"Love Is Had Only by Loving"       Thursday, April 29, is the feast day of St. Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380), an incredibly remarkable woman. She was the 23rd of 24 children, and the year after her birth the plague (“Black Death”) wiped out half the population of Sienna, Italy. At age six she had a vision of Christ that led her to dedicate her life to God, and clearly God guided her spiritual growth from then on, teaching her the first commandment to love God with all her heart, then teaching her the second commandment of love of neighbor.       St. Catherine left behind numerous writings, and her many letters can be quite direct and full of wisdom. In one such letter she raises the question of how to acquire love. Her answer: “Love is had only by loving. If you want love, you must begin by loving – I mean you must want to love.” Simple enough. Easy? No. She says, “Once you want it, you must open the eye of your understanding to see where and ho...