Christ moved her out of the seclusion of her room and urged her to engage in the love of her neighbor. Soon she was busy in the household of her parents, doing all kinds of menial work. Her desire for charity lead her out to the city, where she helped widows, strangers, and beggars from the wealth of her father's household. The father “cheerfully consented” (The Life of St. Catherine of Siena, Bl. Raymond of Capua. 2.2) to her alms-giving. Frequently, her Divine Spouse appeared to her under the guise of the destitute people she helped, even as those being helped were often demanding and ungrateful; it appears that her charity was always tested. She also served in the hospital, taking on most unpleasant duties. The sick, at times, were angry and self-centered; one woman, Tecca, dying of leprosy, mocked Catherine's kindness even as Catherine contracted the disease caring for her. Tecca died; Catherine washed her and buried her, and Catherine's leprosy was cured instantly. Another time, a nun under Catherine's care, named Palmerina, developed all-consuming hatred for her; in hatred Palmerina persisted right to her sudden death. Palmerina did not receive her last rites, due to the suddenness in which she died. Catherine prayed for her fervently, seeing herself as the cause of Palmerina's hate:shall I, a wretched creature prove the occasion of loss to a soul created in thy image? is that the good thou wilt use me to effect? no doubt my sins have caused the whole, and yet I will continue to claim thy mercy until my sister see her error, and thou savest the soul of that beloved one from death. (Ibid 2.3)Interesting that she prayed not for healing but for Palmerina's salvation upon death. That was granted:A ray of light from heaven mercifully penetrated that soul in the midst of her agony, discovered to it this fault, and gave it all the graces necessary for salvation. Catharine knew it by revelation, and hastened to the house. As soon as Palmerina saw her, she bestowed on her every mark of joy and respect ; she accused herself of her fault aloud, and died shortly after, having received the Sacrament, with signs of the deepest contrition. (Ibid 2.3)Possibly, this aspect: the unwillingness of the people to accept charity, – is the mark of the new age, the same age that is now in full swing ravaging us. When St. Nicholas gave the poor girls the dowry money, they did not ask for more, they just thanked him (and he told them to thank God instead). When St. Martin gave a half of his cloak to the beggar, the beggar did not ask for a whole cloak: the legend does not mention that he did, and surely it would be a remarkable ornament to the saint's feat if the beggar had been ungrateful. But when St. Catherine imitated these saints, the theme of ingratitude is constant. In Jesus' time we see fear of Him (“What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the most high God? I beseech thee, do not torment me“, said the Gerasene demoniac, Luke 8:28), but not such demanding hostility as Catherine experienced so many times. Yet to us, children of modernity, the resentment of charity is commonplace: today's left has forgotten its original motivation of government support of the poor, replacing it with the rejection of any moral dimension that voluntary charity necessarily would have. The modern political movement was first to replace voluntary charity with welfare extracted by force as taxes, and now that that goal has been largely accomplished, the new goal of the left is to suppress altogether the charitable work of the Church while divorcing the government's support of its client class from any moral content.
[...]
The answer to our modern condition is prayer by those conscious of it, and that is also what St. Catherine did to restore Palmerina to eternal life. The effect of the prayer is double: it directs divine mercy to those prayed for, and it increases the clarity of vision for those who pray:Catharine thanked our Lord with effusion of heart, and humbly entreated him to deign in future to show her the beauty of the souls who might have relations with her, so that she could become more devoted to their salvation. God granted this favour, saying "Because thou hast despised the world, to attach thyself wholly to me, who am the perfect Spirit; because thou hast prayed with faith and perseverance for the salvation of that soul; behold I endow thee with supernatural light, which will show thee either tho beauty or the deformity of all the souls that thou wilt meet. Thy interior sense will perceive the condition of minds, as thy exterior senses perceive the state of the body. And that will take place not only in respect to persons present, but for all those whose salvation may form the object of thy solicitude and thy prayers, even though they be absent, and thou hast never as yet Been them." The efficacy of that grace which God granted her was such, that from that moment she actually saw more distinctly the souls than the bodies of persons who approached her. (Ibid 2.3)Indeed, St. Catherine told Fr. Raymond,O Father, could you but see the beauty of a rational soul, you would sacrifice your life a hundred times, were it necessary, for its salvation. No, nought in this material world is comparable to its beauty. (Ibid 2.3)Remarkable, isn't it? Palmerina curses and detracts, in her madness, and all the saint sees is the beauty of her rational soul. May we, too, see the rational soul of our civilization before we despair of its salvation.
BTTT for Saint Catherine of Siena!