Mt 11,25-30 – Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church. Patron saint of Italy and Europe – Feast
It is beautiful to read this passage from the Gospel of Matthew on the feast day of Saint Catherine of Siena. The greatness of this woman lies precisely in her having made herself small and humble. It is this emptying of one’s self that allows the grace of God to dwell in a person and make them luminous.
When a life opens like this, it becomes capable of being a help to others. Being doctors of the Church, in fact, does not simply mean knowing the doctrine, but indicating a path. It means making visible, through one’s own experience, a path that others can follow. Then there is another decisive aspect. He who empties himself of his own self does not remain in a void, but it turns out to be in someone’s hands. It’s like feeling carried away. It is taking seriously the words of Jesus: «Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, who am meek and humble of heart.” These words are not a generic invitation, but a concrete promise.
Life, when we carry it alone, weighs heavily. It becomes tiring, overwhelming, difficult to sustain. But when we bring it together with Christ, it changes. The burden is shared, and what seemed unbearable becomes traversable. Saint Catherine reminds us precisely of this: true strength comes from humility. Not from protagonismbut with confident abandon. It is there that life becomes fruitful, capable of light, capable of truly helping others too. Those who are too full of themselves are not only not helpful to others, but very often they are also very unhappy and dissatisfied and make others pay for their unhappiness and dissatisfaction.
Wednesday 29 April 2026 – (Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church. Patroness of Italy and Europe – Feast)
