . . . This process of purification to which I see the souls in Purgatory, subjected, I feel within myself."
Through the words of this great Saint and the Gift that God had Graced her, we have gained a better understanding of the graphic damage that sin can do to a soul and also how the soul can be restored back to God's Loving embrace through participation of the Sacraments. We also understand how God can transform a soul to be a divine reflection of Himself when the soul surrenders itself to the Triune Spirit. And through the works of Saint Catherine we also understand Purgatory and the Holy Souls who wait to be released into Heaven by our prayers and penances and when we offer up a Mass for the repose of their soul as these Holy souls endure the purgation of Purgatory, as they thirst to be re-united with God in Heaven.
May we reflect deeply on the messages of Saint Catherine of Genoa and how God illuminated her soul so as to instruct the faithful.
I encourage all to read more of this remarkable Saint and her extraordinary visions and illuminations.
Peace of Christ to ALL
Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
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What a clear sighted understanding has St. Catherine of Genoa of the need to become one with God!
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