SAINT OF THE DAY -- May 22 - Saint Rita of Cascia DOMESTIC ABUSE SURVIVOR
May 22
St. Rita of Cascia(1381-1457)
Domestic Abuse Survivor
Patron Saint
of
Abuse Victims, Infertility, Loneliness, Sickness, Wounds,
Desperate, Forgotten, Lost and Impossible Causes,
Difficult Marriages, Parenthood and Widows.
Confined to her bed the last four years of her life, eating little more than the Eucharist, teaching and directing the younger sisters. Near the end she had a visitor from her home town who asked if she'd like anything; Rita's only request was a rose from her family's estate. The visitor went to the home, but it being January, knew there was no hope of finding a flower; there, sprouted on an otherwise bare bush, was a single rose blossom.
Like Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rita of Cascia was a wife, mother, widow and
member of a religious community. Her holiness was reflected in each
phase of her life.
Born
at Roccaporena in central Italy, Rita wanted to become a nun but was
pressured at a young age into marrying a harsh and cruel man. During
her 18-year marriage, she bore and raised two sons. After her husband
was killed in a brawl and her sons had died, Rita tried to join the
Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Unsuccessful at first because she was a
widow, Rita eventually succeeded.
Over the years, her austerity,
prayerfulness and charity became legendary. When she developed wounds
on her forehead, people quickly associated them with the wounds from
Christ's crown of thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ's passion.
Her care for the sick nuns was especially loving. She also counseled
lay people who came to her monastery.
Beatified in 1626, Rita was
not canonized until 1900. She has acquired the reputation, together
with St. Jude, as a saint of impossible cases. Many people visit her
tomb each year.
Daughter of Antonio and Amata Lotti; known as Peacemakers of Jesus, they had Rita late in life. From her early youth, Rita visited the Augustinian nuns at Cascia, and showed interest in a religious life. However, when she was twelve, her parents betrothed her to Paolo Mancini, an ill-tempered, abusive individual who worked as town watchman, and was dragged into the political disputes of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Disappointed but obedient, Rita married him when she was 18, and was the mother of twin sons.
She put up with Paolo's abuses for eighteen years before he was ambushed and stabbed to death. Her sons swore vengeance on their father's killers, but through Rita's prayers and interventions, they forgave the offenders.
Upon the deaths of her sons, Rita again felt the call to religious life. However, some of the sisters at the Augustinian monastery were relatives of her husband's assassins, and she was denied entry for fear of causing dissension. Asking for the intervention of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, she managed to bring the warring factions together, not completely, but sufficiently that there was peace, and she was admitted to the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalen at age 36.
Rita lived 40 years in the convent, spending her time in prayer and charity, and working for peace in the region. She was devoted to the Passion, and in response to a prayer to suffer as Christ, she received a chronic head wound that appeared to have been caused by a crown of thorns, and which bled for 15 years.
Confined to her bed the last four years of her life, eating little more than the Eucharist, teaching and directing the younger sisters. Near the end she had a visitor from her home town who asked if she'd like anything; Rita's only request was a rose from her family's estate. The visitor went to the home, but it being January, knew there was no hope of finding a flower; there, sprouted on an otherwise bare bush, was a single rose blossom.
Among the other areas, Rita is well-known as a patron of desperate, seemingly impossible causes and situations. This is because she has been involved in so many stages of life - wife, mother, widow, and nun, she buried her family, helped bring peace to her city, saw her dreams denied and fulfilled - and never lost her faith in God, or her desire to be with Him.
Comment:
Although
we can easily imagine an ideal world in which to live out our baptismal
vocation, such a world does not exist. An “If only ….” approach to
holiness never quite gets underway, never produces the fruit that God
has a right to expect.
Rita became holy because she made choices
that reflected her Baptism and her growth as a disciple of Jesus. Her
overarching, lifelong choice was to cooperate generously with God's
grace, but many small choices were needed to make that happen.
