her of the way of truth, using the metaphor of Christ as bridge. He also speaks of the twofold vineyard, which is composed of the individual’s soul and the Church. For spiritual growth this vineyard must be nurtured by all who wish to serve God. This “dialogue” section closes with praise rendered divine love and Catherine’s expressed desire to learn more about Christ as the necessary bridge. “I remember that you wanted to show me who are those who cross over the bridge and those who do not. So, if it would please your goodness to show me, I would gladly see and hear this from you.”

The heart of the book follows and has been signified as “The Bridge.” Christ, the only begotten Son, is the bridge that spans heaven and earth. This, God says, is one result of the union that he has made with man, the creature fashioned out of clay. The approach is in three steps: Two were made with the wood of Jesus’ cross. The third—which still retains its bitter taste—is the gall and vinegar he was given to drink. These three steps symbolize the states of the soul, and they are likened to the Crucifixion experience in this account. In the first step, when the soul lifts her feet from the affections of the earth, she strips herself of worldly vice. As a result of step two, the soul is filled with love and with virtue. In the final step she tastes the peace of God.

The Bridge is built of the stones of true and sincere virtues. On the Bridge is an inn where food is given the travelers. Those who go over the Bridge go to eternal life, while those who travel beneath the Bridge go to everlasting death. These latter suffer four pains: the deprivation of seeing God, the worm of Conscience, the vision of the Devil, and the torment of a fire that burns but does not consume. Those who make spiritual progress pass from a state of imperfection (acting in servile fear) to arrival in the state of perfection (filial love).

This section may be regarded as God’s response to Catherine’s plea for his mercy to be extended to the entire world. Nor does this response end here but continues at some length. At this point, however, Catherine observes that she has seen several kinds of tears, and she asks for instructions about each of these types. God tells her that there are those of the wicked as well as of those who fear God; there are the tears of those who imperfectly love him, and of those whose weeping is perfect because they love God in total abandon. Finally, there are the sweet tears of great peace that are joined to the fourth.

Catherine then thanks God, praising him for the gift of love. From this she feels she has the permission to ask for grace and mercy while searching for his truth. She requests further guidance from God at this point, concerning how she should advise others who come to her for counsel and how she can tell whether a spiritual visitation truly comes from God or is a deception of which she should be wary. (Regarding this last, Catherine recalls that she has been told if the visitation left her spirit glad and encouraged her toward virtue, then this was indeed a divine intervention, but she wishes assurance on this point.)

Truth is what the seeker in this book yearns for, and the next pages are devoted to such an inquiry. She learns that there are three kinds of lights by which we may see reality. These are called the imperfect, the perfect, and finally the most perfect lights. First is ordinary light which all human beings need, regardless of their earthly situation. Those who walk in perfect light do so in two separate ways: Some men and women rise above this world and practice the mortification of their bodies; some kill their own self-wills and “find their nourishment at the table of holy desire.” Others should be reproved only gently. When they are clearly living sinfully, that is another matter, but in general God counsels that neighbors’ apparent vices must not be harshly judged nor are their degrees of perfection to be judged. Furthermore, not all are expected to live their spiritual lives in the same manner or to follow the same path to holiness.

There is some repetition here of previous advice and admonitions; then Catherine is urged to ask for more and is given a new promise of mercy. She then again praises God, particularly for his truth, and beseeches God anew. The ecstatic requests the grace necessary to remain totally faithful to God’s truth. She asks this not only for herself but for her companions as well, particularly for two priests who were her confessors, “those two pillars, the fathers you have appointed for me on earth to guide and teach me, who am so wretchedly weak, from the beginning of my conversion until now.” One of these men is Raymond of Capua, who was to become the mystic’s first biographer. The other is probably Tommaso della Fonte, an earlier confessor and a man who was a companion to her throughout her relatively brief life.

She then asks for some indication of the extent of the sins of evil clergymen so that she may increase her sorrow and desire for mercy. This recalls her earlier petition on behalf of the entire sacramental life at the heart of the Church. God promises an answer and tells Catherine that her “two pillars” will receive the grace they need from God through her. However, he warns her, “never fail to trust Me for my providence will never fail you.”

