St Catherine of Siena

The following is a reflection shared by one of our sisters as part of our Novena in honour of St Catherine:

Looking for inspiration and guidance in the face of the recent upheavals in the Church that have left us all a bit bewildered and shocked I turned to Catherine of Siena. The Church in her time too was in crisis and Catherine could in fact take her stand among the ranks of present day journalists exposing the sins of the Church, so strong and forthright is her condemnation of any one from Pope to pauper who was causing scandal and discrediting the Church of Christ. Indeed very few of the Church’s present critics could equal her when it comes to plain speaking. An extract from one of her letters says it all

In whatever direction you turn among secular and religious priests, clerics and prelates, small and great, you see nothing but offence against God. They all exhale the stench of grave sin.

This was the Church that Catherine saw when she looked around her. Catherine a young woman as she puts it herself ‘restless with a tremendous desire for God’s honour and the salvation of souls’ could have been forgiven if she had become totally disillusioned and had walked away from such a travesty of the ideal but she didn’t walk away. She remained faithful to the Church which was so plainly failing in its mission and which bore little resemblance to Jesus its head and founder. Not only did she not walk away but it was within that very Body of Christ disfigured wounded and broken as it was, a Church whose ‘limbs were rotting’ that Catherine became a Saint. That is why I think Catherine is in a privileged position to speak to us.
How and why did Catherine remain faithful to the Church? How does Catherine differ from so many modern day critics of the Church? The answer to that is very simple but very profound. Catherine loved the Church. Faith gave her eyes to see past the Church’s sin into its heart. Catherine viewed the Church not as a human institution that depends on human approval and can be overthrown or collapse but as the Body of Christ, made such at the price of Christ’s own blood. She realised what so many of our contemporaries seem to forget- the Church is Divine in its origin and that the way to Christ is through the Church that he loves. In one of her letters she writes

no one can enter into the abyss of the Trinity to savour the beauty of the Godhead except through the Church it’s spouse-since we must all pass through Christ Crucified, and his gate is found only in Holy Church. I saw this bride offering life, for she has so much life within her that no one can kill her. And she was bestowing strength and light; nor can anyone intrinsically weaken her. And I saw that her fruit never fails but is always increasing.

She kept her eyes fixed on the Cross and there she saw how loved and lovable the Church is.

Christ loved the Church and gave his life for her to make her holy and to bring her pure holy and spotless into his presence.

For Catherine that was enough. This is I think an extremely important insight to hold on to. Let us too look to Jesus in faith and learn from him as He hangs on the Cross how to love the Church as He loves it.

Catherine also gave me three very direct answers to questions I’ve been asking as I see our beloved Church being attacked from within and without. Those questions are- where do I fit in to all of this and what is God asking of me as we live through this time of tribulation?

Catherine’s immediate response in the face of the grave sin within the Church is that of one who from her knowledge of her own sinfulness realises that her sin is part of the sinfulness of the Church. She sees herself as part of the problem and believes herself responsible for the contradiction between the purity the Church should have on the one hand and the sin that in fact poisons it. If only her prayer and sacrifice were more in earnest the Church would reform. ‘It is my many sins that prevent the Church’s renewal,’ she laments over and again.

Catherine doesn’t stand over and against the Church judging and condemning it but stands alongside and within it knowing herself to be a sinner every bit as much in need of God’s mercy as anyone else. Is it not the same for us?
Then from the knowledge of her wretchedness and the weakness of the Church springs her intercession. Her life becomes one long plea to God for mercy, a plea culminating in her self offering on behalf of the Church.

I offer my life to you Eternal Trinity for your sweet spouse unworthy though I am. I ask only to see the renewal of that sweet spouse your Church. This I beg of you

God hears her plea and to aid her intercession reveals to her the true state of the Church in graphic detail. He then goes on to say

I have told you all this to give you more reason for bitter weeping over the blindness of my ministers, and to give you a deep knowledge of my mercy. In this mercy you can find trust and security, offering to me these ministers of holy Church and the whole world, and begging me to be merciful to them. The more you offer me sorrowful and loving desires for them, the more you will prove your love for me. For the service neither you nor my other servants can do for me you should do for them instead. Then I will let myself be constrained by the longing tears and prayers of my servants, and will be merciful to my bride by reforming her with good and holy shepherds.

