Running parallel to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ three-year call to Eucharistic Revival, the pastors of Our Lady of the Valley Parish have dedicated a year of their pastoral ministry to the patronage of St. Catherine of Siena.
Since Aug. 7, Father Mark Edney, pastor of Our Lady of the Valley, and associate pastor Father Ed Horning have been teaching the life of St. Catherine, her written works, spirituality, closing each weekend homily with “St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us.”
They began giving classes on the life of St. Catherine for the faithful every Wednesday evening, in English at St. Mary and in Spanish at Our Lady of Guadalupe, the two churches that comprise the parish.
Father Edney suggested the parish dedicate the year to St. Catherine and study her life, including reading her book, “The Dialogue.”
“It came to be because we live in a pretty difficult time for our people,” the pastor said. “We struggle with the pandemic, political and social divisions, and even divisions in the Church.”
He said that St. Catherine lived in the 14th century and, “in many ways, her times were like ours.”
“She was born during the Black Plague. She faced divisions in her society, civil wars, corruption in society, laxity in the Church, and suffering in great poverty because of all the conflict, and half of the population of Europe destroyed by the plague.”
Full story at The Southern Cross.
Wow. Look at that packed church. :/
Interesting choice.
They keep giving up Mathew Kelly books at my parish.
She was (is) an amazing lay woman who spoke truth to an erring Pope. Thankfully, Pope Gregory XI listened to her.
Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.
People keep pointing out think St Catherine as though she wagged her finger in the Pope’s face. She emphatically did not. She would never give such disrespect to the hierarchy as we see today on social media (and even here on this website). Her confessor was aware of her piety and her visions, and insisted that the Pope meet her. When the Pope met her, she did not dare to give her opinion on where the Papacy should be located. Under obedience she finally told the Pope, “You need to listen to the vow you made to the Lord” – which sealed the deal for the Pope because he had privately made a vow to God to return to Rome. St Catherine never criticized the Pope. Only after her death did her confessor reveal that she had visions of where the Papacy should be.