LOVE OF GOD AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOR: THOMISTIC VIRTUE OF CHARITY IN CATHERINE OF SIENA’S DIALOGUE Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts in Theological Studies By Laura Sharon Norris UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Dayton, Ohio December, 2014 LOVE OF GOD AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOR: THOMISTIC VIRTUE OF CHARITY IN CATHERINE OF SIENA’S DIALOGUE Name: Norris, Laura Sharon APPROVED BY: ______________________________ Sandra Yocum, Ph.D Faculty Advisor ______________________________ William L.D Faculty Reader _______________________________ William H.D Faculty Reader ii © Copyright by Laura Sharon Norris All Rights Reserved 2014 iii ABSTRACT LOVE OF GOD AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOR: THOMISTIC VIRTUE OF CHARITY IN CATHERINE OF SIENA’S DIALOGUE Name: Norris, Laura Sharon University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Sandra Yocum Saint Catherine of Siena wrote one of the most theologically orthodox works of mysticism, Dialogue on Divine Providence. Unlike other mystics of the later Middle Ages, Catherine’s Dialogue provided a highly doctrinal theology written in her own vernacular language. Catherine’s mystical theology demonstrates influence of several prominent schools of theological thought, most notably the moral theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Like Aquinas, Catherine emphasizes the habituation and practice of the virtues, above all the virtue of charity. Aquinas and Catherine both understood charity as directed towards the two same ends – God and neighbor for God’s sake – and as manifesting itself through outward spiritual and corporeal practices. Catherine, however, wrote with a very particular audience in mind – the increasing literate laity. As demonstrated in her own letters, Catherine understood her writing for a lay audience as spiritual instruction and therefore writing served as an act of charity for her.
iv Dedicated to my husband, Ryan, and my parents, Robert and Nancy v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My special thanks are in order to Dr. Sandra Yocum, my advisor, for providing her time and guidance in the direction of this thesis, and for bringing it to its conclusion and successful defense with her patience and expertise. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who has helped me with this work, particularly Drs. William Portier and William Johnston, who served as my readers.
vi PREFACE This thesis present an argument for Saint Catherine of Siena’s use of the fourteenth century Thomistic understanding of virtue and charity in her Dialogue, which she reinterpreted for her primarily lay audience in order to present a doctrinally sound theology of charity in a practical manner. In order to fully support this argument, a secondary argument must be made regarding Catherine’s understanding of charity in relation to her act of writing the Dialogue. The first two chapters in this thesis provide the necessary contextual information. The first chapter, “Catherine of Siena: Background and Context,” examines the historical and theological backgrounds of Catherine of Siena’s world.
This chapter discusses fourteenth century Europe, late medieval mysticism, lay sanctity, Catherine’s mysticism, her education, and her devotion to St. Chapter Two, “Dominicans, Mysticism, and Catherine of Siena,” continues this discussion and focuses more closely on important topics including Catherine’s life, the Dominican Order, the role of Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century, the influence of Aquinas on Catherine, and Catherine’s writing. The third chapter, “Charity as Love of God,” supports the thesis argument by closely examining the similar teachings of charity as love of God in Catherine’s Dialogue and Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, with emphasis on the understanding of charity as friendship of God. The fourth chapter, “Charity as Love of Neighbor,” examines the topic vii most heavily present throughout the Dialogue, which is love of neighbor for God’s sake.
Chapter Four highlights the similarities in Catherine’s and Aquinas’ writings on the practice of charity, especially Catherine’s three practical expressions of charity and Aquinas’ three works of mercy. Close attention is also given in this chapter to the significance of Catherine’s teaching on charity as love of neighbor for the audience of her Dialogue. The fifth and final chapter, “Writing as an Act of Charity,” focuses on the secondary argument about Catherine’s practice of charity through her act of writing the Dialogue. An important note must be made on the choice of sources for this thesis.
The nature of historical study always requires a judgment call on the use of primary and secondary sources. For primary sources, this paper will rely on the writings of St. Catherine of Siena in their English translation. Her Dialogue and many of her letters, especially those from the last five years of her minister and life, will be used.
