Saint Catherine of Siena writes a letter to Agnolino, to encourage him to fight against the flesh, the world, and the devil. Agnolino de Salimbeni was one of the most powerful nobles of Siena.
Dearest Son in Christ, the sweet Jesus, I, Catherine, servant and slave of the servants of Jesus Christ, write to you in His precious blood, with the desire to see you fight generously, and not fear blows like a heartless knight.
My sweet Son, we are on a battlefield, and we must always fight, at all times and in all places. We have enemies who besiege the city of our soul: these are the flesh with its disordered pleasures, the world with its honors and its delights, and the devil with his malice.
To hinder the holy desires of the soul, he surrounds it with snares, either by himself or through creatures, putting on the tongues of his servants deceptive words, praises, threats, murmurs, or insults; and he acts thus to trouble the soul and disgust it with its good and holy works.
But we, like generous knights, must defend and guard the city; we must close the gate to disordered feelings, and place as guard the dog of conscience, so that when the enemy passes, it barks, allowing the intellect to watch and see if it is a friend or an enemy, a vice or a virtue that presents itself. This dog must be given drink and food; it must be given blood for drink, and fire for food, so that it may shake off the cold of negligence and be vigilant.
Yes, I tell you, my son Agnolino, feed the dog of conscience with the fire of a most ardent charity and with the blood of the spotless Lamb, shed on the Cross from all parts of His body, so that we may give it to drink; and in doing so, it will be full of vigor, and you will fight well.
Take up the sword of hatred and love, that is, hatred and horror of vice, and love of virtue; and the flesh, the worst and most treacherous enemy we can have, will be killed by striking it with this sword. Conscience will show the eye of the intellect how dangerous is the pleasure of the flesh that presents itself to the soul, and to kill it, it will look upon the scourged flesh of Jesus crucified, and it will be ashamed to cling to disordered pleasures and bodily delights.
The devil, with his cunning and the snares he sets to destroy souls, will be conquered by the virtue of true humility. Let the dog of conscience bark, then, to keep the intellect awake and show it how dangerous it is to listen to temptations and to hope in oneself.
Let man recognize his nothingness, so as not to fall into pride: it is humility that breaks all the devil's nets. Man should not be ashamed to humble himself upon seeing his nothingness, upon seeing that he holds his being from God and not from himself, and that God humbled Himself even unto him. By an act of profound humility, He descended from the infinite heights of His divinity to the lowliness of our flesh.
This sweet and tender Lamb, the incarnate Word, is our strength, for from Him comes all help. He willed to be our leader, and with His disarmed hand, pierced and nailed to the Cross, He defeated all our enemies. His blood remained on the battlefield to animate us to fight as good knights, generously and without fear.
The devil has been rendered powerless by the blood of the Lamb; he can only do what God permits, and God never permits the burden to be beyond our strength. The flesh too was conquered by the scourging and torments of Christ, and the world by the opprobrium, contempt, insults, and outrages He received.
Wealth was conquered by the voluntary poverty of Jesus crucified. Supreme wealth became so poor that He had nowhere to rest His head upon the wood of the most holy Cross. Yes, my Son, when the enemy wants to enter your soul through love of honors and worldly goods, ensure that the dog of conscience awakens the intellect, and that it sees that there is neither duration nor stability in the honors and goods of the world, from whichever side they come.
You know it well, you have seen it and experienced it. And then I want you to understand that by giving oneself in a disordered manner to these passing things, one does not attain glory, but shame; for man becomes the slave of what is less than him; he serves finite things, and he is infinite; for man never ends in terms of being, although he ends in grace through mortal sin. If we wish to find honor, rest, and contentment, we must serve and love what is greater than us.
God is our Redeemer, our Lord, our Father, the sovereign, eternal Goodness, worthy of being loved and served by all; it is an obligation for us, if we wish to participate in divine grace. He is the supreme power and happiness; it is He who satisfies the soul and sustains all weakness; it is in Him that one finds peace, rest, security, the satisfaction that nothing else can give, because all creatures are less than man.
Thus, contempt for the world is an honor, a wealth; but fools, the senseless, do not recognize it, and think the exact opposite. For you, as generous combatants, rise above sensual affections, and know the truth. Do not believe wicked and perverse men; the devil uses their mouths to harm your life and your salvation, to excite you to anger and revolt you against the will of God.
Do not listen to these counselors of the devil, but listen and respond to the Holy Spirit, who calls you. Show that you do not hesitate, and answer them generously; tell them that you do not wish to resist God, that you cannot.
I know what has been said, and the Countess will be greatly tormented by some and others, because she wishes to be the servant and slave of the servants of Jesus Christ. The wicked, to stop you, her and you, will want to inspire fears and regrets in you; they will present to you as a shame and a baseness the greatest honor you can have, not only now, but forever.
Before God and before men, your glory will surpass that of all your ancestors. How foolish and senseless we would be if we placed our love and our hope in a straw fire? A great flame appeared the first time you were married, but it soon disappeared, and only the smoke of sorrow remained. The fire then seemed to want to rekindle, but it went out, the wind of death scattered it. It would therefore be much simpler, for her and for you, to answer the call of the Holy Spirit.
You see that the world rejects her and sends her back to Jesus crucified. I have great hope in the divine Goodness that you will never forget the will of God, and that you will not let yourself be carried away by the judgments of the world.
Close, close the mouths of your vassals, and prevent their murmurs, by showing yourself firm. I do not doubt that you will do so, if the dog of conscience does not sleep, and if the eye of the intellect remains open; for otherwise, you would not be a generous knight, and you would show great cowardice. My whole desire is to see you courageous; and I have told you that I desired to see you fight well on the battlefield, especially in this new combat that you must now sustain concerning the Countess.
Also read | What is your excuse for not meeting God?
The devil sees that he is losing her, that is why he torments you so much through creatures. But have courage, despise all the judgments of the world, and may Jesus crucified live in you. I say nothing else to you. Remain in the holy and sweet love of God. Sweet Jesus, Jesus love.
Source: The Life of Saint Catherine of Siena – Blessed Raymond of Capua her confessor – 1904