Saint Catherine of Bologna
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Catherine of Bologna battles with the devil Whenever we are under attack from the slimy one, it is difficult to remember that God is in charge, and He is allowing this to strengthen us for even greater battles. The honeymoon over, God stood by and permitted Satan to tempt our little Catherine. But Sister Catherine was not so little that she could not tell the devil off when he tried to tempt her. When he really got under her skin and wouldn’t let up, she rebuked him, saying: “Be sure, evil spirit, you will not tempt me so openly nor so stealthily without my knowing it.” Or to quote one of our young members of the Junior Legion of Mary, “I recognize you sucker, scram!” The enemy was determined, she would fall; but God was more determined. She learned a very essential lesson from this which was: human nature is fragile; never underestimate the devil and his cunning. He is the one who makes jokes that he doesn’t exist, that concern over the devil is all nonsense. The Lord wanted to make sure that she would never pridefully believe she was a match for the devil and his cohorts. For what seemed an endless five years, from ages fifteen to twenty, the prince of darkness relentlessly attacked the one whom he knew was his mortal enemy. In her book, The Seven Spiritual Arms, our future Saint would not only write to warn future novices, but all Christians for generations to come. Catherine recounted battles waged and won. She dug into the horror of those years and wrote with pain remembered, so that the novices under her care would be forewarned and not fall prey to the father of lies. She shared her tears. Sometimes they were tears of blood like her Savior before her. Do you ever wonder what Jesus suffered in the Garden that He shed tears of Blood, and now, what Catherine experienced that she did as well? In the end, she vanquished the enemy. God was the victor! The Cross triumphed! She had glorious wounds, sustained in battle to remind her always and to pass on that truth that Satan is alive and he never sleeps. But she also learned, God is always nearby; we are not alone. As we read and write, we discover and rediscover that attacks by the enemy are always on obedience! God has always acted on obedience, as far back as Genesis, counteracting disobedience with obedience. Satan attacked Adam and Eve by tempting them to disobey! God raised up a faithful son who would obey; Abraham obeyed the Father, but that was not enough. Then, God asked a little virgin and Mary obeyed the Father. Finally, God asked His only begotten Son and Jesus obeyed the Father; and because of His obedience, the Father on Calvary forgave the sins of the world. But that is not the end of the story. God has been asking for obedience of His Saints and acting through that obedience down through the centuries. Catherine was one of those Saints. Because of the power of obedience and the destruction caused by one act of disobedience, Satan attacked Catherine mercilessly. First, he tempted her to disobey her Superior. Then, Satan appeared as Jesus Crucified, and using the holy form of Our Savior, attempted to devastate her by berating her for feigning remorse over her rebellious disobedience of her Superior. Although Catherine was confused and trying to recall when she had done so, she knew that Jesus would not lie, and so she was mortified. She cried, judging herself the worst sinner. Satan hates contrition for our sins. He knew he had failed and so he attacked her with vile thoughts, uttering blasphemies against the Lord that ripped away at her very soul! Another attack did not go as he expected. Satan came disguised as the Blessed Virgin, accusing Catherine of desiring sinful love, telling her, the Lord would withhold His precious Love from her. She came through those attacks weary but not beaten. Knowing her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, how she spent hours, day and night, consoling Our Lord in the Tabernacle, Satan pulled out all stops, and went after her belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He put doubts into her mind, torturing her because suddenly she did not feel anything towards the Eucharist. She agonized over the dryness she felt during the elevation of the Host at Mass. Satan so tormented her, she collapsed on the ground before the other nuns, almost out of her mind with grief. At last! One morning during Mass Our Lord revealed to Catherine that He was truly Present in the Eucharist. When she received Holy Communion, “she felt and tasted the sweetest, purest Flesh of the Immaculate Lamb, Christ Jesus.” Then her beloved Seraphic father St. Francis appeared to her and encouraged her to be faithful and to stand firm, assuring her that God was always with her, even when she did not understand. In thanksgiving for the Lord manifesting this Miracle of the Eucharist to confound the enemy, Catherine became an advocate of frequent Communion at a time when this was not an accepted practice of the Church. “....Whom the Lord loves He reproves, and He chastises the son He favors.” Our Lord never left Catherine alone. Lest she forget, God gave her a glimpse of the Final Judgment, during one of her ecstasies. It was so horrible, so terrifying, so revolting, she never forgot it. This burned such an image on her mind, she developed an intense repulsion for even her smallest transgressions, seeing each and every imperfection, as an ugly scar on her soul. [We received a book on Purgatory at EWTN. After reading it, we began to look at each action with how much time in Purgatory it would cost. And so, the luxuries, we sometimes take, committing what we judge, minor infractions (as they are called today) or more aptly venial sins, takes on different dimensions. Suddenly venial sins do not look so venial.]
Reference: "Visionaries, Mystics and Stigmatists." For More information about Saint Catherine of Bologna Click here |
