ST. CATHERINE 157 father, was seized with a great longing to go back to Borne. His mind was in a state of restless excitement ; he coald neither eat nor sleep, feeling that some- thing important demanded their imme- diate return. So he set off in advance of the rest of the party, and no sooner arrived at St. Peter's Church than he saw Catherine. He took her to her mother at Bologna, where she was received by the reformed abbot and brethren with great devotion and joy. They then went back to Bome. Catherine visited the stations and the holiest places, and after a few weeks she pur- posed to return to Sweden. Her mother begged her not to leave, and Catherine yielded, saying that in order to stay with her, she would renounce her country, and even her husband, whom she loved more than her life. Brigid, who had pined and prayed for a com- panion, was now told by Christ that this was the companion He had promised her. Together they visited the sick and relieved the poor, as Brigid, by her example, had taught Catherine to do in her childhood. Catherine's beauty, wisdom, and kindness soon made her very popular. Her extreme fairness and bright colouring were uncommon in Italy, and her comeliness was the more conspicuous f^om her unusual height She cared so little for fashion or splen- dour that she wore ragged old clothes. With her mother's permission, she accompanied some of the noblest ladies of Bome on an excursion outside the walls. They were tempted by some beautiful grapes that huog over the wall of a vineyard. The other ladies asked Catherine, as the tallest of the party, to try to reach them and pick one of the bunches. When she stretched up her arms, her cloak fell back, and she showed her sleeves, patched and ragged ; but they looked to her friends like hyacinth and purple, and they said,
- ' Oh, Lady Catherine, what magnificent
sleeves ! Who would have thought you wore such splendid clothes!" It was the same with her straw bed; a pious friend who came to see her when she was ill,- thought she was lying on a eumptuous couch, with coverings of scar* let and gold. Once when Brigid prayed for grace to love Christ more, the Virgin Mary advised her to wear an old petti- coat of Catherine's, who loved old better than new, and serge better than silk. A woman who was Catherine's maid for five years, and afterwards a nun at Wadstein, testified that Catherine had never said an angry or impatient word. After Catherine had promised to stay in Bome, she became homesick, and longed to see her own country, her own house, and her husband. She com- plained to her mother of these feelings. Brigid sent for her confessor. They agreed that scourging was the only thing to expel the temptation to regret. While Catherine was undergoing this discipline, she said to the priest, ** Go on, strike harder ; you have not reached the hard- ness of my heart." At last her sorrow- ful countenance cleared, and with a joyful accent she said, '* Now I feel my heart changed." The Pope being at Avignon, many sons of Belial infested the streets and public places of Bome, and annoyed peaceable citizens and respectable women by their insolence and violence to such an extent that they could not visit the stations and indulgences. Toung women in particular were not safe. Catherine was forbidden by her mother to go out without a numerous suite. For several days she stayed in the house with her maids, while her mother went to the indulgences, until she began to say to herself, "I lead a miserable life here, sitting brutally at home, while others go and feed their souls at the services. My brothers and sisters in my own country can serve God in peace." She fell into low spirits, and soon had a dream which depressed her still more. As her mother saw her weeping, she asked what was the matter. Catherine told her that she dreamt she was surrounded with fire, and could not get away. She saw the Virgin Mary, and cried out to her for help. The Blessed Virgin replied, " How can I help you while you cherish a sinful longing to return home ? " Her mother reasoned with her, and they prayed that she might have grace to keep her good resolutions.
