SOURCE: "Catherine of Siena," in A History of Women Philosophers, Volume II. Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment Women Philosophers, A.D. 500-1600, edited by Mary Ellen Waithe, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1989, pp. 223-60.

[In the excerpt that follows, Wolfskeel discusses Il Dialogo and the Orazioni, both of which express Catherine of Siena's unique understanding of her relationship with the divine.]

… 2. Il Dialogo

Il Dialogo, simply called "my book" by Catherine herself, came to existence in the period 1377-1378.⁶⁹ It is a dialogue with God who, questioned by Catherine, instructs her and elaborately answers her questions. Il Dialogo is a testimony of God's providence and of the revelation of Holy Truth (= Christ). Raimondo da Capua (Leg. Maj. III. ch. 3) says that Catherine was forced to write "her book" by Holy Truth Himself, who revealed Himself to her, about two years before her death.

The text of Il Dialogo is preserved to us in codices, which are present in the Biblioteca Communale of Siena. II Dialogo was printed for the first time in Venice in the year 1472. Various editions followed in Italy in the centuries to come. It was edited by Gigli,⁷⁰ together with Catherine's other writings, in the eighteenth century. M. Fiorilli prepared an edition of Il Dialogo in the 20th century.⁷¹Il Dialogo was normally edited according to a system of division of the contents into four treatises and 167 chapters, before Giuliana Cavallini⁷² edited the text according to a system of division of the contents into ten main themes, in the year 1968. (For reasons of quotation she also maintained the numbers of the chapters of the previous editions). The whole Dialogo is composed according to a system of demanding, answering and thanksgiving, in Cavallini's opinion. Cavallini, very unsatisfied with the previous way of editing⁷³ the text, used what she thought to be the underlying system of the Dialogo, as a key to understand the Dialogo and to discover its organic structure. Her effort was not without result. It became clear to her that the key she used actually revealed the organic structure and logical division of the contents of the Dialogo, as Catherine herself had meant it to be. Cavallini became convinced that the old division into four treatises, which had originally been the work of Onofrio Farri in the 16th century, had to be discarded. This revolutionary view of Cavallini was generally accepted by other scholars. Suzanne Noffke follows the thread of Cavallini in her beautiful English translation of Il Dialogo.⁷⁴ The ten main themes discovered by Cavallini are:

1. Prologue (ch. 1-2)
2. The way of perfection (ch. 3-12)
3. The Dialogue (ch. 13-25)
4. The Bridge (ch. 26-87)
5. The Tears (ch. 88-97)
6. The Truth (ch. 98-109)
7. The Mystical Body of Holy Church (ch. 110-134)
8. Divine Providence (ch. 135-153)
9. Obedience (ch. 154-165)
10. Conclusion (ch. 166-167)

(a) ad I Prologue.

The first two chapters introduce the main issues of the whole book: God's Truth and Love, and the dignity of the human being created in God's image and likeness, whose perfection is in the union with God. The work is placed in a setting within Catherine's life. Even petitions Catherine made are mentioned: for herself, for the reform of the Church, for the whole world, for the conversion of rebellious Christians, for divine providence in all things, and especially in regard to a particular case which seems to have troubled Catherine very much. (It is uncertain what this case really was).

(b) ad II. The Way of Perfection.

In chapters 3 through 12, God instructs Catherine that every offense against Him, who is "infinite Good" demands infinite satisfaction. Man needs "infinite desire," that is, true contrition of the heart and love of God. The value of suffering and penance is not in suffering or penance itself, but in the soul's desire. Neither desire nor any other virtue has value in life, except through Christ crucified. The way of perfection is the way of following Christ in His footsteps. This way of love of God necessarily implies love of our neighbours, for every virtue and every vice is committed by means of our neighbours. The soul needs discernment: true knowledge of itself and of God, which involves charity. (This part lacks a thanksgiving).

When commenting on the different main themes of Il Dialogo discovered by Cavallini, we must keep in kind that these themes are all interwoven and closely linked to each other. So "the way of perfection" is closely linked to the doctrine of the Bridge (= Christ), that of Truth (= Christ), that of Tears, and that of Obedience. "The way of perfection," which is the "way of following Christ in His footsteps" is elaborately worked out in connection with the other main themes. Catherine, dealing with the other themes, elucidates what this really meant. She is teaching her audience step by step. In chapters 3-12 she introduces the way of perfection. It becomes clear—and Catherine's discussion of the other themes will make it clearer—that this way of perfection is possible for all and certainly is not a privilege of clergymen, monks or nuns. Like St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Catherine identifies perfection with salvation. Bernard considered "perfectio" the soul's return to God through a purification of the heart given by God Himself and through the process of rehabilitation under God's guidance.⁷⁵ In Bernard's opinion, the perfection of man who is the image of God, is in the likeness to God. A conformity of will to the will of God must correspond with the image of God, which is imprinted in the nature of man. This conformity of will is the consequence of grace and at the same time of the free consent of the will. Such a movement of return to God, to man's model, as Bernard puts it, is fulfilled in charitable love. This concept of man's way to perfection as a return to God by God's grace and man's accepting of this grace is very similar to Catherine's concept of the way of perfection. We have already mentioned that in Catherine's doctrine charity underlies all virtues and necessarily belongs to the soul's way of perfection. Thomas Aquinas also considered the way of perfection that of love of God and neighbour. However, Thomas thought that this charitable love could grow if people kept the commandments of Christ. In Thomas' view, people did not necessarily have to keep the counsels of Christ, as well as His commandments, in order to reach perfection. (Thomas considered keeping the counsels as well merely instrumental).⁷⁶ Catherine slightly differs from Thomas in this respect. She certainly does not consider it necessary that people keep the counsels in fact in order to attain salvation. Those who keep the commandments in fact, and the counsels in spirit only, will be saved in the end. They are those who are passing through earthly life in ordinary love (ch. 47). Catherine, however, strongly emphasizes the fact that people may attain a greater perfection if they keep the counsels of Christ not only in spirit, but in fact as well. Then they will pass through earthly life most perfectly. Keeping the counsels in spirit and in fact is essential to those who want to pass most perfectly, in Catherine's opinion. Her way of perfection certainly has been submitted to some Franciscan influence in this respect.⁷⁷ She obviously follows the Augustinian thread, when she says that the soul must first come to self-knowledge and knowledge of its own misery in order to attain knowledge of God. This process of internalization reminds us of Augustine's Confessions.

Knowledge of God is the necessary condition for love of God, which, according to Catherine, includes love of the neighbours. This stress laid on the intellectual aspect of man's conversion to God, which becomes more obvious in the way Catherine deals with the human soul in the following chapters of Il Dialogo, also indicates Augustinian influence. To Catherine, perfection first of all means a condition of the soul, but one that immediately and necessarily has practical consequences for the way people treat their neighbours. Catherine lays great stress on this aspect of the way of perfection. Her mysticism has a very great, and inherently practical impact. Her way of following Christ and of achieving great perfection is by means of the neighbour. According to Catherine, even in the final state of perfection when the soul experiences God as a peaceful sea, the soul is concerned with the salvation of the neighbour (ch. 89). In this respect Catherine differs from other Dominican mystics of her time, like Eckhart and Suso, whose mysticism is characterized by strong speculative tendencies.

(c) ad III. The Dialogue.

Chapters 13 through 25 deal with three petitions (partly a repetition of those enumerated before): 1, for mercy for the Church, 2, for mercy for the whole world, and 3, for mercy for an unnamed person (the "certain case"). God answers in correspondence to these petitions. The instruction leads up to the following doctrine: God explains that he has made Christ "the bridge" between heaven and earth. The redemptive blood of Christ sets man free from all his sins, original sin included, if man wants to accept by his own free choice, God's grace offered to him in baptism. Those people who made their choice for a sinful life after they were redeemed are false Christians and enemies of God, worse than pagans. They deserve God's punishment, but God, wanting the salvation of souls, will gracefully accept on their behalf the prayers and tears of His servants, who have a holy desire for the salvation of souls. God's mercy is offered to the whole world, for He created everything, except sin. The unnamed person will have to make his own way "through the bridge," accepting the suffering God grants him. Catherine thanks God (ch. 25) for His answers and courageously asks Him who are those who cross over the bridge, and those who do not. This question leads up to a new answer and instruction.

The concept that God's grace is offered to all mankind reflects Catherine's strong belief in the goodness and providence of God, whom (following Augustine in this respect) she elsewhere calls the Highest Good. She obviously is in accord with Augustine's doctrine when she says that God did not create sin. Like Augustine she considers all moral evil non being. Catherine, however, certainly differs from Augustine when she speaks of God's desire for the salvation of mankind and of His offering grace to all mankind. The absence of the doctrine of predestination we discussed above, undoubtedly underlies this concept. In Catherine's opinion, God offers grace; the only thing man has to do is accept this grace in free choice. We will discuss man's free will and free choice elaborately when commenting on "the Bridge." Catherine pictures Christ Mediator as "the Bridge" between heaven and earth. This picture is part of Catherine's highly figurative language.

