This is the extraordinary dialogue between St. Catherine of Siena and God the Father. Pope Benedict XVI has called this enduring classic, "a masterpiece of spiritual literature." It is a private revelation, unlike any other, that can be read many times over and, each time, with new inspirations and insights. In fourteenth century Italy, few women were as influential as St. Catherine of Siena. In her short life, she melted the hatreds of Church persecutors and feuding warlords as she repeatedly negotiated an end to conflicts. She became an advisor to popes, and is said to have been influential in the decision to return Avignon's papacy to Rome. In that brutal age of plague and war, she was almost assassinated, but the sheer force of her courageous sanctity overcame the aggressive tendencies of powerful adversaries. Yet, the source of her influence was her simple, quiet, fearless faith. At a very young age, she committed her life to God, eventually becoming an ecstatic visionary, reluctant exorcist and suffering stigmatist. Her profound abstinence from food and drink seemed to defy natural law. Yet, she had the energy to found a monastery for women, and she authored some 400 letters, to the powerful and powerless, demonstrating the wisdom of her faith. Still, her crowning achievement was this Dialogue. Throughout all of human history, how many of the faithful can claim to have had such a lengthy and beneficial discourse with God the Father? We should thank God for not only making this revelation available to St. Catherine, but to us all.