A biography of Saint Catherine, medieval mystic and doctor of the church

1. .
SAINT
CATHERINE
OF SIENA

2. .
born in Siena, on March 25, 1347, the daughter
of Giacomo Benincasa and his wife Lapa

3. .
Christ first
appeared to
her when she
was only six
years old.
At seven she
took a vow of
virginity;

4. .
at twelve she cut off
her hair to avoid the
marriage planned
by her parents,

5. .
Her mother witnessed her ascending the stairs floating in air

6. .
at fifteen she
became the first
unmarried woman to
enter the tertiaries,
the Third Order of
Saint Dominic. She
always got her way.
Yet it was not truly
Catherine's way; it
was God's way for
Catherine. Her
confessor was
Raymond of Capua

7. After becoming a
tertiary, Catherine
went with the other
women to tend the
sick (especially
choosing those
afflicted with the
most repulsive
diseases), to serve
the poor, and to
labor for the
conversion of sinners.

8. .
Catherine
ministered to Tecla
who suffered from
leprosy, despite her
great abuse and
ingratitude.
Catherine
remained faithful
to her in the midst
of rejection and
misunderstanding

9. .
Since her first vision at the age of six, Catherine had belonged
completely to God. At first, this was to mean only the happiness
of mystical prayer, and visions of Christ and His saints. Later, it was
to mean giving herself to Him through the severest suffering.

10. .
These sufferings took the
form of terrible periods of
desolation when it seemed
to her that God had
abandoned her altogether.
"Oh Lord, where wert
Thou when my soul was
in such torment?" she
asked our Lord, as He
appeared to her after an
arduous period of trial.
"I was in your heart,
fortifying you by My
grace"; and He then
assured Catherine
that from that time He
would show Himself
to her more often.

11. .
It was on Shrove Tuesday, 1366, when all of Siena was celebrating the carnival,
that Catherine was espoused to Christ. While she was praying in her room,
Christ and our Blessed Lady appeared to her. Taking Catherine's hand, our
Lady held it up to her Son, who placed on it a ring that was visible to Catherine
but never to other people. It was at this time that Christ told Catherine she
was to be of good courage for she was now armed with indomitable faith.

12. .
Later, Catherine
received an
invisible stigmata,
which became
visible after her
death, and through
which she accepted
the physical agonies
of the crucifixion.

13. Though always
suffering terrible
physical pain,
living for long
intervals with
practically no food
except the Blessed
Sacrament, she was
full of practical
wisdom and the
greatest spiritual
insight. Disciples
began to gather
about her.

14. .
Michael de la Bedoyere says of her, "One feels nowadays a person like
Catherine, neither nun nor laywoman, the object of extravagant devotion on
the part of local friars, the 'Mamma' of a completely unsupervised group of
men and women of all ages, and a self-constituted theologian and spiritual
director of all and sundry, clearly the cause of much gossip and criticism…

15. the general chapter
of Dominicans
of Florence gave
Catherine its approval
and appointed Father
Raymond of Capua
as her confessor.
So numerous were
the cases of conscience
with which she dealt,
that three Dominicans
were specially charged
with hearing the
confessions of those
who were induced by
her to amend their lives

16. .
During the summer of
1370, she experienced
a series of visions and
heard a divine command
to enter the public life of
the world. Catherine
began correspondence
with the princes and
republics of Italy, was
consulted by papal
legates about the affairs
of the Church, and set
herself to heal the
wounds of her native
land, which was ravaged
by civil war and factions

17. Since she did not know
how to read or write,
she began to dictate her
letters to several scribes.
She addressed Popes,
kings, chiefs and humble
people of the town.
Her courageous social
and political commitment
aroused not a few
perplexities among her
own superiors and she
was called to appear
before the general
chapter of the
Dominicans, which was
held in Florence in May
1377, to explain her
conduct.

18. .
In 1376 she was intermediary between Florence and Rome. Above all, she implored
the pope, Gregory XI, to leave Avignon. Although she was not able to avert the tumult
of civil war, she made such a profound impression on the pope that, in spite of the
opposition of the French king and almost the entire Sacred College, he left Avignon
and returned to Rome on January 17, 1377. Because of her work in bringing the
pope back to the See of Peter, Saint Catherine has been named a patron of Rome

19. .
After helping to bring about peace between the Republic of Florence and the
new pope, she returned to Siena, where she passed a few months of comparative
quiet dictating her Dialogue, the book of her meditations and revelations

20. Catherine besought
Christ to let her bear
the punishment for the
sins of the world and to
receive the sacrifice of
her body for the unity
and renovation of the
Church. This petition
was answered by a vision
in which the Bark of
Peter was laid upon
her shoulders, crushing
her with its weight.