(d) ad IV. The Bridge.

The doctrine of the Bridge,⁷⁸ developed in chapters 26 through 87, is the most important part of the book. The Bridge was raised up, when Christ, who was God and man, was crucified. Since man could not pay for his debts to God, and God, the Father could not do penance for the guilt of man, it was Christ, God and man, who had to pay for the debts of mankind through His blood. Christ is the Bridge between heaven and earth, between God and man. Were it not for the Bridge, there would be no salvation for mankind. No one could walk on that Bridge until Christ was raised up from the grave. The Bridge was raised high and it has steps to enable man to mount it more easily. Climbing the Bridge and keeping to it means following the teachings of Holy Truth (= Christ).⁷⁹

Those who pass through earthly life, not keeping to the Bridge, but going through the river beneath it, will drown in the end. They have "blinded the eye of their intelligence (ch. 46) with the infidelity they have drawn over it by their (wrong) self-love." At their baptism "the pupil of faith" was potentially given to the eye of their intelligence, but when they reached the age of discernment, they turned away from God and virtuous life and consequently lost the light of faith. They deluded themselves by their own free choice. They will consequently "drown themselves in the river." They could have been saved, if they had just followed the voice of their conscience instead of their sensuality.

Man has to choose whether he wants to go "through the Bridge" or "through the river." Some people cross the Bridge in ordinary love, others in perfect love. Those who travel in ordinary love keep the commandments of Christ, but they follow His counsels in spirit only, and not in fact. For instance: they need not be poor, but they must possess their riches without any attachment to them. They must lay down all wrong self-love. They must use the three faculties (1, memory and consciousness, 2, intelligence and 3, will) of their soul properly, conforming their will to God's will. They will then have climbed the three stairs.⁸⁰ Those who keep Christ's commandments and His counsels in fact as well as in spirit travel through the Bridge in perfect love. They go the way of "great perfection," loving God and their neighbour. The doctrine of the Bridge (summarized in ch. 87) is closely connected to the doctrine of tears. Catherine wanted to be instructed on tears for this reason.

Catherine uses the picture of Christ as the Bridge to express the Christian doctrine of salvation, according to which Christ is the only Saviour of fallen mankind. Christ as the Bridge is Christ Mediator. Christ is the incarnate Word. He could pay off the guilt of mankind, because He was God and man. Were it not for His divinity, His work would not have had the "value of life." If we compare Catherine's doctrine of Christ as the Mediator between God and mankind with Augustine's statements in this matter,⁸¹ we have to notice some slight differences. Augustine considered Christ to be a mediator in His humanity, but not in His divinity. Christ in His humanity gave His life as a sacrifice to redeem the guilt of mankind.⁸² Catherine apparently assumes a much closer relationship between the two natures of Christ in the matter of the redemption of mankind by the sacrifice of His "eternal blood."⁸³ This in particular becomes clear from Chapter 110, where it is said:

So is this Word, my Son, His most gracious blood is a sun, wholly God and wholly human, for He is one thing with me and I with Him.⁸⁴

To Catherine, Christ, the Bridge is the incarnate word, whose blood brings salvation. As soon as the soul has passed through the narrow gate of the Word, immersed in His blood, it comes to me (God, the Father), the sea of peace" (ch. 131).

Another major difference with Augustine's doctrine of salvation is to be found in the way Catherine deals with human free will. We discussed the latter in the Part 11, above. Man must accept God's grace in free choice. Man is capable of free choice, because man's will is the only one of the three capacities (potenze) of man's soul which is not affected by original sin. Augustine thought that both body and soul, including the will, were affected by original sin.⁸⁵ On the one hand, Augustine says that man is free, on the other he says that man is capable of nothing good except through the grace of God. He reconciles these apparently contradictory statements by means of his concept of God's domination of man's will. Augustine emphatically says in his later writing De praedestinatione sanctorum,⁸⁶ that every willing of man which is good, is preceded by God's grace, or is the fruit of God's grace. God is capable of changing the will of man. If man wants something which is morally good, it is God's grace that makes man want this good. Fallen man in his own capacity has only a will for the worse, according to Augustine. If man accepts God's grace, it is God's grace that makes man accept this grace, in Augustine's opinion. God is the absolute master of all decisions of human will. Human freedom and human will must be considered from this point of view. From our previous discussion of free will in Catherine's doctrine it will be clear that she differs from Augustine in this matter. This difference is easily explained by the absence of the doctrine of predestination, which we discussed above. In Catherine's view, if people will be damned in the end, it will be their own fault. No divine predestination will have anything to do with their damnation. To Augustine's way of thinking divine omnipotence required a markedly different view of human will and freedom. Catherine never denied God's omnipotence. She believed in it (Orazioni). However, convinced as she is of God's great love of mankind, (God's essence is love, in her view), she implicitly denies any divine predestination of those who will be blessed or damned, while stressing human free will. She emphatically says that the only way God draws people to Him is by love. God wants man's salvation, but He never forces man in any way to accept His salvation except by His love. This is the way God chose it to be. Man's free will is a great gift of God. God Himself guaranteed this gift, even in the process of salvation. Free will, being a gift of God, does not affect God's power in any way according to Catherine. Her view reminds us of Bernard of Clairvaux in his writing De gratia et libero arbitrio. Like Bernard, she considers free will something belonging to the dignity of man, who is made in the image of God. The essence of will is that it is free.