Few of those choices were made in ideal circumstances—not even when
Rita became an Augustinian nun.
Quote:For
the Baptism of adults and for all the baptized at the Easter Vigil,
three questions are asked: “Do you reject sin so as to live in the
freedom of God's children? Do you reject the glamour of evil, and
refuse to be mastered by sin? Do you reject Satan, father of sin and
prince of darkness?”
Prayer:
Dear Rita, model Wife and Widow, you yourself suffered in a long
illness showing patience out of love for God. Teach us to pray as you
did. Many invoke you for help, full of confidence in your intercession.
Deign to come now to our aid for the relief and cure of {name of sufferer}. To God, all things are possible; may this healing give glory to the Lord. Amen.
Holy Patroness of those in need, Saint Rita, you were humble, pure and
patient. Your pleadings with your divine Spouse are irresistible, so
please obtain for me from our risen Jesus the request I make of you: {mention your petition}.
Be kind ot me for the greater glory of God, and I shall honor you and
sing your praises forever. Glorious Saint Rita, you miraculously
participated in the sorrowful passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Obtain
for me now the grace to suffer with resignation the troubles of this
life, and protect me in all my needs. Amen.
Hymn to Saint Rita of Cascia:
Come, virgins chaste; pure brides, draw near:
Let Earth exult and Heaven hear
The Hymn that grateful accents raise,
Our song of joy in Rita's praise.
By fast her sinless frame is weak;
Her livid flesh the scourges streak.
In pity for her Savior's woes,
Her days and even nights are closed.
The thorn-wound on her brow is shown,
The crimson rose in winter blown,
And full-ripe figs on frozen tree
At Rita's wish the wonders see.
The widowed spouse and wedded wife
The way to heaven see in her life;
The way secure our Rita trod,
In life's dim day, through paint o God.
Praise to the Father and the Son,
Praise to the Spirit, Three in One;
O grant us grace in heaven to reign
Through Rita's prayer and life-long pain.
Thou hast signed thy servant Rita
With the sign of thy Love and Passion.
O God! who didst deign to confer on Saint Rita for imitating Thee in
love of her enemies, the favor of bearing her heart and brow the marks
of Thy Love and Passion, grant we beseech Thee, that through her
intercession and merit, we may, pierced by the thorns of compunction,
ever contemplate the sufferings of Thy Passion, who livest and reignest
forever and ever. Amen.
Source: American Catholic Organization
Many great miracles have been associated with
the Rosary throughout history. The tremendous power of the Rosary can
overcome any problem, be it small or large, personal or worldwide.
Miracles continue to the present day.
The Rosary is a powerful prayer!
Each lesson is only 10¢
God bless you!
Learn to pray the Rosary--The Joyful Mysteries
Learn to pray the Rosary--The Sorrowful Mysteries
Learn to pray the Rosary--The Glorious Mysteries
Learn to pray the Rosary--The Luminous Mysteries
If you are a victim of domestic or sexual violence, please know that my husband and I pray for you every single night.
If you need immediate assistance, dial 911.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline:
1-800-799-SAFE OR (1-800-799-7233)
SIGNS OF AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
Do you:
feel afraid of your partner much of the time?
avoid certain topics fear of angering your partner?
feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?
believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?
wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?
feel emotionally numb or helpless?
Does your partner:
- humiliate, criticize, or yell at you?
- treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed for your friends or family to see?
- ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?
- blame you for his own abusive behavior?
- see you as property or a sex object, rather than as a person?
Does your partner:
have a bad and unpredictable temper?
hurt you, or threaten to hurt or kill you?
threaten to take your children away or harm them?
threaten to commit suicide if you leave?
force you to have sex?
destroy your belongings?
Does your partner:
- act excessively jealous and possessive?
- control where you go or what you do?
- keep you from seeing your friends or family?
- limit your access to money, the phone, or the car?
- constantly check up on you?