A Review of the “Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena”

Saint Catherine is one of my favorite saints, in fact, she is amongst my top twenty out of the thousands of saints and martyrs throughout Church history which the Church recognizes with the official title of “saint.” I previously read a book by her spiritual director, Father (Blessed) Raymond of Capua, where he described her life story, her personal devotions to Jesus and the revelations He gave to her, and her holiness amongst other tips for the spiritual life. Now, I decided to read her book, which is known as The Dialogue of Divine Providence which has been translated into the The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena which I will be reviewing today. Saint Catherine lived in the 14th century in Italy, and was canonized in 1461 as a saint. She was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, one of her favorite saints, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary whom he received the Rosary devotion from. She has since been declared a Doctor of the Church, patron saint of Rome, and is revered as one of the most holy and influential female saints throughout Church history. She was born into an incredibly big family whom sought for her to court a man for matrimony, but from an early age: she decided that she sought to live a life of virginity and to consecrate herself solely to Jesus, and enter into the Dominican religious orders. She saw a vision of Our Lord Jesus and numerous saints in her early childhood, and continued to receive such visions and revelations throughout the course of her earthy life. Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

Did you know that Saint Catherine said the following about John the Baptist in prayer to God against the temptations of the devil? “John the Baptist never sinned and was sanctified in his mother’s womb. And I have committed so many sins, and have hardly begun to know them with grief and true contrition…” (Page 90).

God the Father told Saint Catherine: “No virtue, my daughter, can have life in itself except through charity, and humility, which is the foster-mother and nurse of charity. In self-knowledge, then, thou wilt humble thyself, seeing that, in thyself, thou dost not even exist; for thy very being, as thou wilt learn, is derived from Me, since I have loved both thee and others before you were in existence; and that, through the ineffable love which I had for you, wishing to re-create you to Grace, I have washed you, and re-created you in the Blood of My Only-begotten Son, spilt with so great a fire of love… to those who dispose themselves, humbly and with reverence, to receive The doctrine of My servants, will I remit both guilt and penalty, since they will thus come to true knowledge and contrition for their sins. So that, by means of prayer, and their desire of serving Me, they receive the fruit of grace, receiving it humbly in greater or lesser degree, according to the extent of their exercise of vittue and grace in general. I say then, that, through thy desires, they will receive remission for their sins. See, however, the condition, namely, that their obstinacy should not be so great in their despair as to condemn them through contempt of the Blood, which, with such sweetness, has restored them.” pg. 5,6)

God permits us to have temptations and difficulties in life so that we may submit ourselves to His Holy Will and put our entire trust and livelihoods in Him; this is a great opportunity to grow in humility and faith. “Sometimes I allow the world to show them what it is, so that, feeling its diverse and various passions, they may know how little stability it has, and may come to lift their desire beyond it, and seek their native country, which is the Eternal Life. And so I draw them by These, and by many other ways, for the eye cannot see, nor the tongue relate, nor the heart think, how many are the roads and ways which I use, through love alone, to lead them back to grace, so that My truth may be fulfilled in them.” (pg. 7)

There is much value in suffering: we have the opportunity to grow deeper in faith and submission to and reliance on God, live out the life of Christ which endured many sufferings Himself, and to offer it up to God to merit graces that before we unthought of: “It is very pleasing to Me, dearest daughter, is the willing desire to bear every pain and fatigue, even unto death, for the salvation of souls, for the more the soul endures, the more she shows that she loves Me; loving Me she comes to know more of My truth, and the more she knows, the more pain and intolerable grief she feels at the offenses committed against Me… Consider that the love of divine charity is so closely joined in the soul with perfect patience, that neither can leave the soul without the other. For this reason (if the soul elect to love Me) she should elect to endure pains for Me in whatever mode or circumstance I may send them to her. Patience cannot be proved in any other way than by suffering, and patience is united with love as has been said. Therefore bear yourselves with manly courage, for, unless you do so, you will not prove yourselves to be spouses of My Truth, and faithful children, nor of the company of those who relish the taste of My honor, and the salvation of souls… Thus, every act of help that he performs should proceed from the charity which he has through love of Me.” (pg. 9, 10).

Our Lord Jesus said that the greatest of the Ten Commandments were to love God above all else who is one and to love our neighbor by not sinning against them and showing charity in all encounters. “Sin is always produced against the neighbor and through his medium; in no other way could sin ever be committed either secret or open. A secret sin is when you deprive your neighbor of that which you ought to give him; an open sin is where you perform positive acts of sin, as I have related to thee. It is, therefore, indeed the truth that every sin done against Me, is done through the medium of the neighbor… All scandals, hatred, cruelty, and every sort of trouble proceed from this perverse root of self love, which has poisoned the entire world, and weakened the mystical body of the Holy Church, and the universal body of the believers in the Christian religion… charity gives life to all the virtues, because no virtue can be obtained without charity, which is the pure love of Me,” (pg. 12, 13)

In confession, a contrite heart rooted in repentance is key, but we are also called to do penance to atone for our sin, and to help us turn our hearts, minds, and lives back to God and our neighbor after sinning against both. Our Lord told Saint Catherine that a soul’s affection must be: “placed principally in the penance she has undertaken, her perfection will be impeded; she should rather place reliance on the affection of love, with a holy hatred of herself, accompanied by true humility and perfect patience, together with the other intrinsic virtues of the soul, with hunger and desire for My honor and the salvation of souls. For these virtues demonstrate that the will is dead, and continually slays its own sensuality through the affection of love of virtue. With this discretion, then, should the soul perform her penance, that is, she should place her principal affection in virtue rather than in penance. Penance should be but the means to increase virtue according to the needs of the individual, and according to what the soul sees she can do in the measure of her own possibility. Otherwise, if the soul places her foundation on penance she will contaminate her own perfection, because her penance will not be done in the light of knowledge of herself and of My goodness, with discretion, and she will not seize hold of My truch; neither loving that which I love, nor hating that which I hate.” (pg. 17,18)

