5/31/2023 0 Comments St rita of cascia![]() ![]() She did so and lived a life of penance and prayer during which many miraculous things were attributed to her dedication to prayer and mortification. Eventually, she would be allowed if she could affect a reconciliation between the factions that led to her husband’s death. Now, a widow with no sons, she attempted to enter a religious community at the age of 36, but was rejected as she was not a virgin. Saint Rita is often portrayed in a black habit, which is historically inaccurate as the sisters at the Saint Magdalene monastery wore beige or brown. Rita was beatified by Pope Urban VIII in 1627 and canonized by Pope Leo XII on May 24, 1900. Rita prayed that they would die peacefully before committing such sins and the two died of natural causes within a year. Her body can be found today in the Saint Rita shrine at Cascia. At that point, Rita’s sons decided to avenge their father’s death. However, he was assassinated by enemies not long after his change of heart. Rita an inspiration because she worked unceasingly to raise her sons as good Catholics, in spite of a difficult, often anti-Christian culture. However, we homeschooling mothers may consider St. Eventually, her husband repented of the pain he had caused her and began to amend his life according to the teachings of the church. Rita, whose feast day is May 22, is a saint we hear of infrequently, perhaps because she had such an unusual life. She spent much of her married life praying and doing penance for her difficult husband and horrible boys. Rita was a mother with an abusive family and some very difficult sons. She did not work among the poor or build hospitals. Rita (1381-1457) is an extremely popular saint in her native Italy, and indeed throughout much of the Catholic world. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Rita, visitors can see the birth house of Rita, the room where she was born, and the house where she lived with her husband.Bestow on us, we pray, O Lord, the wisdom and strength of the Cross, with which you were pleased to endow Saint Rita, so that, suffering in every tribulation with Christ, we may participate ever more deeply in his Paschal Mystery. Not far away in Roccaporena, the birthplace of St. Once home, however, her cousin found a rose and two figs covered in snow. The relative went away believing she was delirious, as it was January. Rita asked her to return home and gather two figs and a rose from her father’s garden. When Rita was sick and bedridden, a cousin of hers came to visit her from Roccaporena. Just before the exit, there is a rose garden in memory of the miracle of the rose and the figs. Rita received the stigmata on her forehead. He gestured with his hand to shoo them away. As he passed by Rita’s household, he noticed bees buzzing around the infant’s face. He cut his hand with a scythe and went in search of help. Just after Rita was born, a farmer was working in a nearby field. The bees recall another legend regarding the first miracle attributed to St. On the wall next to the stairs are small holes inhabited by mason bees. Tradition says that while Rita was a novice, her superior asked her to water a dead twig to teach her humility and obedience. Rita obeyed. Inside the courtyard is a grapevine that recalls the story of a miraculous twig. The Augustinian friars regularly lead guided visits. Next to the basilica is the 12th-century monastery where Saint Rita lived. The blood-stained pages are preserved in Cascia. When he arrived at the residence, he opened the breviary and discovered the host was bleeding, the pages stained with blood. He brought a consecrated host for communion and, having left hastily, he placed it in his prayer breviary rather than in a pyx. In 1330, a priest was visiting a dying parishioner in Siena. In the lower basilica a Eucharistic miracle is conserved. Rita was then accepted into the convent.įor the next 40 years Rita lived as an Augustinian nun in prayer and contemplation, in service to the sick and the poor, and working to support the community. They even signed a document stating as much. Miraculously, the families were reconciled. So Rita set out to make peace between Paolo’s relatives and their rivals. ![]() They were afraid that the violence and animosity surrounding her husband’s death would follow her into the convent. Though the Augustinian nuns knew and respected her, she was refused entrance on three separate occasions. Her life as an Augustinian nunĪfter the death of her husband and sons, Rita sought to enter the convent. As it happened, both sons died soon thereafter before committing murder or any act of violence. She asked him to deal with the situation that was beyond her control. In an act of surrender, Rita entrusted the situation totally to God. Despite her pleading and prayers, Rita was unable to persuade the two boys to forego the vendetta that was expected of them. ![]()
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