Little Talks With God

by Catherine of Sienna

St. Catherine (1347-80) is one of the most beloved spiritual teachers of all time. Born the twenty-fourth of twenty-five children, as a young girl she decided not to marry and to join the third order of Dominicans, in order to serve God. Catherine lived during the ferment of the late Middle Ages and was known both for her mystical experiences and for the way that she would sometimes instruct and even scold popes, bishops, clergy, and anyone else who may have lost sight of God alone.
 
These profound writings are taken from her Dialogues , which were always intended for the widest possible readership. In these intense and searching paragraphs, she offers up petitions to God, instructs on how to discern the way, discovers true and false emotions, and explores her famous image of Christ as the Bridge.

Genres: Catholic, Christianity, Religion, Faith, Theology, Spirituality, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Elaine Lyons Bach, author · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me awhile to read this, because I needed to be clear-headed and able to focus to soak it all in. I usually hi-light or underscore passages that strike me as pithy or amazing. Since this book is a conversation between God and St. Catherine of Sienna, with God doing most of the talking, I wanted to be paying close attention. There is a lot to take in and many of the concepts were new to me, so it was no easy read, but well worth it because you feel He is warmly talking directly to you. Needless to say, I practically hi-lighted the entire book. Having read it once, I know I will need to reread it to digest the wisdom contained within.

[Nav · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the title these "Little Talks" are not separate revelations but instead the answers to her questions build on one another. It almost read like a philosophical essay that way except, of course, for her the basis of truth was God rather than logic. Some of the things she claims God revealed to her, such as people having different virtues so they could come to depend upon and love one another, were sweet almost and you don't have to believe in the Bible to find some truth in them. No man is an island, after all? It was a bit much how she put herself down as unworthy and heaped praise upon God in this, but creating the universe and all that's good within it would probably be worth some adulation.

You don't need to be a Christian scholar to follow this as she doesn't really debate Scripture in this and the context in which quotes are used should make their meanings fairly apparent. However, Biblical happenings are brought up (Judas accepting 30 silver, Peter's denial of his relationship to Jesus, etc) so you have to at least know the broad strokes like who the three parts of the Holy Trinity are and the difference between the Old and New Testament. So you don't need to be a scholar, but you neither can you be a neophyte. Also at one point she may use the phrase "blind as a Jew" because she believes that you'd need to be blind to not recognize the holy nature of Jesus Christ.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me much longer to read this that I had planned! But, considering it is the words of God himself during an ecstatic experience, it makes sense! This is a book to read slowly and reflectively. Some favorite quotes:

"Self love, which destroys love and compassion toward one's neighbor, is the principle and foundation of every evil."

"I promise you that my bride's beauty will be restored to her,
not by the knife nor by cruelty,
but peacefully,
by humble and continued prayer,
and by the sweat and the tears shed by the fiery desire of my servants."

"I am God...I can and will help those who want me to help them."

"To me, in person, you cannot repay the love that I require of you. Therefore, I have placed you in the midst of your fellows, so you may do to them that which you cannot do to me. I give you the opportunity to love your neighbor of free Grace, without expecting any return from him. And what you do to him, I count as done to me."

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rank this book up with Introduction to the Devout Life. While that book was more practical in nature, this book is more spiritual. It was difficult to get into at first, but it hooked me about 1/3 through. If you're starting on a faith journey, I highly recommend Devout Life first, then followed by this book. I know it will stick with me far into the future.

[Chrystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This little book won't make any sense unless the reader has a biblical understanding of all the terms that are used throughout. Without a biblical definition of terms, you might as well be reading in another language. There are a few edifying ideas in the book, but overall, I did not learn anything that I cannot learn from the Bible itself. As a sort of diary of the author's own spiritual experiences, it has value, but personally I did not gain much from reading it.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being that this book was edited and mildly modernized made it much easier to read and comprehend.

[Kevin Weber · Rating 1 out of 5]

The dialogues are great. The language is very modernized and selected.

[Calvin Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, excellent read. One of the best books in my collection and I find it hard to part with it when I lend it to friends.

St Catherine dictates what God the Father says to her about the Turth in the Bible. You can tell this is inspired by God because when God speaks the language is so profound compared with the writings of St Catherine. When I read it I was left in no doubt that she heard God himself speak.

I recommend this to any Catholic and Christian. You will learn so much about the faith.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

On a trip to Siena, Italy, I became intrigued with Catherine of Siena. Just a teenager, she developed a deep ascetic devotion to God that led to an early death. A teenage girl, in the medieval Catholic church, with no education, illiterate...her articulation of a passion for Christ is amazing. She was a person of her times and lacked a clear understanding of grace, but her conversations with God are worth reading.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but it's very deep and sometimes really difficult to wrap my mind around. If you like reading books that make you stop often to soak it in and really understand it, this is definitely worth reading. It's not a quick read, but it's well worth the time.

[Erik]

Included in the "Spiritual Classics" section of Fr. John McCloskey's 100-book Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan.