Apr 29 - “St. Catherine of Siena” © artwork by Brenda Nippert. Happy Feast Day St. Catherine!
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Catherine Benincasa was twenty-third of twenty-five children, a gift the world would probably not have received with today's smaller families! Mature and wise beyond her years, her deep faith was rewarded with divine visions at an early age. She wanted to be a nun, but her family refused. Fearing she was becoming obsessed, they tried to keep her busy so she couldn't spend so much time in prayer. Being designated as the family servant did not stop her. As she went about doing her numerous chores, she was united with Jesus in her heart. She created what she called her “heart room” where she could go to be with Him no matter what she was doing on the outside. They eventually reached a compromise and she became a Third Order Dominican while still living at home. Catherine's deep union with God led to many mystical gifts. As her reputation grew she used her influence to bring healing to a Church suffering from a terrible schism. She corresponded with royalty on behalf of the Church and even persuaded Pope Gregory the XI to return the Papacy to Rome.
When she wasn't influencing kings and queens, Catherine could be found among victims of the plague – caring for them, preparing them for death, and burying them with her own hands when no one else would touch them. There was nothing Catherine would not do in God's service. Hers is a story of holding nothing back! Her refusal to accept any limitations that would keep her from Jesus put the power of Heaven at her service and she wielded that power with all the finesse of one of the most amazing women the Church has ever known.
Her feast day is April 29.