Day 2 Personal Reflections on Catherine of Siena’s, The Dialogue

Page 26 Service by Attaining and Possessing Virtue

“…-for she knew that she could be of no service to her neighbors in teaching or example or prayer without first doing herself the service of attaining and possessing virtue”(p.26)

In this section, Catherine petitions the Father for four actions, the first being for herself so she would be able to serve in teaching, example and prayer after attaining and possessing virtue. This brings to mind the words of the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” When praying the Jesus Prayer, the supplicant is praying for personal mercy rather than praying for another person. Is this not a selfish way to be praying, just as Catherine petitions the Father for her own virtue before other petitions that will benefit others?

In reality, Catherine acknowledges that she cannot possess virtue unless the Father gives it to her. She recognizes that she can do nothing without possessing this God-given gift; she cannot teach, be an example of pray for others unless God gives her the virtue to accomplish these actions. James tells us that, “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17, NRSV). Catherine prays in the knowledge that she can do nothing or give nothing unless she receives virtue from the Father. Without God’s virtue, she is useless.

Catherine remains true to the theme of uniting with God by using the fruit of this unity for His own purpose. Without this unity, she can do nothing. “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5, NRSV).

Catherine is correct in making her first petition to be for herself so she can serve others. The other three petitions are for reform of the Church, for the whole world, especially for peace of rebelling Christians, and finally for a private petition. Catherine lives a life dedicated to bringing about these last three petitions, relying on the help of God.

Catherine’s words remind us of the importance of praying for ourselves so we will have the will, discernment, desire, and ability to serve the Almighty.

I pray, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, your servant. Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, hear my prayer.

References

New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

R.J. Payne & E.H. Cousins, (1980). The Classics of Western Spirituality: Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue. Paulist Press: New York.

St. Catherine: The Dialogue

Become One with the Almighty Through Truth

Day One, Page 25

“And loving, she seeks to pursue truth and clothe herself in it.” p.25

Metaphor distinguishes Catherine’s Dialogue throughout. Here, she clothes herself in the pursuit of truth, by which she identifies herself as a Dominican, bearing the motto, VERITAS. Each time I wear the habit or don the Dominican cross, I commit myself to truth and pursuit of truth so that I, like Catherine, clothe myself in truth. Lord, I repent and ask for forgiveness should I misrepresent the truth intentionally or unintentionally, just as I forgive those who speak falsehoods.

A difficult task presents itself in forgiving those who spoke or speak falsehoods against me, or lambs persecuted by lies, for when touched by falsehoods, I experience the pain of being touched by evil, and so I have been wounded by lies. These servants of lies work for the evil one, master of lies and deceit. I pray out, “Satan be gone.” Lord help me with this task of forgiveness for I find it most challenging to do so. Only Your help will help me deliver forgiveness that bears the fruit of truth.

The pursuit of truth encourages and allows me to follow in Yeshua's footsteps, where no deceit can be found. In doing so, “through desire and affection and the union of love he makes of her another himself (p. 25.) In truth, through humble prayer, I become one with the Holy Trinity.

²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them (John 14:22-23 NRSV).

References

New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

R.J. Payne & E.H. Cousins, (1980). The Classics of Western Spirituality: Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue. Paulist Press: New York.

Intro

We are quite familiar with the Parable of the Sower and have studied the lessons learned a number of times. In the parable an anonymous sower broadly scatters the seed, which is the Word of God, some seed grows fruitfully while other seed does not.

This parable contains relevant truths for this time of year and this week in particular. This is the time of year when gardeners receive seed catalogues in the mail every day. I brought one along to show you just how many seeds there are! The Word of God is like that as well. The Word of God includes many different kinds of seeds, the seeds of love, seeds of faith, and seeds of justice and on it goes.

With it being the holiday of MLK I became curious about the seeds sown by Rev. King. As it turns out, Rev. King spoke a great deal about the various seeds of the Word. I want to give you a few examples and encourage you to read his sermons which can be found online.

The greatest seed of the Word is love. Here is what Rev. King said about the seed of love.

"Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you." This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love. Remember, if I am stopped, this movement will not stop, because God is with the movement. Go home with this glowing faith and this radiant assurance.

But Jesus says love them. And love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, "Love your enemy." This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it. Montgomery Bus Boycott speech, at Holt Street Baptist Church (5 December 1955)

Imagine the impact if Christians followed the Word and sowed the seed of love. We see people abandoning the Church and when I talk with some of these people I hear over and over that they do not see love in action. We have our petty squabbles that consume time, energy and destroy the health of the Church. Let’s turn Grace Church into one where the seed love bears good fruit.

Sometimes, we gardeners plant different seeds together. For example, a variety of salad greens grow together or a variety of wild flower seeds to grow a beautiful more natural looking garden.

Rev. King spoke about the seeds of love and justice being planted together.

Whatever we do, we must keep God in the forefront. Let us be Christian in all of our actions. But I want to tell you this evening that it is not enough for us to talk about love, love is one of the pivotal points of the Christian face, faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love

That is what the civil rights movement was all about. “Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love.” Rev. King used the Word of God to plant the seeds of love and justice. Let’s follow in his footsteps sowing the seeds of love and justice to correct that which revolts against love.