Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380 CE) was a mystic and a brilliant writer, who was canonised by the Catholic Church and is considered a Doctor of the Church. In her first mystical experience, which came when she was six years old, she saw Christ seated in glory, with the apostles Peter, Paul and John. By the age of seven, she vowed to give her whole life to God. She never married, joining the Mantellates, an informal group of devout laywomen, and spending much of her life in silence and in long fasts.

I first saw God when I was a child, six years of age.
The cheeks of the sun were pale before Him,
and the earth acted as a shy
girl, like me.

Divine light entered my heart from His love
that did never fully wane,

though indeed, dear, I can understand how a person’s
faith can at times flicker,

for what is the mind to do
with something that becomes the mind’s ruin:
a God that consumes us
in His grace.

I have seen what you want;
it is there,

a Beloved of infinite
tenderness.

Translation Daniel Ladinsky