The translations come from the renowned scholar of Catherine, Suzanne Noffke, O. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae will be used in the translation by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Excerpts from Catherine’s biographers will also be used as primary sources, particularly the Libellus de Supplemento of Thomas of Siena (Caffarini), who provided more information on Catherine’s ability to write than did her first biographer, Raymond of Capua. Because of the nature of historical study, combined with the brevity of this paper, secondary sources will be used to provide contextual information on the fourteenth century, the Dominican Order, and Catherine’s life.
Secondary sources will also provide support for my arguments on Catherine’s theology and Aquinas’ theology. Most notably, viii Suzanne Noffke’s writings on Catherine, especially her introduction to her English translation of the Dialogue, will provide significant reference. Bernard McGinn will be used both for his scholarship on Catherine and her theology, found particularly in The Varieties of Vernacular Mysticism, and for providing context on the spiritual and mystical currents of the time periods addressed. Jane Tylus’ study on Catherine’s literacy and writing provides a significant resource as well, especially for the final chapter.
Karen Scott’s scholarship on Catherine’s role in the developing lay sanctity of fourteenth century Italy provides a strong basis, both in regards to Catherine’s ministry and the participation of the laity in her time period. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………….……………v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………vi PREFACE.vii CHAPTER ONE: Catherine of Siena: Background and Context…………………….1 Fourteenth Century Europe……………………………………………………….2 Late Medieval Mysticism…………………………………………………………5 Urbanization, Literacy, and Lay Sanctity………………………………….10 Catherine of Siena: Mysticism……………………….13 Charity in Catherine’s Theology…………………………………………………15 Catherine’s Dominican Influence……………………………………………….17 Catherine’s Education……………………………………………………………19 Catherine’s Devotion to Aquinas………………………………………….21 The Dialogue and Her Apostolic Commission……………………………….23 CHAPTER TWO: Dominicans, Mysticism, and Catherine of Siena……………………26 Introduction………………………………………………………………………26 Catherine of Siena: Biography……………………………………………….27 The Dominicans: Background and History………………………………………29 Dominicans, Laity, and Women……………………………………….32 Dominicans and Mysticism………………………………………………………33 Mendicant Orders and Lay Sanctity…………………………………………….35 Thomas Aquinas and the Dominican Order…………………………………….36 The Dominican Order and the Start of Catherine’s Ministry.40 The Dominican Order and Catherine’s Mysticism………………………………42 Catherine’s Devotion to Aquinas…………………….44 The Importance of Writing for Catherine……………………………………….46 Catherine’s Theological Knowledge………………………………………….49 CHAPTER THREE: Charity as Love of God……………………………………………51 Introduction………………………………………………………………………51 The Dialogue: Composition and Background………………………………….52 x Charity in Dialogue………………………………………………………….54 Charity in Summa Theologiae………………………………………….55 Images of Charity in Dialogue…………………………………….…………56 Charity in the Prologue of Dialogue……………………………………….58 The Bridge: Christ Crucified and Charity in Dialogue……………….……60 Self-Knowledge and Friendship with God in Dialogue…………………………65 Charity and Knowledge in Summa Theologiae…………….……………………70 Charity and the Other Virtues in Dialogue………….71 Charity and the Other Virtues in Summa Theologiae……….75 CHAPTER FOUR: Charity as Love of Neighbor…………………………………….77 Introduction………………………………………………………………………77 Charity as Love of Neighbor…………………………………………………….78 Charity and Salvation………………………………………………….…………79 Charity, Virtue, and Continual Prayer…………………………….……………82 Charity, Knowledge, and Humility………………………………………………86 Charity as the Perfection of the Christian Life………………………………….88 Charity and Mercy……………………………………………………………….90 Catherine’s Three Practical Expressions of Charity……….……………………91 Three Works of Mercy in Summa Theologiae………………….99 CHAPTER FIVE: Writing as an Act of Charity……………………………………….101 Mysticism and Vernacular Literature………………………………………….102 Catherine’s Ability to Write…………………………………………………….104 Writing as an Act of Charity……………………………………………………107 Writing and the Virtue of Charity………………………………………………110 Writing and Spiritual Instruction……………………………………………….…114 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………116 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………118 xi CHAPTER ONE CATHERINE OF SIENA: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to provide a strong historical, ecclesiastical, and theological background for the thesis. All these factors created the unique historical circumstance in which St. Catherine of Siena produced her Dialogue and thus must be attended to before discussing her theology and writings.