It is essential, our Lord explains for: “those who possess the virtue of discretion. For, when they have rendered what is due to Me and to themselves, they proceed to render to their neighbor their principal debt of love, and of humble and continuous prayer, which all should pay to each other, and further, the debt of doctrine, and example of a holy and honorable life, counseling and helping others according to their needs for salvation, as I said to thee above. Whatever rank a man be in, whether that of a noble, a prelate, or a servant, if he have this virtue, everything that he does to his neighbor is done disereetly and lovingly, because these virtues are bound and mingled together, and both planted in the ground of humility which proceeds from self-knowledge” (pg. 19)

“He who desires for My sake to mortify his body with many penances, and not his own will, did not give Me much pleasure; but that I desired the manifold works of manly endurance with patience, together with the other virtues, which I have mentioned to thee above, intrinsic to the soul, all of which must be in activity in order to obtain fruits worthy of grace. All other works, founded on any other principle than this, I judge to be a mere calling with words, because they are finite works, and I, who am Infinite, seek infinite works, that is an infinite perfection of love… I wish therefore that the works of m penance, and of other corporal exercises, should be observed merely as means, and not as the fundamental affection of the soul. For, if the principal affection of the soul were placed in penance, I should receive a finite thing like a word, which, when it has issued from the mouth, is no more, unless it have issued with affection of the soul, which conceives and brings forth virtue in truth; that is, unless the finite operation, which I have called a word, should be joined with the affection or love, in which case it would be grateful and pleasant to Me. And this is because such a work would not be alone, but accompanied by true discretion, using corporal works as means, and not as the principal foundation; for it would not be becoming that that principal foundation should be placed in penance only, or in any exterior corporal act, such works being finite, since they are done in finite time, and also because it is often profitable that the creature omit them, and even that she be made to do so.” (pg. 20-21)

Another topic that the Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena touches on: “If one single sin were committed to save the whole world from Hell, or to obtain-one great virtue, the motive would not be a rightly ordered or discreet love, but rather indiscreet, for it is not lawful to perform even one act of great virtue and profit to others, by means of the guilt of sin…” (pg. 22)

From Sacred Tradition, and the Scripture, along with common sense reality around us, and further from the comments of Our Lord to Saint Catherine, we know that the roles and responsibilities of the clergy is great:

I also say of My ministers, who stand and feed at the breasts of Holy Church; and, not only should they feed themselves, but it is also their duty to feed and hold to those breasts the universal body of Christian people, and also any other people who should wish to leave the darkness of their infidelity, and bind themselves as members to My Church. See then with what ignorance and darkness, and ingratitude, are administered, and with what filthy hands are handled this glorious milk and blood of My spouse, and with what presumption and irreverence they are received. Wherefore, that which really gives life, often gives, through the defects of those who receive it, death; that is to say, the precious Blood of My Only-begotten Son, which destroyed death and darkness, and gave life and truth, and confounded falsehood. For I give this Blood and use for salvation and perfection in the case of that man who disposes himself properly to receive It for lt gives life and adorns the soul with ever, graces in proportion to the disposition and affection of him who receives It, similarly It gives death to him who receives It unworthily. Living in iniquity and in the darkness of mortal sin; to him, I say, It give death and not life; not through defect of the Blood, nor through defect of the minister, though there might be great evil in him, because his evil would not spoil nor defile the Blood nor diminish Its grace and virtue, nor does an evil minister do harm to him to whom he gives the Blood, but to himself he does the harm of guilt, which will be followed by punishment, unless he correct himself with contrition and repentance. I say then that the Blood does harm to him who receives It unworthily, not through defect of the Blood, nor of the minister, but through his (own evil disposition and defect inasmuch as he has befouled his mind and body with such impurity and misery, and has been so cruel to himself and his neighbor. He has used cruelty to himself, depriving himself of grace, trampling under the feet of his affection the fruit of the Blood which he had received in Holy Baptism, when the stain of original sin was taken from him by virtue of the Blood, which stain he drew from his origin, when he was generated by his father and mother. Wherefore I gave My Word, My Only-begotten Son, because the whole stuff of human generation was corrupted through the sin of the first man Adam. Wherefore, all of you, vessels made of this stuff, were corrupted and not disposed to the possession of eternal life- so I, with My dignity, joined Myself to the baseness of your human generation, in order to restore it to grace which you had lost by sin; for I was incapable of suffering, and yet, on account of guilt, My divine justice demanded suffering. But man was not sufficient to satisfy it, for, even if he had satisfied to a certain extent, he could only have satisfied for himself, and not for other rational creatures, besides which, neither for himself, nor for others, could man satisfy, his sin having been committed against Me, who am the Infinite Good. Wishing, however, to restore man who was enfeebled, and could nor satisfy for the above reason, I sent My Word, My own Son, clothed in your own very nature, the corrupted day of Adam, in order that He might endure suffering in that same nature in which man had offended, suffering in His body even to the opprobrious death of the Cross, and so He satisfied My justice and My divine mercy. For My mercy willed to make satisfaction for the sin of man and to dispose him to that good for which Ihad created him. This human nature, joined with the Divine nature, was sufficient to satisfy for the whole human race, not only on account of the pain which it sustained in its finite nature, that is in the flesh of Adam, but by virtue of the eternal Deity, the Divine and infinite nature joined to it. The two natures being thus joined together, I received and accepted the sacrifice of My Only-begotten Son, kneaded into one dough with the Divine nature, by the fire of divine love which was the fetter which held Him fastened and nailed to the Cross in this way. Thus human nature was sufficient to satisfy for guilt, but only by virtue of the Divine nature. And in this way was destroyed the stain of Adam's sin, only the mark of it remaining behind, that is an inclination to sin, and to every sort of corporeal defect, like the cicatrice which remains when a man is healed of a wound. In this way the original fault of Adam was able still to cause a fatal stain; wherefore the coming of the great Physician, that is to say, of My Only-begotten Son, cured this invalid, He drinking this bitter medicine, which man could not drink on account of his great weakness, like a foster-mother who takes medicine instead of her suckling, because she is grown up and strong, and the child is not fit to endure its bitterness. He was man's foster-mother, enduring, with the greatness and strength of the Deity united with your nature, the bitter, medicine of the painful death of the Cross, to give life to you little ones debilitated by guilt. (Pg. 27-29)

