Catherine of Sienna
The Dialogue
From the collection of “The Classics of Western Spirituality.” Paulist Press
The following are excerpts of messages from God the Father to St. Catherine of Sienna from the book, The Dialogue in the chapter of Providence.
My servant holds all things in reverence, the left hand as well as the right, trouble as well as consolation, hunger and thirst as well as eating and drinking, cold and heat and nakedness as well as clothing, life as well as death, honor as well as disgrace, distress as well as comfort. In all things she remains solid, firm and stable, because her foundation is the living rock…Thus in great labor I give great strength; I do not impose a heavier burden than the soul can bear, if only she is ready and willing to bear it for love of me.”
My servant is not afraid that he will lack the lesser things because by the light of faith she is guaranteed the greater things. Oh, how glorious is this light of most holy faith by which he sees and has come to know and knows my Truth.
Sometimes, to intensify his hunger and holy desire, I will let him desire them when he cannot have them. Because he cannot have them his hunger grows, and with his hunger his self-knowledge grows because in his humility he considers his self unworthy.
Sometimes my servant will think he is in hell, and then, through no effort of his own, he will be relieved and will have a taste of eternal life. The soul is left serene…The light came unforeseen. It was not his own effort but my immeasurable charity…Why, when he was faithful to prayer and other necessary things, did I not relieve her with lift and take away the darkness? Since he was still imperfect, I did not want him taking credit for what was not his.