Man's free will is a great gift of God, and it also is a great responsibility. If man makes the wrong choice, his end will be damnation. If man wants to be saved, he has to make his choice for the Bridge. Without the Bridge there is no salvation for man. Man needs salvation, in order to live a virtuous life. Catherine certainly is in accordance with Augustinian doctrine, in stressing man's need of salvation. Also, her opposition of the voice of conscience to sensuality is not alien to Augustine. The same is true of man's need of baptism, which sets man free from original sin. Man can lose the light of faith given to him in baptism, if he turns away from God and the virtuous life. According to the Orazioni, man can even become bestial in this way. By this Catherine means that the rational faculty of man's soul can be affected by man's turning away from God. This doctrine reminds us of Augustine's doctrine of illumination in some way.⁸⁷ Augustine taught that the human mind functions through illumination by the divine Logos. Man's rational capacity belongs to the image of God in man, or as Augustine puts it, man's rational soul is the image of God in man. Even in man's fallen condition man's reason is exalted by the divine "informing," so that God is the light by which are known whatsoever things are known, temporal or eternal. This general conception of knowledge is employed by Augustine in all areas of science, including physical science, aesthetics and moral values. God, the inward illuminator, is the cause of the certainties of all sciences. The human mind enlightened by God judges corporeal things (sensibilia) according to incorporeal and eternal principles (rationes), which, unless they were above the human mind, would certainly not be unchangeable.⁸⁸ In Augustine's opinion, those principles or rationes are the Platonic Ideas, which are in the mind of God, that is, in the divine Logos. The human mind illuminated by the eternal ideas judges everything in accordance with the Ideas, including physical objects (which in their turn are an image of the Ideas). According to Augustine (who bases himself in this respect on the Prologue of the Gospel of St. John), both nature and the human mind are informed "by the Divine Logos."⁸⁹ If man accepts God's grace, he may grasp religious truths through his reason. Faith will serve him to achieve these truths, which he would not otherwise have understood. As long as man is alive on earth, man's reason will never be completely blinded. Man will certainly not become bestial by losing his rationality. On the other hand, conversion to God enables man to reach greater knowledge, to wit religious knowledge.

Catherine, considering the capacity for rational thinking the most important capacity of man's soul, and part of the image of God in man, often speaks of the illumination of the soul by Divine Truth. In doing so, she is in accordance with Augustine, as she is when calling God the real object of man's soul. Augustine speaks of the Divine Logos as of Truth (= Veritas). Catherine calls Christ the incarnate Word (= Logos) Truth (= Verita), but she does not relate the Divine Truth to the Platonic ideas. Her doctrine of divine illumination is missing this Augustinian epistemological concept. According to Catherine, Divine Truth enables man to reason well by enlightenment, giving man the light of faith in baptism, without which light man cannot "follow Christian doctrine and the footsteps of the Word" (Or. X, 76). Light of faith enables man's intelligence to see and understand religious truth and consequently man's will becomes full of love of that which intelligence has understood. A functioning, discerning intelligence is necessary for following Christ in His footsteps, that is, "to keep to the Bridge." The stress laid on the importance of intelligence certainly is an Augustinian element in Catherine's thought. This also is true of the three capacities of the soul, which, forming the image of God in man, must always work together (Dial. ch. 52 sq). Memory, which includes consciousness, is related to God, the Father; intelligence to the Son; will to the Holy Spirit. This reference to the three Persons of the Trinity elucidates the unity of God's image in man. Ordinary light of faith is needed by man in order to make the capacities of his soul function well. The latter is necessary, whether man passes through earthly life keeping to the Bridge in ordinary love or in perfect love.

