St. Catherine of Siena

By: Missionary Team

We live in a crazy time. This is a time when we need change to help our struggling world. The saints show us that sometimes you need to be radical to help those who are struggling. One such saint was Saint Catherine of Siena.

In 1347, a little Italian girl was born in Siena, Italy, during the outbreak of the plague. Catherine was the youngest of 25 children. At the age of 16, Catherine began fasting and refused to marry. She even cut her hair so that she would be less attractive.

Catherine loved her family. She thought of her parents as Our Lord and Our Lady, and her brothers as the apostles. She was always willing to serve them. She lived a quiet life in her family’s household, and even after she became a Third Order Dominican. St. Catherine showed how to live with a servant’s heart - how to put others before yourself.

She was around 21 when she began to travel. As she traveled, she spread the need to reform the Catholic Church. She brought people back to God. She helped keep the states loyal to the Pope and started a Crusade to the Holy Land. What St. Catherine did was unconventional for her time. But she had faith that God would take care of her. She trusted that He would help her, because He had called her. She had to have courage and fight through the persecutions of those who did not agree with her. She had to be radical and make a change. She had to speak up and be a voice of truth in a troubled time.

St. Catherine shows us that to be different, to be radical, and to make a change is okay to do, as long as one is in accord with the Catholic Church. Women didn’t have much of a voice in the Church in the old days, yet St. Catherine didn’t let that stop her from speaking up about the evils going on and to fight for the truth.

St. Catherine shows us how we all should be. St. Catherine was Hard as Nails. But what does this mean?

To be Hard as Nails does not mean you have to be a missionary or a staff member. To be Hard as Nails means doing what is right, even when nobody else supports you. It means having courage, authenticity, and obedience. The courage means to speak the truth, even if you will be criticized and persecuted. To be authentic means being honest about what you know is true, and even your faults. And to be obedient to what God is asking you to do.

To be Hard as Nails is to put others before yourself. It means to be sensitive to the suffering of those around you and to be willing to make a change. It means living for Jesus, even if no one else will. This is how St. Catherine of Siena lived. She lived for others. She was sensitive to their needs and struggles. St. Catherine put God first. She was courageous, authentic, and obedient. Hard as Nails is not a new thing. It has been around for centuries through the saints. St. Catherine shows us this. This is who we are all called to be. We are called to be Hard as Nails.

YOU are called!

St, Catherine of Siena, pray for us, help us be more like you!