St. Rita of Cascia
May 22 is her feast day.
Since my youth I had devotion to St. Rita - not so much because she is venerated as the saint of the impossible, or that she was supposedly a battered wife who had been miraculously admitted to a convent by saints after her family died, but because she looked so good in that black habit. Really. I liked the image of her in the Augustinian habit, receiving the stigmata before the crucifix - so I developed a special devotion to her.
Did you know she married at age 12? Kind of Mormon-ish, don’t you think? Also, her community wasn’t very nice to her… And her wound was accompanied by a fowl smell. She may not have become a saint if she had been attractive to the other sisters, or her wound smelled pretty, or even if her husband had treated her well. Adversity is often very good for the soul.
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:15 am
There is a two part show on St. Rita tonight and tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. on EWTN.
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:32 am
Did you visit Saint Rita in a local church the way I did? (We used the same picture in our posts. Note the discipline lying on the floor near her prie-dieu.)
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:49 am
Father - Yes I did - I was just like you.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
She is one of my favorites as well! Thanks for reminding me of her feast day! God bless! Padre Steve
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
There are so many saints to learn about–that is very strange that her wound had a bad smell. We always hear the “good” things about saints and hardly ever about the bad things. The smell must have repelled many from her–so many times our imperfections cause others to not want to be around–so we always try and show our good sides and avoid sharing our bad–so we do not repell anyone. Saint Rita did not have this option–what a way to make a person humble–this is my kind of saint–imperfect–I’m going to start praying to her.