Today is the feast day of St. Maria Goretti. To honor her today, I am reposting a blog from November.
St. Maria Goretti: Born in Corinaldo, Ancona, Italy, on October 16 1890; her farm worker father moved his family to Ferrier di Conca, near Anzio. Her father died of malaria and her mother had to struggle to feed her children. In 1902 an eighteen-year-old neighbor, Alexander, grabbed her from her steps and tried to rape her. When Maria said that she would rather die than submit, Alexander began stabbing her with a knife. Maria continually cried out to her assailant, "No! It is a sin! God forbids it! You will go to hell!" On her deathbed a day later, in her agony, she forgave her murderer. "For the love of Jesus I forgive him, and I want him to be with me one day in heaven!" Her death didn't end her forgiveness, however. Alexander was captured and sentenced to thirty years. He was unrepentant until he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was there and gave him flowers. When he woke, he was a changed man, repenting of his crime and living a reformed life. When he was released after 27 years he went directly to Maria's mother to beg her forgiveness, which she gave. "If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness," she said. When Maria was declared a saint in 1950, Alexander was there in the St. Peter's crowd to celebrate her canonization. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950 for her purity as model for youth. She is called a martyr because she fought against Alexander's attempts at sexual assault. However, the most important aspect of her story is her forgiveness of her attacker -- her concern for her enemy extending even beyond death. http://www.catholicorg.com/, http://www.mariagoretti.org/
Scripture for meditation: 1 Thessalonians:3-5, 7: It is God's will that you grow in holiness: that you abstain from immorality, each of you guarding his member in sanctity and honor, not in passionate desire as do the Gentiles who know not God. God has not called us to immorality but to holiness.
Scripture for reflection: Luke 23: 33-35: When they came to Skull Place, as it was called, they crucified Him there and the criminals as well, one on His right, and one on His left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing."
Blessed John Paul II tells us:
"She did not flee from the voice of the Holy Spirit, from the voice of her conscience. She rather chose death. Through the gift of fortitude the Holy Spirit helped her to 'judge"- and to choose with her young spirit. She chose death when there was no other way to defend her virginal purity. Maria Goretti's blood, shed in a sacrifice of total fidelity to God, reminds us that we are also called to offer ourselves to the Father. We are called to fulfill the divine will in order to be found holy and pleasing in His sight. Our call to holiness, which is the vocation of every baptized person, is encouraged by the example of this young martyr. Look at her especially, adolescents and young people. Like her, be capable of defending your purity of heart and body; be committed to the struggle against evil and sin, nourishing your communion with the Lord through prayer, the daily practice of mortification, and scrupulously observing the commandments. Do not be afraid to take a counter-cultural stance, to reject the world's idols when it is a question of courageously witnessing by your lives that you belong to a chaste and poor Christ. Always esteem and love purity and virginity. In a Homily commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the virgin-martyr's birth
Prayer: Official Prayer to St. Maria Goretti
Oh Saint Maria Goretti who, strengthened by God's grace, did not hesitate even at the age of twelve to shed your blood and sacrifice life itself to defend your virginal purity, look graciously on the unhappy human race which has strayed far from the path of eternal salvation. Teach us all, and especially youth, with what courage and promptitude we should flee for the love of Jesus anything that could offend Him or stain our souls with sin. Obtain for us from our Lord victory in temptation, comfort in the sorrows of life, and the grace which we earnestly beg of thee (here insert intention), and may we one day enjoy with thee the imperishable glory of Heaven. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc. http://www.mariagoretti.org/
My thoughts: What is "Love's greatest choice"? Is it to resist the sin of impurity because of our love for God? Is it the forgiveness of someone who has maliciously harmed us? Or is it to care in all situations for the salvation of another person's soul? Maria Goretti, in her resistance, feared that the act would send her attacker to hell. On her deathbed, she expressed her desire for him to be in heaven, and in death, she appeared to him to offer him a new life. He accepted, and died a good and holy man. Maria is remembered for her purity, her ability to forgive, and her desire to save a soul. May we, too, pray for the graces of fortitude, forgiveness, and spiritual concern for our neighbor. It is such a beautiful way to live, and die.
St. Maria Goretti, pray for us.
St. Maria Goretti's feast day is July 6.
St. Maria Goretti is the patron saint of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape.
