Section 212
The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena
Translated by Algar Thorold
"Man is placed above all creatures, and not beneath them, and he cannot be satisfied or content except in something greater than himself. Greater than himself there is nothing but Myself, the Eternal God. Therefore I alone can satisfy him, and, because he is deprived of this satisfaction by his guilt, he remains in continual torment and pain. Weeping follows pain, and when he begins to weep, the wind strikes the tree of self-love, which he has made the principle of all his being." This work was dictated by Saint Catherine of Siena during a state of ecstasy while in dialogue with God the Father.
Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
was declared a
Doctor of the Church on October 4, 1970.
THE DIALOGUE OF THE SERAPHIC VIRGIN CATHERINE OF SIENA
DICTATED BY HER, WHILE IN A STATE OF ECSTASY TO HER SECRETARIES,
AND COMPLETED IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1370
TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF HER DEATH BY AN EYE-WITNESS
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN,
AND PRECEDED BY AN INTRODUCTION ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE SAINT,
BY ALGAR THOROLD
THE DIALOGUE OF
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA