St. Catherine of Siena and the Reverence Due to Priests

When I first read St. Catherine of Siena’s The Dialogue several years ago, its contents impressed me in many ways. One message, though, etched itself on my memory more firmly than the others. To this day, when I think of this book, it is this message that I remember most: “The sins of the clergy should not lessen your reverence for them.” (Dialogue 116)

Like many Catholics, I have had wonderful encounters with saintly priests and tense encounters with their opposites. I have been tempted to share my stories of injustice, hoping for sympathy and understand-ing from listeners who know how dreadful it is to be slighted by a priest. Reading The Dialogue helped me to realize how important it is to pause in these times of temptation and resist any impulse to speak badly of a priest.

St. Catherine lived during a tumultuous time in the Church, when many priests were leading immoral lives and causing scandal for their flocks (although many holy priests lived during that time, too). She wrote The Dialogue in the fourteenth century, after having a profound mystical experience. In the book, a soul (St. Catherine) has a conversation with God and asks Him several questions, which He answers in great depth… He says: The reverence you pay to [priests] is not actually paid to them but to Me, in virtue of the blood, I have entrusted to their ministry. If this were not so, you should pay them as much reverence as to anyone else, and no more. It is this ministry of theirs that dictates that you should reverence them and come to them, not for what they are in themselves but, for the power I have entrusted to them, if you would receive the sacraments of the Church....

So, the reverence belongs not to the ministers, but to Me and to this glorious blood made one thing with Me because of the union of divinity with humanity. And, just as the reverence is done to Me, so also is the irreverence; for I have already told you that you must not reverence them for themselves, but for the authority I have entrusted to them…(116)

Sadly, derision of priests is not something that ended in St. Catherine’s time. It is still rampant today, and often, the criticism seems to come more from within the Church than without. The advent of social media has magnified the problem. Clergy from parish priests on up to the Vicar of Christ are publicly accused of being too traditional, not traditional enough, too weak, too heavy-handed, too ecumeni-cal, too doctrinal, too charismatic, or a host of other criticisms which the critics believe are justified.

But, The Dialogue says such criticism is never justified:

By not paying Me reverence in the persons of My ministers, they have lost respect for the latter and persecuted them because of the many sins and faults they saw in them…For no sin can lessen the power of this sacrament, and, therefore, their reverence should not lessen either. When it does, it is against Me they sin. (116) The Part of the Faithful: Tears and Prayers for Mercy

This sin of persecuting priests and denying them due honor, God tells St. Catherine, is “more serious than any other,” because those who do this are persecuting and dishonoring the blood of Jesus.

…That does not mean God is letting priests off the hook. On the contrary, He tells St. Catherine that priests who do evil and lead their flocks astray are devils… Because “things can be better known by looking at their opposites” (110), God tells St. Catherine of His faithful ministers who serve His people in humility and vir-tue, extolling them as “precious stones” whom God has set with the “greatest honor in everlasting life,” and the sight of them makes Him “gloriously happy.” (119) …The sacramental mystery cannot be lessened or divided by their sinfulness. Therefore, your reverence for them should never fail—not for their own sake, but because of the treasure of the blood. (118)

…You should hold [these sinful ministers] out to Me with tears and great desire, so that I in My goodness may clothe them with the garment of charity... Indeed, I have appointed them and given them to you to be angels on earth...as I have told you. When they are less than that, you ought to pray for them. But, you are not to judge them. Leave the judging to Me, and I, because of your prayers and My own desire, will be merciful to them. (120)

The more you offer Me sorrowful and loving desires for them, the more you will prove your love for Me. For the service neither you nor my other servants can do for Me you ought to do for them instead. Then, I will let Myself be constrained by the longing and tears and prayers of My servants, and will be merciful to my bride by reforming her with good and holy shepherds. (129)

 

Maura Roan McKeegan is the author of a series of children’s picture books about biblical typology, including: The End of the Fiery Sword: Adam & Eve and Jesus & Mary; Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus, and, most recently, Building the Way to Heaven: The Tower of Babel and Pentecost (Emmaus Road Publishing; available spring 2018). Her articles have appeared in publications such as Catholic Digest, The Civilized Reader, Franciscan Way, Guideposts, and Lay Witness.

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Join us for Beneath His Cross monthly prayer cenacle on first Thursdays: perhaps your prayers will be what is needed for the Lord to fulfill His promise to St. Catherine, documented in her famous work The Dialogue, to reform His bride, the Church, with good and holy shepherds…this is the time to act! Our prayer cenacle is not for the faint of heart, this is an hour and a half of ceaseless, fervent prayer, you could even call it a marathon or prayer boot camp: fighting for good and holy priests, and the very Church herself! If your heart aches every time you hear a negative story in the media about our priests and our Holy Catholic Church, this is your moment to act. If you are you up for the challenge, join us next on Thursday, May 2 at 6 PM. Late arrival is okay, every prayer matters!

For more information please contact Jessica Preciado
@ 925-354-1656
or visit: BeneathHisCross.com