Since the primary focus of this paper is Catherine’s theology of charity, significant attention will be given in this chapter to describing mystical theology across fourteenth century Europe. The significance of Catherine’s writing in her vernacular Tuscanese Italian requires a discussion about the general rise of vernacular literature, especially theological literature, during this time period. The chapter also will introduce St. Catherine of Siena to the reader, with special attention to her entry into the mantellate (a group of non-cloistered women who committed themselves to service of the poor), her devotion to Aquinas, her education, and her sense of an evangelistic calling.
Her Dialogue will also be introduced and the primary theme of her theology and this paper, charity, will be discussed. Thus this chapter provides a description of her life that will help the reader understand her theology and the significance of her work. 1 Fourteenth Century Europe The rising fervor of mysticism and lay piety combined with socio-economic adversities and ecclesiastical corruption created a tension that characterized the late Middle Ages in Europe particularly the fourteenth century. As historical theologian Bernard McGinn describes it, the fourteenth century “witnessed a series of calamities, both natural and human-made, that crippled society, induced widespread discouragement and even despair, and provoked anguished reactions."1 The Crusades ceased from the fall of Tripoli and Acre in the 1290s until revived efforts against the Ottomans at Nicopolis in 1396.
Instead, Europe suffered during these years from famine, the Black Death, and ecclesiastical corruption, particularly in the relocation of the papacy to Avignon, France (1309 to 1378). The Black Death reappeared throughout Europe in 1347, which notably also is the year Saint Catherine of Siena was born. By 1350, it fatally claimed up to fifty percent of the population in many cities and towns.2 Despite the lingering fear of Ottoman invasion, famine, and the return of the Black Death, “the thing that was subject of well-nigh universal agreement, at least among sincere Christians, was the need for the reform of the church ‘in head and members.’”3 The need for reform had already influenced the emergence of the mendicant orders in the twelfth century. Now, the desire for reform was reflected in theological writings of that time, especially in mystical treatises.
1 Bernard McGinn, The Harvest of Mysticism in Medieval Germany. McGinn supports this claim with a variety of sources, including Francis Oakley’s The Western Church in the Later Middle Ages, Michael Jones’ The New Cambridge Medieval History, David Herlihy’s the Black Death and the Transformation of the West, Steven Ozment’s Age of Reform, and Handbook of European History 1400-1600. 2 The papal office experienced significant tumult from the late thirteenth century through the fifteenth century. For two years with a vacant papacy, the College of Cardinals continually encountered a deadlock.
In 1294, they finally elected Celestine V into the chair of Peter.4 Yet the elderly Celestine found his home more in the humble hermitage than in the greatest position of power in medieval Europe, and thus, he resigned within six months of his election.5 The famous poet Dante Alighieri, who wrote in the same Tuscanese vernacular as St. Catherine of Siena, perceived the resignation as an act of cowardice and represented Celestine in Inferno as “the one who out of cowardice made the great refusal.”6 Dante felt even greater disdain for Celestine V’s successor, Pope Boniface VIII, whom the poet would eventually designate as the Antichrist.7 Boniface did not shy from papal power; he engaged himself in political conflicts with France. His actions widened the gap between the clergy and the laity. His pursuit of political power culminated in Unam Sanctam (1302), in which Boniface exercised both his spiritual and secular swords of power.
With King Philip of France in mind, the pope declared submission to the Roman Pontiff as absolutely necessary for salvation and asserted papal supremacy over secular kings and emperors.8 Thus the conflict between Boniface and Philip IV exploded; just as Boniface wrote a bull of excommunication, Philip sent forth his French armies to attack the papal palace.9 4 Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes.
