Dom Prosper Guéranger's Prayer to St Catherine of Siena for the Church

O Catherine! illustrious example of all that is noble! thou wast rich in virtue and wisdom; and with the riches of thy temperance, fortitude, piety, justice and prudence, thou ascendedst into heaven.

Who has not heard of thy glorious virtues and deeds, which were never surpassed in this world? Thy compassions for the sufferings of Christ stamped thee with the impress of his wounds.

Bravely despising the vain grandeurs of this short, mournful, and miserable life, which abounds with every evil, thy ambition was for heaven alone.

Let us all give infinite thanks to the Son ever blessed of the Eternal Father! let us give glory to the Holy Ghost! to the Three, one equal praise! Amen.

HYMN

Well indeed may we sing thy praise, Catherine! for, by thy wondrous virtues, thou receivedst a triumphant welcome from heaven itself.

Yes, it is in heaven alone, where thou art enriched with all good things, that thou receivedst the reward of thy holy life, and the recompense of thy grand virtue.

Great was thy veneration for the Patriarch of Preachers, that perfect model of every virtue; thou enteredst his Order, and art one of its brightest glories.

Joys of earth, vanity of dress, beauty of body, none had charms for thee. Sin, the injustice offered to God by his creature, oh! this thou couldst not brook.

To reduce thy body to subjection, and to atone for the sins of men, oft didst thou severely scourge thyself, till thine innocent blood would flow in streams on the ground.

Thou hadst compassion on all that were suffering, no matter where they might be, or what their misfortune. Thy sympathy was ever ready for them, too, that were a prey to care.

But our hymn would never end, were we to tell all thy praises, O Catherine! whose sanctity far surpassed that of other mortals.

The savage soldiers and leaders, who were threatening the people of Siena with death, withdrew at thy word.

Oft was thy mind applied, with all its power, to the study of sacred things: and thy letters, teeming with wisdom and elegance, are still treasured in some of our richest cities.

Thou excelledst in the power of reclaiming sinners, and persuading all to follow what was right. Thus didst thou speak to them: “Virtue alone can make man happy.”

Far from fearing, thou hadst a brave contempt for the dread claims of death, which thou wast wont to call the recompense of life.

When, therefore, the time came for thee to leave thy sacred body to the tomb, and ascend into heaven, thou gavest lessons of consolation to them that stood weeping around thee.

And having adored the Body of Christ, and received, amidst abundant tears of devotion, the saving Host, thy last words were instructions to all how to lead a holy life.

Let us all give infinite thanks to the Son ever blessed of the Eternal Father! let us give glory to the Holy Ghost! to the Three, one equal praise! Amen.

Holy Church, filled as she now is with the joy of her Jesus’ Resurrection, addresses herself to thee, O Catherine, who followest the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. (Apocalypse 14:4) Living in this exile, where it is only at intervals that she enjoys his presence, she says to thee: Hast thou seen Him, whom my soul loveth? (Song of Solomon 3:3) Thou art his Spouse; so is she: but there are no veils, no separation, for thee; whereas, for her, the enjoyment is at rare and brief periods, and, even so, there are clouds that dim the lovely Light. What a life was thine, O Catherine! uniting in itself the keenest compassion for the Sufferings of Jesus, and an intense happiness by the share he gave thee of his glorified life. We might take thee as our guide both to the mournful mysteries of Calvary, and to the glad splendors of the Resurrection. It is these second that we are now respectfully celebrating: oh! speak to us of our Risen Jesus. Is it not He that gave thee the nuptial ring, with its matchless diamond set amidst four precious gems? The bright rays, which gleam from thy stigmata, tell us, that when he espoused thee to himself, thou sawest him all resplendent with the beauty of his glorious Wounds. Daughter of Magdalene! like her, thou art a messenger of the Resurrection; and when thy last Pasch comes — the Pasch of thy thirty-third year — thou goest to heaven, to keep it for eternity. O zealous lover of souls! love them more than ever, now that thou art in the palace of the King, our God. We, too, are in the Pasch, in the New Life; intercede for us, that the life of Jesus may never die within us, but may go on, strengthening its power and growth, by our loving him with an ardor like thine own.

Obtain for us, great Saint, something of the filial devotedness thou hadst for holy Mother Church, and which prompted thee to do such glorious things! Her sorrows and her joys were thine; for there can be no love for Jesus, where there is none for his Spouse: and is it not through her that he gives us all his gifts? Oh, yes! we, too, wish to love this Mother of ours; we will never be ashamed to own ourselves as her children! we will defend her against her enemies; we will do everything that lies in our power to win others to acknowledge, love, and be devoted to her.

Our God used thee as his instrument, O humble Virgin, for bringing back the Roman Pontiff to his See. Thou wast stronger than the powers of this earth, which would fain have prolonged an absence disastrous to the Church. The relics of Peter in the Vatican, of Paul on the Ostian Way, of Lawrence and Sebastian, of Cecily and Agnes, exulted in their glorious Tombs, when Gregory entered with triumph into the Holy City. It was through thee, O Catherine, that a ruinous captivity of seventy years’ duration was brought, on that day, to a close, and that Rome recovered her glory and her life. In these our days, hell has changed its plan of destruction: men are striving to deprive of its Pontiff-King the City, which was chosen by Peter as the See where the Vicar of Christ should reign to the end of the world. Is this design of God, this design which was so dear to thee, O Catherine! — is it now to be frustrated? Oh! beseech him to forbid a sacrilege, which would scandalize the weak, and make the impious blaspheme in their success. Come speedily to our aid! — and through thy Divine Spouse, in his just anger, permit us to suffer these humiliations, pray that, at least they may be shortened.

Pray, too, for unhappy Italy, which was so dear to thee, and which is so justly proud of its Saint of Siena. Impiety and heresy are now permitted to run wild through the land; the name of thy Spouse is blasphemed; the people are taught to love error, and to hate what they had hitherto venerated; the Church is insulted and robbed; Faith has long since been weakened, but now its very existence is imperilled. Intercede for thy unfortunate country, dear Saint! oh! surely, it is time to come to her assistance, and rescue her from the hands of her enemies. The whole Church hopes in thy effecting the deliverance of this her illustrious province: delay not, but calm the storm which seems to threaten a universal wreck!