The three doctors of the church are St. Catherine of Siena, St. Theresa of Avila, and St. Therese of Lisieux. In the afternoon, Dr. Orsuto presented the works of Dorothy Day, Edith Stein, and Blessed Mother Theresa. The power of the lessons taught by these women is in both the depth and the simplicity of the messages - which is generally true of all great spiritual teaching.
Each one cultivated a particular intimacy with Jesus and strived to give their all to the Lord who had given his all to the world.
Catherine of Siena lived in the 14th century, a time of immense turmoil in the church - plague, western schisms, and the Papacy abandoning Rome for Avignon in France. Her writings, much of which is letters, offer three themes;
- Knowing the truth about love, (she uses the phrase that God is "patso d'amore" or God is madly in love, crazy in love, with all of creation, and especially with human creation.
- Knowledge of self, and knowing God; this overlapping of knowledge creates a "cell" where we live and meet Christ.
- NOT individualism. This is way ahead of her time. She writes that we need each other. Her spirituality is a radically ecclesial spirituality.
Catherine of Siena was influential in convincing the pope to return to Rome, stop relying on the cardinals who were controling him. She called them, "the devil incarnate".
Theresa of Avila offers the church a spirituality of prayers when she says, Prayer is 5 steps.
- taking time
- frequently
- to be alone
- with Him
- who we know loves us
She calls us "to do what stirs us to love"
St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) She is also known as the Little Flower.
Therese is declared a doctor of the Church, even with the writing of one small book called "The Story of a Soul". Therese contracted Tuberculosis, as a time when there was no cure. This was the great darkness in her life - knowing that she would not survive this disease. Her spirituality can be summed up by saying she lived and proposes to us a spirituality focused on a total confidence and abandonment of oneself to the merciful love of God. It is apiritual path for those who feel that they are imperfect, weak, or little. It is a spiritual path that relies on the purifying love of God that evokes in one the desire to return love for love.
Dorothy Day is a 20th century spiritual giant who began her adult life anything but holy. A common law relationship, an abortion, and weak faith. She brought her daughter to be baptised even though she was not Catholic, and through the instruction of the priest, she herself becomes a convert. She founded the Catholic Worker movement and spent her life working on the lower East side of New York City with the poor. She is know for her activism for justice, a fierce pacifism, and her work for peace. There is a great deal of information on line about her. She was an avid letter writer, and has a huge correspondence with Thomas Merton.
Edith Stein was part of a devout Jewish family in Belgium. She was a brilliant young woman who taught philosophy. After reading St. Catherine of Siena, she declared, this is the truth. She converted to Catholicsm and entered the Carmelites. After the northern European Catholic Bishops strongly denounced Hitler and the Nazis, attacks against the Jews were stepped up. Many convents were attacked and sisters who were belived to have Jewish roots were rounded up and taken to the concentration camps. Edith Stein died in Auschwitz even as she ministered to the victims of the Nazi horror.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Well, what can we say. She lived with us in our homes via television and media. She was the first saint to part of our daily lives all around the world. Her lessons for us can be summed up in one of her most famous statements, "Do small things with great love"
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