   |
Handout #133 |
|
Catherine of Sienna asks Gregory XI to return to Rome |
| Caterina di
Benincasa (1347-1380 A.D.), twenty-third in a family of twenty-five
children, had extraordinary mystical experiences from a very early age.
Though she had chosen to be dedicated to the religious life, she played an
active part in the struggles that were going on in Siena, where she had
been born and also in Tuscany, Avignon and Rome, where she died. Three
concerns dominated her life: the conversion of sinners, the relaunching of
the crusades and the return of the pope to Rome.
Be the true successor to St Gregory; love God, have no attachments either to kinsfolk, or friends, or temporal necessity. Do not fear the present storm, nor the spoilt members who have rebelled against your authority. God's help is near. Attach yourself only to the good shepherds, for it is the bad ones who have provoked the rebellion. Bring a remedy for these evils and act in Jesus Christ. Go forward! Finish what you have begun. Do not delay, for delay has caused numerous ills, and the devil is at work devising hindrances for you. Raise the standard of the true cross, for by it You will have peace. You will console the poor of Jesus who await you with longing. Come, and you will see the wolves become sheep. Peace, that war may cease. No longer resist the will of God, for the starving sheep wait for you to return to the see of St. Peter. You are the Vicar of Jesus; you must resume your proper seat. Come without fear, for God will be with you. Do not wait, for time does not wait. Respond to the Holy Spirit. Come like the lamb who, unarmed, lays low his enemies, making use of the arms of love. Be bold, save the church from division and iniquity; the wolves will come into your fold and you will cry pity ... Come as a bold man without fear; but above all, for the love of life, do not come with a military escort, but come with the cross in your hand like a gentle lamb. |