Saint Catherine of Siena
St. Catherine of Siena faced numerous attacks and temptations during her life
- Fighting in temptation for attacks on her chastity.
- Exorcism, initiated by the Saint with her charisma, managed to free possessed people.
- Through his prayers he asked the Holy Spirit to help him overcome temptation.
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Attacks and temptations in St. Catherine
St. Catherine of Siena is one of the saints most admired for her simplicity, candor and wisdom. Although she could not write, the Lord granted her the gift of infused science, as well as the gift of miracles, prophecy and many other mystical gifts. St. Catherine of Siena was especially loved by the Lord. One only has to read her "Dialogue of Divine Providence" to understand how special their relationship was. Jesus often appeared to her and once told her, "You are so dear to me that whatever grace you ask of me, I will grant it."
Despite her high spirituality and the heroic nature of her virtues, St. Catherine faced spiritual attacks and extraordinary temptations. The evil one had received permission from God to attack her chastity with great ferocity. She had a strong rebellion of the senses, for the seduction of evil was very strong within her, so much so that she doubted whether she was in God's grace. She experienced all kinds of obscenities in her heart and was even assailed by demons that came to her in the form of men and women performing impure acts and urging her to evil. Although these temptations were external, they still penetrated the heart and mind of the Sienese virgin through her senses. She herself confessed that her heart was full of these temptations, to resist which she had nothing left but her will alone.
These impure storms were repeated frequently and pressed upon her more and more. One day, when Jesus appeared to her, St. Catherine said to him, "Where were you, my sweet Lord, when my heart was full of so much darkness and filthiness?" Catherine was aware that all this evil had invaded her. She felt deeply soiled and Jesus answered her, "My child, I was in your heart." She retorted, saying, "And how was it that you dwelt in my heart in which there was so much mud? Do you then dwell in such places?" and Jesus said to her, "Catherine, did those filthy thoughts of your heart give you pleasure or affliction, bitterness or delight?" This is the criterion of divine discernment. Jesus does not trivialize evil; he does not tell Catherine not to see sin on all sides, not to be so scrupulous. Instead, Jesus calls evil by its name.
Today, however, many spiritual directors appease penitents by downplaying sin and temptations. In doing so, they do not solve people's drama, because this is not the true criterion of discernment. They do not bring peace to people, who feel sinful or immersed in impurity, because they do not take into consideration the faith journey these people wish to take.
Jesus asks Catherine a question, a question we should always keep in our hearts to discern not only impurities, but all sins and all our thoughts in general. Jesus says, "Did those thoughts of your heart give you pleasure or affliction, bitterness or delight?" This must be the criterion of discernment. Catherine can only answer how they brought her extreme bitterness and great affliction. And Jesus confirms to her, "And who was the one who put such bitterness in your heart if not I, who was hiding in the depths of your heart? Believe me, my daughter, if I had not been present, those thoughts that surrounded your will could have brought it down. They would certainly have torn it down and entered into it. Your free will would have welcomed them and thus they would have killed your soul".
Jesus is precise, not using strong expressions just to impress. If Catherine had welcomed those thoughts, she would have died in her soul, because those thoughts are thoughts of death. Let us also keep this in mind: impurity is death of the soul. In warning us about this, however, Jesus also gives us hope of salvation, because he emphasizes that if we do not want to welcome those thoughts, he is there in our souls to put enough resistance and repugnance in our hearts to make us overcome evil. Otherwise, by denying Jesus, we welcome evil, allowing sin to kill our soul.
Jesus then continues his encouragement to Catherine, telling her that the temptations she has overcome have been of great merit to her, helpful to other souls and have increased virtue and strength in her. Not only is there no sin, but this struggle enables her to grow in holiness and to spread the very gift of holiness to other brothers and sisters.
The real battle against all temptations, wherever they come from, takes place at the mental level. If you cannot overcome temptation in your mind, you will eventually succumb to it. In fact, actions are preceded by thoughts and intentions, so overcoming temptation at the level of thought is crucial in order not to fall into undesirable behaviors. However, it is necessary to learn to recognize temptation, because it often creeps in subtly and progressively. Unmasking it is crucial to resisting it effectively, because there is always a way out, even when it seems difficult. We always have the choice to resist it by asking for Jesus' help, who will give us the inner strength to overcome these challenges, as St. Catherine showed us.
Many spiritual directors, with more or less plausible justifications, advise not to read "The Dialogue of Divine Providence," lest we get scruples and even the fear of going to hell creeps in. True, in those dialogues, God the Father says tremendous things by virtue of a strict logic that, combined with great hope, is the only way to attain salvation and holiness. However, it is important to remember that God's mercy is infinite and that hope in it should always overcome the fear of judgment.
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