September 15th - St. Catherine of Genoa

By Alban Butler

About this text

September 15 - ST. CATHERINE OF GENOA. Noble in birth, rich and exceedingly beautiful, Catherine had as a child rejected the solicitations of the world, and begged her divine Master for some share in His sufferings. At sixteen years of age she found herself promised in marriage to a young nobleman of dissolute habits, who treated her with such harshness that, after five years, wearied out by his cruelty, she somewhat relaxed the strictness of her life and entered into the worldly society of Genoa. At length, enlightened by divine grace as to the danger of her state, she resolutely broke with the world and gave herself up to a life of rigorous penance and prayer. The charity with which she devoted herself to the service of the hospitals, undertaking the vilest of offices with joy, included her husband to amend his evil ways and he died penitent. Her heroic fortitude was sustained by the constant thought of the Holy Souls, whose sufferings were revealed to her, and whose state she has described in a treatise full of heavenly wisdom. A long and grievous malady during the last years of her life only served to perfect her union with God, till, worn out in body and purified in soul, she breathed her last on September 14, 1510.

Catherine of Genoa - Purgation and Purgatory, The Spiritual Dialogue - Introduction by Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR - Paulist Press

While still in the flesh this blessed soul (Catherine) experienced the fiery love of God, a love that consumed her, cleansing and purifying all, so that once quitted this life she could appear forthwith in God's presence. As she dwelt on this love, the condition of the souls of the faithful in purgatory, where they are cleansed of the remaining rust and stain of sin, became clear to her. She rejoiced in her union with God in this loving purgatory, and so did the souls in purgatory, she realized, who have no choice but to be there, and this because of God's just decree.

These souls cannot think, "I am here, and justly so because of my sins," or "I wish I had never committed such sins for now I would be in paradise," or "That person there is leaving before me," or "I will leave before that other one." They cannot remember the good and evil in their past nor that of others. Such is their joy in God's will, in His pleasure, that they have no concern for themselves but dwell only on their joy in God's ordinance, in having Him do what He will. They see only the goodness of God, His mercy toward men. should they be aware of other good or evil, theirs would not be perfect charity. They do not see that their suffering is due to their sins, for that awareness would be a want of perfection, and in purgatory souls cannot sin. Only once do the souls understand the reason for their purgatory: the moment in which they leave this life. After that moment, that knowledge disappears. immersed in charity, incapable of deviating from it, they can only will or desire pure love. There is no joy save that in paradise to be compared to the joy of the souls in purgatory. This joy increases day by day because of the way in which the love of God corresponds to that of the soul, since the impediment to that love is worn away daily. This impediment is the rust of sin. as it is consumed the soul is more and more open to God's love.