As I have said repeatedly, God is merciful, but sadly: “men are not grateful, but, going from bad to worse, and from guilt to guilt, even persecuting Me with many injuries, taking so little account of the graces which I have given them, and continue to give them, that, not only do they not attribute what they have received to grace, but seem to themselves on occasion to receive injuries from Me, as if I desired anything other than their sanctification. I say to thee that they will be more hard-hearted, and worthy of more punishment, and will, indeed, be punished more severely now that they have received redemption in the Blood of My Son, than they would have been before that redemption took place- that is, before the stain of Adam's sin had been taken away. It is right that he who receives more should render more, and should be under great obligations to Him from whom he receives more… A false Christian is punished more than a pagan, and the deathless fire of divine justice consumes him more, that is, afflicts him more, and, in his affliction, he feels himself being consumed by the worm of conscience, though, in truth, he is not consumed, because the damned do nor lose their being through any torment…” (pg. 30-31)

God extends His grace to all, though not all equally since He desires all to be saved. To Saint Catherine, He said: “My mercy is without any comparison, far more than thou canst see, because thy sight is imperfect, and My mercy perfect and infinite, so that there can be no comparison between the two, except- what may be between a finite and an infinite thing.” (Pg. 45)

God saves through the Catholic Church which Jesus established: “Know that of this Body of Christ I made a Bridge by the union of the Divine with the human nature, for this is the truth. This Bridge, taking its point of departure in you, rose into Heaven, and was the one road which was taught you by the example and life of the Truth. What has now remained of all this, and where is the road to be found? I will tell thee, that is, I will rather tell those who might fall into ignorance on this point. I tell thee that this way of His doctrine, of which I have spoken to thee, confirmed by the Apostles, declared by the blood of the Martyrs, illuminated by the light of the Doctors, confessed by the Confessors, narrated in all its love by the Evangelists, all of whom stand as witnesses to confess the Truth, is found in the mystical body of the Holy Church… These witnesses are like the light placed on a candlestick, to show forth the way of the Truth which leads to life with a perfect light, as I have said to thee, and, as they themselves say to thee, with proof, since they have proved in their own cases, that every person may, if he will, be illuminated to know the Truth, unless he choose to deprive his reason of light by his inordinate self-love. It is, indeed, the truth that His doctrine is true, and has remained like a lifeboat to draw the soul out of the tempestuous sea and to conduct her to the port of salvation.” (Pg. 41-42)

God had created sex for matrimony between one husband and one wife for the procreation of children. It is a secondary but real and worthy benefit of the sexual act that the spouses enter into a deeper, loving bond and moral remedy to concupiscence. Sadly, many in our society fail to adhere to the teachings of God who speaks both in Scripture, Tradition, and the Church on sexual and marital ethics. While lust is a difficult battle, it is not an impossible one, because a willing person who seeks God’s grace and removes him/herself from near occasions of sin can triumph over sexual immorality! God said this to Saint Catherine about sexual sin: “The fruits of this death-giving tree, are as diverse as sins are diverse. See that some of these fruits are the food of beasts who live impurely, using their body and their mind like a swine who wallows in mud, for in the same way they wallow in the mire of sensuality. Oh, ugly soul, where hast thou left thy dignity? Thou wast made sister to the angels, and now thou art become a brute beast. To such misery come sinners, notwithstanding that they are sustained by Me, who am supreme Purity, notwithstanding that the very devils, whose friends and servants they have become, cannot endure the sight of such filthy actions. Neither does any sin, abominable as it may be, take away the light of the intellect from man, so much as does this one,” (Pg. 47)

God also detests those who abuse authority to engage in corruption and sin, and who seek to remove God from the society through their role in authority; separation of church and state is a liberal heresy and error that is condemned by the Church in numerous cases:

In his encyclical On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism in 1832, Pope Gregory XVI writes: “Nor can We predict happier times for religion and government from the plans of those who desire vehemently to separate the Church from the state, and to break the mutual concord between temporal authority and the priesthood. It is certain that that concord which always was favorable and beneficial for the sacred and the civil order is feared by the shameless lovers of liberty.”

Pope Pius IX, who reigned from 1846 to 1878, proclaimed: “At the last judgment, Christ will accuse those who have expelled Him from public life and will have the most terrible vengeance from such an outrage.”

On the 18th of June, 1871, responding to a deputation of French Catholics, Pius IX spoke thus: “Atheism in legislation, indifference in matters of religion, and the pernicious maxims which go under the name of Liberal Catholicism are the true causes of the destruction of states; they have been the ruin of France. Believe me, the evil I denounce is more terrible than the Revolution, more terrible even than The Commune. I have always condemned Liberal Catholicism, and I will condemn it again forty times over if it be necessary.”