He also explains to her and to us how she must both practice virtue and serve her neighbour to truly advance the reform of the church. In the Dialogue he says to her

You recall that I have already told you that I would satisfy your anguished longings by reforming holy Church through good and holy shepherds. I will do this, as I told you, not through war, not with sword and violence, but through peace and calm, though my servants sweat and tears. I have set you as workers in your own and your neighbours’ souls and in the mystic body of holy Church. In yourselves you must work at virtue; in your neighbours and in the church you must work by teaching and example. And you must offer me constant prayer for the Church and for every creature giving birth to virtue through your neighbour. For as I have already told you every virtue and every sin is realized and intensified through your neighbours. Therefore I want you to serve your neighbours and in this way share the fruits of your own vineyard.

Such was Catherine’s wisdom shared with me these past days and I think she would be very happy if we could all take to our hearts, as a special gift from her spoken directly to each of us today, the Father’s word’s to her

To this work I have appointed you - devote, then your life and heart and mind wholly to that Bride for me, with no regard for yourself.

Novena to St Catherine of Siena

As promised we share here some of Catherine's writings on which we are reflecting during these days of preparation for her feast on the 29th.

The following is an extract from a letter addressed to Fr Bartolomeo Dominici, in Florence in 1375: (taken from Suzanne Noffke's translation of Catherine's letters, Vol I)

I Catherine, servant and slave of the servants of Jesus Christ am writing to encourage you in the precious blood of God's Son. I long to see you set afire, swallowed up and consumed in His blazing charity, for we know that those who are set afire and consumed in that true charity lose all self-consciousness. That is what I want you to do.

I am inviting you, in this blazing charity, to plunge into a peaceful sea, a deep sea. I have just rediscovered the sea - not that the sea is new, but it is new to me in the way my soul experiences it - in the words "God is love". Just as the sun shines its light on the earth and a mirror reflects a person's face, so these words echo within me that everyting that is done is simply love, because everything is made entirely of love, This is why He says "I am God, Love". This sheds light on the priceless mystery of the incarnate Word, who out of sheer love, was given in such humility that it confounds my pride. It teaches us to look not just at what He did but at the blazing love this Word has given us. It says that we should do as a loving person does when a friend comes with a gift, not looking at the friend's hands to what the gift is, but looking with the eyes of love at the friends's loving heart. This is what God's supreme, eternal, more tender that tender goodness, wants to do when He visits our soul.

So when He comes to you with His incalculable blessings, let your memory open up at once to receive what you understanding has seen in His divine love, and let your will rise up in blazing desire to receive and gaze upon the burning heart of the giver, the good gentle Jesus, In this way you will find yourself swallowed up and clothed in the fiery gift of the blood of God's Son. You will be freed from all suffering and grief. This is what relieved the holy discioples' pain when they had to leave Mary and one another, though in order to spread God's word they gladly endured the separation. Run! Run! Run!
May God be ever in your soul. Amen.

Response to Pope Benedict's letter to Irish Catholics

In reponse to Pope Benedict XVI's letter quoted below, we, as a community, are setting aside each Friday of this coming year as a day of prayer and fasting for the renewal of the Church in Ireland.

Those of you who live close by our monastery are welcome to join our community for a silent holy hour each Friday of the coming year between 4.45 and 5.45 PM



Each day our chapel is open from 7 am until 7 pm and all who wish are welcome to join us for the celebration of the liturgy, Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration.

Extract from the Pope's pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland

I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.

Particular attention should also be given to Eucharistic adoration, and in every diocese there should be churches or chapels specifically devoted to this purpose. I ask parishes, seminaries, religious houses and monasteries to organize periods of Eucharistic adoration, so that all have an opportunity to take part. Through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm, at the same time imploring the grace of renewed strength and a deeper sense of mission on the part of all bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful.

