Catherine Benincasa Research Paper

Catherine Benincasa, born in Siena, Italy in 1347, was a great leader of a moral life. In her adolescence, she became attracted to prayer and solitude. Her mother considered Catherine a difficult daughter, in fact, a problematic teenager, who rebelled against her mother's advice at any suggestion of marriage. At the age of sixteen, however, her sister died, leaving her husband a widower. Catherine's parents proposed that he marry Catherine as a replacement, but she immediately showed her distaste to the suggestion. She began fasting and cut her hair short to mar her appearance.
There was a peace to Catherine’s relationship with her parents when she was admitted to the Third Order of St. Dominic. The rules of this order allowed her to dress
As stated in the Catechism, “The human person needs to live in a society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature.” This is then how man is able to respond to his vocation. At the age of twenty, she had a vision of the Lord where she was told to reenter public life and to help the poor and sick. Soon after, she rejoined her family life and went into public to help people in need. She often visited hospitals and homes of the poor and sick. Her activities quickly attracted followers who helped her in her mission to serve the poor and
Conscience, by definition, is “a judgement of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, in the process of performing, or has already completed”. In other words, one’s conscience judges whether or not a particular act is right or wrong from an ethical point of view. Saint Catherine had a great conscience, in fact, she decided on her own that she would help rebuild and re-strengthen the Church by moving it back from Rome to France. She also tended to many of the sick and needy without hesitation, as she knew it was the right thing to do. Saint Catherine of Siena was not born into the easiest lifestyle or situation, yet dealt with the consequences of her morally just actions, therefore making her conscience and moral compass stronger. By choosing her own path in freedom and determination to follow God, she has influenced thousands with her powerful words and hopefully thousands more to