(e) ad V. Doctrine of Tears.

Chapters 88 through 99 discuss five kinds of tears, corresponding to the spiritual levels of the soul's progress. On the lowest level of spiritual improvement for the better, the soul weeps out of fear of punishment, on the highest level, that of the union with God, the soul sheds "sweet tears of charity." (See our discussion of Catherine's doctrine above).

Tears are an accompanying phenomenon of the soul's way of perfection, which is the way of the soul's salvation through Christ, who is the Bridge between heaven and earth.

(f) ad VI. The Doctrine of Truth.

In chapters 98 through 109, Catherine speaks of Christ as of "Gentle First Truth." Truth is the real object of the soul's contemplation. Truth enlightens the soul in order to make it see the transitory nature of this world. This is ordinary light of faith. Without this enlightenment the soul would be incapable of discerning between good and evil. When the soul is enlightened by ordinary light of faith, it ought not be content, but must desire to advance to a new spiritual stage. The light will give it the will to advance to a greater perfection.

In this second light there are two kinds of perfect souls. The first kind of these perfect souls occupies itself with mortifying the body, rather than with killing wrong self-love. However, those souls are perfect as long as their desire for penance has its roots in Christ and not in pride. They must learn that it is Truth who decides what is necessary for their salvation and perfection, whether this is consolation or trial. The second kind of perfect soul sees that Christ gives everything out of love. These souls accept everything for love of God. Their love has prudence as its counterpart. They consider themselves deserving of suffering, but they also consider themselves unworthy of any benefits that may come to them through their suffering. They conform their will completely to the will of God. They rejoice in everything. They do not judge the degree of perfection of others or constrain them to follow the same way. They do not base themselves on penance, but on Truth Himself. They are given right discernment in order to know whether visions and consolations given to them are from God or not.

Catherine asks God for more mercy for herself and her companions. She also wants to know the sins of the clergy so that she may intensify her prayers for the mystical Body of Christ. God tells her to pray, reminding her of the responsibility of knowledge.

The doctrine of the Truth is an epistemological account of the doctrine of Christ as the Bridge. (See III, 2 (d), above). Catherine's concept of truth is influenced by Augustinian doctrine, although there are also differences. Catherine calls Truth the real object of the soul. This is Augustinian doctrine.⁹⁰ Catherine also speaks of "gentle first Truth." This utterance becomes clearer if we compare it to Orazione XV, 4 sq. There it is said that Truth makes, speaks and "works" all things. The meaning is that Truth is the worker and cause of everything. Like Augustine, who identified Truth and the Divine Logos, Catherine (Or. XV) considers Truth, the second person of the Trinity, the source of everything created. In her opinion, Truth also is the source of every truth human beings can achieve (Or, XV). This concept is also influenced by Augustinian doctrine.⁹¹ Catherine is in accordance with Augustine in ascribing man's achievement of truth, whether this is religious truth or scientific truth, to the illumination of man's intelligence by Truth (Or. XV).

We must keep in mind that the Augustinian concept of the Platonic Ideas is missing in Catherine's concept of Truth. (See III, 2 (d)), above. Ordinary light of faith is necessary in order to make man's intelligence function well. We know from Le Lettere and the Orazioni that this light is offered man in baptism. This ordinary light of faith can only be acquired by rejection of sensuality (Or. IX). Man risks losing his natural light of reason if he rejects the light of faith. The soul is more or less perfect according to its ability to correctly use its natural light of intelligence (Or. XXI, 114). This is only possible in the light of faith, for by rejecting this light of faith man even risks losing his natural light of reason. Catherine evidently goes further than Augustine in considering the relationship between faith and intelligence so close. According to Catherine (Dial. 98; Or. 12) the human soul is endowed with the capacity of (levare se sopra di se), elevating itself to the knowledge of God in the light of reason which belongs to the soul by nature, if reason is enlightened by the light of faith. It is the light of reason guided by faith, that enables man to go "the way of Truth (= the Bridge)." The three capacities of the soul (memory, including consciousness, intelligence and will), forming the image of the trinitarian God in man, always work together (Dial 51). Therefore, if intelligence accepts divine grace and the light of faith, man's will and memory are involved as well. Like Augustine in his De Trinitate, Catherine relates memory to God the Father; intelligence to the Son; and will to the Holy Spirit (Or. XII; Or. XIII; Or. XVII; Dial 111). The Father is the Power, the Son Wisdom and the Holy Spirit Mercy (Dial. 140), which also reminds us of Augustine in his De Trinitate. The unity of the three persons of the Trinity, always working together, guarantees the unity and cooperation of the three capacities of the soul, which form the trinitarian image of God in man. It is in Christ's eternal blood (Or. IX) that the soul knows the light of God's truth (Or. XII). Through the Passion of Christ the soul, guided by the light of grace, learns to know God's love of mankind. In the finite time of earthly life it is only by the light of grace that the soul will learn to know the essence of God in the infinite (Or. XII). The soul can only learn to know God to the extent that its three faculties (potenze) rise from the baseness of humanity, and to the extent that it learns to know God in His light through the light God has given to the soul. Catherine stresses the fact that self knowledge underlies the knowledge of God (Dial. IV). If the soul learns to know itself, it becomes humble and filled with hatred of sensuality.⁹² In this humility it is united to God. It will then be illuminated by the light of grace. It can go the way of perfection, which is the way of Truth, the Bridge. The soul, going this way, guided by "ordinary light," might even be endowed with supernatural light and reach greater perfection. Catherine is convinced that, during its earthly life, the soul can reach the knowledge of God in His essence (Or. XII).