In a brief, 6th of March, 1873, addressed to the Circle of St. Ambrose of Milan, he expressed: “People are not wanting who pretend to form an alliance between light and darkness and to associate justice with iniquity in favor of those doctrines called Liberal Catholicism, which, based on the most pernicious principles, show themselves favorable to the intrusion of secular power upon the domain of spirituals; they lead their partisans to esteem, or at least to tolerate, iniquitous laws, as if it were not written that no one can serve two masters. Those who thus conduct themselves are more dangerous and more baneful than declared enemies, not only because, without being warned of it, perhaps even without being conscious of it, they second the projects of wicked men, but also because, keeping within certain limits, they show themselves with some appearance of probity and sound doctrine. They thus deceive the indiscreet friends of conciliation and seduce honest people, who would otherwise have strenuously combated a declared error.”

In the Brief of the 8th of May of the same year, speaking to the Confederation of the Catholic Circle of Belgium, the same Holy Father said: “What we praise above all in your religious enterprise is the absolute aversion which, as we are informed, you show towards the principles of Liberal Catholicism and your intrepid determination to root them out as soon as possible. In truth you will extirpate the fatal root of discord and you will efficaciously contribute to unite and strengthen the minds of all in so combating this insidious error, much more dangerous than an open enemy because it hides itself under the specious veil of zeal and of charity, and is so endeavoring to protect the people in general from its contaminating influence. Surely you, who adhere with such complete submission to all decisions of this Apostolic Seat and who know its frequent reprobations of Liberal principles, have no need of these warnings.”

In the Brief to the La Croix, a Belgium journal, on the 24th of May, 1874, the Pope expresses himself thus: “We cannot do less than to praise the design expressed in this letter, which we know your journal will satisfactorily fulfill, the design to publish, to spread, to comment on and inculcate in all minds all that the Holy See teaches against the perverse or at least false doctrines professed in so many quarters, and particularly against Liberal Catholicism, bitterly striving to conciliate light with darkness and truth with error.”

On the 9th of June, 1873, Pius IX wrote to the president of the Council of the Catholic Association of Orleans, and without mentioning its name, depicts pietistic and moderated Liberalism in the following terms: “Although you have not, strictly speaking, to combat impiety, are you not perhaps menaced on this side by as great dangers as those of the group of friends deceived by that ambiguous doctrine, which, while rejecting the last consequence of error, obstinately retains the germs, and which, not willing to embrace the truth in its fullness, and not daring to abandon it entirely, exhausts itself in interpreting the traditions and teachings of the Church by running them through the mold of its own private opinions.”

In an address to the Bishop of Quimper, and speaking in reference to the general assembly of the Catholic Association of that diocese, the Pope said: “Assuredly these associations are not wanting in the obedience due to the Church, neither on account of the writings nor the actions of those who pursue them with invectives and abuse; but they might be pushed into the slippery path of error by the force of those opinions called Liberal; opinions accepted by many Catholics who are otherwise honest and pious, and who, even by the very influence which gives them their piety, are easily captivated and induced to profess the most pernicious maxims. Inculcate, therefore, Venerable Brother, in the minds of this Catholic assembly that, when we have so often rebuked the sectaries of these Liberal opinions, we have not had in view the declared enemies of the Church, whom it would have been idle to denounce, but rather that those of whom we are speaking are such as secretly guard the virus of Liberal principles which they have imbibed with their mother’s milk…”

Pope Leo XIII (pope from 1878-1901) writes: “There are others…who affirm that the morality of individuals is to be guided by the divine law, but not the morality of the State, for that in public affairs the commands of God may be passed over, and may be entirely disregarded in the framing of laws. Hence follows the fatal theory of the need of separation between Church and State. But the absurdity of such a position is manifest… For, since God is the source of all goodness and justice, it is absolutely ridiculous that the State should pay no attention to these laws or render them abortive by contrary enact menu.”

Pope Leo XIII, while criticizing the conditions in Spain, writes: “There are some…who are not satisfied with distinguishing between politics and religion but separate and completely isolate the one from the other; The moment religion is removed, those principles are of necessity shaken on which the public welfare most of all rests…among the first of which are government with justice and moderation, obedience from a sense of duty, the submission of the passions to the yoke of virtue, to render to each his due, to leave untouched that which is another’s.”

In writing On the Christian Constitution of States, Pope Leo XIII writes: “There was once a time when States were governed by the philosophy of the Gospel…and Church and State were happily united in concord and friendly interchange of good offices…. Christian Europe has subdued barbarous nations, and changed them from a savage to a civilized condition, from superstition to true worship.”

Pope Leo XIII writes: “Next comes the system of those who admit indeed the duty of submitting to God…but who boldly reject all laws of faith and morals which are above natural reason, but are revealed by the authority of God; or who at least impudently assert that there is no reason why regard should be paid to these laws, at any rate publicly, by the State. How mistaken these men also are, and how inconsistent… From this teaching… flows that fatal principle of the separation of Church and State; whereas it is… clear that the two powers… ought nevertheless to live in concord, by harmony in their action and the faithful discharge of their respective duties. Many wish the State to be separated from the Church wholly and entirely, so…they would pay no more regard to the Church than if she did not exist; and… would allow the citizens individually to attend to their religion in private if so minded. Against such as these, all the arguments by which We disprove the principle of separation of Church and State are conclusive; with this super-added, that it is absurd the citizen should respect the Church, while the State may hold her in contempt.”

