ABSTRACT

Catherine of Siena was by all accounts a great talker, at least in the final years of her life. She was feisty and passionate, stubborn and willful, completely devoted to the love of God-and she let many people know it. It was this devotion that fueled her acts of piety, her political interventions, her forms of preaching, and her writing. Appreciating Catherine’s passionate personality and knowing her gift of oral persuasion make it understandable how the Dialogue became immediately popular among her contemporaries. Recognizing the depth of prayer and breadth of learning that went into the work’s composition makes it understandable why the Dialogue remains a classic in the tradition of Christian spirituality.