Second only to Divine Mercy in My Soul, this book had the greatest impact on my spiritual reformation.
This opening line, God speaking to St. Catherine, captured my heart and soul: "Open the eye of your intellect, and gaze into Me, and you shall see the beauty of My rational creature."
A vibrant simplicity, reminiscent of Augustine, at times, fills this series of treatises in which St. Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church and mystic hears God the Father answering her requests in order to receive help to be saved. Between the most important aspects of the books are the communit ...more
I'm not sure if it was the translation I had or just my mood. But this was not an easy read. I just read it in small doses, which is why it took me so long to read it. ...more
Read during my prayer time for five months and it’s five-star quality but some was so dense I couldn’t retain it (this is a nice way of saying I am too dumb to understand some of the saint’s language).
It is full of wisdom for a person who wants to live for God. I was enlightened and convicted 100 t ...more
One of the things I knew about St. Catherine before reading this book was that she was a “mystic,” and that was clearly evident in reading her dialogue with God. This book is not easy for the average religious young person to get through, because it can become terribly abstract at times, but yet the ...more
This qualifies as one of the best books of all times, in my humble opinion. It is fulfilling and life-changing, and satisfied my craving for knowledge, bringing one of those feelings of contentment and joy you can only feel in the heart. It is insightful, and at the same time not too complex for our ...more
Catherine of Siena, the second woman to be named a Doctor of the Church, had a complex and beautiful theology, fully Trinitarian yet alternating the focus between Father, Son and Spirit. This book is actually a compilation of several discourses on such topics as:
A profound reading experience. I plan on reading it again next year (God willing) during the Lenten season. So helpful on one's spiritual journey. ...more
For Aristotle, exercising every one of the moral virtues depends on possessing the virtue of practical wisdom, phronesis. However, he doesn’t delve into exactly how a person develops this key virtue in his Ethics. Discernment seems to be the equivalent of phronesis ...more