I am confident that this programme will lead to a rebirth of the Church in Ireland in the fullness of God’s own truth, for it is the truth that sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32).

Back on Line!

We are happy to announce that our internet connection is functioning again after more than two weeks - hopefully there will be no further disruption.

Today we begin our novena in preparation for the feast of St Catherine of Siena. This year we are remembering in a special way the needs of Pope Bendedict XVI and the universal Church and more particularly our Irish Church - for the victims of sexual abuse and those members of the Church who have failed them, as we pray for the mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation which are so much needed. As we know, St Catherine of Siena prayed, suffered and worked tirelessly for the Pope and the Church of her day.

Before Vespers each evening during these nine days of novena one sister reads an extract from Catherine's writings - this year we will focus mainly on her writings related to the Church and the abuses of her times. During the coming days we hope to share some of these with you.

Apologies

Sincere apologies to all our readers for our silence - our internet connection has been out of order for over a week due to some external problem but it seems that we may not be reconnected until next week at the earliest.

It is still not too late to wish you the peace and joy of our Risen Saviour during this beautiful Easter Season.

Can we remind you of our forthcoming vocations weekend 23rd - 25th April - There are still places available.

We will be in touch again as soon as our internet connection is restored.

Holy Week

The following is the text of Pope Benedict's homily yesterday on Palm Sunday as published by Zenith news. Many young people participated in the celebration, which also marked this year's World Youth Day, held on a diocesan level worldwide.


"The Cross Is Part of the Ascent toward the Height of Jesus Christ"

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Dear Young People!

The Gospel for the blessing of the palms that we have listened to together here in St. Peter's Square begins with the phrase: "Jesus went ahead of everyone going up to Jerusalem" (Luke 19:28). Immediately at the beginning of the liturgy this day, the Church anticipates her response to the Gospel, saying, "Let us follow the Lord." With that the theme of Palm Sunday is clearly expressed. It is about following. Being Christian means seeing the way of Jesus Christ as the right way of being human -- as that way that leads to the goal, to a humanity that is fully realized and authentic. In a special way, I would like to repeat to all the young men and women, on this 25th World Youth Day: that being Christian is a journey, or better: It is a pilgrimage, it is a going with Jesus Christ. A going in that direction that he has pointed out to us and is pointing out to us.

But what direction are we talking about? How do we find it? The line from our Gospel offers two indications in this connection. In the first place it says that it is a matter of an ascent. This has in the first place a very literal meaning. Jericho, where the last stage of Jesus’ pilgrimage began, is 250 meters below sea-level while Jerusalem -- the goal of the journey -- is 740-780 meters above sea level: an ascent of almost 1,000 meters. But this external route is above all an image of the interior movement of existence, which occurs in the following of Christ: It is an ascent to the true height of being human. Man can choose an easy path and avoid all toil. He can also descend to what is lower. He can sink into lies and dishonesty. Jesus goes ahead of us, and he goes up to what is above. He leads us to what is great, pure, he leads us to the healthy air of the heights: to life according to truth; to the courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the gossip of dominant opinions; to the patience that stands up for and supports the other. He leads us to availability to the suffering, to the abandoned; to the loyalty that stands with the other even when the situation makes it difficult.

He leads us to availability to bring help; to the goodness that does not let itself be disarmed not even by ingratitude. He leads us to love -- he leads us to God.

"Jesus went ahead of everyone going up to Jerusalem." If we read these words of the Gospel in the context of Jesus' way as a whole -- a way that, in fact, he travels to the end of time -- we can discover different meanings in the indication of "Jerusalem" as the goal. Naturally, first of all it must be simply understood as the place "Jerusalem:" It is the city in which one found God's Temple, the oneness of which was supposed to allude to the oneness of God himself. This place thus announces in the first place two things: On the one hand it says that there is only one God in the entire world, who is completely beyond all our places and times; he is that God to whom all creation belongs. He is the God whom, deep down, all men seek and whom they all have knowledge of in some way. But this God has given himself a name. He has made himself known to us, he has launched a history with men; he chose a man -- Abram -- as the beginning of this history. The infinite God is at the same time the God who is near. He, who cannot be enclosed in any building, nevertheless wants to live among us, be completely with us.

