Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2
1. Three steps on the cross ....................................................................................................... 2
1.1. First step of the cross ...................................................................................................... 2
1.2. Second step of the cross .................................................................................................. 3
1.3. Third step of the cross ..................................................................................................... 3
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 5
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 6
Introduction

Saint Catherine of Siena, a dominican tertiary, is one of the greatest mystics of the Catholic
Church. Her action in Church during the period of the papal exile to Avignon left the indelible
trace, not only in the history of the Church, but in the history of the whole Europe. However,
because of her strong political actions, her teachings are often put aside.

The capital work she has written is the „Dialouge of the Divine Providence“ which is full od
spirituality, but also of the theology of that period. Reading it strictly theologically, it is possible
to read into the complexity of the work, which is permeated with various branches of theology.
In this work, I will briefly analyse the three steps of the cross which are the highlight of her
already rich theology of the cross.
 1. Three steps on the cross

While speaking of the cross as the highlight of the bridge, it is obligatory to shed special
light on the three steps of which Catherine says: „This bridge, who is my only begotten Son,
has three steps, of which two were created on the cross; the third was created when he felt the
bitterness of the bile and vinegar. In these three steps you will get to know the tree states of the
soul, which I will explain you later.“1 In this paragraph starts the speech about three steps on
the bridge, which is very rich and could be explored from different perspectives:
1. Meditation of Christ's corporeality where each step accords to a different part of
the body of Christ: legs – side – mouth.
2. The traditional three stages of a spiritual life (cleansing – illumination – union)
3. Three theological virtues of faith, hope and love.
4. Three spiritual powers of the soul which accord to the steps: memory (memoria)
– reason (intelligentia) – will (voluntas)
5. Three steps which match the persons of the Trinity whoose resemblance is seen
in the spiritual powers of the soul. Father's image matches the first step and the
spiritual power of memory, Son's image matches the second step and reason, and
Holy Spirit's image matches the third step and the power of the will.2

1.1. First step of the cross

„First step are the legs, which mark the feelings; because like the legs carry the body,
feelings carry the soul. Nailed legs for you are steps for you to come to the side which reveals
to you the secret of the heart.“3 On the first step is the human sensuousness, his feelings and his
memory. On that step the souls is remembering its imperfections and it is mortifying the
sensuousness, but not because of the fear God, but because it wants to be more like him. 4 In
one prayer Catherine remembers her experience of climbing the first step:
„In the revelation the soul has about itself, it has a better knowledge of God, because in
intself it notes the goodness of God, and in God's sweet mirror it notes simultaneously

1
Katarina SIJENSKA, Dijalog Božanske providnosti, Split, 2015. 76. (further: DDP).
2
Cf. Kenelm FOSTER, St. Catherine's teaching on Christ, in: Life of the Spirit, 16 (1962) 2., 320-321.
3
DDP, 76.
4
Cf. Kenelm FOSTER, St. Catherine's teaching on Christ, 322.

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 its imperfection and its dignity, dignity because it was created in the image of God, not
by right but by grace, and it is also noting its imperfections which came through sin.“5

1.2. Second step of the cross

„Climbing over the legs of love, the soul starts to enjoy the feeling of heart gazin in the
open side of my Son in whom it finds perfect and ineffable love.“6 The second step is the
wounded side of Christ, in which God opens the secret of his divine life to humanity. Gazing
in the open side of Christ, man has the potential to meet God who is love, God who fully gave
himself to the man and showed him himself in the scandal of the cross. On the second step the
focus is changing from self-knowledge to God's revelation of himself, and especially on his
renewing love which he gives to humanity.7 That love is rejuvenating because of the blood
which is always flowing, and the heart is the one which gives it movement. The highlight of
Christ's blood which gushed out of his open side is in the mystery of the Eucharist. In Eucharist,
God gives fully to the man not only by showing himself, but by entering man to heal him of the
sickness of sin. Catherine teaches that God's full and personal self-giving on the cross becomes
a vocation to humanity to enter the intratrinitarian life, calling us with the power and merits of
the blood of Christ. Giving humanity the sacraments, man already has the potential of the
intradivine life here on Earth.8 On the second step humanity made peace with the person of the
Son. His blood purifies human reason and his natural eye of reason, making the soul able to see
things from divine perspective, but still staying fixated on Christ's cross.9

