Saints connect us to God. Saints are people like you and me who’ve transcended ordinary life’s temptations, challenges, and setbacks to live in union with God in heroic virtue and sanctity of life.
I often thought of saints as being priests, nuns, brothers, and, of course, popes. It seemed that it was a requirement; that is, until I dug a little deeper into the lives of people like St. Catherine of Siena.
St. Catherine was on track to become a saint from a young age. When she was only six years old, she experienced a vision so powerful that, from that moment on, she dedicated her life to God. That’s what saints hold in common, whether through a vision, ordinary experience, or prayer, they become aware of God calling them to a particular focus in serving Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
In St. Catherine’s case, she joined the Third Order Dominicans. Her life was one of seclusion, prayer, and fasting for the good of others. This intense spiritual focus resulted in her discovering a call from God to serve the poor and the sick. So, at the age of twenty-one, she returned to Siena, where she not only prayed for the well-being of others, but also worked in service of those who were most in need.
St. Catherine once said that she heard God say to her: “I have placed you in the midst of your fellows … that you may do to them … what you cannot do to me, that is to say, that you may love your neighbor freely … without expecting any return from him, and what you do to him … I count as done to me.”
St. Catherine took that message to heart and sought to bring God to others, especially the poor and sick. She prayed and believed that God loved them freely and without limit, and that she was to be an instrument of God’s love.
Now, that is selfless love and true faith in God’s care personified. May we grow to be more like St. Catherine in our willingness to pray and to care for those in need in our families and beyond, especially the poor (whether materially, emotionally, or spiritually) and the sick.
The saints do connect us to God and inspire us to grow in virtue and holiness. St. Catherine of Siena is an outstanding witness to how God works in the different chapters of our lives and prepares us to care for the spiritual and physical needs of our families, friends, and beyond. May St. Catherine of Siena inspire us to remain faithful to prayer and fasting so that God may work within our lives in service of others.
St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us!
Reverend David S. Marcham is the Vice Postulator for the Cause of Venerable Patrick Peyton, and Director of the Father Peyton Guild, whose members pray for Father Peyton’s beatification and spread his message of the importance of Family Prayer. Prior to becoming a seminarian, Father David was a physical therapist and clinical instructor, serving hospital inpatients and outpatients throughout the greater Boston area for eleven years. In 1998 he heard the call to priesthood and was ordained in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2005. Father David grew up in Quincy, MA, and has fond memories of playing soccer, tennis and running track. You’re never without a friend when Father David is around, as he welcomes everyone into his circle with a smile on his face!