21. .
After a prolonged
and mysterious
agony, during
which she was
paralyzed from the
waist downward,
Catherine died on
April 29, 1380.
Through suffering,
she had stepped
across the
threshold into
eternal joy

22. .
Convento en Siena

23. .
for Catherine, heaven had always been right at the
threshold. It was she who had said, "All the way to
heaven is heaven because He said, 'I am the Way.

24. .

25. .
She was canonized
on April 29, 1461.
In 1939 she was
declared the patron saint
of Italy together with
Saint Francis of Assisi,
and on October 4, 1970
Paul VI proclaimed her
a doctor of the Church,
on October 1, 1999 S.S.
John Paul II declared
her Patron of Europe.

26. .
Prayer of the faithful - Feast of Saint
Catherine - (From the Orazionale CEI 2020)
Brothers and sisters, on the day we
celebrate the feast of the holy virgin
Catherine, we present to the Father,
together with the desires of every man
and woman, the needs of the Church,
the aspirations of Italy and the entire
European continent.Let us pray together
and say: Bless your children, Lord.
1. For the love that Saint Catherine, your
faithful servant, had for the Church and
the successor of the apostle Peter, protect
Pope N. and all the Christian people and
ensure that the flock and shepherd
proceed safely on the path of salvation.
We beg you.
2. Through the intercession of Saint
Catherine, patroness of Italy and Europe,
bless our nation and our continent and let
them enhance the legacy of their Christian
traditions. We beg you.

27. .
3. Through St Catherine's tireless concern for the least, open our hearts to the
suffering and make our society peaceful and hospitable. We beg you.
4. By the wisdom with which you filled Saint Catherine, enlighten those who
seek to read the signs of the times and ensure that the brilliant creativity of
women is esteemed everywhere. We beg you.
5. For the ardent faith that Saint Catherine had in the Eucharist, grant us too
to draw assiduously from this divine source and let us set out courageously on
the path of holiness. We beg you.
O God, who in St Catherine of Siena gave us an admirable example of
persevering prayer and generous service to our brothers and sisters, bless those
who do their utmost to build the Church and civil society. For Christ our Lord.

28. .

29. LIST OF PRESENTATIONS IN ENGLISH
Revised 13-3-2022
Advent and Christmas – time of hope and peace
All Souls Day
Amoris Laetitia – ch 1 – In the Light of the Word
Amoris Laetitia – ch 2 – The Experiences and Challenges of Families
Amoris Laetitia – ch 3 - Looking to Jesus, the Vocation of the Family
Amoris Laetitia – ch 4 - Love in Marriage
Amoris Laetitia – ch 5 – Love made Fruitfuol
Amoris Laetitia – ch 6 – Some Pastoral Perspectives
Amoris Laetitia – ch 7 – Towards a better education of children
Amoris Laetitia – ch 8 – Accompanying, discerning and integrating weaknwss
Amoris Laetitia – ch 9 – The Spirituality of Marriage and the Family
Beloved Amazon 1ª – A Social Dream
Beloved Amazon 2 - A Cultural Dream
Beloved Amazon 3 – An Ecological Dream
Beloved Amazon 4 - An Ecclesiastical Dream
Carnival
Conscience
Christ is Alive
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 1 – Church and Family today
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 2 - God’s plan for the family
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 1 – family as a Community
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 2 – serving life and education
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 3 – mission of the family in society
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 4 - Family in the Church
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 4 Pastoral familiar
Football in Spain
Freedom
Haurietis aquas – devotion to the Sacred Heart by Pius XII
Holidays and Holy Days
Holy Spirit
Holy Week – drawings for children
Holy Week – glmjpses of the last hours of JC
Human Community
Inauguration of President Donald Trump
Juno explores Jupiter
Laudato si 1 – care for the common home
Laudato si 2 – Gospel of creation
Laudato si 3 – Human roots of the ecological crisis
Laudato si 4 – integral ecology
Laudato si 5 – lines of approach and action
Laudato si 6 – Education y Ecological Spirituality
Life in Christ
Love and Marriage 12,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Lumen Fidei – ch 1,2,3,4
Martyrs of North America and Canada
Medjugore Pilgrimage
Misericordiae Vultus in English
Mother Teresa of Calcuta – Saint
Passions
Pope Franciss in Thailand
Pope Francis in Japan
Pope Francis in Sweden
Pope Francis in Hungary, Slovaquia
Pope Francis in America
Pope Francis in the WYD in Poland 2016
Passions
Querida Amazonia
Resurrection of Jesus Christ –according to the Gospels
Russian Revolution and Communismo 3 civil war 1918.1921
Russian Revolution and Communism 1
Russian Revolution and Communismo 2
Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr
Saint Albert the Great
Saint Anthony of Padua
Saint Francis de Sales
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Saint James, apostle
Saint John N. Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia
Saint Joseph
Saint Maria Goretti
Saint Mark, evangelist
Saint Martin of Tours
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta
Saint Jean Baptiste MarieaVianney, Curé of Ars
Saint John N. Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia
Saint John of the Cross
Saint Patrick and Ireland
Saints Zachary and Elizabeth, parents of John Baptis
Signs of hope
Sunday – day of the Lord
Thanksgiving – History and Customs
The Body, the cult – (Eucharist)
Valentine
Vocation to Beatitude
Vocation – mconnor@legionaries.org
Way of the Cross – drawings for children
For commentaries – email – mflynn@legionaries.org
Fb – Martin M Flynn
Donations to - BANCO - 03069 INTESA SANPAOLO SPA
Name – EUR-CA-ASTI
IBAN – IT61Q0306909606100000139493