Pope Pius X (pope from 1901-1914) lamented to fellow bishops: “You have seen the sanctity and the inviolability of Christian marriage outraged by legislative acts in formal contradiction with them; the schools and hospitals laicized; clerics torn from their studies and from ecclesiastical discipline to be subjected to military service; the religious congregations dispersed and despoiled, and their members for the most part reduced to the last stage of destitution. Other legal measures which you all know have followed: the law ordaining public prayers at the beginning of each Parliamentary Session and of the assizes has been abolished; the signs of mourning traditionally observed on board the ships on Good Friday suppressed; the religious character effaced from the judicial oath; all actions and emblems serving in any way to recall the idea of religion banished from the courts, the schools, the army, the navy, and in a word from all public establishments.”

He continued: “That the State must be separated from the Church is a thesis absolutely false, a most pernicious error. Based, as it is, on the principle that the State must not recognize any religious cult, it is in the first place guilty of a great injustice to God; for the Creator of man is also the Founder of human societies, and preserves their existence as He preserves our own. We owe Him, therefore, not only a private cult, but a public and social worship to honor Him. Besides, this thesis is an obvious negation of the supernatural order. It limits the action of the State to the pursuit of public prosperity during this life only, which is but the proximate object of political societies; and it occupies itself in no fashion…with their ultimate object which is man’s eternal happiness after this short life shall have run its course… If any State has separated from the Church, while leaving to her the resource of the liberty common to all and the free disposal of her property, that State has without doubt, and on more than one ground, acted unjustly; but nevertheless, it could not be said that it has created for the Church a situation absolutely intolerable.”

Pope St. Pius X also wrote an encyclical to Portugal condemning the separation of Church and State: “Accordingly, under the admonition of the duty of Our Apostolic office that, in the face of such audacity on the part of the enemies of God, We should most vigilantly protect the dignity and honor of religion and preserve the sacred rights of the Catholic Church, We by our Apostolic authority denounce, condemn, and reject the Law for the Separation of Church and State in the Portuguese Republic. This law despises God and repudiates the Catholic faith.”

He expanded: “Moreover, since in the clash of interests, and especially in the struggle against dishonest forces, the virtue of man, and even his holiness are not always sufficient to guarantee him his daily bread, and since social structures, through their natural interplay, ought to be devised to thwart the efforts of the unscrupulous and enable all men of good will to attain their legitimate share of temporal happiness, We earnestly desire that you should take an active part in the organization of society with this objective in mind. And, to this end, whilst your priests will zealously devote efforts to the sanctification of souls, to the defense of the Church, and also to works of charity in the strict sense, you shall select a few of them, level-headed and of active disposition, holders of Doctors’ degrees in philosophy and theology, thoroughly acquainted with the history of ancient and modern civilizations, and you shall set them to the not-so-lofty but more practical study of the social science so that you may place them at the opportune time at the helm of your works of Catholic action. However, let not these priests be misled, in the maze of current opinions, by the miracles of a false Democracy. Let them not borrow from the Rhetoric of the worst enemies of the Church and of the people, the high-flown phrases, full of promises; which are as high-sounding as unattainable. Let them be convinced that the social question and social science did not arise only yesterday; that the Church and the State, at all times and in happy concert, have raised up fruitful organizations to this end; that the Church, which has never betrayed the happiness of the people by consenting to dubious alliances, does not have to free herself from the past; that all that is needed is to take up again, with the help of the true workers for a social restoration, the organisms which the Revolution shattered, and to adapt them, in the same Christian spirit that inspired them, to the new environment arising from the material development of today’s society. Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists.”

Pope Pius XI, who reigned from 1922-1939, said the following: “Man cannot be exempted from his divinely-imposed obligations toward civil society, and the representatives of authority have the right to coerce him when he refuses without reason to do his duty. Society, on the other hand, cannot defraud man of his God-granted right... Nor can society systematically void these rights by making their use impossible.”

Our Lord said to Saint Catherine: “There are others who hold their heads high by their position of authority, and who bear the banner of injustice using injustice against Me, God, and against their neighbor, and against themselves- to themselves by not paying the debt of virtue, and towards Me by not paying the debt of honor in glorifying and praising My Name, which debt they are bound to pay. But they, like thieves, steal what is Mine, and give it to the service of their own sensuality. So that they commit injustice towards Me and towards themselves, like blind and ignorant men who do not recognize Me in themselves on account of self-love, like the lews and the ministers of the Law who, with envy and self-love, blinded themselves so that they. did not recognize the Truth, My Only-begotten Son…” (Pg. 49).

In the Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena, Our Lord tried to explain to her the Trinity better: “The Holy Spirit, who is one substance with Me and with My Son, reproved the world by the mouth of the Apostles, with the doctrine of My Truth. They and all others, who are descended from them, following the truth which they understand through the same means, reprove the world. This is that continuous reproof that I make to the world by means of the Holy Scriptures, and My servants, putting the Holy Spirit on their tongues to announce My truth, even as the devil puts himself on the tongues of his servants, that is to say, of those who pass through the river in iniquity. This is that sweet reproof that I have fixed forever, in the aforesaid way, out of My most great affection of love for the salvation of souls. And they cannot say I had no one who reproved me; because the truth is revealed to them showing them vice and virtue. And I have made them see the fruit of virtue, and the hurtfulness of vice, to give them love and holy fear with hatred of vice and love of Virtue, and this truth has not been shown them by an angel, so that they cannot say, the angel is a blessed spirit who cannot offend…” (Pg. 53). Further, talking about Jesus, God the Father said:

He wished to show that He and I are not separate from each other, on which account He also made the following reply to St. Philip, when he said to Him, “Show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” My Word said, “Who sees Me sees the Father, and who sees the Father sees Me.” This He said because He was one substance with Me, and that which He had, He had from Me, I having nothing from Him; wherefore, again, He said to Judas, “My doctrine is not Mine, but My Father's who sent Me; because My Son proceeds from Me, not I from Him, though I with Him and He with Me are but one substance. For this reason He did not say “I will manifest the Father”; but “I will manifest Myself, being One substance with the Father. The second reason was because, in manifesting Himself to you, He did not present to you anything He lad not received from Me, the Father. These words, then, mean, the bather has manifested Himself to Me, because I am one substance with Him, and I will manifest to you, by means  of Myself; Me and Him. (Pg. 83)

Another sin greatly offends our Lord: those who both abuse and distrust in His mercy:

This is that sin which is neither pardoned here nor there, because the soul would not be pardoned, depreciating My mercy. Therefore is this last sin graver to Me than all the other sins that the soul has committed. Wherefore the despair of Judas displeased Me more, and was more grave to My Son than was his betrayal of Him. So that they are reproved of this false judgment, which is to have held their sin to be greater than My mercy, and, on that account, are they punished with the devils, and eternally tortured with them. And they are reproved of injustice because they grieve more over their condemnation than over My displeasure, and do not render to Me that which is Mine, and to themselves that which is theirs. For to Me, they ought to render love, and to themselves bitterness, with contrition of heart, and offer to Me, for the offense they have done Me. And they do the contrary because they give to  themselves love, pitying themselves, and grieving on acount of the pain they expect for their sin; so thou seest that they are guilty of injustice and false judgment, and are punished for the one and the other together. Wherefore, they, having depreciated My mercy, I with justice send them, with their cruel servant, sensuality, and the cruel tyrant the devil, whose servants they made themselves through their own sensuality, so that, together, they are punished and tormented, as together they have offended Me. Tormented, I say, by My ministering devils whom My judgment has appointed to torment those who have done evil. (Pg. 53-54)

He adds:

with despair they would arrive with the devil in eternal damnation… for this final sin of despair is much more displeasing to Me and injures them much more than all the other sins which they have committed. And this is the reason why this sin is more dangerous to them and displeasing to Me, because they commit other sins through some delight of their own sensuality, and they sometimes grieve for them, and if they grieve in the right way their grief will procure them mercy. But it is no fragility of your nature which moves you to despair, for there is no pleasure and nothing but intolerable suffering in it. One who despairs despises My mercy, making his sin to be greater than mercy and goodness. Wherefore, if a man fall into this sin, he does not repent, and does not truly grieve for his offense against Me as he should, grieving indeed for his own loss, but not for the offense done to Me, and therefore he received eternal damnation. See, therefore, that this sin alone leads him to Hell, where he is punished for this and all the other sins he has committed; whereas had he grieved and repented for the offense done to Me, and hoped in My Mercy, he would have found mercy, for, as I have said to thee, My mercy is greater without any comparison than all the sins which any creature can commit; wherefore it greatly displeases me that they should consider their sins to be greater. (Pg. 160,161)

Instead, God does not wish for: “the soul to consider her sins, either in general or in particular, without also remembering the Blood and the broadness of My mercy, for far that otherwise she should be brought to confusion. And together with confusion would come the devil, who has caused it, under color of contrition and displeasure of sin, and so she would arrive at eternal damnation, not only on account of her confusion, but also through the despair which would come to her, because she did not seize the arm of My mercy. This is one of the subtle devices with which the evil deludes My servants, and, in order to escape from his deceit, and to be pleasing to Me, you must enlarge your hearts and affections in My boundless mercy, with true humility. Thou knowest that the pride of the devil cannot resist the humble mind, nor can any confusion of spirit be greater than the broadness of My good mercy, if the soul will only truly hope therein.” (Pg. 94)

God is merciful: “I use My charity and mercy, withdrawing neither on account of their sins. I even give equally to the sinner and the righteous man, and often more to the sinner than to the righteous man, because the righteous man is able to endure privation, and I take from him the goods of the world that he may the more abundantly enjoy the goods of Heaven. So that in worldly men My mercy and charity shine, and they render praise and glory to My Name, even when they persecute My servants; for they prove in them the virtues of patience and charity, causing them to suffer humbly and offer to Me their persecutions and injuries, thus turning them into My praise and glory. So that, whether they will or no, worldly people render to My Name praise and glory, even when they intend to do Me infamy and wrong.” (Pg. 102-103)

What is the consequence of despair? He describes the sufferings of eternal damnation to Saint Catherine; it reminds me an awful lot of the description of Sister Lucia who saw a vision of Hell at Fatima through the grace of Our Lady:

So I say to thee, that in Hell, the souls have four principal torments. out of which proceed all the other torments. The first is, that they see themselves deprived of the vision of Me, which is such pain to them, that, were it possible, they would rather choose the fire, and the tortures and torments, and to see Me, than to be without the torments and not to see Me. This first pain revives in them, then, the second, the worm of Conscience, which gnaws unceasingly, seeing that the soul is deprived of Me, and of the conversation of the angels, through her sin, made worthy of the conversation and sight of the devils, which vision of the devil is the third pain and redoubles to them thetr every toil. As the saints exult in the sight of Me, refreshing themselves with joyousness in the fruit of their toils borne for Me with such abundance of love and displeasure of themselves, so does the sight of the devil revive these wretched ones to torments, because in seeing him they know themselves more, that is to say, they know that, by their own sin, they have made themselves worthy of him. And so the worm of Conscience gnaws more and more, and the fire of this Conscience never ceases to burn. And the sight is more painful to them, because they see him in his own form, which is so hortible that the heart of man could nor imagine it. And if thou remember well, thou knowest that I showed him to thee in his own form for a little space of time, hardly a moment, and thou didst choose (after thou hadst returned to thyself) rather to walk on a road of fire, even until the Day of Judgment, than to see him again. With all this that thou hast seen, even thou dost not know well how horrible he is, because, by Divine justice, he appears more horrible to the soul that is deprived of Me, and more or less according to the gravity of her sin.

The fourth torment that they have is the fire. This fire burns and does not consume, for the being of the soul cannot be consumed, because it is not a material thing that fire can consume. But I, by Divine justice, have permitted the fire to burn them with torments, so that it torments them, without consuming them, with the greatest pains in diverse ways according to the diversity of their sins, to some more, and to some Less, according to the gravity of their fault. Out of these four torments issue all others, such as cold and heat and gnashing of the teeth and many others. Now because they did not amend themselves after the first reproof that they had of injustice and false judgment, neither in the second, which was that, in death, they would not hope in Me, nor grieve for the offense done to Me, but only for their own pain, have they thus so miserably received eternal punishment. (Pg. 54, 55)

The description of the Second Coming, which Our Lord has delayed on account of His Mercy and the intercession of the Most Merciful Mother, Mary, to save as many souls as possible and give humanity further attempts and time to reconcile itself with the Holy Trinity and the Catholic faith, is not described as a pretty picture by God:

Know that, in the Last Day of Judgment, when will come the Word My Son, with My Divine Majesty to reprove the world with Divine power, He will not come like a poor one, as when He was born, coming in the womb of the Virgin, and being born in a stable amongst the animals, and then dying between two thieves. Then I concealed My power in Him, letting Him suffer pain and torment like man, not that My Divine nature was therefore separated from human nature, but I let Him suffer like man to satisfy for your guilt. He will not come thus in that last moment, but He will come, with power, to reprove in His own Person, and will render to every one his due, and there will be no one in that Day who will not tremble. To the miserable ones who are damned, His aspect will cause such torment and terror that the tongue cannot describe it. To the just it will cause the fear of reverence with  great joy; not that His face changes, because He is unchangeable, being one substance with Me according to the Divine nature, and, according to the human nature, His face was unchangeable, after it took the glory of the Resurrection. But, to the eye of the damned, it will appear such, on account of their terrible and darkened vision, that, as the sun which is so bright, appears all darkness to the infirm eye, but to the healthy eye light (and it is not the defect of the light that makes it appear other to the blind than to the illuminated one, but the defect of the eye which is infirm), so will the condemned ones see His countenance in darkness, in confusion, and in hatred, not through defect of My Divine Majesty, with which He will come to judge the world, but through their own defect… If they finish their life dying in hatred with the guilt of mortal sin, their souls; by divine justice, remain forever bound with the bonds of hatred, and forever obstinate in that evil, in which, therefore, being gnawed by themselves, their pains always increase, especially the pains of those who have been the cause of damnation to others, as that rich man, who was damned, demonstrated to you when he begged the favor that Lazarus might go to his brothers, who were in the world, to tell them of his pains.(Pg. 56,57)

God the Father explained, on the Day of Judgement: “The face of My Son will not seem to them [the faithful] terrible, or full of hatred, because they finished their lives in love and affection for Me and good-will toward their neighbor. So thou seest then, that the trans formation is not in His face, when He comes to judge with My Divine Majesty, but in the vision of those who will be judged by Him. To the damned He will appear with hatred and with justice. And to the saved with love and mercy.” (Pg. 60)

Hell is not an enjoyable experience: “How terrible and dark is their death! Because in the moment of death, as I told thee, the devil accuses them with great terror and darkness, showing his face, which thou knowest is so horrible that the creature would rather choose any pain that can be suffered in this world Than see it; and so greatly does he freshen the sting of conscience that it gnaws him horribly, The disordinate delights and sensuality of which he made lords over his reason, accuse him miserably, because then he knows the truth of that which at first he knew not, and his error brings him to great confusion.” (Pg. 159)

After the Second Coming and Day of Judgement: “As light is seen better near darkness, and darkness near light, so the sight of the Blessed increases their pain. With pain they await the Last Day of Judgment, because they see, following it, an increase of pain to themselves. And so will it be, because when that terrible voice shall say to them, 'Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment,’ the soul will return with the body, in the just to be glorified, and in the damned to be tortured eternally. And the aspect of My Truth, and of all the blessed ones will reproach them greatly, and make them ashamed, and the worm of conscience will gnaw the pith of the tree, that is the soul, and also the bark outside, which is the body. They will be reproached by the Blood that was shed for them, and by the works of mercy, spiritual and temporal, which I did for them by means of My Son, and which they should have done for their neighbor, as is contained in the Holy Gospel. They will be reproved for their cruelty towards their neighbor, for their pride and self-love, for their filthiness and avarice; and when they see the mercy that they have received from Me, their reproof will seem to be intensified in harshness.” (Pg. 61)

God revealed to Saint Catherine the following about the fate of the damned, spiritual warfare between humans and demons, and the existence of Hell:

