Gospel in Art: Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena

Interior of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Construction started in 1280 - finished by 1370. Sarcophagus of St Catherine of Siena underneath the high altar

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 29 April 2024
Matthew 11:25-30

Jesus exclaimed, 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.'

Reflection on the Church Interior

When Jesus states in today's gospel reading, 'My yoke is easy and my burden light', he is saying that his teaching of God's will is not something burdensome. It is, rather, liberating and life-enhancing. If his teaching is received and truly lived, it lightens the burden of oppression; in fact it brings joy. There is this two-fold movement: of us going to Christ with our burdens, then Christ lightening them for us.

This two-fold movement of coming to Jesus and going forth in his strength expresses well the contemplative aspect of the Christian life. We are called to be contemplatives in action, like Catherine of Siena. Catherine was a great mystic or contemplative, but her mysticism did not withdraw her from the world. She was in the world, but not of the world. Repeatedly, she moved into the world, then withdrew to recharge her spiritual batteries so to speak, then returned into the world, and so on. It is to this two-fold movement that Jesus is calling us in today's reading.

Saint Catherine of Siena was born in 1347. Siena was hit by an outbreak of the plague. She was the 25th child and her mother was 40 years old when she was born. Catherine did not enter a convent, but instead she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, which allowed her to associate with a religious society whilst living at home. She lived a life of prayer and contemplation, during which she had regular mystical experiences, culminating in an extraordinary union with God granted to only a few mystics, known as a 'mystical marriage.'

Rather than share a painting or a sculpture of Saint Catherine, I want to share the interior of the church here in Rome where she is buried, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. It is one of my favourite churches. The church's name finds its origins in the fact that the first version of the church was built directly over ('sopra') the ruins of the pagan Roman temple of Minerva. The present building, dating from 1370, it is also the only complete example of Gothic architecture in Rome.

The sarcophagus of Saint Catherine of Siena is buried lies beneath the high altar. Her body is buried there, except for her head, which is in the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena. Saint Catherine was only 33 when she died.

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."

- Saint Catherine of Siena

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-11-25-30-2024/
Competition: The Laudamus Award 2024 for Sacred Art - https://christian.art/art-competition/