(g) ad VII. The Mystical Body of the Church.

This section, which includes chapters 110-134, deals with the incarnation of Christ, the grace of God in Christ offered to man, and the place of the ministers in the Church. God has chosen His ministers, in order that through them Christ's holy blood and body would be administered to all members of the Church. Catherine is informed about the terrible sins of the clergy: impurity, pride and greed, but she is also told that no one is allowed to punish clergymen (or religious people) except he who has appointed them. Whatever the sins of the ministers might be, they are entitled to carry out their function as ministers of the blood of Christ. Catherine praises God as "light and fire," asking Him again for mercy for the Church and for the whole world.

In this section Catherine stresses the dignity of the Church, of its ministers (Dial 120) and of its members as well. The members of the Church have received greater dignity than the angels through the union with mankind which God made in Christ. God became man and humanity became God through the union of divine nature with human nature in Christ. Catherine's language is highly mystical in this section. This explains the deification of humanity. In this context Cavallini refers to Thomas Aquinas in one of his Sermons,⁹³ where it is said that the only begotten Son of God, wanting us to share in His divinity, took our nature, in order to make men gods by the fact that He had become man Himself. The ministers of the Church are sacrosanct as ministers of the Eucharistic mystery, whatsoever their sins may be.

(h) ad VIII. God's Providence.

Chapters 135 to 153 deal with God's general providence as well as with His special providence. (See our discussion of Catherine's doctrine in part 11, 5, above). The latter is especially evident in the way He provides for those who have chosen to be poor, and in the way He will provide in "a certain case." Catherine praises God and asks for instruction on obedience. Catherine was informed in providence in connection with her concern for "a certain case," mentioned in the beginning of the book.

(i) ad IX. Obedience.

In chapters 154 through 165, obedience is related to the obedience of Christ, who in obedience paid for Adam's sin. Only through obedience can mankind attain eternal life. There is ordinary obedience and a still more perfect obedience of religious people. It is obedience that conforms the soul to God in charity after the example of Christ. A characteristic of obedience is that it is accompanied by patience.

Like Thomas Aquinas in his writing De perfectione vitae spiritualis,⁹⁴ Catherine relates obedience to the obedience of Christ. She does not discuss obedience only here, but she also discusses it in many of her Lettere, for instance, Misc. 39; 67; 79 and 215. In her view, obedience is essentially connected with perfection, which is essentially charity. Obedience is the total and complete conformity of man's will to that of Christ. The greater obedience, the greater perfection and vice versa. So, it is by the fruit of obedience that charity enters heaven (ch. 153). Those who follow the commandments and the counsels of Christ in fact as well as in spirit have greater obedience than those who just keep the commandments in fact and in spirit, and follow the counsels not in fact, but in spirit only. Religious people who take the vow of obedience are expected to have a greater obedience than those who are outside a religious order. In all cases the merit of man's obedience is measured by man's love and charity. All human acts fulfilled in obedience have merit. Obedience is nourished by self-knowledge and knowledge of God. Since charity underlies all virtues and all virtues are linked together, (although God gives them differently to different people), it is understandable that obedience is always accompanied by patience.

(j) ad X Conclusion.

The last chapters (166-167) are a summary of the contents of the whole book. Catherine thanks the Holy Trinity.

3. The Orazioni

The Orazioni came to existence in the period 13761380. They are preserved in codices in libraries in Rome and Siena, and partly in codices in libraries in Naples and Vienna, whereas Orazione 25 and Orazione 26 are preserved on M.S. 1574 in the University Library of Bologna.⁹⁵ Catherine spoke her Orazioni in the Italian dialect of Siena.⁹⁶ Her secretaries, including Bartolomeo Dominici and Raimondo da Capua, wrote them down verbatim and translated them into Latin as well.

According to the testimony of Bartolomeo Dominici, Catherine spoke her Orazioni when she was in a state of ecstasy, having lost the use of her senses.⁹⁷ In this state which occurred nearly every day in the period 1376-1380 after she had received Holy Communion, she spoke with God in a clear and loud voice and uttered her Orazioni. Bartolomeo Dominici says in respect to the Orazioni:

Those words and their contents did not seem at all to belong to a woman; on the contrary they made the impression of being the doctrine and the memories of a great doctor.

Le Orazioni deal with Catherine's deepest feelings and thoughts on God's love of mankind, manifested in His creation of mankind and in the incarnation of the Word (= II Verbo). God is considered "love by essence." He created man for no other reason than His love for mankind to be. God, who, as Catherine puts it, knew us all in general and individually even before we were born (Or. 4), knew that man would sin, but this did not prevent Him from creating man. He created man in His image and likeness, giving man the three faculties of the soul: memory, intelligence and will (Or. 1, Or. 7, Or. 17), which reflect the Trinity.⁹⁸ This trinitarian image in man is damaged by Adam's fall and stained by original sin, but man's will is still free after the fall (Or. 7). Man's will is so strong that neither God nor the Devil can overrule it, if man does not want it to be overruled. God, who created man out of love, wanted man's salvation. This is why Christ (God and man) was incarnated. Man could not pay his own debts, because man's works are finite, and God, the Father could not do penance either (Or. 10). Christ paid for the debts of fallen mankind by his holy blood on the cross (Or. 12).

Christ offers man the light of grace in baptism which sets man free from original sin. Man has to accept this grace, when he has come to the age of discernment (Or. 9). Even fallen man is not totally deprived of the light of intelligence, but man has to use his rational faculty very carefully. Otherwise man risks becoming bestial by losing even the natural light of his intelligence (Or. 5). Fallen man must accept Christ's grace offered to him in baptism, in order to free himself from wrong self-love and sensuality, and to find the real object of his soul, which is God (Or. 21). Since God has created man without man, but is not going to save man without man, man must accept God's grace through his own free choice. God, who has created man for no other reason than His great love for mankind to be wants man's salvation but He does not force man to accept His grace. God, being love by essence, draws man only by His love (Or. 1). If man accepts God's grace, man will be recreated into a real image of God (Or. 21). Then the three faculties of man's soul will function well, because his soul will no longer be darkened by sensuality and wrong self-love (Or. 20). There will then be a reciprocal conformity between man's soul and the Holy Trinity through the light which the Holy Trinity infuses into man's soul. Man's will becomes stronger and stronger in loving God. Then man will reach the destiny he was created for. He will love God and consequently, his neighbour (Or. 8).

IV. Summary

We have discussed the most important themes of Le Orazioni, many of which are also dealt with in Il Dialogo and in Le Lettere. However, Catherine deals with the same subjects from different aspects in her different writings. In Il Dialogo she deals with the soul's way to spiritual perfection in connection with God's providence (which implies the entire doctrine of salvation), whereas in Le Orazioni she primarily focusses her attention on God as the Creator of mankind and His salvation of fallen mankind (which implies the doctrine of the soul made in God's image and likeness). Le Orazioni and the other writings prove Catherine's talent for writing and preaching. Her writing demonstrates her knowledge of and mastery of many topics of religious philosophy: the nature of God, the nature of knowledge of God, the nature of the soul, the relationship of God to man, the relationship between intelligence, faith and virtue, and, the religious foundation of moral action, in particular that exemplified by charity towards our neighbour. Her preaching makes her a true member of the order of St. Dominic. Moreover, her writing and preachings demonstrate that her involvement in Church politics was based on her philosophical and theological conviction that her knowledge imposed on her a duty to act on her beliefs, even at great personal risk. In doing so she is in the company of all those Christian philosophers who were more or less influenced by Plato and Platonism, and whose philosophy always implied a way of life in accordance with the system of their philosophy. The old concept that philosophy was more than an intellectual system and necessarily implied "a way of life" was still alive in the Middle Ages. Catherine, who certainly was longing to be granted martyrdom for Christ's sake, was faithful to the old Platonic tradition of philosophy.

