I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that the story of the tragic death
of the "unnamed" former-member of Catherine of Siena's "circle" is also in
the _Legenda maior_ by Bl. Raymond of Capua; if so, I would find it hard to
believe that the story is included for the sake of regional politics or
rivalries between religious communities. Raymond was chosen by Catherine
to look after her circle after her death, and so it is reasonable to assume
that at least in Catherine's mind, her views and Raymond's were fairly
close. (If it's not in Raymond, it may be in the _Legenda minor_ by
Tommaso Caffarini -- I'm fairly certain its in one of the two. Tommaso was
also thought to be very close to the spirit of Catherine, one of the
closest in her circle...)
If I were to look for a detailed explanation of this "saintly failure" on
Catherine's part, I would suggest looking into the following three areas:
1) Examine the relation of Providence and free will in Catherine's
_Dialogue_. Perhaps this story in Catherine's life is meant to exemplify
Catherine's teaching elsewhere (eg, if Catherine teaches that even the
prayers of a saint can't overcome a sinner's choice to damn himself, the
story in her life would be a perfect case in point).
2) Perhaps the story is included to explain to the other members in
Catherine's circle the nature of the fall of "unnamed one". Perhaps it was
comforting to the circle to know that Catherine did everything she could
for this former friend, and his perversity was such that he resisted even
her efforts to save him...
3) Perhaps the story is meant to prepare the reader for an even greater
"saintly failure" in Catherine's life: her inability to prevent the "Great
Schism" of the West -- even though one gets the sense that she basically
died trying to prevent this.
Just my $0.02. Hope it is helpful...
Donald Uitvlugt
At 11:15 AM 11/2/99 -0500, Sharon Dale wrote:
>Tom--hagiography is very contextual in Italy. Since Catherine was Sienese
>and Dominican, I'd want to know how the Florentine writer viewed things
>Sienese (usually negatively in this period). Also, if the writer were not
>Dominican, this would radically change the tone to one of skepticism. I
>have worked on San Galgano, a saint venerated by the Cistercians but claimed
>as well by the Augustinians and there are huge differences in the vitae by
>members of the respective orders. There is also a Dominican biography that
>changes this sweet little hermit into a zealous preacher and fighter of
>heresy. His own mother wouldn't be able to identify him!! Sharon Dale
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Donald Jacob Uitvlugt
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"Vis capere celsitudinem Dei? Cape prius humilitatem Dei."
-- S. Augustine, Sermo 117, 17
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