‘A Token of Espousal’: A Poem on Saint Catherine de’ Ricci, by Joseph S. Salemi

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A Token of Espousal

Sister Elisabetta Dardinelli Speaks Concerning the Token of Espousal
of Saint Catherine de’ Ricci (1522-1590)

Dixit mihi Dominus meus: Ne timeas, filia: Non rapiet te
quisquam de manu mea.

My Lord said to me: Be not afraid, daughter; no one will
take you from My hand.  —Carmelite Breviary

All of us saw it but in different forms.
The index finger of the Saint’s left hand
Was marked with something where a ring might sit.
To some it was a hoop of gold; in place
Of stone and bezel, flesh protruded up
Like a small pea or bean. Some others saw
Unearthly radiance coming from that hand,
Or a raised ridge of flesh that formed a circlet
Around her finger. Sister Serafina
Saw a gold ring set with a pure white stone
Wherein her own reflection could be marked.
As for myself, a red discoloration
Seemed to surround her index finger where
It joined her palm, clear as a band of coral.

Catherine was embarrassed, and she kept
Her left hand out of sight, at least so far
As this was possible in our common prayers.
But none could stop the word of such a thing
From spreading. In a month the facts were known
By all within the convent, and without.

A token of espousal to a bride…
Jesus Himself had come to her in prayer—

A vision of Him and His Holy Mother.
They took her left hand; on the index finger
The Lord then placed a gold and diamond ring
As a bridegroom might, addressing Catherine thus:

I give thee this in token that thou art
My spouse forever, and in token that
The Tempter shall not lead thee into sin
Of any sort, by any means or manner.

It melded with her hand. When others asked
About the sign, she was discomfited,
And only answered with great hesitation:

I cannot tell what your eyes may behold
When they look at this hand. But as for me
I see it plain as that first holy moment—
A gold ring with a diamond, lozenge-shaped,
Set in a bright red bezel. Nothing more.
It never leaves my hand, and now it seems
A part of my own finger. I have prayed
That it not be the occasion of false pride
Or scandal to our sisterhood. Therefore
I keep it in my habit’s folds, unseen.

More than this I cannot say. They took
My deposition, those of older sisters—
We few who still survive from Catherine’s time.
But there were many others, now departed,
Who could have added to the testimony.
What matter that we saw it differently?
The ring was but a symbol of Christ’s love
For His bride: all the Church and all her members.
And every member of that Mystic Body
Sees the espousal in a unique way.
Perception suits one’s knowledge, state, and grace:
The many mansions in our Father’s house.

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Postscript

Sworn testimony of eyewitnesses to the Token of Espousal of Saint
Catherine de’ Ricci (Positio super Virtutibus, 1614):

“…a hoop of gold, but in the place of the bezel a protuberance in the
flesh of the finger.”
—Sister Dorothea Vecchi

“…a livid mark round the index finger of the left hand,”

—Sister Maria Maddalena Ricasoli

“…a ring on the index finger of the left hand—at least it had the form
of a ring, but appeared to be entirely of flesh raised up like a ridge.”

—Donna Isabella de’ Bonsignori

“…an extraordinary radiance coming from one finger of the Saint’s
hand.”
—Sister Angela Arrighetti

“…a ring of gold, very dazzling.”

—Donna Dianora de Salis

“…a red circle round the ring finger.”

—Sister Elisabetta Dardinelli

“…a gold ring with a brilliant white stone, so that I could see myself
reflected in it.”
—Sister Serafina Baroncini

“…a fold in the flesh of the finger in the shape of a ring.”

—Sister Serafina Strozzi

Closely akin in some respects to the phenomenon of stigmatization, but in other features very different, the spontaneous appearance of a miraculous ring upon the finger of certain virgins of holy life is not infrequently mentioned in hagiographical records. In nearly all such cases the outward manifestation is preceded by an ecstasy in which the soul thus favored believes herself to have gone through some sort of mystic espousal with Christ our Saviour.

—Father Herbert Thurston, S.J., “Tokens of Espousal,”
in The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism (London, 1952)

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Joseph S. Salemi has published five books of poetry, and his poems, translations and scholarly articles have appeared in over one hundred publications world-wide.  He is the editor of the literary magazine TRINACRIA and writes for Expansive Poetry On-line. He teaches in the Department of Humanities at New York University and in the Department of Classical Languages at Hunter College.

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