St. Catherine of Siena, Role Model for Christian Women. Men Too.

April 29 was a sad day if you were in Rome in 1380. A woman who had changed the world died.

Who was Catherine of Siena? Let me tell you three very cool things about her.

First, Catherine was eager to listen to Jesus.

As a child she began having visions of Jesus, and her loving response was to give Christ her whole life. Instead of becoming a nun she joined the “Third Order” of the Dominicans. That way of life provided discipline as she sought to be devoted to Christ, but assumed that she had work to do for God in the world outside of convent walls.

Christians today can also listen to Jesus better and become more like him by committing themselves to other Christians in community.

Second, Catherine knew her own mind.

In a culture where women outside of convents got married and raised children, Catherine really wanted to give Jesus her whole life. When women would be expected to do as their parents said, Catherine wanted to do as Jesus said.

At sixteen one of Catherine’s sisters died. Her parents wanted to marry Catherine off to the widower. Catherine said “No.” (Notice the period.) She went on a hunger strike to make the point, and cut off her hair to make herself less marriageable.

She lived out her days as what the Catholic church calls a “consecrated virgin.”

That’s a term that doesn’t carry much marketing capital today.

Think of her as confident, clear about her calling, courageous to go against the crowd.

Or think of it this way: We all say we want to belong to Jesus alone. Catherine really meant it.

Christians today can also live lives of true devotion to following Christ, in or out of a romantic partnership.

Third, Catherine changed the world. 

Did I mention that when Catherine talked to Jesus, Jesus showed up? She had a lot of visions. But if visions of Christ sound like superpowers, then like Spidey, she used her powers for good.

This was in a pretty awful time in the Catholic Church. Back in 1309, the Bishop of Rome (aka The Pope, the earthly leader of Christendom) had moved, with the leadership staff, far away to Avignon. Seven successive Popes reigned not from Rome but from Avignon.

This was a big problem. It was both symptom and cause of a whole range of corruptions in the medieval Church.

Catherine got the scoop from Jesus that this was not how it should be. She began writing to the Pope. She traveled to Avignon to convince the Pope to head home.

And the Pope moved back to Rome.

That wasn’t the end of the problems. It was the catalyst of new problems and divisions. But it was a step in the right direction.

Christians today can also change the world.

If you want to change the world, listening to Jesus and knowing your own mind are great places to start. Doing what Jesus says to do is the way forward — even if it means something scary like speaking out to the important people.

Catherine was recognized as a saint less than a century after her death, and in 1970 she was named one of the first two female “Doctors” or preeminent theological teachers, of the Church.

She’s a great role model for today’s Christian women. And men.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments! Who do you think of as a great role model for today’s Christian women?

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