Thus miserably do they arrive at their end who go by the lower way, that is, by the river, not turning back to see their sins and My mercy. And they arrive at the Gate of the Lie, because they follow the doctrine of the devil, who is the father of lies and this devil is their Door, through which they go to Eternal way above, that is by the Bridge, follow the Way of Truth, and this Truth is the Door, and therefore said My Truth, “No one can go to the Father but by Me”… The devil  devil, dearest daughter, is the instrument of My justice to torment the souls who have miserably offended Me. And I have set him in this life to tempt and molest My creatures, not for My creatures to be conquered, but that they may conquer, proving their virtue, and receive from Me the glory of victory. And no one should fear any battle or temptation of the devil that may come to him, because I have made My creatures strong, and have given them strength of will, fortified in the Blood of my Son, which will, neither devil nor creature can move, because it is yours, given by Me. You therefore, with free arbitration, can hold it or leave it, according as you please. It is an arm, which, if you place it in the hands of the devil, straightway becomes a knife, with which he strikes you and slays you. But if man do not give this knife of his will into the hands of the devil, that is, if he do not consent to his temptations and molestations, he will never be injured by the guilt of sin in any temptation, but will even be fortified by it, when the eye of his intellect is opened to see My love which allowed him to be tempted, so as to arrive at virtue. by being proved. For one does not at virtue except through knowledge of self, and knowledge of Me… My Love permits these temptations, for the devil is weak, and by himself can do nothings unless I allow it.  And I let him tempt, through love, and not through hatred, that you may conquer, and not that you may be conquered, and that you may come to a perfect knowledge of yourself, and of Me, and that virtue my be proved, for it is not proved except by its contrary. Thou seest, when, that he is my minister to torture the damned in Hell, and in this life, in exercise and prove virtue in the soul. Not that it is the intention of the devil to prove virtue in you (for he has not love), but rather to deprive you of it, and this he cannot do, if you do not wish it. (Pg. 62,63)

The devil is very much real and active in seeking the destruction of souls. Our Lord explained this warning to Saint Catherine and potential listeners: “The devil invites men to the water of death, that is, to that which he has, and, blinding them with the pleasures and conditions of the world, he catches them with the hook of pleasure, under the pretense of good, because in no other way could he catch them, for they would not allow themselves to be caught if they saw that no good or pleasure to themselves were to be obtained thereby. For the soul, from her nature, always relishes good, though it is true that the soul, blinded by self-love, does not know and discern what is true good, and of profit to the soul and to the body. And, therefore, the devil, seeing them blinded by self-love, iniquitously places before them diverse and various delights, colored so as to have the appearance of some benefit or good; and he gives to every one according to his condition and those principal vices to which he sees him to be most disposed of one kind to the secular, of another to the religious, and others to prelates and noblemen, according to their different conditions.” (Pg. 65).

There are ways to combat the influence of the demonic in our spiritual warfare: of course, by taking part in the sacraments and living a fervent prayerful life, and putting all of our trust in God and His Goodness in recognition of the battle between good and evil at hand: “But love with holy fear is sufficient, because the law is founded in love and holy fear… He ought, then, to arise from servile fear, and arrive at love and holy fear of Me, otherwise there is no remedy against his falling back again into the river, and reaching the waters of tribulation, and secking the thorns of consolation, for all consolations are thorns that pierce the soul who loves them disordinately.” (Pg. 77,78).

Of course, the good of prayer in spiritual warfare is the most critical element, along with the sacraments, namely the Eucharist. Our Lord explained to Saint Catherine:

The devil often places himself upon the tongues of creatures, causing them to chatter nonsensically, with the purpose of preventing the prayer of the soul. All of this she should pass by, by means of the virtue of perseverance. Oh, how sweet and pleasant to that soul and to Me is holy prayer, made in the house of knowledge of self and of Me, opening the eye of the intellect to the light of faith, and the affections to the abundance of My charity, which was made visible to you, through My visible Only-begotten Son, who showed it to you with His blood! Which Blood inebriates the soul and clothes her with the fire of divine charity, giving her the food of the Sacrament [which is placed in the hostelry of the mystical body of the Holy Church] that is to say, the food of the Body and Blood of My Son, wholly God and wholly man, administered to you by the hand of My vicar, who holds the key of the Blood. This is that hostelry, which I mentioned to thee, standing on the Bridge to provide food and comfort for the travellers and the pilgrims, who pass by the way of the doctrine of My Truth, lest they should fain through weakness. This food strengthens little or much, according to the desire of the recipient, whether he receives sacramentally or virtually: He receives sacramentally when he actuality communicates the Blessed Sacrament. He receives virtually when he communicates, both by desire of Communion, and by contemplation of the Blood of Christ crucified, communicating, as it were, sacramentally, with the affection of love, which is to be tasted in the Blood which, as the soul sees, was shed through love. On seeing this the soul becomes inebriated, and blazes with holy desire and satisfies herself, becoming full of love for Me and for her neighbor. Where can this be acquired? In the house of self-knowledge with holy prayer, where imperfections are lost, even as Peter and the disciples, while they remained in watching and Prayer, lost their imperfection and acquired perfection. By what means is this acquired? By perseverance seasoned with the most Holy Faith. But do not think that the soul receives such ardor and nourishment from prayer, if she pray only  vocally, as do many souls whose prayers are rather words than love. (Pg. 92, 93)

How easy is it to get distracted at mass or when we pray the rosary? It is very much so, but we must remain diligent and focus our eyes on God; He recognizes our weaknesses and appreciates our acknowledgement of our humility and our and self-awareness of our flaws as sinners, but if we take it upon ourselves to offer God the love He deserves, we will truly grow in holiness and help change salvation history.  Also important is obedience to our religious superiors, such as the Holy Father and rest of the clergy in the Church, as our Lord exhorts to Saint Catherine and the readers of her writings to do: “When He [Jesus] returned to Me, rising to Heaven from the conversation of men at the Ascension, He left vou this sweet key of obedience; for as thou knowest He left His Vicar, the Christ on earth, whom you are all obliged to obey until death, and whoever is outside his obedience is in a state of damnation, as I have already told thee in another place,” (Pg. 172)

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Dialogue-St-Catherine-Siena-Conversation/dp/0895551497