Catherine Against the Machine (Part 1_)
Of all the saints, only one is said to have married Christ himself, with his mother and all of heaven as witnesses. She was a beautiful princess who would one day defy an empire. But first, she fell in love. No earthly man could capture her eye, this was a princess who would leave it all behind and follow a hermit into the desert in search of her one true love.
Although this is Catherine's story, we don't begin with Catherine. We begin a thousand years later, with another woman on trial: Joan of Arc. St. Catherine of Alexandria is said to have been one of the three voices that inspired Joan on her military campaigns. Joan's account is historically verifiable; her testimony about her voices was recorded at her trial. There, she was pressed on what language Catherine's voice spoke in, whether or not the saint spoke English.
She was asked: "Does not Saint Margaret speak English?"
To which she replied: "Why should she speak English, when she is not on the English side?"
Catherine, who supposedly lived c. 287–305 AD, would have spoken Koine Greek, not English. And a saint (an angelic being) could presumably have spoken any language at all. So the question was a trap: she was asked it purely so that she could be charged with blasphemy, for asserting a national allegiance to the saint. That was a real charge in her time.
I bring this up because it was precisely this question (of St. Catherine's divine counsel) that the court used to condemn Joan of Arc. Later, the existence of Catherine herself was called into question by the Catholic Church, because her story is simply too unbelievable. This is exactly why I love it. For me, it's irrelevant whether it's actually true. It's a great story, and that's all that really matters.
It's said that Catherine would gaze for hours upon an icon she kept of Mary holding the infant Jesus. Within the frame, Mary looked upon her approvingly, with grace, while the child's gaze looked past her, his eyes never quite meeting hers. This is told as Christ seeing her unbaptized spirit as ugly. She was the daughter of King Costus, a princess. As she came of age and her beauty grew, many suitors came. All were rejected. Catherine had eyes only for Christ.
Somewhere in the vast Egyptian desert, alone in a cave, prostrate before a wooden cross fixed to the wall, Adrian prayed intently. He had done this more times than he could remember; it's said he had been serving his penance for more than thirty years. But this day was different. As Adrian knelt in meditation, the Virgin Mary appeared before him. He was so taken aback by her beauty that he passed out. When he awoke, she stood over him and said:
"Adrian, go to Alexandria for me, to the palace of Queen Katherine. Tell her the Lady greets her, the Lady whose Son she chose as her lord and husband, there in her own court, among her mother and her lords, where she fought so hard to keep herself pure. That lord is my Son. I am a virgin, and he loves her beauty and her chastity above every virgin on earth. Tell her to come with you now, alone, to this palace, where she will be clothed anew. Then she will see him, and have him as her husband forever."
Given new vigor, Adrian set off for Alexandria.
When he arrived at Catherine's palace in Alexandria, the doors were all unlocked and open, as though they knew he was coming. He made his way through the many halls and rooms until at last he reached Catherine's study. There she sat at a table, her eyes transfixed on a small icon of the Virgin and Child. She looked up at Adrian, melancholy. Adrian spoke:
"He has chosen you, my Queen. But first…"
From a satchel Adrian drew a flask and a white garment. He told her to face the west and renounce her old gods, which she did. Then he told her to face east, toward the sun, and profess Christ, and as she did, tears welled in her eyes, and she bowed down. Adrian opened the flask and poured drops of water on her forehead, saying:
"I baptize you in the name of the Father… and of the Son… and of the Holy Spirit. Rise, child."
As she rose, she looked again at her beloved icon on the table, and the Christ child now looked intently back at her. Adrian then told her that the Virgin Mary had sent him to bring her to Christ, and that she was to be his wife.
Catherine left everything behind (her riches, her palace, all of it) to travel into the desert with a hermit. It was no easy thing for the young queen. She questioned Adrian intently, and every question was answered in full; she learned a great deal from the wise old man as they traveled. After some time, though, Adrian realized he had become lost. He tried to conceal his worry, but Catherine could see his despair. She kept her resolve, and it was she who spotted the outline of what looked like a vast monastery in the mountains above. With hope restored, they set out toward it.
When they arrived, they beheld the most glorious monastery either of them had ever seen. As they approached the gates, they were met by a company of angelic beings whose radiance and beauty overwhelmed them, all dressed in white, each crowned with garlands of white lilies. Their brilliance was more than Catherine or Adrian could bear, and they both fell to the ground in awe. These beings lifted them up and brought them into a vast church, taking great care with Catherine. One spoke to her directly:
"Fear nothing, our dear sister. No one has ever been more warmly welcomed by our sovereign Lord than you, and by all of us. You will receive our robe and our crown with such great honor that all the saints will rejoice in you. Come forward. The Lord is waiting, and longing for you."
Catherine trembled with joy as she was led into the church, feeling a joy beyond anything she had ever known. All around her a marvellous melody filled the halls, so sweet it was beyond perception. And there they all beheld the royal queen (Mary) among a multitude of angels and saints: beauty and riches beyond any mortal mind, exceeding what the human heart can feel or any pen could write.
All the martyrs, together with the virgins who had led Catherine, fell at the feet of Mary, the royal empress, saying:
"Our most sovereign Lady, Queen of Heaven, Lady of all the world, Empress over hell, Mother of Almighty God, the King of bliss, you whom all creatures of heaven and earth obey, may it please you that we present to you here our dear sister, whose name is written in the Book of Life. We beg your gracious kindness to receive her as your chosen daughter and humble handmaid, to complete the work our blessed Lord has begun in her."
"Bring me my daughter," Mary answered. And when Catherine heard the voice of Mary, she was filled with such heavenly joy that she fell to the ground as if dead.
The virgins lifted her up, and Mary stretched out her hand and led her to the choir door. There she beheld him, surrounded by a great multitude of angels: the love of her life, the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. His beauty is impossible for any earthly creature to describe or imagine. When her eyes finally met his, Catherine was filled with an immense joy and sweetness that could never be told. The two were joined in spiritual marriage, Christ promising to keep her in this life, and that after it she would reign with him forever in his bliss. To seal his promise, he placed a ring on her finger.
Then he was gone. All of it was gone. Catherine looked at Adrian, fell to her knees, and began to sob, until she saw the ring on her finger, and picked herself up. Adrian instructed her in God's laws, and when she returned to Alexandria, she began converting people to the faith of Jesus Christ.