The last part of The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena is on obedience. Adam disobeyed God because of pride and his desire to please his companion. Christ obeyed the Father by dying on the cross and brought redemption to mankind. Eternal life was locked by Adam’s disobedience and was unlocked by the key of obedience.
There are two ways of observing obedience. The first way is obeying the commandment of the Law and obeying the authority of the Church, especially the Vicar of Christ. This way of obedience is for everyone who wants to attain eternal life. The second way is the special obedience of observing the evangelical counsels in fact as well as in spirit. This second way of obedience is practised in the religious life.
Obedience is related to other virtues such as charity, patience, humility, chastity, and poverty.
God the Father said to St. Catherine, “Love never stands alone, but has as her companions all the true solid virtues, because all the virtues have life from charity’s love. And among love’s companions is patience, the very marrow of love and the clear sign of whether the soul is in grace and is loving in truth or not. Therefore charity, the mother, has given obedience patience as a sister and has so joined the two together that the one can never be lost without the other. Either you have both or you have neither. Obedience has a wet nurse, true humility, and the soul is as obedient as she is humble, and as humble as she is obedient.”
Regarding the religious life, God the Father said, “It is rare that a person who sins against the vow of obedience does not also sin against continence and true poverty.”
The sign that a person has obedience is patience, and impatience is the sign that a person does not have obedience. God the Father said, “Disobedience comes from pride, which in turn comes from selfish love for oneself and deprives one of humility. Selfish love gives disobedience impatience as a sister and pride as wet nurse.”
One doesn’t need to be perfect to enter the religious life. God the Father said, “If she enters it imperfect it does not mean she cannot attain perfection. She will attain it if she is willing to exercise herself in obedience. In fact, the majority of those who enter are imperfect … But from that point on the only thing that counts is that they exercise themselves in virtue and persevere until death.”
The proper living out of the religious life enables the religious to experience divine providence.
God the Father said, “When the orders blossomed with the virtues of true patience and familial charity, they were never lacking in temporal sustenance but had more than they needed. But as soon as stinking selfishness and noncommunal living entered in and obedience fell by the wayside, they found themselves wanting in temporal goods. The more they possessed, the more they found themselves reduced to begging.”
St. Peter asked Jesus, “Master, we have left everything for love of you and have followed you. What will you give us?” Jesus answered, “I will give you a hundred for your one, and you will possess eternal life.”
God the Father explained to Saint Catherine the meaning of “one” and “hundred.” “One” refers to those who give their own will, which is but a single will. “Hundred” is a perfect number symbolizing “charity,” which is the most perfect.
Faith and hope accompany us to the door of heaven, and only charity will enter into heaven. A soul gives her single will whether in ordinary obedience or in special obedience; the result is the practice of numerous virtues, and the most perfect among them – charity – enables the soul to enter heaven.
聽命領我們進天堂
聖嘉琳「對話錄」一書的最後部份，談及「聽命」。由於驕傲和設法取悅妻子，亞當不聽命於天主，延禍了後世；由於聽命於天父，耶穌死在十字架上，救贖了整個人類；因亞當的不聽命，把永生關鎖；因耶穌的聽命，重啟了永生。
聽命分兩種：第一種是那些想得享永生的人，願意聽命於天主十誡和聖教會的權訓 ── 特別是耶穌基督在世的代表；第二種是聽從福音的勸諭 ── 特別是會士渡修會的生活。
聽命與愛德、含忍、謙遜、貞潔和神貧息息相關。愛德並不孤立，有多種真實的美德相伴，因為這些美德，衍生自愛德。愛的同伴們之中有忍耐，忍耐是愛的精髓，真愛程度的指標，也看出靈魂是否活在聖寵中。所以，愛德就如一位母親，把聽命和含忍合併為姊妹，相輔相承、彼此不可或缺，沒有人可單一擁有聽命或含忍。聽命由謙遜孕育，靈魂會因謙遜而願意聽命。至於修道的修會生活，天主聖父指出：一個違背聽命愿的修道者，很難不會違背貞潔及真神貧。
有忍耐的人會是願意聽命的人，缺乏耐性的人，不會甘心聽命於別人。不聽命源自驕傲，剝奪了謙遜，演變成自我為中心、自私。驕傲孕育自私，自私讓不聽命與不忍耐成為姊妹。
並非完美才能開始渡修道的靈性生活。天主聖父透過聖嘉琳讓我們明白：進修會時不完美不等於不能完美，只要堅持聽命修德便可達致。其實，很多進修院修道的人都是不完美，但求堅守修德行到死才是重要。
正確修道的靈性生活，便能體驗天主的恩祐。但凡修會的生活，培育自含忍美德和活在家庭般的關顧，便覺到在天主內世物的不缺；一旦自私和脫離群體生活的出現，聽命旁落，便轉向不斷追尋世物，感到從無擁有。
聖伯多祿問耶穌說：「看，我們捨棄了我們的一切所有，跟隨了祢；那麼，將來我們可得到什麼呢？」耶穌回答說：「… 必要領取百倍的賞報，並承受永生。」天主聖父向聖嘉琳闡釋：一百是完美的數目，也象徵愛德，因為愛德是最完美的。我們藉聽命捨棄一個意志，便得到「百倍」即完美的愛德。信德和望德伴著我們走到天堂的門口，只有愛德才可以把我們帶進去。無論修煉一般的聽命或修會的聽命都能使我們多修不同的德行，特別是愛德帶我們進入天堂。