If Jesus goes up to Jerusalem together with Israel on pilgrimage, he goes there to celebrate the Passover with Israel: the memorial of Israel's liberation -- a memorial that is always at the same time hope for the definitive liberation that God will give. And Jesus goes to this feast with the awareness that he himself is the Lamb spoken of in the Book of Exodus: a male lamb without blemish, which at twilight will be slaughtered before all of Israel "as a perpetual institution" (cf. Exodus 12:5-6, 14). And in the end Jesus knows that his way goes beyond this: It will not end in the Cross. He knows that his way will tear away the veil between this world and God's world; that he will ascend to the throne of God and reconcile God and man in his body. He knows that his risen body will be the new sacrifice and the new Temple; that around him in the ranks of the angels and saints there will be formed the new Jerusalem that is in heaven and nevertheless also on earth. His way leads beyond the summit of the Temple mount to the height of God himself: This is the great ascent to which he calls all of us. He always remains with us on earth and has always already arrived [in heaven] with God; he leads us on earth and beyond the earth.

Thus in the breadth of Jesus' ascent the dimensions of our following of him become visible -- the goal to which he wants to lead us: to the heights of God, to communion with God, to being-with-God. This is the true goal, and communion with him is the way. Communion with Christ is being on a journey, a permanent ascent to the true height of our calling. Journeying together with Jesus is always at the same time a travelling together in the "we" of those who want to follow him. It brings us into this community. Because this journey to true life, to being men conformed to the model of the Son of God Jesus Christ is beyond our powers, this journeying is also always a state of being carried. We find ourselves, so to speak, in a "roped party" with Jesus Christ -- together with him in the ascent to the heights of God. He pulls us and supports us. Letting oneself be part of a roped party is part of following Christ; we accept that we cannot do it on our own. The humble act of entering into the "we" of the Church is part of it -- holding on to the roped party, the responsibility of communion, not letting go of the rope because of our bullheadedness and conceit.

Humbly believing with the Church, like being bound together in a roped party ascending to God, is an essential condition for following Christ. Not acting as the owners of the Word of God, not chasing after a mistaken idea of emancipation -- this is also part of being together in the roped party. The humility of "being-with" is essential to the ascent. Letting the Lord take us by the hand through the sacraments is another part of it. We let ourselves be purified and strengthened by him, we let ourselves accept the discipline of the ascent, even if we are tired.

Finally, we must again say that the Cross is part of the ascent toward the height of Jesus Christ, the ascent to the height of God. Just as in the affairs of this world great things cannot be done without renunciation and hard work (joy in great discoveries and joy in a true capacity for activity are linked to discipline, indeed, to the effort of learning) so also the way to life itself, to the realization of one's own humanity is linked to him who climbed to the height of God through the cross. In the final analysis, the Cross is the expression of that which is meant by love: Only he who loses himself will find himself.

Let us summarize: Following Christ demands as a first step the reawakening of the nostalgia for being authentically human and thus the reawakening for God. It then demands that one enter into the roped party of those who climb, into the communion of the Church. In the "we" of the Church we enter into the communion with the "Thou" of Jesus Christ and therefore reach the way to God. Moreover, listening to and living Jesus Christ's word in faith, hope and love is also required. We are thus on the way to the definitive Jerusalem and already, from this point forward, we already find ourselves there in the communion of all God's saints.

