Saint Catherine de Ricci - Stigmatist - Visionary - Mystic
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Five years later, on Easter Sunday, she prayed to the Lord to give her a new heart, because she said "With this weak heart of mine, I cannot love you properly." Then, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, she went into ecstasy, and Our Lord appeared to Catherine and gave her a new heart, made of flesh. She said that her heart felt as if it was on fire. She had asked to love Him with a heart that could love Him as He deserved. Whose heart could better love Him than that of Mother Mary! Who knew how to truly love her Son, if not His Mother? Our Lord, when she asked for a new heart that could properly love Him, gave her the heart of His Mother Mary. From that time on, she said her heart was no longer hers, but that of Jesus, Mother. The following year, the 15th of April, 1542, she was mystically married to Jesus. [Now, many Saints we have written about have been given that special blessing by the Lord: St. Catherine of Siena, St. Gemma Galgani, St. Veronica Giuliani to mention just a few. But the outward sign of St. Catherine de' Ricci's marriage was the most unusual we have ever heard.] Our Lord appeared to the young girl in a brilliance, reminiscent of the Transfiguration. He took her hand in His and kissed it; then He took a gleaming ring off His own finger and placed it on the ring finger on her left hand, saying, "My daughter, receive this ring as pledge and proof that thou dost now, and ever shalt, belong to Me." Now, this has happened before to many Saints. The difference with this Mystical Marriage was that there were witnesses to this miracle! The ring actually manifested itself in a physical ring of gold and diamonds. That's how St. Catherine saw it all her life. It was seen and testified to by three of the nuns in the community, all of whom were mature nuns. Only they saw something different from Catherine. They saw a red mark around the finger, as if the ring had made a mark on her finger. There was a larger red mark, in the form of a stone, but not a stone, appearing where a stone would be on an actual ring. One description given was that it looked like a ring had been buried under the skin. This miraculous manifestation was seen by all on Ascension Thursday and the Feast of Corpus Christi, lasting for the entire day, each time. The only exception to this was when the governor of Prato asked to see it. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, Catherine was brought into the church so that he would be able to view the ring. As soon as she approached him, the ring disappeared, and did not reappear until he left. The ring became an important area of contention not only in her lifetime, but later, in the process of her Beatification and Canonization. [However, the Lord triumphed; her sincerity and spirituality were authenticated and she was officially added to the Communion of Saints.] Catherine's superior tried to find a way to remove the cause of the problem, the red mark on her finger. Catherine was open to any methods the superior chose to remove the mark. But all the time, Catherine insisted, she couldn't see any mark on her finger; what she could see was a magnificent ring of gold adorned with brilliant diamonds that Our Lord Jesus had given her. When she had been mystically married to Jesus, there was a truly celestial celebration, as is proper for such a monumental event. But she was to learn that, as she was married to Jesus Resurrected, she was also married to Christ Crucified. A year after the mystical marriage, she went into a long ecstasy which lasted twenty-eight hours! She saw a beautiful Angel approach her with the arrows of the Passion, and felt the pains shoot into her hands, feet and side. She collapsed in complete ecstasy mingled with agony; now, she was truly the Bride of Christ. Stigmata Her Stigmata was somewhat different from any we have ever researched, in that it was manifested in different ways to different people. Some saw what is considered the traditional Stigmata, that is the hands, feet and side pierced and bleeding. Others saw a brilliant light coming from the wounds, so dazzling they had to look away. Then there were those who saw healed wounds, with just the red puffiness and swelling of wounds that had healed, black spots appearing in the center (of the wounds). In these instances, the blood under the skin appeared to be flowing in a circular movement around the black center. Catherine actually experienced, in a mystical sense, the agonies suffered by Our Lord Jesus Christ during His Passion and His Crucifixion. The following Monday, she saw a beautiful lady dressed in red, coming out of one of the cells in the convent. She walked down the corridor of the dormitory toward Catherine. It was Saint Mary Magdalen! She beckoned Catherine to follow her. Now, Catherine was bleeding and weak from the agony she had endured during the twenty-eight hours of the Passion. At first, she tried to beg off, but in the end she obeyed. She walked, her back bent, her shoulder aching and bruised from carrying the cross. But this all passed, for before her stood her Risen Lord, bathed in a shower of light and He was splendid to behold. She fell to her knees in adoration. All her aches and pains turned into joy! These visions began when she was in her early twenties, and continued until her mid-thirties. They took place every week. She actually went through Christ's agony, as if she were doing it in place of Jesus, or as if He was suffering in her body. This would begin Thursday evening, in memory of Holy Thursday and the Agony in the Garden, through to Friday in communion with Our Lord's Crucifixion on Good Friday, ending on Saturday. She was lost in deep meditation, the entire time. The only time she came out of it, for a short period, was when she received the Eucharist each morning. She would regain consciousness, receive her Lord, and sink right back into the sorrowful mystery of the Passion. This went on continuously for twelve years. Looking at it in the light of the tempest it caused when word got out, it became a real cross for the rest of the sisters in the convent. Prayers and penance were offered by all, including Catherine, for it to end. Finally, in 1554, as an answer to prayer, it stopped. A gentle sigh of relief was breathed by all concerned. However, this did not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that her ecstasies ended. Catherine was to be given an additional gift; she received the Crown of Thorns. One day, our Blessed Mother appeared to Catherine. She was holding crowns and offered them to Catherine: one of thorns and one of silver. She already had the Stigmata and was experiencing great pain; weak, she asked for the crown of silver. Our Lady said: "Catherine which crown did your spouse wear?" Catherine replied: "Then Mother Mary, place on my head the one my Lord wore." When we were interviewing the Mother Superior and one of her nuns, they shared: Catherine was very human! She did not desire pain; she desired to share in Jesus' pain, out of love for Him. |
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