I have no idea why I’m exploring these women saints from hundreds of years ago – no point in asking me! : >
Actually, maybe, I just have an itch to know why they did what they did, what they believed that made them behave in those ways. I’m just trusting the itch.
Catherine of Siena is interesting – she not only existed, she had visions from a young age, got the Pope to move back to Rome from Avignon in France, was a teacher and coach to many levels of society, liked politics, wrote tons of letters, wrote prayers, and dictated an entire book while in states of ecstasy. Which reminds me of Edgar Cayce – which is probably the first time that comparison has ever been made.
The book I ordered from the library is fairly incomprehensible – not nearly as clear and simple as Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle (with whom I’ve argued for years). So I ordered another couple of books by and about her.
I get that being spiritual was one way to avoid dying in childbirth, or having 25 children, and watching half of them die (which happened to her mother).
One fact I’ve ascertained so far – Catherine was a serious anorexic (which might have been a problem for Teresa of Avila, too), and it was probably that or complications from that which finally killed her at the age of 33.
I’ll keep you posted as I focus and learn…..