to change this resolution. They attempted this by petty persecution. They obligated her to do all the housework and, knowing she valued privacy, took away her bedroom. Finally her father realized that further opposition was useless and decided to give her back her room and allow her to lead the life to which she felt called.
             Catherine kept the room shuttered and dimly lit. She dedicated herself to prayer and fasting and slept on boards. With some difficulty, she obtained permission from her parents to receive the habit of a Dominican tertiary at the age of sixteen and joined the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Siena. Catherine often had visions. At times they were of loathsome figures tempting her. In these instances she felt God had abandoned her. On Shrove Tuesday in 1366, however, Catherine was in her room praying when God appeared accompanied
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