Dialogues: The Guidelines for a Spiritual Life
The idea of what is considered a ?pious' life differs for every person. Catherine explains her views on the subject throughout Dialogues with God's divine inspiration guiding her pen. Through the use of metaphors, biblical references, repetition, and the fact that these ideas are reportedly coming straight from the Lord Himself, the sometimes ambiguous idea of being entirely one with God swiftly becomes clear and unmistakable because of Catherine's proposals. But just because something is apparent in theory does not mean that it is necessarily easy when put in to action. Catherine carefully outlines through didactic means what virtues are necessary for salvation and what vices lead to damnation.
The main idea that carries through the passage is that of being utterly and completely obedient to the Lord. This involves not only spiritual devotion, but physical as well. God demands both devout faith and outward examples of it through "observing the vow of poverty" (336), which is necessary for obedience. The passage begins by giving just two simple rules to follow: "the chief of which is to love me above all things and your neighbors as your very self" (329-330). I identified with this part the most, because to me far too many philosophies revolve heavily around superfluous concerns over how God wants one to live, or how to gain ?points' and be put into God's favor. To hear it stated so easily and beautifully truly made me appreciate the relative simplicity of God's message. All of the virtues in this world can be placed into one of those two categories, so following both of these guidelines is a sure way to ensure a spot in heaven. What is also in ...