The next section begins with God’s praise for his ministers, the priests through whom the sacraments are administered, particularly the Eucharist. Something of the nature of the Eucharist is also discussed. The host given in Holy Communion loses none of its glory upon being divided, just as fire divided remains fire. When Catherine receives this sacrament she lives in God and God in her, she is told. Then God tells her of the sins of the clerics, but not until he first notes that those who persecute the clergy are working against God himself. Nevertheless, in some priests, “selfish love is alive in them.” Some do not correct people in order to curry favor with them; others exemplify great pride. Certain clerics are ruled by their senses, some by an acquisitiveness of material things. Drunkenness, too, is a sin for many of them, and some are lustful in word and deed. Catherine reacts to all that she has heard with a prayer of praise for God. She portrays him as light and fire, as the supreme charity, and as the great fulfiller of all that is honestly desired. Again she begs God for mercy for the world in general and for the Church in particular.

God’s providence is the subject of the next several segments of The Dialogue. He speaks of his general providence in creation, in redemption, and in the Sacraments, as well as in his gift of the virtue of hope and in the Law. He then relates his special providence in particular events in history and in the lives of people. God indicates that he allows the world to bring forth many troubles to prove the virtue of people and “that I may have reason to reward them for their suffering and the violence they do themselves.” Subsequently, Catherine says that she wishes to be instructed concerning obedience. She wants to know how perfect it is, where she can find it, what might cause her to lose it, who gives it to her, and by what sign she might know whether or not she has it.

The woman is told that the sign that one has the virtue of obedience is patience; the impatient have it not. The fullness of obedience, God says, is found in the gentle, loving Word, his only begotten Son, for Jesus’ obedience was even to a shameful death on the cross. Pride causes us to lose that virtue. This caused Adam’s sin, and it was not only he who fell here but the whole human race as well. Jesus left this key of obedience to the gate of heaven, and whoever fails to avail himself of it risks living in damnation. Perfect obedience is found in those who bind themselves to the obedience of a religious order or in those, outside such orders, who submit their wills to a spiritual teacher who will help them to advance more speedily to unlock the gate of heaven.

The work ends with a recapitulation by God of all that has gone before, followed by Catherine’s final hymn of praise to the Trinity and a prayer that she may be clothed in God’s truth.

Christian Themes

During her lifetime, the future patron saint of Italy, Catherine of Siena, was a fourteenth century ascetic, mystic, and activist who worked for peace within the Church when Florence was placed under an interdict by the pope. She visited Pope Gregory XI in Avignon to mediate in the political dispute; there, she also promoted a crusade against the Muslims. When the papacy returned to Rome, Catherine participated in the reorganization of the Church under Urban VI.

Catherine dictated The Dialogue while she was in a state of ecstasy to members of her religious community, who recorded it for posterity. The main Christian themes can be summarized as follows:

•Love is the way to perfection.

•Christ is the bridge between heaven and earth.

•Five kinds of tears correspond to the conditions of the soul.

•Love involves grief for one’s own sin and that of others.

•Obedience to the Word is the remedy to the sin of Adam.

Sources for Further Study

• Cavallini, Giuliana. Catherine of Siena. New York: G. Chapman, 1998. A solid overview of Catherine, with coverage of her writings, her search for truth, her Christology, and her politics. Chronology, bibliography, index.
• Gardner, Edmund G. Saint Catherine of Siena. London: Dent, 1907. Covers the background as well as the life of Catherine through a study of the religion, literature, and history of fourteenth century Italy.
• Hilkert, Mary Catherine. Speaking with Authority: Catherine of Siena and the Voices of Women Today. New York: Paulist Press, 2001. Examines Catherine in the context of modern women’s issues. Bibliography.
• Luongo, F. Thomas. The Saintly Politics of Catherine of Siena. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2006. Counters the notion of Catherine as isolated mystic and considers her in a sociopolitical context—including the Black Death, social revolutions, Florence versus the papacy—by examining her letters and juxtaposing her words to those of contemporary political and social movements. Bibliography, index.
• Noffke, Suzanne. Catherine of Siena: Vision Through a Distant Eye. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1996. The author, a Dominican of Racine, Wisconsin, considers Catherine as a rare authoritative woman of her time, the first to be published in one of the emerging Italian vernacular dialects. Part 1 covers her theology and spirituality; part 2 presents resources on her person and thought, her world, and others writings in English. Annotated bibliography.
• Raymond of Capua. The Life of St. Catherine of Siena. Translated by George Lamb. New York: Kennedy, 1960. The first biography of the saint, written by her confessor, who shared many of her experiences.