1. I long to cry out with so loud a cry that it would frighten all the men who are upon the earth, and to say to them: O wretched men, why do you let yourselves be so blinded by this world that you make no provision at all for so great and so urgent a need as you will find at the moment of death?
2. You all take shelter under the hope of the mercy of God, which you say is so great; but do you not see that so great a goodness of God will stand in judgment against you, for having acted against the will of so good a Lord?
3. His goodness should compel you to do all His will, and not give you hope of doing evil; for His justice cannot fail either, but must in some way be fully satisfied.
4. Do not trust in yourself, saying: I will confess, and then I will gain the Plenary Indulgence, and at that point I will be purged of all my sins, and so I will be saved.
5. Think that the confession and contrition required for that Plenary Indulgence are so difficult to attain that, if you knew it, you would tremble with great fear, and you would be more certain of not having it than of being able to have it.
About this translation
This English translation from the Italian was drafted with AI assistance using SWE-2 Max and prepared as a reading edition for this library. Review has included source provenance, section structure, and selected source comparisons and corrections. It has not included a complete independent, sentence-by-sentence translation audit.
Catherine’s teaching was transmitted by her disciples and first printed in 1551. This translation follows the supplied Italian transcription; the introductory note is editorial.
This is a reading copy, not a critical edition. No professional translation certification or ecclesiastical approval is claimed for this modern edition.
No general reuse licence is specified for this modern translation or its source transcription. The age of the original work does not by itself establish their reuse terms.
Remember Eternity · remembereternity.org. AI-assisted English translation drafted with SWE-2 Max from the Italian; selected source comparisons and corrections only. No complete independent translation audit or ecclesiastical approval is claimed. Catherine’s teaching was transmitted by her disciples and first printed in 1551. This translation follows the supplied Italian transcription; the introductory note is editorial. No general reuse licence is specified for this modern translation or its source transcription.