St Maria Goretti, a young virgin martyr who resisted the attempts of a young man to violate her and died the following day from her injuries after forgiving the assailant, is a saint to be held up as an example and model for young catholic girls.
Her feast is celebrated tomorrow.
The following is from CatholicCuture.org
St. Maria Goretti was born of a poor family in Corinaldi, Italy, in 1890. Near Nettuno she spent a difficult childhood assisting her mother in domestic duties. She was of a pious nature and often at prayer. In 1902 she was stabbed to death, preferring to die rather than be raped. (Office of Readings)
"It is well known how this young girl had to face a bitter struggle with no way to defend herself. Without warning a vicious stranger (actually Alessandro Serenelli who lived with his father in the same house as the Goretti's.) burst upon her, bent on raping her and destroying her childlike purity. In that moment of crisis she could have spoken to her Redeemer in the words of that classic, The Imitation of Christ: "Though tested and plagued by a host of misfortunes, I have no fear so long as your grace is with me. It is my strength, stronger than any adversary; it helps me and gives me guidance." With splendid courage she surrendered herself to God and his grace and so gave her life to protect her virginity.
"The life of this simple girl—I shall concern myself only with highlights—we can see as worthy of heaven. Even today people can look upon it with admiration and respect. Parents can learn from her story how to raise their God-given children in virtue, courage and holiness; they can learn to train them in the Catholic faith so that, when put to the test, God's grace will support them and they will come through undefeated, unscathed and untarnished.
"From Maria's story carefree children and young people with their zest for life can learn not to be led astray by attractive pleasures which are not only ephemeral and empty but also sinful. Instead they can fix their sights on achieving Christian moral perfection, however difficult and hazardous that course may prove. With determination and God's help all of us can attain that goal by persistent effort and prayer."Not all of us are expected to die a martyr's death, but we are all called to the pursuit of Christian virtue. This demands strength of character though it may not match that of this innocent girl. Still, a constant, persistent and relentless effort is asked of us right up to the moment of our death. This may be conceived as a slow steady martyrdom which Christ urged upon us when he said: The kingdom of heaven is set upon and laid waste by violent forces.
"So let us all, with God's grace, strive to reach the goal that the example of the virgin martyr, Saint Maria Goretti, sets before us. Through her prayers to the Redeemer may all of us, each in his own way, joyfully try to follow the inspiring example of Maria Goretti who now enjoys eternal happiness in heaven."
Excerpted from a homily at the canonization of Saint Maria Goretti by Pope Pius XII
Imprisoned for murder she appeared to him in his cell and forgave him and he was subsequently converted. Most importantly, he sat next to her mother at the beatification, who also forgave him.
Sir Anthony Kenny in his autobiography, A Path from Rome: An Autobiography (1986, Oxford University Press), refers to the role played by Msgr William Theodore, later Cardinal, Heard in the Beatification/Canonisation of Saint Maria Goretti.
ReplyDeleteA proud Scotsman (and convert from the Scottish Episcopal Church) but a priest of the then Diocese of Southwark, in 1927 Msgr Heard was appointed a judge of the Sacred Roman Rota. He was soon assigned as one of the three judges ex officio attached to the Sacred Congregation for Rites which at that time sanctioned the use of images and dealt with the causes for beatification and canonisation of the blessed.
It is a long time since I read Sir Anthony's book and I do not have a copy to hand, but I seem to remember that he assumes Cardinal Heard acted as an "advocatus diaboli", Devil's Advocate. This isn't the case.
At that time the process involved a trial procedure. A "suitably qualified Advocate" (see below) of the Sacred Roman Rota would present the case for the Promoter of the Cause and another, the Devil's Advocate, the case against.
I am not sure whether all three Rota judges sat together or whether one would sit with appointed members of the Congregation but it was as a judge that Cardinal Heard acted. (He was also involved in the cases of Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher.)
NOTE: English Catholics seemed to hold the view, and certainly the English Press, both sacred and profane, definitely did, that Cardinal Basil Home was an intellectual whereas our Cardinal Tom Winning was a bit of a bruiser, a sort of ecclesiastical version of Mr Speaker "Gorbals Mick". Nothing could be further from the truth.
Oor Tam was a "suitably qualified Advocate", that is he was an Advocate of the Sacred Roman Rota and held both a Doctorate in Canon Law and a Licence in Sacred Theology. In fact, when he became my PP in 1966 he was the only secular priest from the British Isles (dread term) who was an SRRAdv. There was an English Franciscan resident in Rome, Fr Willie something.