Our pilgrimage in following Christ, then, is not directed toward any earthly city, but toward the new City of God that grows in the midst of this world. The pilgrimage to the earthly Jerusalem, nevertheless, can be something useful for us Christians for that greater voyage. ……

The prayer with which the palms are blessed we pray so that in communion with Christ we can bear the fruit of good works. Following a mistaken interpretation of St. Paul, there has repeatedly developed over the course of history and today too, the opinion that good works are not part of being Christian, in any case they would not be significant for man's salvation. But if Paul says that works cannot justify man, he does not intend by this to oppose the importance of right action and, if he speaks of the end of the Law, he does not declare the Ten Commandments obsolete and irrelevant. It is not necessary at the moment to reflect on the whole question that the Apostle was concerned with. It is important to stress that by the term "Law" he does not mean the Ten Commandments, but the complex way of life by which Israel had to protect itself against paganism. Now, however, Christ has brought God to the pagans. This form of distinction was not to be imposed upon them.

Christ alone was given to them as Law. But this means the love of God and neighbour and all that pertains to it. The Ten Commandments read in a new and deeper way beginning with Christ are part of this love. These commandments are nothing other than the basic rules of true love: first of all and as fundamental principle, the worship of God, the primacy of God, which the first three commandments express. They tell us: Without God nothing comes out right. Who this God is and how he is, we know from the person of Jesus Christ. The sanctity of the family follows (fourth commandment), holiness of life (fifth commandment), the ordering of matrimony (sixth commandment), the regulation of society (seventh commandment) and finally the inviolability of the truth (eighth commandment). All of this is of maximum relevance today and precisely also in St. Paul's sense -- if we read all of his letters. "Bear fruit with good works:" At the beginning of Holy Week we pray to the Lord to grant all of us this fruit more and more.

At the end of the Gospel for the blessing of the palms we hear the acclamation with which the pilgrims greet Jesus at the gates of Jerusalem. They are the words of Psalm 118 (117), that originally the priests proclaimed to the pilgrims from the Holy City but that, after a period, became an expression of messianic hope: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Psalm 118[117]:26; Luke 19:38). The pilgrims see in Jesus the one whom they have waited for, who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, according to the St. Luke's Gospel, they insert another word: "Blessed is he who comes, the king, in the name of the Lord."

And they follow this with an acclamation that recalls the message of the angels at Christmas, but they modify it in a way that gives pause. The angels had spoken of the glory of God in the highest heavens and of peace on earth for men of divine goodwill. The pilgrims at the entrance to the Holy City say: "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens!" They know well that there is no peace on earth. And they know that the place of peace is in heaven. Thus this acclamation is an expression of a profound suffering and it is also a prayer of hope: May he who comes in the name of the Lord bring to earth what is in heaven. The Church, before the Eucharistic consecration, sings the words of the Psalm with which Jesus is greeted before his entrance into the Holy City: It greets Jesus as the King who, coming from God, enters in our midst in God's name.

Today too this joyous greeting is always supplication and hope. Let us pray to the Lord that he bring heaven to us: God's glory and peace among men. We understand such a greeting in the spirit of the request of the Our Father: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" We know that heaven is heaven, a place of glory and peace, because there the will of God rules completely. And we know that earth is not heaven until the will of God is accomplished on it. So we greet Jesus, who comes from heaven and we pray to him to help us know and do God's will. May the royalty of God enter into the world and in this way it be filled with the splendour of peace. Amen.
er's Square f

Palm Sunday

Apogies for the long silence during the past month - not entirely our fault. For most of last week our internet connection failed - some external problem.

Earlier in the month the Lord called home our Sister Mary Louis aged 93, having spend 75 years in our community. Although in failing health in recent years, sister continued to participate, as much as her strenght allowed, in community life. She especially loved to be present at the liturgy and Eucharistic Adoration. She had a great memory and a wonderful sense of humour. She passed away very peacefully, fully conscious to the last moments - May she now enjoy her eternal reward. She had told us that she would not go to heaven to rest but to be an intercessor - so we are keeping her at her word!! We commend her to your prayers.

Today the Lord provided us with a beautiful Spring morning - sunshine, birds singing etc - so we were able to have our Palm Sunday procession out of doors.

As we enter into Holy Week and ponder on our Saviour's sufferings and more importantly the love with which He suffered such cruel torture and injustice we are united with the whole Church througout the world but in particular we carry in our hearts the pain which we are experiencing in our Irish Church in recent weeks.