The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena

Saint Catherine of Siena’s Dialogue describes the entire spiritual life through a series of conversations between God and the soul, represented by Catherine herself. Readers of The Dialogue will find Catherine’s revelations from God as informative—and formative—as those who recognized her sanctity during her life. The universally applicable yet intimately personal messages she received from God are as much for us as they were for Catherine. We can read God’s communications to his beloved daughter with detached awe or we can receive His messages to us through her writings. Do you long for certainty that Divine Providence exists in the midst of our chaotic world? Does your prayer seem too dry, or too routine? Have you sought guidance for the challenges of your life from unhelpful people or things? Or has your pride kept you from humble obedience to the Church? If so, The Dialogue will provide consolation, encouragement, and hope.

The second youngest of a very large family, Catherine of Siena began to experience God mystically before she turned seven. Frequent visions of Christ, Mary, angels and saints inspired her holy, austere lifestyle and prompted her to take the habit of the Dominican Tertiaries at sixteen years of age. Enabled by a miracle to read and write, the formerly illiterate St. Catherine crafted many letters to religious and political leaders in Italy and beyond, seeking peace and reformation. Her passionate yet humble pleas persuaded the Pope to return to Rome, where she herself died at age 33.