Notes

⁶⁹ It was probably finished in the spring of 1378 before Catherine left for Rome. See G. Cavallini, S. Caterina da Siena, II Dialogo, (Edizioni Cateriniane, Roma 1968); Suzanne Noffke, Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, London/New York 1980, (Introduction).

⁷⁰ Girolamo Gigli, Il Dialogo, in Opere Cateriniane, IV, Lucca 1726.

⁷¹ M. Fiorilli, Il Dialogo, in Scrittori d'Italia, Bari 1912.

⁷² Giuliana Cavallini, S. Caterina da Siena, Il Dialogo della Divina Provvidenza, Edizioni Cateriniane. Roma 1980. (1. Roma 1968).

⁷³ In her Introduction to Il Dialogo Cavallini gives a survey of all previous text editions.

⁷⁴ Suzanna Noffke, Catherine of Siena, the Dialogue, London/New York, 1980.

⁷⁵ See P. Delfgaauw in La Doctrine de la perfection selon St. Bernard, in Collections Cisterciennes 40, 1978, 115e-1 18. (Collectanea Cisterciensia, ed. Forges, Abbaye Cistercienze de Scourmont, 1965 sq.)

⁷⁶Summa Theologiae II, II, q. 188, a7, ad resp. e adl. Tanta erit unaquaeque religio secundum paupertatem perfectior, quanto habet paupertatem proportionatam proprio fini. (To Thomas poverty and the other counsels have to serve the goal of man's salvation).

⁷⁷ The Franciscan order demanded absolute poverty, chastity and obedience. See Rule II (Regula II, bullata of 1223). St. Francis thought this the way of living in accordance with Christ's claims in the gospel. (See Testamentum 14).

⁷⁸ In her figurative language Catherine describes a bridge, comparable to the famous (and today still standing) "ponte vecchio" in Florence. For instance in ch. 27, she says that the bridge has walls of stones, so that handlers will not be hindered by rain.

⁷⁹ Catherine often speaks of "Gentle first Truth," meaning Christ. St. Augustine also spoke of Truth (Veritas), referring to the divine Logos, in many of his writings.

⁸⁰ See above for a more detailed description of the stairs.

⁸¹ See for instance Confessiones X ch. 43.

⁸² See Sermo 152,9 (Patrologiae Latinae cursus 38, 824).

⁸³ See also Orazione VI.

⁸⁴ See Noffke. op. cit., p. 206; see also G. Cavallini, op. cit., p. 264. N.B. The comparison of Christ to a sun apparently is of Augustinian origin. The same holds for the image of Christ as heavenly physician in Or. VI, which picture appears in Augustine's Sermones. (See J. Eykenboom, Het Christus medicus motiefin de preken van S. Augustinus, Assen 1960. Catherine's speaking of the ineffability of God also reminds us of Augustine in In Evangelium Johanni, 1,5.

⁸⁵ See De civitate Dei XII, 26; De anima et eius origine, ch. 12,19.

⁸⁶De praedestinatione sanctorum, ch. 17 Sermno 177.

⁸⁷De Trinitate XII, 10,24.

⁸⁸ See for instance De Trinitate XII, 2,2.

⁸⁹De diversis quaestionibus 83, no. 46.

⁹⁰ The concept that the soul must return to God for its own good and happiness is found in all the writings of Augustine, for instance in De vita beata, where it underlies the entire argument.

⁹¹ See Augustine in the "Cassiacum Dialogues," passim; for instance Contra Academicos III, and in De Magistro, passim; De Trinitate, passim.

⁹² This concept compares with Augustine's doctrine of conversion in his Confessiones (passim).

⁹³ Thomas Aquinas, Sermo, in Opusc. 57. G. Cavallini, Santa Caterina da Siena, il Dialogo, Rome 1980, p. 264.

⁹⁴De perfectione vitae spiritualis, ch. 12.

⁹⁵ For the history of the manuscripts, see G. Cavallini in the Introduction of her text edition of Le Orazioni, Roma 1978.

⁹⁶ Catherine's language influenced the literary Italian of later centuries.

⁹⁷ See G. Cavallini in the introduction of Le Orazioni, Roma 1978, p. XII. Cavallini mentions II Processo Castellano a cura di MH. Laurent (F.V.S.C.S.H.IX) as her source.

⁹⁸ Memory (memoria) refers to God the Father, intelligence to the Son and will to the Holy Spirit. The influence of St. Augustine (De Trinitate passim) is very clear. Like the Augustinian "memoria," memory implies consciousness.