1.3. Third step of the cross

„Climbing the second step the soul arrives to the third step which are the mouth, in
which the soul finds peace after that hard war it waged on me because of its sins.“10 God the
Father explains Catherine that peace is only in crucified Christ, because only through Christ's
crucifixion man was conciled with God, but not by humanity's merits, but by the initiative of
God.11 Furthermore, Father says to Catherine that saints „like drunk with Blood of the untainted
lamb and clothed in love to neighbour, have passed through the narrow gate, washed in the

5
DDP, 57.
6
DDP, 76.
7
Cf. Kenelm FOSTER, St. Catherine's teaching on Christ, 321
8
Cf. Perry CAHALL, Saint Catherine of Siena's Pedagogy of the Cross, in: New Blackfriars 87 (2006) 4.582-
583.
9
Cf. Kenelm FOSTER, St. Catherine's teaching on Christ, 321.
10
DDP, 76.
11
Cf. Perry CAHALL, Saint Catherine of Siena's Pedagogy of the Cross, 584.

3
blood of crucified Christ, and they have found themselves in me, the tranquil sea.“ 12 The goal
of a persons life should be God. The only way which God founded to himself is the way of the
crucified Christ. Catherine uses the image of the sea or ocean for God's transcendency, probably
because of its infinite depths. That is why she says in one of her prayers to the Trinity that it is
like „deep ocean, the more I enter the more I find it; the more I find i, the more I search for
you.“13 On this third step of the bridge, God reveals his innermost existence, his transcendency
in front of which humanity can just be silent. That is why it is not strange that Catherine is
pretty unclear in this step, because she cannot even try to explain it. However, the highlight is
the peace and serenity which the person finds because only on the third step the person realises
that it is fully redeemed and that it is fully reconciled with God, but also with himself. Kiss in
Christ's mouth on the cross is the kiss of peace and love which shows the humanity the fullness
of love.14 However, sole knowledge of it is not enough, but it is needed to do the act of kissing,
and that is accepting the cross of Christ because only in cross is the fulfillment of God's peace
with humanity. Christ's cross is the foundation and confirmation of God's love which gave itself
fully for man and the peace which the person receives is founded on the fact that God is love.
Gazing in the cross the person surrenders itself and gets lost in the sea of God's transcendence,
surrendering to his divine providence,, and even in its misfortunes nad its hardest and the most
painful experiences because in them the person recognizes God's love and care which he himself
felt on the cross.15

12
DDP, 167.
13
DDP, 385.
14
Cf. Kenelm FOSTER, St Catherine's teaching on Christ, 322.
15
Cf. Perry CAHALL, Saint Catherine of Siena's Pedagogy of the Cross, 584-585.

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Conclusion

For Catherine, the cross is never a decoration or some vanity. For Catherine, cross is the heart
of christianity, the revelation of God's trinitarian love, the source of power and peace, and
finally the bridge between the humanity and God, but also between man and man. The three
steps of the cross are so full of theology that it is impossible to explain all the possible details,
and the richness of theology written in it.

Finally, in my own opinion, the most beautiful words for whole Catherine's theology were
said by the great dominican scholar Yves Congar who said that Catherine „turned theology to
doxology, transforming it into fire and zeal.“16

16
Cf. Mary O'DRISCOLL, Catherine the Theologian, in: Spirituality Today 40 (1988) 1., 11.

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Bibliography

1. CAHALL, Perry, Saint Catherine of Siena's Pedagogy of the Cross, u: New Blackfriars
87 (2006) 4.
2. FOSTER, Kenelm, St. Catherine's teaching on Christ, u: Life of the Spirit, 16 (1962) 2.
3. O'DRISCOLL, Mary, Catherine the Theologian, u: Spirituality Today 40 (1988) 1.
4. SIJENSKA, Katarina, Dijalog Božanske providnosti, Split, 2015.