30. LISTA DE PRESENTACIONES EN ESPAÑOL
Revisado 13-3-2022
Abuelos
Adviento y Navidad, tiempo de esperanza
Amor y Matrimonio 1 - 9
Amoris Laetitia – ch 1 – A la luz de la Palabre
Amoris Laetitia – ch 2 – Realidad y Desafíos de las Familias
Amoris Laetitia – ch 3 La mirada puesta en Jesús: Vocación de la Familia
Amoris Laetitia – ch 4 - El Amor en el Matrimonio
Amoris Laetitia – ch 5 – Amor que se vuelve fecundo
Amoris Laetitia – ch 6 – Algunas Perspectivas Pastorales
Amoris Laetitia – ch 7 – Fortalecer la educacion de los hijos
Amoris Laetitia – ch 8 – Acompañar, discernir e integrar la fragilidad
Amoris Laetitia – ch 9 – Espiritualidad Matrimonial y Familiar
Carnaval
Conciencia
Cristo Vive
Dia de todos los difuntos
Domingo – día del Señor
El camino de la cruz de JC en dibujos para niños
El Cuerpo, el culto – (eucarisía)
Espíritu Santo
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 1 – iglesia y familia hoy
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 2 - el plan de Dios para la familia
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 1 – familia como comunidad
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 2 – servicio a la vida y educación
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 3 – misión de la familia en la sociedad
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 4 - participación de la familia en la iglesia
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 4 Pastoral familiar
Fátima – Historia de las Apariciones de la Virgen
Feria de Sevilla
Haurietis aquas – el culto al Sagrado Corazón
Hermandades y cofradías
Hispanidad
La Comunidad Humana
La Vida en Cristo
Laudato si 1 – cuidado del hogar común
Laudato si 2 – evangelio de creación
Laudato si 3 – La raíz de la crisis ecológica
Laudato si 4 – ecología integral
Laudato si 5 – líneas de acción
Laudato si 6 – Educación y Espiritualidad Ecológica
Libertad
Lumen Fidei – cap 1,2,3,4
Madre Teresa de Calcuta – Santa
María y la Biblia
Martires de Nor America y Canada
Medjugore peregrinación
Misericordiae Vultus en Español
Pasiones
Papa Francisco en Bulgaria
Papa Francisco en Rumania
Papa Francisco en Marruecos
Papa Francisco en México
Papa Francisco – mensaje para la Jornada Mundial Juventud 2016
Papa Francisco – visita a Chile
Papa Francisco – visita a Perú
Papa Francisco en Colombia 1 + 2
Papa Francisco en Cuba
Papa Francisco en Fátima
Papa Francisco en la JMJ 2016 – Polonia
Papa Francisco en Hugaría e Eslovaquia
Queridas Amazoznia 1,2,3,4
Resurrección de Jesucristo – según los Evangelios
Revolución Rusa y Comunismo 1, 2, 3
Santa Agata, virgen y martir
San Alberto Magno
San Antonio de Padua
San Francisco de Asis 1,2,3,4
San Francisco de Sales
Santa Maria Goretti
San Marco, evangelista
San Ignacio de Loyola
San José, obrero, marido, padre
San Juan Ma Vianney, Curé de’Ars
San Juan de la Cruz
San Juan N. Neumann, obispo de Philadelphia
San Martin de Tours
San Maximiliano Kolbe
Santa Teresa de Calcuta
San Padre Pio de Pietralcina
San Patricio e Irlanda
Santiago Apóstol
Santos Zacarias e Isabel, padres de Juan Bautista
Semana santa – Vistas de las últimas horas de JC
Vacaciones Cristianas
Valentín
Vida en Cristo
Virgen de Guadalupe
Virtud
Vocación a la bienaventuranza
Vocación – www.vocación.org
Vocación a evangelizar
Para comentarios – email – mflynn@lcegionaries.org
fb – martin m. flynn
Donations to - BANCO - 03069 INTESA SANPAOLO SPA
Name – EUR-CA-ASTI. IBAN – IT61Q0306909606100000139493

31. .